Zwift and MTB use ?
 

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[Closed] Zwift and MTB use ?

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Thinking about jumping on a Tacx Neo 2 for Zwifting.

https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Tacx-Neo-2-Special-Edition-Smart-Trainer_208423.htm

My lad sometimes uses the turbo and ends up on my large hybrid, which with the saddle down kinda works, but would arguably make more sense for him to use his Sworks.

My current 4 year old turbo is a Kickr Snap and can't do axles... so was thnking the Neo will do his in 142*12 and looks like it could even do my G170 with the 148*12 (i may need a kit for that though?).

It'll be a bit of a faff as he has an 11sp setup and i've got 12... but it's only minutes to swap cassette of course.

I also think it'd be nicer to use my G170 than it would the Hybrid in some ways as i like the familiarity of my usual bike.

Any thoughts, advice or tips ?


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 9:59 am
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like you say, other than a few minutes faff, there is no reason why it wouldnt work.

Gearing on an MTB is pretty short compared to a road bike, so you might not be able to produce the cadence/power to keep pace with others during a freeride or race, but it would still work fine for ERG based workouts.

My wife used to use a Trek Marlin hardtail on her Kickr Core (now all sold unfortunately and replaced with a spin bike).

I would much prefer to use an MTB than the old Trek road bike that i do on my turbo, but as mentioned, i cant get the power/cadence that is required for racing, so i stick with it.

Looks like that trainer will also work with your axles sized: Improved Axle Compatibility: Directly compatible with 135×10, 142×12 and 148×12 mm axles.


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 10:03 am
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A dedicated turbo bike that can fit you both, with a big chainring near 50T for races?


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 10:05 am
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YOu know what, i'd completely forgotten about the bloody gearing...

That's a bit of a deal breaker there.

Arses.


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 10:06 am
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but it’s only minutes to swap cassette of course.

Also need to factor in tweaking the indexing. Even with the exact same cassette on both turbo and bike wheel, the indexing always needs adjusted when you put the bike on the turbo


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 10:13 am
 DrP
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Gearing on an MTB is pretty short compared to a road bike, so you might not be able to produce the cadence/power to keep pace with others during a freeride or race, but it would still work fine for ERG based workouts.

But.... you'd just need to increase the turbo realism....
So at default it'll be at 50% (this is adjusted in zwift...).. put the realism up, and it's like sticking a bigger chainring on the front...
But... I'm not sure what's the deal in the flats... you MAY spin out on the flat?

DrP


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 10:30 am
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100% you'd spin out on flat yeah


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 10:33 am
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I used my mtb on Kickr for last few weeks and only used the highest 2 gears. Fastest I could go was 50mph and legs were spinning like crazy. Standing up and peddling was impossible until about 8% incline.

I bought a second hand road bike and used for the first time yesterday. The difference is huge in a positive way. Personally, I think it's well worth having a road bike on a turbo rather than an mtb.


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 10:35 am
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£890!?

You could buy a £500 Elite Direto & a permanently set-up road bike for that price, which would be a better Zwift solution (in my opinion) and there'd be no faffing around required (just adjust saddle height, perhaps).


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 11:21 am
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Fastest I could go was 50mph and legs were spinning like crazy

50mph?!? do you mean km/h?


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 3:15 pm
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@oikeith No, it was 50mph. A notification popped up on Zwift stating that I'd unlocked some kind of achievement for hitting 50mph. Strava has it recorded as "51.1 mi/h"

However, I have realised that Zwift is now in KPH so when I hit 76kph I thought I'd blown my previous record out of the water. Turns out it was slightly less at 47mph. Still had a lot of gears left though, I just couldn't push the one I was in anymore as that particular ride had a lot of 10% climbing.


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 5:01 pm
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But…. you’d just need to increase the turbo realism….
So at default it’ll be at 50% (this is adjusted in zwift…).. put the realism up, and it’s like sticking a bigger chainring on the front…
But… I’m not sure what’s the deal in the flats… you MAY spin out on the flat?

Dont do this. You spin out immediately on the flat. I found the switch between roadbike and mtb on my tacx more enjoyable by actually reducing the trainer difficulty so the differences been climb and flat were less pronounced and i could keep a more constant / high gear.


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 5:08 pm
 Kuco
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Wahoo do adapters in 142x12 for the Kickr Snap.


 
Posted : 03/02/2022 7:02 pm

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