Zwift gives you 25km free riding around the app and when I signed up I got another week free.
The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread
- Thread starter randomshenans
- Start date
I also think it's personality based. @BennyC is clearly very goal focused and structured. I am clearly not as good at that
Thinking of it as a workout rather than a ride with goals for each interval helps. Zwift providing an environment where you can ride up X hill or over to Z at a given intensity makes it a bit less monotonous than just riding at a given power or HR. I have bad days too
Worked fine on a 2010 MBP C2D with 4GB an integrated graphics, looked far from amazing though
Now have an MBP i7 with 16GB RAM and dedicated GPU which does nicely and saves having a rig sat there in the garage not getting a great deal of use 
Check here:https://zwiftalizer.com/benchmarks
Man of Honour
Can anyone recommend any of the Zwift programs? I know there's a lot on there and they all seem fairly similar. Just looking for some structured training to increase power/fitness. Not fussed on whether it's 4 or 12 weeks. Eventually I'll sign up to TrainerRoad but wouldn't mind making some use of Zwift first
Man of Honour
Zwift has some kinda FTP builder thing doesn't it?
Perhaps this? Find that site horrible though for providing a clear overview of volume and workout specifics!
TR have low, mid & high volume plans which cater for the amount of free time you have to ride. TSS is the ultimate measure though tends to correlate with rides per week: usually low is 3 , mid is 4-5 and high is 6+
Example of Low Volume "SweetSpot Base". Then you'd complete a "Build" phase of 4-6 weeks again and then a "Specialty" of around 4 weeks. Then repeat the "Base" again to capitalise on new found gains and establish new baseline
*snigger* Bald Knob. hrhrhrhr
Push your budget a little and get the Tacx Flow (available from Decathlon & Halfords). It's an on wheel trainer with FE-C and Smart. Pretty much the cheapest smart trainer you can get! Don't forget BC discount either!
Surf around local Facebook groups for a dedicated rear wheel if that's also what you mean? Or ask your local LBS. You can get a new one for like £50-60. You can use old tyres until you can afford a dedicated trainer tyre, if your budget is £150 all in then you need to look at second hand trainers.
SNAP is good but also consider the Vortex smart, ideally both of them are so you can save money until you can get a PWM for the road AND a direct drive.
Budget, look for a second hand Kurt Kinetic Road Machine or Rock n Roll. They're probably the best 'dumb' trainers, just don't consider the power module upgrades. InRide and the Smart Control are both garbage and a waste of money or time.
Push your budget a little and get the Tacx Flow (available from Decathlon & Halfords). It's an on wheel trainer with FE-C and Smart. Pretty much the cheapest smart trainer you can get! Don't forget BC discount either!
Surf around local Facebook groups for a dedicated rear wheel if that's also what you mean? Or ask your local LBS. You can get a new one for like £50-60. You can use old tyres until you can afford a dedicated trainer tyre, if your budget is £150 all in then you need to look at second hand trainers.
Good choice & deal!
My old (10+ years) dual core C2D with 4gb ram ran it ok but it did have a dedicated gpu, an old 4670. It was't pretty but ran ok on lowest settings!
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Budget, look for a second hand Kurt Kinetic Road Machine or Rock n Roll. They're probably the best 'dumb' trainers, just don't consider the power module upgrades. InRide and the Smart Control are both garbage and a waste of money or time.
Push your budget a little and get the Tacx Flow (available from Decathlon & Halfords). It's an on wheel trainer with FE-C and Smart. Pretty much the cheapest smart trainer you can get! Don't forget BC discount either!
Surf around local Facebook groups for a dedicated rear wheel if that's also what you mean? Or ask your local LBS. You can get a new one for like £50-60. You can use old tyres until you can afford a dedicated trainer tyre, if your budget is £150 all in then you need to look at second hand trainers.
Wiggle are doing a Tacx Blue Matic, Tacx tyre and Tacx front wheel riser for a smidgen under 130 at the moment. Not sure if that's something worth looking at. The Blue Matic doesn't get bad reviews from what I've seen.
https://www.facebook.com/cvrworldcup/videos/1254517094652642/
CVR World Cup in Paris on at the moment - just watching the heats
A good mate from work is in Team X and headed up there. He was only going to watch, but think they might need him to ride, he's not happy lol would be tough!
CVR World Cup in Paris on at the moment - just watching the heats
A good mate from work is in Team X and headed up there. He was only going to watch, but think they might need him to ride, he's not happy lol would be tough!
Found this regarding bike warranty being valid or not on a trainer, not sure if it's been discussed
http://road.cc/content/feature/2166...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
http://road.cc/content/feature/2166...l&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Soldato
Hopefully moving house soon, really tempted by the Wattbike Atom. Then I can finally dive into the world of Zwift!
Does anyone use a Wattbike at the moment?
Does anyone use a Wattbike at the moment?
Make sure you can try it out before you buy.
The advantage of using your own bike connected to a trainer is that it has flex and the experience mirrors that of being out in the real world. The Watt Bike type bikes experience is like putting a saddle on a brick wall and riding that.
The advantage of using your own bike connected to a trainer is that it has flex and the experience mirrors that of being out in the real world. The Watt Bike type bikes experience is like putting a saddle on a brick wall and riding that.
The Bluematic is not a FE-C/Smart trainer, it's what's known as a 'dumb' trainer. It'll not give you a power output, programs like Zwift/Trainer Road only able to estimate/calculate your power from Cadence & wheel speed. It has a manual 'resistance control' which means it cannot be controlled by computer (non FE-C) so things like Zwift can't increase resistance when you reach a climb.
The Tacx Flow Smart (Smart = power & FE-C) is around £100 more from Decathlon/Halfords but you can find them discounted as well as also using your 10% BC discount.
Different frame manufacturers see it differently, it's worth checking. Think some like Trek specifically cover it, some kinda do (don't say no to claims) while others when pushed will not want to cover warranties if damage happens.
Personally I'll always use my aluminium Defy on the trainer, it handily avoids the issue!
Soldato
The appeal in having a complete solution, rather than faffing about with turbos, and using existing bikes, was the main plus. And as some of the trainers I was looking at are around the £1000 mark, the Atom is 'just' an additional £500.
Soldato
Yep it should do.
If you want to get involved with Zwift/TR then a Smart & FE-C compatible trainer is almost compulsory these days. You can ride without but you miss 50% of the training & enjoyment!
I guess what I'm saying is, with a sale on the Flow & BC discount you should be able to find one new for £170-180ish, if that's still over your budget then looking second hand should pick you up a Vortex or similar within your budget.
If you want to buy a new dumb trainer (warranties etc) then the bluematic is a pretty safe bet, as is the Kurt Kinetic RM or RnR (as I mentioned previously - they're probably the best regarded with solid frames and large flywheels).
I'd probably recommend the second hand route for either, as there's lots of people upgrading this time of year for new models!
N+1? Or make use of an older bike you've otherwise neglected?
I think most people tend to have spare bikes, either using their summer bike or old favourite on the turbo so the wear & tear is all components they have the tools for or spares of already.
I know several with Wattbikes, equally they're the sort of people not interested in the data or things like Zwift, generally using their own plans/intervals/sessions.
It should do but you'll still have the 'prompt' on screen so you can change direction if you wish. If you 'join' on another rider then you'll load whichever course they've chosen. If you join a race/group ride/event and ride before it you'll be following the course of the race chosen, but can change direction etc. When the ride starts then you'll be 'locked' into whichever course is set for it and unable to change direction until you finish.
I set up my Neo trainer today. The only slight issue I have is the gear indexing is slightly off so I need to spend a little time sorting that.
I'm running Zwift through an iPad Pro with an Apple HDMI lead to pass to the TV and have the iPhone on the bike running Zwift remote. Each fan is remote control (on/off) so I can warm up and then switch them on when needed without having to get off the bike
I ca never get my index perfect on the Neo when swapping from the road wheel which is spot on. Guess it's due to the spacer and hub etc but it's a pain.
Soldato
Similar here as I should have two identical cassettes but I used an extra shim on the NEO so it's slightly out towards the very small cogs. Perfect on the road though as I had to make myself learn (rather than just pay for a service) to fully adjust the front and rear to get it usable on both so not a bad thing really.
Same here but on a Vortex - I couldn't get into my smallest rear cog last night even though my gears change like butter out on the road. Going to have to remember how much to turn the RD screw when changing from road to turbo and turbo to road and write it down on a post it note or something.