The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread
- Thread starter randomshenans
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I upgraded my PC to an i3 3.7ghz 10105F recently with new motherboard and 16gb ram, total cost to upgrade was £250 new.
Made a big difference to my FPS, especially in bunch rides, averaging at least 45-50 FPS in 100 rider bunches.
Still had a random crash from my graphics card one time, I’ve underclocked it which seems to make it stable. Keep procrastinating and holding on for sensible prices but doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel there!
Made a big difference to my FPS, especially in bunch rides, averaging at least 45-50 FPS in 100 rider bunches.
Still had a random crash from my graphics card one time, I’ve underclocked it which seems to make it stable. Keep procrastinating and holding on for sensible prices but doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel there!
Nice one. How is it? Any quality problems? Rain forecast all weekend, hoping mine comes this afternoon!
All working well. Weighs a tonne which wasn't great for my back, especially as I built it in the lounge and then had to take it to another room. The weight not auto syncing from Garmin for third party apps caught me out after the trial of the tacx training app but once set it feels really good. Bike is very sturdy and comfortable, was also impressed with the quality of the bar tape.
Finally, no more punctures!
I'd gone for a Sunday morning turbo session a couple of weeks ago. Went into the garage to find the back tyre flat on my turbo bike. Annoying given it was a week old but otherwise brand-new tube as the previous tube had kept going down. I pumped it up, started my session and... it went flat again. Whipped the tube out, patched the hole and set off again. I think the heat from it being a wheel-on trainer melted the glue on the patch, so down it went again. At this point I sacked it all off and did an impromptu circuits session in the garden.
I'd hope for a good smart trainer deal during Black Friday but Rutland had dropped the H3 down to £599 and also had a promise that if prices go down further in November, they'll refund the extra saving back to you. I'd seen the H3 briefly at £640 a few weeks back, but otherwise £699 or £749 seemed common this year.
I've had two rides on it now and I'm still amazed at how quiet it is. I also got introduced to the Spiral of Death this morning... three times. Ow.
I'd gone for a Sunday morning turbo session a couple of weeks ago. Went into the garage to find the back tyre flat on my turbo bike. Annoying given it was a week old but otherwise brand-new tube as the previous tube had kept going down. I pumped it up, started my session and... it went flat again. Whipped the tube out, patched the hole and set off again. I think the heat from it being a wheel-on trainer melted the glue on the patch, so down it went again. At this point I sacked it all off and did an impromptu circuits session in the garden.
I'd hope for a good smart trainer deal during Black Friday but Rutland had dropped the H3 down to £599 and also had a promise that if prices go down further in November, they'll refund the extra saving back to you. I'd seen the H3 briefly at £640 a few weeks back, but otherwise £699 or £749 seemed common this year.
I've had two rides on it now and I'm still amazed at how quiet it is. I also got introduced to the Spiral of Death this morning... three times. Ow.
I'm currently noting the irony in getting sandbagged in group C this afternoon. Was hanging in the middle of the lead group for 7 minutes of the race, 5 of which I was praying they would ease off a little so I could at least finish the race with them still in sight... I'm wondering if my bike has anything to do with it, as I am running the standard frame but with upgraded wheels. I'm about 100,000 drops away from the Aeroad.
How are you getting on with it?
Going well thanks! Only done about 40km on it so far. Easy to set up and get going although thought it was malfunctioning as the display went off, seems the cable under the bars was lose. I updated the firmware with the Tacx app but when using with zwift I see the gearing on the screen but nothing else apart from a flashing error message. Works well though, super smooth and so much quieter than my rickety old ally bike set up. I can get up and above 1,000w when pushing which is something I couldn't hit on my old set up. Not a big fan of the fans, will likely take them off before next use. Didn't realise they turned off when not pedalling until I was waiting for a mate at the top of a climb and I nearly self combusted.
I put the old one on marketplace, inc mats, TV, ipad stand. Sold in two days and got exactly what I wanted for it so pleased overall. Old bike was due for a major service, new crank, cassette, bar tape and likely not a load of life left in the trainer which is what I keep telling myself to help with the justification of the purchase
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Zwift insider thinks you could be at a 15w disadvantage https://zwiftinsider.com/does-bike-choice-matter/
15w may be enough to sneak in below the threshold and stay with the lead group. Will still require well above C threshold to stick with the lead though and don't have it in me yet. Maybe Zwift should move to a automatic rank based system. Keep on getting top 10s and you rank up, keep on getting bottom 10s, rank down. No need to select the group.
I have mine set to max power and to follow my heart rate. They start at 80bpm which is a little too low so might see if I can adjust that. I find them good enough for longer slow rides. Got a big 18" fan for my main body and the little Neo fans work well pointed at my face. I'd speak to Garmin about the screen, mine displays heartrate, power, gears and rpm when on Zwift.
Interesting about the Neo Bike, i've been eyeing up a trainer again having bought and then sold an Elite Direto a few years back due to lack of use.
There's a deal through Vitality where it's "only" £1600 which seems decent, but then on the flip side, i think that could be spent on a decent direct drive and a better actual bike!
Other option is to go with a Tacx Flow for £180 and see if i actually use it this time. We are looking to relocate in around 2-3 years so the smaller lesser stuff i have the better in reality. Hmmm or try and buy the Neo Bike and then immediately sell it in the hope of getting £1700-£1800 for it which pays for the Tacx Flow. Wonder if that's likely oh how much hassle it'd be!
Out of interest, how are the smart rollers for Zwift purposes?
There's a deal through Vitality where it's "only" £1600 which seems decent, but then on the flip side, i think that could be spent on a decent direct drive and a better actual bike!
Other option is to go with a Tacx Flow for £180 and see if i actually use it this time. We are looking to relocate in around 2-3 years so the smaller lesser stuff i have the better in reality. Hmmm or try and buy the Neo Bike and then immediately sell it in the hope of getting £1700-£1800 for it which pays for the Tacx Flow. Wonder if that's likely oh how much hassle it'd be!
Out of interest, how are the smart rollers for Zwift purposes?
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Dont think I'd trust myself on rollers. They look deadly to me
The group ranking is far too a sensible idea for them to implement!
Photo is poor as I was in a rush but left is what I see when using Zwift. I don't mind too much as all the data I need is on the zwift screen anyway. Right is what it looks after a quick spin of the pedals to wake it up without Zwift. Error text is flashing in both cases. I have no idea where it is sourcing the heart rate from, this was before I left for work this morning and I assure you I wasn't at 134bpm. My Whoop broadcasts my heart rate to zwift when riding. There is an instruction book, obviously I haven't read it.
Any recommendations for a decent smart trainer? looking at the 400-600 region, I'll be using it with my Trek X-caliber 7 for now. May get a dedicated roadbike for it when the nights become lighter, but its mainly so I can get some decent cardio on weekdays as its too dark for rides in mornings before work or in the evenings.
Space and weight doesn't matter as it will going in my home gym and iI'll be ditching the cheap cross trainer we currently have.
My research shows a lot of choice so thought I'd pick the brains of the guys using them rather than paid affiliate reviews
Space and weight doesn't matter as it will going in my home gym and iI'll be ditching the cheap cross trainer we currently have.
My research shows a lot of choice so thought I'd pick the brains of the guys using them rather than paid affiliate reviews
Soldato
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I've not tried or seen one in action, but over the past year I've read a few people rating the Saris H3.
https://www.probikekit.co.uk/turbo-trainers-bicycle-rollers/saris-h3-smart-trainer/12684886.html for £550 is a great price, lowest I was aware of until a few minutes ago was Halfords doing it for ~£600 (where officially you shouldn't be able to get 10% British Cycling discount on turbo trainers iirc).
Associate
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I should shortly be receiving Saturday Night delivery of my new kit to start using Zwift. Any recommendations?
I was watching a video demonstrating the bike on Garmins own website and that error text was on thereSeems like it's just a permanent thing!
Yeah I cant seem to find a work around. As I say it works fine as it is and all the data is on the zwift screen anyway. Interesting Garmin don't mind showing the world the flashing error too!
There only seems to be a couple of off the shelf options. Reading reviews seems jury is still out on them and have seen lots of complaints about quality of them. I quite fancy one myself. This one cheap but some polarising user experiences! https://www.chainreactioncycles.com...mTAiYRO0DgHlRaEvIDUaAgx6EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
I have recently sold a Tacx flux that we put almost 7,000kms on over a few years. Other than a bit of a squeak now it still works flawless, I wouldn't hesitate in recommending one.
Congrats. Recommendations for what though? Clothing, Zwift courses, faster pedalling, better question structuring?