The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread

Probably better in here, i know you can buy specific Turbo tyres for a wheel on style trainer. Just how much do they destroy normal road tyres assuming you don't use it much?

I've already got a crank power meter and so quite like the idea of a cheap £30 Turbo off Facebook like the Tacx Vortex or Elite Volare for the purpose of doing an FTP test once a month or so without the hassle of traffic etc getting in the way. Ideally i'd just whack my bike straight on rather than faff around buying a spare wheel and getting a new cassette which then starts ramping up the cost to the point i'd rather just buy a direct drive style turbo!
 
Martynt74 said:
Just how much do they destroy normal road tyres assuming you don't use it much?
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I guess it depends on what tyre you use. I had quite a soft/fast one on I think and it kinda ruined it.
robj20 said:
Not looking forward to the 4DP thing though.
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It's really worthwhile, but one of the hardest things I've done on a bike. I just can't bring myself to do a follow up a year later, but I really should.
 
AndyCr15 said:
I guess it depends on what tyre you use. I had quite a soft/fast one on I think and it kinda ruined it.

It's really worthwhile, but one of the hardest things I've done on a bike. I just can't bring myself to do a follow up a year later, but I really should.
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Cheers,

I'm currently torn between a £10 Elite Volare non smart turbo. I figure with the wheel on style, the only benefit of a smart one is power for Zwift but i have that with my cranks anyway so the cheapest option is the easiest. In the other corner is a Kickr V5 and Climb unit for £650

The sensible option is to go with the £10 unit to see how much i use it before spending a decent chunk of cash, but there's always the temptation of toys!
 
AndyCr15 said:
I guess it depends on what tyre you use. I had quite a soft/fast one on I think and it kinda ruined it.

It's really worthwhile, but one of the hardest things I've done on a bike. I just can't bring myself to do a follow up a year later, but I really should.
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Another question about Systm can you ignore the yoga stuff?
4DP sounds great but if it's that bad it puts you off don't it that's not so good.
 
robj20 said:
Another question about Systm can you ignore the yoga stuff?
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Yes, when making a plan, you can select strength and yoga to be part of your plan or not. I hand pick a few yoga and strength exercises to do now and then though.
robj20 said:
4DP sounds great but if it's that bad it puts you off don't it that's not so good.
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I guess it's only as bad as you want it to be. I went all out... It's like cycling up a 10 mile climb. You could drop to a spinning gear and go easy, or you could push for as fast a time as possible. To get accurate figures, I literally gave it everything I have. One of the few times I thought I might pass out... :cry: If I don't give it that much again, I wont be able to compare... :(
 
Martynt74 said:
the only benefit of a smart one is power for Zwift but i have that with my cranks anyway so the cheapest option is the easiest. In the other corner is a Kickr V5 and Climb unit for £650
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Don't forget, a smart trainer lets Zwift adjust the resistence. If you're just using the power meter on your bike, you'll always just be cruising along I guess?
 
AndyCr15 said:
Don't forget, a smart trainer lets Zwift adjust the resistence. If you're just using the power meter on your bike, you'll always just be cruising along I guess?
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Yeah, it is a limit. There's a manual control which offers 5 resistance settings and i assume i can then use my gears to adjust resistance too. I don't forsee me using it very often because i've a general dislike of indoor cardio. I'd rather be outside in the rain. But for doing an FTP test now and then to track progress it seems handy rather than relying on roads being quiet enough.
 
Martynt74 said:
i can then use my gears to adjust resistance too
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No, I don't think so. Resistance won't change, you'll just go REALLY fast with the same set resistence...

Martynt74 said:
But for doing an FTP test now and then to track progress it seems handy rather than relying on roads being quiet enough.
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Someone else will have to comment on that. I assume this is done over 20 mins giving as much power as you can (or even over an hour)? I tend to do ramp tests for FTP, which requires a smart trainer ramping up the resistance every minute.
 
robj20 said:
Did Alpe Du Zwift for the first time today, no idea what a good time is but I'm happy with 2h1m.
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A "good" time is apparently under 1hr but you have got to be a pretty decent cyclist to do that IMO. I've only been cycling since March and only twice a week and I managed it in 1:18 first time about a month ago. I would work on the basis that its good even getting up it in one go and as long as you are improving on it over time you are doing well!

I want to go sub hour before the end of the year but I think thats a big ask. How long have you been cycling for?
 
fez said:
A "good" time is apparently under 1hr but you have got to be a pretty decent cyclist to do that IMO. I've only been cycling since March and only twice a week and I managed it in 1:18 first time about a month ago. I would work on the basis that its good even getting up it in one go and as long as you are improving on it over time you are doing well!

I want to go sub hour before the end of the year but I think thats a big ask. How long have you been cycling for?
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Years but only downhill mountain bike stuff. I'm training more for peak power than endurance.
 
I would say sub an hour is definitely the goal amongst many cyclists in the same way a marathon in sub 3 hours is a goal.

As @fez says. I think just getting up it is an achievement and being on a turbo for 2hours is an achievement enough!
 
Sub 1 hour is a fantastic achievement imo. I think I'm too heavy for that :D
They have made a bit of an event out of it for the next week or so with pace partners for it targeting certain times 89, 69, 59 and 49 several times per day. I'm going to jump on with C then finish with D when i get dropped.
 
fez said:
You've picked just the right benchmark then :cry:
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New challenges and all that. Thought why not.
I normally do lots of sprint stuff. Must admit it's weird how being on the saddle on the trainer is so much harder than out on the bike.

At the end of the day all work on the bike will have a benefit.
 
Has anyone had an issue with their Hr monitor not giving accurate numbers? I’m paired over ANT+ to my laptop and it previously worked perfectly. Monitor is less than a year old. The initial readings are good, but then the HR seems to hold around 130-140isb before jumping to 170+. After this it will track correctly again. I’ll try to link the FTP test from today that shows it well. I worry that I will get kicked from event results if I can’t fix it and it skews my HR zones.

<iframe height='405' width='590' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='https://www.strava.com/activities/7476784895/embed/3a849ce7ad22660c2d2386924c33d46430bc2d59'></iframe>

Edit - not sure how to make it work, I can’t click my own link, but strava is set to an AppleID account so I need to use private mode to get the browser to work anyway.
 
PikeyPriest said:
Has anyone had an issue with their Hr monitor not giving accurate numbers? I’m paired over ANT+ to my laptop and it previously worked perfectly. Monitor is less than a year old. The initial readings are good, but then the HR seems to hold around 130-140isb before jumping to 170+. After this it will track correctly again. I’ll try to link the FTP test from today that shows it well. I worry that I will get kicked from event results if I can’t fix it and it skews my HR zones.

<iframe height='405' width='590' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='https://www.strava.com/activities/7476784895/embed/3a849ce7ad22660c2d2386924c33d46430bc2d59'></iframe>

Edit - not sure how to make it work, I can’t click my own link, but strava is set to an AppleID account so I need to use private mode to get the browser to work anyway.
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I did have a dodgy Wahoo HR strap that was really erratic, gone to a cheap Amazon one and not had an issue since.
 
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