Probably not as much give as tennis balls but I use some offcuts of the stuff they use on children's playgrounds.
The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread
- Thread starter randomshenans
- Start date
Soldato
I've had no sweat drops yet.. I've only logged 10hrs on it but yeah, no sweat drops. Do get a bit hot but what helps me is pointing my portable AC unit directly at me. I don't sweat much in general so that is good too.
I've started the Fondo training plan to get me some structure in workouts, problem is I started it on Thursday and I still need to squeeze one hour ride in this weekend and I'm stupid busy.
all in, I'm getting more comfortable on the bike and all this training is slowly paying off.
Caporegime
Since sticking 2 fans on me I haven't had any issues with sweat dropping off me but we are coming into the colder weather again. No doubt come summer I will.
Soldato
I think @Roady has a Saris H3 - does anyone else? Had a weird thing on mine at the weekend...
I'd finished the Tour of Wattopia long stage 4 on Sunday morning and was just cruising along whilst I recovered (Itza Party is not a party). The resistance then seemed to go weird, as despite being on the flat, it seem to come and go like something was slipping. I'd noticed last week that I couldn't back pedal as the chain would go slack but I put that down to being about due for a new chain.
After a Google, I stripped things down and checked the "top hat" washer / spacer that sits behind the freehub. Apparently that can break if you've done the QR skewer up too tight. When I pulled the spacer off it was intact but then it broke into two bits whilst I inspected it, so a new one has been ordered (£8). I did find a post on Reddit from somebody who also said they couldn't backpedal and they sorted it with a new top hat. I hope that's the fix as a new freehub body is £55.
I also took the side panel off the turbo to check the belt but everything looked okay in there to my untrained eye.
I'd finished the Tour of Wattopia long stage 4 on Sunday morning and was just cruising along whilst I recovered (Itza Party is not a party). The resistance then seemed to go weird, as despite being on the flat, it seem to come and go like something was slipping. I'd noticed last week that I couldn't back pedal as the chain would go slack but I put that down to being about due for a new chain.
After a Google, I stripped things down and checked the "top hat" washer / spacer that sits behind the freehub. Apparently that can break if you've done the QR skewer up too tight. When I pulled the spacer off it was intact but then it broke into two bits whilst I inspected it, so a new one has been ordered (£8). I did find a post on Reddit from somebody who also said they couldn't backpedal and they sorted it with a new top hat. I hope that's the fix as a new freehub body is £55.
I also took the side panel off the turbo to check the belt but everything looked okay in there to my untrained eye.
Soldato
Out of curiosity, has anyone got any justification as to why something like the Kickr Core with a crappy bike would be any better than something like this given a similar price?
Can't seem to find an English site selling it so hopefully Google translates for you. It's compatible with Zwift etc, and would be adjustable so no worries about badly fitting bikes etc. Not quite sure how they class it as "up to 7hrs per week". Not sure what would happen beyond that!
Can't seem to find an English site selling it so hopefully Google translates for you. It's compatible with Zwift etc, and would be adjustable so no worries about badly fitting bikes etc. Not quite sure how they class it as "up to 7hrs per week". Not sure what would happen beyond that!
Soldato
You should be more worried about "usuarios de máximo 110 kilos." 
I'm joking 
It's rather an odd thing to state though, which does make you think maybe it's not so rugged? I can't see it saying what resistance it goes up to either?
It does look a good price though.
I'm joking It's rather an odd thing to state though, which does make you think maybe it's not so rugged? I can't see it saying what resistance it goes up to either?
It does look a good price though.
Caporegime
That is suspiciously cheap. Considering the Zwift ride thingy is £1200 and thats considered cheap for a bike albeit one that is essentially a trainer and a "smart frame". The one you linked to also has a built in tablet.
If it works well then its a bargain but I would want some reviews of it. What happens if the tablet breaks or simply gets old and doesn't support Zwift etc any more.
Have to say though, I love my Kickr bike. Its so much easier and better than my Kickr V5 and faffing with taking wheels off etc.
Soldato
You should be more worried about "usuarios de máximo 110 kilos."
It's rather an odd thing to state though, which does make you think maybe it's not so rugged? I can't see it saying what resistance it goes up to either?
It does look a good price though.
Cheeky *******
Yeah, definitely missing some details on max power capacity etc. Looks like it's just a tablet holder with an ipad on it from what i could see. Looks like the only screen is on the turny dial thing. Same bike at Decathlon here with a bit more info (albeit limited)
Looks to be the same as this one from Ion, albeit presumably it's name only as it's not on the Ion website
Soldato
Have seen a few people selling the Bkool smart bike for around €400 too. Sounds like it's basically silent, so might actually be awesome to stick in the front room with the tv. My wife can then be annoyed by the sound of me panting and grunting behind her (that definitely could be taken the wrong way 
)
road.cc
Someone also selling a Wattbike Atom X albeit a bit more expensive
)
Bkool Smart Bike
An interesting entry into the smart bike market from Bkool, but not without its issues
Someone also selling a Wattbike Atom X albeit a bit more expensive
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Soldato
well, I'm printing out some wahoo kicker core tennis ball "rockers" see how they perform. The pain goes from fun to not fun at around 1hr mark for me and I'd like to do some longer sessions so need some kind of give on the bike. If these don't work I may invest in a proper rocker plate?! - presuming those doing longer rides run them?
Associate
What sort of pain are you experiencing? I usually do 4-5 55-60 min sessions during the week and a 90 min - 2 hour session at the weekend, generally dont suffer any issues. When i was ramping up the amount i was doing a week i did get a little discomfort on the hip i injured after a fall around the 80 min mark, but getting out of the saddle for a minute or so it would subside and i could then get back into the saddle.
Soldato
just stiff lower back, I've adjusted my saddle angle a bit and that has helped to a point but I also think it's part of me simply not being used to riding. I've been at it for a couple months now around 3hrs a week so slowly getting more comfortable. I do try to get out of the saddle for a few and that does help massively so I'm sorta hoping that "extra" cushioning from the rocker will help more.
Associate
If you dont seem to have any issues out on the road then try the tennis ball rockers as the small amount of movement it will give you might help. As being on the trainer i find it hard being in a fixed position for a long time so i try and consciously change handle bar postion.
Soldato
different bike on the road that fits me much better, same issue after a longish ride tho but not as bad/quick as trainer so my logic is that its the stiff / lack of movement positioning on the trainer. I do change hand position often, that does help massively! I will be getting a proper bike fit soon so once I've got the numbers, I'll be able to try and adjust the trainer to match.
Associate
Sorry didn't realise you were switching between two bilkes, sounds getting a fit would be a good option. Though some fitters do offer a discount on a second bike and would be a good should if the differences between your two bikes are big enough.
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Soldato
Absolutely this. Made a huge difference to my zwifting comfort.
Soldato
well I finished printing them, got 8 tennis balls for £10 and it’s all setup. Seems to give a lot of extra cushioning and “movement” in the rear end. Doesn’t feel weird at all, more natural if anything.
650ish grams of filament
16 hours to print
£10 of tennis balls
5 mins to install.
So around £20 all in. Pretty good.
650ish grams of filament
16 hours to print
£10 of tennis balls
5 mins to install.
So around £20 all in. Pretty good.
Soldato
I replaced the broken top hat washer last night and had a very quick easy spin on Zwift. Back pedalling worked again and resistance seemed constant, so fingers crossed it was a cheap fix for once!
Glad you got it sorted, but afraid I'm on a KICKR v5. Had it since the start of 2022, never needed any troubleshooting or any reliability issues - so you don't hear me talking about it! That was after most of a year of faffing around with a second hand Tacx Neo which was ok, then I broke and needed a bunch of expensive repairs & parts on... It's still in a box. That was after a 3 years on a Tacx Flux, which slowly and gradually died in the last year getting less and less accurate. Again repairs (thankfully not expensive) all done by myself.
I've basically only had 1 Garmin device which has lived longer than 3 years - my VIRB camera, which is still working 10 years later. Obviously Garmin dropped their camera line (5-6 years ago) as they're too reliable. I've had 7 other Garmin devices, now almost all of them in landfill (although I donated the Flux to a local charity bike shop as it was kinda working, just not accurate).
Known 'good'. Reliable. Accurate. Quality support and backup from an international company. Will continue to be supported/updated.
If you're looking at that for Zwift, look at the amount of people riding Zwift on a Peloton bike. There are some, but very little crossover as they're not the same markets or product. They're not accurate and not supported.
Easily a far better purchase and safe/sensible investment than any of the others you've suggested
Hope they go well and they look really good... Hope they don't fall apart!
Soldato
Known 'good'. Reliable. Accurate. Quality support and backup from an international company. Will continue to be supported/updated.
If you're looking at that for Zwift, look at the amount of people riding Zwift on a Peloton bike. There are some, but very little crossover as they're not the same markets or product. They're not accurate and not supported.
Easily a far better purchase and safe/sensible investment than any of the others you've suggested
To be honest, accuracy isn't "that" accurate for me. I mainly just want it as an indoor bike to try and do some training sessions or get some riding in when it's dark over winter so it's not a case of "ride in daylight or not at all"
Annoyingly the Wattbike guy just isn't replying to messages. Might be shelving the purchase though. We're finally close to having planning permission approved (although i've been here multiple times since August in thinking this!). After initially being told they'd offer an element of mortgage on the land value. Now we're a little further along in the mortgage calculations they're now not sure if they can lend on that and there's a mortgage cap on rural new builds of 70% so no prospect of increasing the mortgage value against the actual build.
Annoying because we'd specced a few extra things on the house on the assumption we had the extra cash. Removing them now would require us to amend the planning application so need to try and find another 20k. Suggests an indoor bike isn't a priority, at least until we get this all resolved as the guy at the bank is seeing what he can do and whether an unsecured loan on the side would be possible.
Looks like for now i'm back to the cheap wheel on turbo the landlord left in the shed and my hardtail! Might then consider the Decathlon bike. Similar to Kickr Bike etc but only around €1200 and a 5yr warranty.
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