Indoor road bike training ?

[IanD]

Pondering but not done any investigation yet into some kind of indoor training over winter.
As I'm very amateur road biking it is more about a basic level of fitness and preferably weight loss over the winter rather than a focus on maintaining or improving my biking level.

Definitely looking for something interactive or some kind of goal driven I think. Did Spin for years and really enjoyed those classes definitely wouldn't be motivated to sit in a room/garage at home pedalling for an hour like my best mate does unless someone can explain how that is exciting.

Work colleague (who had now left so I can't ask him) talked about turbo trainer thing connected to PC and there were a coupe of routes to join and do. He did time trialing and said the competitive element was good, that sounded interesting but no idea what the set needed or cost.

So any ideas/thoughts on what works and where is best to look to consider and investigate ?
Not wanting to spend loads so what are the critical basics as i don't want to do cheap but crap and then get bored.

Also great time to look as it is almost that time of year when I get the 'you are difficult to buy for, what do you want for Christmas'. Car bits costing £1000's don't seem to be the right answer to the question

Cheers.

[Dark]

Indoor training on a bike is boring - period!

The key over the winter is variety; to stay motivated and training regularly you need to mix up the activities or risk becoming bored and despondent.

The new generation of 'smart' turbo trainers will communicate with a PC or Tablet via Bluetooth or ANT+ which lets the computer set the resistance and measure power, etc. You can then use an app like Zwift, Sufferfest, FulGaz, etc to ride virtually. If you add a cadence sensor and heart monitor you'll get a good understanding of how hard you're working and how much you're improving. Ideally you want to setup the turbo trainer in a garage, shed or conservatory, it gets very hot if you're in doors and a big fan becomes essential. Note that not all the turbo trainers labelled as 'smart' have the interactive function, this one would be a good starting point, you might find something a bit nearer £200.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tacx-vortex-smart-trainer/

Alternatively why not give the velodrome a try? There are initial taster sessions and if you like it there's a 4-step accreditation process to complete. It's not difficult if you have a basic level of fitness and are confident riding in a group. Once accredited there are daily drop in sessions where you just turn up and ride for an hour, or if you're really enjoying it you can join the weekly track league.

http://www.emiratesarena.co.uk/cycling/ ... iders.aspx

Finally think about getting a cheap CX or MTB bike to ride over the winter and try to ride outside regardless. Stay off the main roads and find some cycle or canal paths to explore.

[cjm]

Dales in Glasgow have a road bike set up on a Wahoo Kickr and linked to Zwift if you want to try it. I had a go on it the other weekend it seemed pretty good. Zwift does seem like a good way to make indoor training more fun or interesting, I've also noticed a few of the Glasgow cycling clubs do group runs on it. The Wahoo Kickr felt great as well, but it is at the top end of smart trainers, something like the Tacx Vortex would do all the same things for a lot less.

[Scotty C]

buy a cyclecross bike and get outside

[IanD]

Thanks for replies and info.

I have got a MTB and still use it at times. We have a great off road 10mile loop starts 500yds from the house to Chatelherault Country Park, which can be done anytime, would just need some decent lights and more importantly the motivation to get changed and go outdoors in the evening, I've got a day job not at home so part of it is do it sometime when I feel like it even if it is 11pm, I'm not a get up early and go out guy but staying up to whatever time is easy.

Which is why I was thinking about indoors stuff and if it really works if you aren't a 'dedicated, I need to train' type of guy.
Will go see what Dales set up is about, I work 15mins walk away from it so can pop in and ask for a look and demo of it.

Guess if I'm not sure eBay is always good to trial buy, sell on for similar price if it isn't for you. Cycling must be full of guys with loads of money who buy it, never use it then sell it on.

[rawsco]

Indoor road biking is bad enough to make you actually want to go out in howling gales and snow and hail and rain as the better alternative. As a highly controlled method for interval training it’s very good and only when kept to less than an hour and you are motivated.

[Scottish Scrutineer]

I think indoor training using Zwift or similar gives more positive feedback than simply riding on a trainer. We've just bought a Wahoo Kickr and in use, it's much more realistic than other trainers I've looked at.
Not yet connected with Zwift, just using the programmed rides from my Wahoo Elemnt. Fairly easy to link everything up.


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[chris_c201]

Worth noting you don't need a smart trainer to use the "interactive" sites.

I've got a cheap "dumb" turbo trainer, ant+ adapter for my laptop and speed cadence sensor on the bike (total cost of c£80) and it works fine. I've signed up to "trainer road" and you select what turbo you have and what resistance level it's set to and it then simulate power. Trainer Road much more structured interval training based and has 1000's of programmes, lacks the interactive/competitive element of zwift but I'm a sadist so quite enjoy the harder interval sessions...

At some point I may invest in a proper smart trainer that has ant-cec (think that's what it's called) where the programme can control the resistance level on the turbo during the workout.... Not sure I use it enough to justify it though...

[111Robin]

Personally I find the interactive stuff too gimmicky. I use Trainerroad, a Stages power meter and a simple mag drive turbo. I don't see the point spending upwards of a grand on a smart trainer. Pick a training plan to suit your goals and follow it, you will get fitter and more importantly faster. Plus, use it all year round not just when the weather is sh*t. You just can't achieve the same effect only riding outdoors. Training is about quality not quantity and you only get that following a structured training plan indoors ( unless you're a pro' and can afford to spend 30+ hours a week riding your bike at the necessary intensity not just "getting the miles in)). Plenty old schoolers will bleat about this but it is proven to be true. And before you ask, I still cover a few thousand miles outdoors every year but it's the hours spent on the turbo that reap the benefits. The problem most folk have with a turbo is they stick it in the garage or they have to set it up every time and usually can't be arsed. I have a bike on the turbo full time in a spare room, massive turbo fan for cooling, big screen TV and hifi for playing loud music videos, and never have issues being motivated to train. Ultimately it depends on your goals and how serious you are about training. Forget spin classes though, complete waste of time (for improving your bike performance that is, if you just want to burn calories then it's ok)

[cjm]

Personally I find the interactive stuff too gimmicky. I use Trainerroad, a Stages power meter and a simple mag drive turbo. I don't see the point spending upwards of a grand on a smart trainer. Pick a training plan to suit your goals and follow it, you will get fitter and more importantly faster. Plus, use it all year round not just when the weather is sh*t. You just can't achieve the same effect only riding outdoors. Training is about quality not quantity and you only get that following a structured training plan indoors ( unless you're a pro' and can afford to spend 30+ hours a week riding your bike at the necessary intensity not just "getting the miles in)). Plenty old schoolers will bleat about this but it is proven to be true. And before you ask, I still cover a few thousand miles outdoors every year but it's the hours spent on the turbo that reap the benefits. The problem most folk have with a turbo is they stick it in the garage or they have to set it up every time and usually can't be arsed. I have a bike on the turbo full time in a spare room, massive turbo fan for cooling, big screen TV and hifi for playing loud music videos, and never have issues being motivated to train. Ultimately it depends on your goals and how serious you are about training. Forget spin classes though, complete waste of time (for improving your bike performance that is, if you just want to burn calories then it's ok)

If you have a good accurate power meter you can get away with a cheaper trainer, but it really depends what your goals are. If you are just looking to improve fitness then you don't have to spend a lot, but if you want accurate, consistent numbers to do structured training with it helps to spend a bit.

Is it just me or has the forum layout switched round?!

[Dark]

Board upgrade.... viewtopic.php?f=12&t=43476

[111Robin]

Personally I find the interactive stuff too gimmicky. I use Trainerroad, a Stages power meter and a simple mag drive turbo. I don't see the point spending upwards of a grand on a smart trainer. Pick a training plan to suit your goals and follow it, you will get fitter and more importantly faster. Plus, use it all year round not just when the weather is sh*t. You just can't achieve the same effect only riding outdoors. Training is about quality not quantity and you only get that following a structured training plan indoors ( unless you're a pro' and can afford to spend 30+ hours a week riding your bike at the necessary intensity not just "getting the miles in)). Plenty old schoolers will bleat about this but it is proven to be true. And before you ask, I still cover a few thousand miles outdoors every year but it's the hours spent on the turbo that reap the benefits. The problem most folk have with a turbo is they stick it in the garage or they have to set it up every time and usually can't be arsed. I have a bike on the turbo full time in a spare room, massive turbo fan for cooling, big screen TV and hifi for playing loud music videos, and never have issues being motivated to train. Ultimately it depends on your goals and how serious you are about training. Forget spin classes though, complete waste of time (for improving your bike performance that is, if you just want to burn calories then it's ok)

If you have a good accurate power meter you can get away with a cheaper trainer, but it really depends what your goals are. If you are just looking to improve fitness then you don't have to spend a lot, but if you want accurate, consistent numbers to do structured training with it helps to spend a bit.

Is it just me or has the forum layout switched round?!

If you use a power meter indoors and outdoors you can train accurately using a simple turbo coupled with an app such as Trainerroad. I chose Stages crank power meter as i can swap it easily between bikes. This also ensures that my power data is consistent indoors and outdoors. When i started with power training i didn't have a power meter so used virtual power on trainerroad. This isn't that accurate as far as actual wattage is concerned but it doesn't matter what the number is as long as you are using the values to set the training zones it still works.

[111Robin]

This is my setup although I'm now using the android app so no longer need the laptop. I just cast a YouTube playlist to the TV now but spend most of the time staring at the power output on the phone. This is the one main advantage of having a smart trainer, you don't need to pay any attention to the output as whatever cadence you're pedaling at the trainer automatically adjusts resistance to maintain the watts defined by the app so you just have to pedal. Personally I've never had any issues in this respect, as long as you select an appropriate gear you just need to maintain a steady cadence to remain on target. Concentrating on maintaining the correct output helps the time pass anyway. I have a remote control for the fan mounted on the fork so I can ramp it up once I've warmed up. Works very well and it's always ready to go so no excuses for putting off training.

20160126_155445 by Robin Derrick, on Flickr

[Scottish Scrutineer]

What size of TV is that Robin? Or what would you recommend for TR?
At the moment just using the built in training programmes on the Elemnt, but TrainerRoad appeals to me for training variety. I might look at Zwift, but not really a gamer, so not certain it will appeal. I'm quite happy to focus on the numbers and with a good music playlist, an hour session passes quickly.
A session on the trainer is much more time efficient than a spin class, even if I need to swap Katharine's bike off the trainer. With a smart trainer, you can't cheat the resistance either


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[IanD]

Thanks for all replies and the thoughts, not just about the tec but for making me start to think about what I want to get out of it.
Maybe I do need a target to make sure I keep the interest rather than my thoughts that if I enjoy it, I'll keep doing it.