Pedal Power Thread

digitalfailure said:
No turbo for me, I did about 40 mins on one during a bike fit and went out of my mind [emoji33]
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I reckon that would happen to me for a he sheer going nowhere (unless you can afford a virtual trainer)

Nothing beats being on the road but dark mornings and nights does curb the enthusiasm just a tad.
 
Buck said:
Do any of you guys use a turbo trainer for the darker/wetter months?

I'm looking at one to help keep the fitness up over the coming months as I'm finding it harder and harder to find the time on a weekend and weekday evenings are a no-no now it is dark so early.

I've seen the Tacx Satori Smart trainer and it can be linked up to Zwift or BKool to get interactive training. (Not sure how this works in reality as I need to do more research) I don't want to spend a fortune on one so looking around the £150-170 price range.

I think @TheBigYin uses one but not sure about @digitalfailure or @stupar etc.?

Any help/advice greatly appreciated.
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Yep, I use one - at the moment, I'm prettty much restricted to riding on one (doctors orders) because it allows me to do controlled efforts, no "surprise - turn a corner and get a ridiculous headwind" or similar, plus if I start to feel less than 100% I can simply climb off and be at home in the bike-cave rather than 15 miles from home at the roadside.

If you were thinking of using the Satori with your computer as an interactve trainer (which I can actually recommend BTW - for "just riding" the distraction of other riders to chase/ be chased by and the computer generated scenery really helps you to get a decent session in without getting bored out of your mind. And, the recently launched "training mode" is actually quite good for proper "structured" training and development - though at the moment it's probably a few steps behind something like "TrainerRoad" software, which has many more plans and programs to follow...

To link the Satori Smart with Zwift, all you'd need is a USB2 Ant+ dongle (I recommend the Suunto one) and (depending on the location of the trainer with relation to your computer, a USB2 2m extension cable to put the "dongle" somewhere on the floor near to the trainer. If you've already got an ANT+ heartrate chestband (say for a Garmin computer) then it'll also pair with this and read your pulse as you ride (handy to monitor that you're not going to "blow up" on the KoM sections ;) )

You can download the Zwift software at the moment, and actually use it without a trainer - basically it's a gaming platform, where you can join and "watch" the action - basically "riding along" with someone and get a feel of how it looks.... sadly, we're coming to the end of the free Beta test now - I think theres something like another 6 days remaining, so if you want a preview, get in quick...

it's quite impressive though...

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and one from the "Haloween Special" look that we had yesterday...

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Cheers Mark

Looks interesting. Even at £8 pm that is £1 per ride if I use it two evenings per week. Shame you can't use it with an iPad as it'll mean me having to put a PC in the garage to connect it all up! More food for thought.

Out of interest what trainer have you got?

PS good luck with the ongoing recovery.
 
I've an old (pre 'smart version' ) Tacx Bushido. Great hardware, but only fully supported with Tacx's own software. It still works with Zwift etc because I've also got the Stages Powermeter, but with the Tacx own brand software, and the associated DVD real video training, it's pretty stunning. Problem is, the Tacx DVD stuff is just a little too intense for my current state of play.

Try riding a turbo without the interactive stuff for a month or so... You'll soon realise that a quid a ride is well worth the money ;)
 
Oh, and maybe have a look at TrainerRoad if you want something on the iPad... I'm pretty sure they have an app version, though if it supports the Satort Smart, I couldn't say off the top of my head...
 
Thanks Mark

I've got a price match on the trainer (plus approval from Mrs Buck;)) so tempted to order this. Was thinking of getting s spare rear wheel plus cassette that j can have s trainer tyre on and just switch out the wheel rather than change the tyre When I can get to ride outside
 
Cheap rear wheel/cassette and a good trainer tyre (the continental one is great, I've had 3 winters out of mine and it's still perfect) is definitely the way to go... I actually have a pair of winter wheels for the road bike, and just drop the trainer tyre on the summer best wheels for the indoor season...
 
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Zwift looks pretty decent, tried to download it for a free trial, but unfortunately my Macbook Air doesn't meet the minimum spec required. Shame! :(
 
Dalton said:
Zwift looks pretty decent, tried to download it for a free trial, but unfortunately my Macbook Air doesn't meet the minimum spec required. Shame! :(
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Ah that's a shame.

i downloaded it and looks pretty good.

My frustration was that I went to order my turbo trainer and out of stock until the end of the month - I think I will trial Zwift then and see if it helps with the fitness/boredom although this does mean setting up a computer in my garage!
 
Wiggle have advertised their Black Friday event but no details as yet.

I'm looking to get a Garmin device - does anybody know what kind of deals they had last year? (I'm just wondering whether to wait or "Buy Now")
 
Buck said:
Wiggle have advertised their Black Friday event but no details as yet.

I'm looking to get a Garmin device - does anybody know what kind of deals they had last year? (I'm just wondering whether to wait or "Buy Now")
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If you are after a Garmin, you won't go far wrong with the 520 which is already 21% off at the moment at Wiggle (£189.99 for unit only or £239.99 with HRM/ speed/ cadence). Superb bit of kit.
 
Any recommendations from the masses for a decent quality Action cam that it small enough to mount below my garmin 810 on a k edge double out front mount? Camera needs to be small enough to not get tangled in the cables.

I have a trip to Majorca in the spring and Sa Calobra is in need of recording :D
 
The session would appear to be ideal due to its small form factor, but every review I've read suggests the video quality is lacking behind the hero 4 silver. But as these reviews are often done by people who're well into that particular field i'm not sure if they're just really picky. A cycling trip with me in the saddle is never going to be oscar material at any stretch of the imagination :D
 
Yeah, I watched that video the other day. I'd probably only record in 720*60 anyway to save space against smoothness. The reviews seem to slam the session for not being as good as the more expensive black and never actually say if real world average filming is acceptable.
 
I'd be quite happy with that quality tbh, my footage is likely to be a damn site slower and bumpier too!
 
turbo trainer arrived today, got a good deal on a bushido smart from Chain reaction, now to get the shed sorted out :D
 
dod said:
turbo trainer arrived today, got a good deal on a bushido smart from Chain reaction, now to get the shed sorted out :D
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Almost ditto.

My Tacx Satori Smart was delivered to work today (shame I was off today) after it came back in stock and I got Wiggle to,price match another offer.

Just on the look out for a cheap rear wheel now so I don't have to mess with swapping tyres over etc.

I've got a spare flat screen TV upstairs so am going to put that on the garage wall and hook up my laptop to run Zwift. Without something like that my motivation would be very limited.

I know what I'll be doing Monday evening :D
 
Buck said:
I've got a spare flat screen TV upstairs so am going to put that on the garage wall and hook up my laptop to run Zwift. Without something like that my motivation would be very limited.

I know what I'll be doing Monday evening :D
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I was just planning using the ipad to start with. Forgot to order the ant+ dongle though :(
 
dod said:
I was just planning using the ipad to start with. Forgot to order the ant+ dongle though :(
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I got mine from wiggle with a price match to bike discounts so just over £15 inc delivery (y)

You might need a USB extension cable as well so the dongle is as near to the bike as possible. I got a 5m one from eBay for around £1.50!!
 
neil_g said:
weather like this i wish i had a garage.

everything for the tranny has now arrived so got a shed full of bike bits that need putting together and nowhere to do it.
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Isn't it tradition that these kind of things have to be done in the front room !!
 
Is that the standard USB dongle? Best I can fin for a 30pin is about £45 :(
 
Buck said:
You might need a USB extension cable as well so the dongle is as near to the bike as possible.
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yeah - basically, if you can get the Dongle within 6" of the resistance unit, it'll be much more reliable and have less dropouts... for mine, I have the dongle in a 3m extension cable, that feeds through a hole in the trainer-mat, and is pretty much under the bottom bracket of the bike (as I'm using a old Bushido, which is not actually controlled by the Zwift software, and it's picking up the power signals from the Stages Powermeter instead - but it's the same principle)
 
dod said:
I was just planning using the ipad to start with. Forgot to order the ant+ dongle though :(
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Bushido Smart (T2780 ) should connect to the iPad via bluetooth smart - dowload the Tacx Utility (to update the firmware to the latest version - or at least check that it already is at the latest version) and the Tacx Training App - which will allow you to get started using the bushido, and use the iPad to control it, or to do the various sessions...

http://www.tacx.com/en/products/software/app-for-smartphones

http://www.tacx.com/en/products/software/app-for-tablets

a USB dongle would be used for linking a PC or MAC running Zwift or TrainerRoad (there's some others as well that may work - Kinomap iirc) and allowing the computer software to control the Bushido's resistance etc. AND to display your input from riding as a visual on the PCs screen.
 
I'm pretty sure the Tacx iPad/iPhone software WILL work straight off the bat with the Bushido Smart, but I'm not sure that Zwift's PC software supports Bluetooth linking (though there's something they're beta-trialling in the Zwift iOS app that uses the iOS device as a bluetooth "bridge" - it collects the signal from the devices via BT, and forwards it over WiFi if I understand it properly (it's something that was launched 2 days ago, and I haven't anything that particularly needs it so I haven't experimented with it... And, in fairness, I was on a "rest day" yesterday anyway.)
 
I hadn't seen anything saying that but I might be able to get it set up tomorrow. I'll try it and see, cheers guys :)
 
After a club ride today that saw me looking like a finalist in the big snorkelling championships I'm coming to think a turbo might be an easy way of getting the base miles in over the winter.

Hit me with recommendations for one that'll connect to my iPad 3 please chaps and doesn't make too much noise.
 
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