Entry-level smart trainer

[Rowl]

I'm a mountain biker with a 26er on the trainer and a 29er out on the trails. I've been riding this way for over 6 years now and it just makes life so much easier.

 

Normally the more you have to fiddle with a bike / trainer prior to a session to less likely you are to get the maximum effort for the amount of time you have available.

 

Trainers are amazing if you only have 35-45 min to train, now imagine you have to fiddle for 15 min before every ride, now you only have 25 - 35 min to train .

Sold the indoor trainer due to the hassle. Go with what the man said.

[OnTheRicky]

So almost ready to get this going... I just have a few more questions I hope you guys could help with please.

 

With a wheel-on trainer, do you need to calibrate each time you ride, or only if I remove the bike and attach it again?

 

Then, what would be the best solution for a setup that my wife and I could share? She is 155 cm and I'm 178 cm, so I was thinking maybe using the same bike with a medium frame could work or is this a bad idea?

 

Is there anything else I'm not considering?

[ChrisF]

 

I've had the Satori Smart for over 2 years and currently have the Flow. The Satori is great value for money but it's very difficult to match the power and cadence from the app (either Sufferfest or Zwift) - you tend to either pedal too light or too hard because the 10 level resistance lever has a definite change when adjusting the levels. It does help if you can play with your gears whilst on the bike as well. But this is still a mission. 

 

The Flow on the other hand has a full ERG mode and adjusts according to your 4DP (Sufferfest specific) - This makes a huge difference.

 

Here's what I wrote to another hubber recently:

 

https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/172383-indoor-trainer-plug-and-play/ 

 

I'm going to be so bold as to outline why its a bad idea to try and put your 1x12 Eagle set-up onto a trainer and then add the solution at the bottom after my essay   .

 

1st: If you take your current mtb set-up and put it onto a trainer you will most definitely sell the trainer after the first use. The reason for this statement is two to three fold - 

1) There will be nothing remotely easy or plug and play about having to install your bike onto a trainer, calibrating the trainer and then starting the training session - even the direct drive trainers still requires some assembly

2) The mtb tire will make such a racket that you'll not be able to hear anything else other than the noise of the wheel (if you go the cheaper option of the tire on the flywheel not direct drive option) - think 4x4 tires on the highway

3) Think wear and tear, remember km's on the drive train whether indoors or outdoors is the same thing. 

 

Now you've started to think how you would go about over coming the above mentioned and now you realize that if you get yourself another rear wheel with a slick and cassette you'll reduce the noise and you go through slightly less effort every time you want to train. You will then soon realize that by getting yourself a spare wheel will mean that you need to get another 12 speed cassette to fit and then trying to get someone to sell you just the rear wheel is easier said than done. 

Going with a direct drive trainer where the rear wheel is not required is an option but they go for R15k upwards. 

 

You will then decide that maybe its just too much effort and you'll scrap the whole idea all together   .

 

Now here's my solution to resolve all the above mentioned and also achieve your original wish of "no mess, no fuss" easy riding get up and go.

 

Look on the Hub for a 26er in your size (you can also build said bike - I prefer to build) - will be in the region of R3k 

 

Get yourself a Tacx Satori Smart, Flow, Vortex, Bushido or any other brand like the Wahoo then install the 26er onto the trainer and leave your current bike off the trainer. 

The Flow is currently going for R 6 499.00 from Cycle Lab: http://cyclelab.com/...-flow-trainer/ 

So the total spend on your new purchase = R 9 499.00 for a permanent solution and when you're training indoors you don't have to worry about wearing out the drive train on your mtb or the mission of putting it onto and taking it off the trainer  

 

 

WISH I read this before buying an indoor trainer ....

 

YES - the rear wheel made such a racket that the unit was put aside for a few months, then finally put on the top shelf ..... Went through all the steps of considering a spare rim and tire ... thankfully never committed to that.

 

 

 

Been thinking of a dedicated 26'' trainer for a while .... a wet winter and lack of saddle time may well make this happen ...

[ChrisF]

So almost ready to get this going... I just have a few more questions I hope you guys could help with please.

 

With a wheel-on trainer, do you need to calibrate each time you ride, or only if I remove the bike and attach it again?

 

Then, what would be the best solution for a setup that my wife and I could share? She is 155 cm and I'm 178 cm, so I was thinking maybe using the same bike with a medium frame could work or is this a bad idea?

 

Is there anything else I'm not considering?

 

Friend trained for the Ironman - doing a lot of saddle time in the gym .... these bikes are not optimally setup and she sustained some injuries ....

 

The ideal all purpose trainer should allow you to move the saddle up-down and forward-backward - with some ease so that it can be set up for either rider.  Same with the handle bar.

 

 

such a machine may look more like a lab experiment than a standard bike though ...    But hey, it may well be possible to make something like this ...

 

 

 

Imagine something like this :

1) frame to suit your wife, with the saddle and handle bars in the correct positions.

 

2) quick-release, remove her saddle .... slip in a hacked saddle pin that provides your height AND moves the saddle far enough back so that the "knee-over-pedal" position works for you.  Now hack a bracket to provide you with a second handle bar at a height and reach that works for you (brakes and gears can remain on the first bar only)

 

So swopping between riders is just a quick release and swopping out the saddles ....

 

 

EDIT - this obviously only applies IF you follow Robert's advise for a single dedicated trainer bike.

[RobertWhitehead]

Let me see if I can answer your questions  .

 

With a wheel-on trainer, do you need to calibrate each time you ride, or only if I remove the bike and attach it again? - I only calibrate when I remove the bike from the trainer, this is also not such a big deal because the flywheel adjustments are fixed with a knob and if you release it it uses a different lever. I found that the calibration very seldom goes out of whack, unless you play with "your" knob      . Even if you pump the rear tire does it have a massive effect on the calibration. 

 Also - the Tacx calibration takes around 25 seconds depending on how quickly you can get the rear wheel up to 30km/h  .

 

Then, what would be the best solution for a setup that my wife and I could share? She is 155 cm and I'm 178 cm, so I was thinking maybe using the same bike with a medium frame could work or is this a bad idea? - A medium frame could work, My "free" suggestion will be to do a setup for both yourself and your wife and then carry those values over to the bike which you're planning on using - You'll probably end up only having to adjust the saddle and possibly fit a shorter the stem  . Make a line for yourself and wife on the seat post and you'll be set to go. Now you'll ask: Where does the "free" come in? Not to fret, have a look at this link: https://www.competitivecyclist.com/Store/catalog/fitCalculatorBike.jsp - BOOM!  . Now I believe that you've picked up that I like testing stuff and this link has also been put through its paces  . I've been for two setups at two different places and their findings versus the findings from this link is almost spot on  . 

 

Is there anything else I'm not considering?  - Take a moment to think about the logistics of where you would put your new steed. If you're anything like me you'll end up getting quite annoyed if you had to either take 30 min to set up the bike every time you wanted to use it in the let's say the TV room (for example) or you had to first "make space" around the bike in the garage or where ever  .

Also, when you start looking for a trainer really try to get the best you can afford. Trainers do go on special from time to time and or get a second hand on here on the Hub. For me an indoor trainer is a "go-to" solution when 

• I'm pressed for time (which is normally every day during the week - I travel to Jhb every day)
• Getting the most out of the time you do have. I used a "dumb trainer" for about 18 months before getting the "smart trainer" and it made a world of difference in my fitness when I did the switch. Then when I went from the "low IQ smart trainer" (Satori) over to the "higher IQ smart trainer" (Flow), again I noticed a significant improvement in the way I train. 

 

So almost ready to get this going... I just have a few more questions I hope you guys could help with please.

With a wheel-on trainer, do you need to calibrate each time you ride, or only if I remove the bike and attach it again?

Then, what would be the best solution for a setup that my wife and I could share? She is 155 cm and I'm 178 cm, so I was thinking maybe using the same bike with a medium frame could work or is this a bad idea?

Is there anything else I'm not considering?

[OnTheRicky]

Thanks for everyone's input!

 

I'm actually starting to lean towards getting a Kickr and then both of us could just use our own bikes. The idea of sharing one bike that doesn't really fit either of us doesn't feel right. (I know this is completely different from my initial requirement and the thread title)

 

Few new problems with this is... We have different groupsets, so I think I might also upgrade the wife's bike to 1x12. In the mean time I think we should both be able to train on my bike with some minor seat adjustments.

 

Does anyone know if the Wahoo Kickr 2018 or Kickr Core works perfectly fine with Eagle derailleurs? From my research it's a mixed bag of either only in ERG mode or completely yes

[RobertWhitehead]

There goes the first two words of the thread - you should now update it to just: Smart-Trainer 

 

Thanks for everyone's input!

I'm actually starting to lean towards getting a Kickr and then both of us could just use our own bikes. The idea of sharing one bike that doesn't really fit either of us doesn't feel right. (I know this is completely different from my initial requirement and the thread title)

Few new problems with this is... We have different groupsets, so I think I might also upgrade the wife's bike to 1x12. In the mean time I think we should both be able to train on my bike with some minor seat adjustments.

Does anyone know if the Wahoo Kickr 2018 or Kickr Core works perfectly fine with Eagle derailleurs? From my research it's a mixed bag of either only in ERG mode or completely yes