Indoor Trainers and Load Shedding

[The Ouzo]

I've been using my trainer with no power for about 20 years now,

[Edereese]

1 hour ago, Frosty said:

The Wahoo power adaptor is rated at 12Vdc / 5A

This is just a rating on the adapter, the trainer will draw much less. Shane Miller tested the output and it was less than 1 watt. According to ohms law even at 1 watt the unit is using 0.5 amps. All you need is a charging circuit for the battery... maybe get a few and swap them out with gate/ garage/ alarm etc so you'll always have a charged battery.

[Grease_Monkey]

Both the TacX Neo and ThinkRider (Insert model name here) don't need power to run. They work like the Concept2 ergs - just start pedaling and it powers up. I have been using a borrowed TacX Neo the last while to help with some rehab while I am not allowed on a bike outside, very convenient to be able to use the indoor trainer when the power is out. Almost a must have for me if I am buying an indoor trainer again. 

[Frosty]

https://support.wahoofitness.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001699930-Can-a-DC-to-AC-Inverter-Power-a-Wahoo-Smart-Trainer-
Any DC to AC power inverter rated 60W or higher that delivers 5A at 120V of AC power will be sufficient to power a KICKR, KICKR CORE, or KICKR SNAP.

[_David_]

32 minutes ago, Grease_Monkey said:

Both the TacX Neo and ThinkRider (Insert model name here) don't need power to run. They work like the Concept2 ergs - just start pedaling and it powers up. I have been using a borrowed TacX Neo the last while to help with some rehab while I am not allowed on a bike outside, very convenient to be able to use the indoor trainer when the power is out. Almost a must have for me if I am buying an indoor trainer again. 

 

I actually saw this yesterday when i was googling offgrid smart trainers. 

"Here's the full details on what you can expect if you take your Tacx Neo smart trainer off the grid and power it under your own steam".

 

Edited November 9, 2021 by _David_

[Andymann]

I have reverted to old faithful......

[Headshot]

Lol, just go ride a real bike on the mountain or road...

[MudLark]

1 hour ago, _David_ said:

 

I actually saw this yesterday when i was googling offgrid smart trainers. 

"Here's the full details on what you can expect if you take your Tacx Neo smart trainer off the grid and power it under your own steam".

 

Yes. I have a Neo2. I use it mainly for structured workouts. There's no difference in that context, whether its plugged in or not. It just works. OTOH, our house is also pretty much offgrid. So doesn't make a huge difference in my life either way.

[_David_]

20 hours ago, Headshot said:

Lol, just go ride a real bike on the mountain or road...

Wish I was so lucky, but I live in JHB and I work for a living, so most of my training happens early morning or late at night.

[JA-Q001]

53 minutes ago, _David_ said:

Wish I was so lucky, but I live in JHB and I work for a living, so most of my training happens early morning or late at night.

Same, I have to drive an hour to work and an hour back. Unfortunately those were my life choices. I did cycle to work for a while, but it becomes a lot, 2 hours to work and 2 hours back and I haven't done that after a car took me out just before lockdown.

I did not like riding a trainer, but a smart trainer and zwift changed that a lot and I now appreciate the flexibility and safety. Id rather spend the money on working to counter Eskom, than more lights and more hospital bills. 

[Muttley]

On 11/8/2021 at 1:57 PM, _David_ said:

I have an Ellies 1440W/2400VA Inverter with 2 x 100Ah lead acid batteries.

Never hooked the trainer up to the inverter but will give it a go tonight.

I have the same system which is hooked up to my trainer (Wahoo Kickr 3), mini PC and TV and it works perfectly...

Spent a few afternoons last week running the various "Norsk extension cables" from the inverter to all required bedrooms and pain cave. I just left the fan out of the equation.

Still need to neaten everything up ????

Edited November 10, 2021 by Muttley
trainer deets inserted

[Frosty]

23 minutes ago, JA-Q001 said:

Same, I have to drive an hour to work and an hour back. Unfortunately those were my life choices. I did cycle to work for a while, but it becomes a lot, 2 hours to work and 2 hours back and I haven't done that after a car took me out just before lockdown.

I did not like riding a trainer, but a smart trainer and zwift changed that a lot and I now appreciate the flexibility and safety. Id rather spend the money on working to counter Eskom, than more lights and more hospital bills. 

With a work from policy in place (started about 6 months before covid), I’ve used my afternoon drive time as my training time. Driving in traffic vs sitting on the indoor trainer, I’ll take the IDT any day. 3 days at home, 2 days at the office makes it possible.

[lechatnoir]

Unless I can power my fan as well, riding on a non-powered IDT won't work for me, so looking for a solution

[Muttley]

10 minutes ago, lechatnoir said:

Unless I can power my fan as well, riding on a non-powered IDT won't work for me, so looking for a solution

I used to plug a 60 or so watt fan into the inverter and barring the motor hum (it's a non sine wave inverter), it worked fine. I've since upgraded to a much larger fan but will see what load this puts on the inverter and see if it'll work.

 

[Frosty]

13 minutes ago, lechatnoir said:

Unless I can power my fan as well, riding on a non-powered IDT won't work for me, so looking for a solution

In 2015/16 when we had the last big round of lengthly load sheddings, I would ride outside, as in “on the patio, in the shade” where the wind blows and I get some natural cooling. 

Being off-grid doesn’t affect me now, but I’ll still take the bike outside occasionally.

[_David_]

43 minutes ago, lechatnoir said:

Unless I can power my fan as well, riding on a non-powered IDT won't work for me, so looking for a solution

Could try a rechargeable cordless fan or a 12v Camping fan but the decent ones are expensive.