Indoor Trainer - how to get a setup that I can share with my husband

[Sam van Dyk]

My husband and I are in the market for a second hand direct drive indoor trainer to replace the wheel on one we already have. Unfortunately the more I read about the various options the more I feel like we are going to get the wrong thing and then spend a bunch of money trying to fix the problems.

We would like to determine whether there is a way we can set up things so that we can both use one trainer, without it being a complete pain to change over between users. Problem is I am 1.65m tall and he is 1.82m tall, thus riding the same bike on the trainer will probably end up making one of us uncomfortable. Thus my questions:

• Is it difficult and or problematic to swop between bikes on a direct drive trainer (I realize each brand is a bit different, but in general)?
• Does any specific model of direct drive trainer make it easier to swop bikes (or conversely is there one we should avoid)?
• I have heard it is unadvisable to use your normal bike on a trainer regularly given it can damage things over time, should we avoid using our normal bikes on the trainer? (we are both on mountain bikes and he has a Shimano XT, 10-51, 12-speed cassette and I have a Shimano SLX 11-42 T cassette, so this may not be an option, but I am trying to consider everything)
• We already have "cheap" mountain bikes that we were using with the wheel on trainer, they have 21 Speed Cassettes (3 x 7 drive trains). If the indoor trainer had the correct cassette would these bikes work on a direct drive trainer or are they usually only compatible with 11 or 12 speed set up's?

I would be interested to hear how other couples that cycle get it right, given I am certain we are not alone and know a lot of people can't necessarily afford 2 complete indoor set ups?

I look forward to the opinions/advice.

[Chingy182]

Hi Sam

I don't have any solutions for you, but I am in the exact same boat.

I have an indoor trainer that I use with my road bike.

I am 1.9m tall and my wife is 1.6m

To complicate matters even further, my bike on the trainer is an 11-speed and her bike is a 10-speed.

We are left with 2 options, which is to buy a bike somewhere midway between both of our sizes and just fiddle with the adjustments every ride (both maybe left a little uncomfortable) or just to bite the bullet and buy her an IDT too (not really feasible at this stage with finances).

[TheoG]

22 minutes ago, Sam van Dyk said:

My husband and I are in the market for a second hand direct drive indoor trainer to replace the wheel on one we already have. Unfortunately the more I read about the various options the more I feel like we are going to get the wrong thing and then spend a bunch of money trying to fix the problems.

We would like to determine whether there is a way we can set up things so that we can both use one trainer, without it being a complete pain to change over between users. Problem is I am 1.65m tall and he is 1.82m tall, thus riding the same bike on the trainer will probably end up making one of us uncomfortable. Thus my questions:

• Is it difficult and or problematic to swop between bikes on a direct drive trainer (I realize each brand is a bit different, but in general)?
• Does any specific model of direct drive trainer make it easier to swop bikes (or conversely is there one we should avoid)?
• I have heard it is unadvisable to use your normal bike on a trainer regularly given it can damage things over time, should we avoid using our normal bikes on the trainer? (we are both on mountain bikes and he has a Shimano XT, 10-51, 12-speed cassette and I have a Shimano SLX 11-42 T cassette, so this may not be an option, but I am trying to consider everything)
• We already have "cheap" mountain bikes that we were using with the wheel on trainer, they have 21 Speed Cassettes (3 x 7 drive trains). If the indoor trainer had the correct cassette would these bikes work on a direct drive trainer or are they usually only compatible with 11 or 12 speed set up's?

I would be interested to hear how other couples that cycle get it right, given I am certain we are not alone and know a lot of people can't necessarily afford 2 complete indoor set ups?

I look forward to the opinions/advice.

I have a Elite Suito.  Yes it is a bit of a pain to swap bikes but not too bad,  a bit more cumbersome than changing the rear wheel of a bike.

You need to match whatever cassette is on the bike should also be on the trainer otherwise the shifting is not going to work.  The Suito can take any HG cassette up to 11 speed.

Front 1x/2x/3x is not an issue at all.

I see no reason using a your normal bike on the trainer would be detrimental in any way, only hassle is to swap.  Maybe better to have 1 (or in your case 2) cheaper bike for the trainer.

Edited January 12, 2022 by TheoG

[HdB]

We did it for a while.
Ideally the bikes should have the same speed cassettes, and both be Quick-Release or Thru-Axle.

If one is QR and the other thru-axle, it is a pain to change the adapters every time. Didn't take long on ours (Saris H2), but tedious to do every time and adds something that can get damaged.

Most of the trainers are compatible with 9-11speed Shimano/SRAM.

 

@Chingy182 - wouldn't it be an option to just upgrade your wife's bike to 11-speed as well, as a third option?
 

[TheoG]

2 minutes ago, Chingy182 said:

Hi Sam

I don't have any solutions for you, but I am in the exact same boat.

I have an indoor trainer that I use with my road bike.

I am 1.9m tall and my wife is 1.6m

To complicate matters even further, my bike on the trainer is an 11-speed and her bike is a 10-speed.

We are left with 2 options, which is to buy a bike somewhere midway between both of our sizes and just fiddle with the adjustments every ride (both maybe left a little uncomfortable) or just to bite the bullet and buy her an IDT too (not really feasible at this stage with finances).

You might consider having a 10sp and 11sp cassette and swapping between them depending on how difficult it is to swap on your IDT, mine is quite easy to swap cassettes.

[Chingy182]

5 minutes ago, HdB said:

We did it for a while.
Ideally the bikes should have the same speed cassettes, and both be Quick-Release or Thru-Axle.

If one is QR and the other thru-axle, it is a pain to change the adapters every time. Didn't take long on ours (Saris H2), but tedious to do every time and adds something that can get damaged.

Most of the trainers are compatible with 9-11speed Shimano/SRAM.

 

@Chingy182 - wouldn't it be an option to just upgrade your wife's bike to 11-speed as well, as a third option?
 

Yeah a 3rd option would be an upgrade to 11-speed

But I also forgot for a moment that her mtb is Thru-Axle and my road bike is Quick-Release...

Thanks for the painful reminder

 

 

 

[Paul Ruinaard]

Haha let me tell you my saga as to what i did for this issue after countless attempts to reach a happy medium.

2021 Lockdown lead to my wife not wanting to go to the gym any more. I had my Kickr and the spare road bike on it. Guess what - she took a liking to Zwift after a couple of tries to see if she could replace the Watt bikes she was using at Virgin, As we are the same height it wasn't a problem.

But then the issue becomes that you both want to train at the same time.  Final solution: we now have 2 Kickrs, monitors etc setup alongside each other - like anything with cycling as soon as your spouse gets into it everything doubles in cost. And then you start to manage bluetooth connections interfering with each other etc etc. 

Finally i am building a new house in Paarl and it has a "Zwifting" /training studio added on to accommodate us with this. I had some old road bike and gravel bikes that were not costly so they are the Zwift/Kickr bikes we are using .

Good luck - you will i think need to be very tolerant of each other and arrange training schedules accordingly and agree who will ride what events when if you have 1 x trainer.

 

 

[Sprockets]

I have a second hand direct drive trainer for sale in EC if you decide on getting a second. 

[DIPSLICK]

another option is sell off what you have and buy a good second hand Cyclops Phantom 5 or similar adjustable bike trainer, my mate and his wife both use the one cheap ipad or similar away you go 

[Steady Spin]

We share a road bike on the Kickr. Not ideal as it is a tad big for my fiance but so far we manage by just adjusting the saddle height. 
I put a shorter stem on to compensate for the reach. I'm considering going even shorter as she is complaining about it being too long still. 

I can cope better with a slightly cramped setup as I don't spend too much time on the hoods. 

A medium sized bike would be better. I'm considering selling the road bike though and replacing it with a hardtail mtb. 

Considering the boost adapter for our mountain bikes but I don't think the Kickr Core is compatible with 12spd cassettes. Bummer but also a pain to swop out bikes twice a day when we train. Extra cassette is also expensive. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Steady Spin

[shaper]

Keep the wheel on trainer you have and get the direct drive. Then you can have your individual bikes on each trainer.

Or as you said in your last point fit a 7 speed cassette to the new direct drive trainer and you should be fine using your old MTB's.  Many do https://forums.zwift.com/t/7-speed-cassette-on-a-direct-drive-trainer/524423/5

Edited January 12, 2022 by shaper

[Yyyy]

With all this hassle of a IDT  listed above, i have to ask why not just get a indoor bike that can read power and speed and can connect to whatever training device you use.

Something like a Cycle ops phantom or Concept 2 bike erg. Price wise its similar (if not cheaper) than getting a direct drive IDT and the hassle of having a dedicated training bike (in your case x2 for you and your husband).

this way both of you can use it and just adjust seat, reach, stack etc to make it fit either of you.

[lechatnoir]

My reference is with a Kickr, so here goes...

A 12sp drivetrain can work on the standard 11sp cassette IF I leave it one gear and use ERG mode. I will need to make sure the chosen gear isn't skipping though. Note that the standard cassette is road-focussed, so if shifting on an MTB, the B-screw will be way out and shifting may be affected

Different wheels sizes can lead to the bike tilting at the front and changing the height on a Kickr 4/5 is fussy - rather use a wheels block at the front for the bike that needs is

Dropout spacing and QR/thru-axle is an easy thing to swap on the Kickr and the biggest risk faced is losing the bits/getting grease on my hands.

 

[ACE Cycles]

Step 1 - Buy a trainer

Step 2 - Upgrade both bikes to 12 speed

Step 3 - Buy a second trainer to train together

 

Or just skip all the unnecessary steps and go straight to Step 3

 

As for what trainer to buy, Elite Suito/Direto, Kickr Core or Taxc Flux, these should all be more than sufficient and simple enough to take bikes on and off. 

 

I have an Elite Direto available if you're interested 

[DIPSLICK]

[TheoG]

9 minutes ago, ACE Cycles said:

Step 1 - Buy a trainer

Step 2 - Upgrade both bikes to 12 speed

Step 3 - Buy a second trainer to train together

 

Or just skip all the unnecessary steps and go straight to Step 3

 

As for what trainer to buy, Elite Suito/Direto, Kickr Core or Taxc Flux, these should all be more than sufficient and simple enough to take bikes on and off. 

 

I have an Elite Direto available if you're interested 

Whats the difference between a Suito and Direto?