Turbo Trainer Advice

How stupid an idea is it to use a MTB for a turbo biek (assuming howard doesn't murder me for the thought).

Its general fitness / over-unders / intervals rather than targeting specific events. So far I can think of Q factor / different geo/position being the obvious problems, but I'm thinking having a bike on the turbo most of the time and actually doing the training would trump the half hearted attempts I make currently when I can be bothered to put the nice bike on it

If it fits in the turbo, there is no reason not to use it. Specificity is nice and all but if using something different actually allows you to train at all then do it. Besides, riding the turbo is already 'different' so it matters not.

You'll only become fitter on your mtb..

It'll be fine.

Now that I think about it, the only issues I had with using a mountain bike were the gears being a little low and widely spread, as my trainer doesn't have manually adjustable resistance.

I use neighbourhood pets and small children fed into the bladed spokes of the rear wheel to increase resistance levels to what I require.

I expect everything just gets drawn in by the raw power.

Or the sheer mass....

#hippyisfat

Force Mass Motion

I happen to have a few spare road cassettes (although none go down to 11, boo) so I have slightly tighter gearing, and have let the pressure in the tire down a bit to generate more drag. But really it seems like a great excuse to 1x11 ... ! (?)

Mine was an old mtb frame I didn't use, so put on a road chainset with 44/56. I'm sure you could handle that gearing off-road ;-)

and have let the pressure in the tire down a bit to generate more drag

Never really found that to make much difference.

So the wife and I have decided to create a 'training room' for the winter months. She has given me Carte Blanche to select a turbo to strap to my Cervelo. Given the puncture horrors I've read here, it seems that direct drive is a good idea, but what do you guys recommend? It's worth noting that I already have a power meter, so do I need a 'smart' trainer? Actually what the hell is a smart trainer anyway? Any opinions appreciated!

smart trainers can connect to your PC, iPad, Garmin etc to display speed, cadence, power.

Some can automatically change resistance to simulate hills, and adjust resistance for various power based workouts.

With visual aids, like videos with incline/intensity data, the trainer can match the slope, so that you can pretend you are climbing Ventoux for example.

'Smart' generally refers to one that will connect to your computer and automatically change resistance. So for things like Zwift it feels like you're actually riding up and down hills/mountains.
Smart trainers will generally also have some form of power measured or estimated too.
Direct drive ones are good, just more expensive than the more traditional ones but you don't have to mess around with a spare wheel and the associated mystery punctures etc. Also you don't have to worry about the tyre slipping (more a problem with some brands than others).

One thing to consider how easy it is to change the resistance. The Wahoo Kickr for example is great, but you need to use an app on your phone to adjust the resistance on the fly which isn't great while you're covered in sweat and your finger is no longer recognised by the screen. The JetBlack WhisperDrive would be my choice because it uses a manual resistance lever.

I want both fluid resistance and direct drive.

I've only seen the Elite ons though. Any others?

@Sumo thanks for the recommendations, I ruddy love data so kickr might work better for me

@Smallfurry Is fluid better than magnetic?

Tredz do interest free on tacx neo 2800.

They'll all give you data. If they have in built power then they'll also do cadence and that. As you have a power meter you've got all that stuff already though.
Fluid is meant to give a more realistic road feel than magnetic and be slightly quieter, but in practice I really doubt anyone would be able to tell the different by feel. Also any fluid one that you can change the resistance on will also be magnetic, but that's how the resistance is changed.
Generally the more inertia/bigger the flywheel, the better the road feel. Likewise some will go to higher simulated % slopes or higher watts resistance than others. But the differences aren't great. I think it would be hard to justify 3 times the price for the Tacx Neo over the Jetblack WhisperDrive

My super magneto pro kills my legs.

There'll be a few factors at play there though.

To be honest that Jetblack looks good for the money.

Yeah I think you guys are right. I already have loads of data (which I barely understand) on my rotor 2inpower + Garmin 820 combo. The more I read about active 'smart' trainers the less I see the point. Surely the benefit of a turbo is to do sweet spot intervals on fixed resistances right?

They are brilliant for controlled efforts. So whatever intervals you want really.

For me controlling resistance by simply shifting into a higher gear seems the best. I don't want any other features. I have trainer road which will display my wattage, cadence etc. on my laptop via the sensors I already have on my bike. So I can do all the training vids etc.

That said I have 3 resistance curves on mine. Which allowed me to hit sweetspot at 85 rpm on the fixed gear. So some adjustability has been handy.

I still hate it though.

I've just bought a house, and need all new white goods. But all I can focus on is a replacement for my horrible turbo when I set p the new training space.

Lmfao. Priorities right!

My last event is sept 24th so I will purchase a DD turbo on October 1st - bring on the pain

Any Fluid DD turbos that aint overtly "smart"?

I'm the opposite. I prefer leaving the bike in a set gear and changing the resistance. I use zwift mostly because it shows me my current watts and what it should be at, how long for etc.

Just so I understand @Smallfurry @Sumo what are you guys training for? Crits, TTs or mountains? I guess that would affect your training regime right?

Personally I'm training for crits, so lots of intervals and sweet spot sessions.

Any Fluid DD turbos that aint overtly "smart"?

Elite are soon to release one called the Kura...

https://www.evanscycles.com/elite-kura-b-direct-drive-trainer-EV286434