Turbo Trainer Advice

I got a Tacx vortex smart in May last year with warranty and everything for £190 when it looked like they were discontinued but the secondhand prices of £250-300 seem to suggest it’s a bit good for a “wheel on” trainer or else there is some crazy COVID premium price thing going on

Got a Peloton Bike+ a few weeks ago, couldn't find a dedicated Peloton thread so started one here:

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/355685

Anyone else got one? Questions?

Questions?

why

I wanted a smart turbo, Mrs is not a cyclist but did enjoy the odd spin class at the gym in The Before Times. I was never going to get away with taking up the little spare room we have with a turbo set up only I would use, so it was Peloton or nothing.

Not quite a smart turbo as doesn’t connect to zwift, Traineroad, rouvy etc, but I’m told the Peloton workouts / spin classes are actually quite good though.

I got a Wattbike Atom for a similar reason, though my wife hasn’t used it much yet...

Apparently there's a way you can sideload Zwift on it but it's sub-optimal, not looked into it yet. I've found the classes pretty good so far and the Mrs is getting just as much use out of it as I am.

Hardcore roadies are clearly not their target demographic, but some of the climb and power zone classes are pretty tough.

The power meter on the bike+ is apparently pretty accurate so it'll be interesting to see what kind of progress I make on my FTP over the next few months.

My mate got a Watt bike for him and his misses. He got the Pro model ‘cos he’s ‘ard.’ But his misses couldn’t even push the pedals round on the lowest power setting. An expensive mistake as she needed a turbo for her training.

I thought that can't be right, but just looked at the power table, and it says it takes 150w for 90rpm on a wattbike pro on lowest resistance level, so you're probably right.

I sold my Flux last year when we moved overseas but i'm now trying to train out of an injury and would like to replace it.

Is there any reason not to go for a Kickr Core? I'd like a Neo 2T but they are a bit of a stretch at the moment

I finally caved and replaced my old fluid turbo with a Neo 2T a couple of weeks back. First impressions are very good. ERG is good for my trainer road workouts and keeps things honest. I had a bad habit of going over on intervals and sometimes straying out of the intended zone, so this is good for discipline. Sim mode is definitely more interesting on long rides too.

I do have an issue that I’d like to try to understand though. I did a Fulgaz ride a couple of days ago (Stelvio) which I did in sim mode. Tapping away at tempo (bang in the middle of z3) and keeping the cadence realistic for a long climb (85rpm) it took 90 minutes. This wouldn’t have felt particularly taxing on the old turbo and according to HR it was similar on the Neo. However, RPE felt a bit higher and the day after I was left with some DOMS in the glutes and lower back.

Now, I’ve climbed many mountains IRL and at much higher power with none of the soreness I’m being left with after that. So, I’m trying to work out what’s happening differently to affect the muscles in this way and is it a good or bad thing? The Neo feels like it’s forcing me to use muscles differently.

It is. You don't get the same momentum on a turbo and you tend not to move around to the same extent. I dislike the feel of climbing on the turbo but with a decent gear choice and smoother cadence it can be 'tamed' a bit.

with a decent gear choice and smoother cadence it can be 'tamed' a bit

But when riding in sim mode it forces you to use lower gears (as you would IRL), so not sure how to change that. Is that where “slope scaling” comes into play? I have it set to 100% to keep things supposedly realistic, but maybe it should be dialled back so I can climb in the big ring with greater inertia?

Yeah, imo 100% on a neo is way too much. Dial it down significantly and it feels much more natural.

Good to hear.

Out of interest, where do you tend to have yours set?

Yeah, for vEveresting though it has to be 100% but most people suggest turning it down for realism.

30 to 40% but it depends on your weight too. Iirc the "realism" is benchmarked on someone 75kg

Also it depends on whether you want to simulate riding with tractor tyres or superfast tubs etc, so best is to have a play and don't be afraid to make big changes to it.

30 to 40% but it depends on your weight too.

Wow! That’s quite a difference.

I weigh 67kg and ride 25mm GP5000’s. So should I try something like 50%? Apologies, but I don’t really know what I’m doing here.

I dont think there is a real right or wrong, just what feels best - so yeah, try 50% and maybe 75 and 25 to give yourself an idea of what might work best for you.

Great, will have a play.

Thanks for the advice

Now, I’ve climbed many mountains IRL and at much higher power with none of the soreness I’m being left with after that. So, I’m trying to work out what’s happening differently to affect the muscles in this way and is it a good or bad thing? The Neo feels like it’s forcing me to use muscles differently.

The only thing a turbo can do to simulate hills is to increase the resistance, it's more like cycling around with no air in your tyres than actually going up a hill. As much as people seem to love Alpe Du Zwift I think "climbing" on a turbo is terrible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdV8v6dXKZU

Turbo-specific nutrition:

Own your paincave with Turbo+, the world’s first sports nutrition range designed to meet the demands of indoor training

https://www.scienceinsport.com/shop-sis/go-range/turbo

marketing specific bullshit

"Shit guys, people are in lockdown again and just drinking any old shit they have in the fridge, what can we do?!"