Turbo Trainer Advice

When riding fixed gear on a turbo, do people tend to up the gearing?

If so, is there a rule of thumb as to by how much etc?

I am looking to get a trainer for my birthday to help with my lack of time for road training mainly, riding only a fixed gear bike these days I am mindful that not all trainers will take a fixed nut style rear axle.

I've looked at this one as it's a good deal at the moment (£120 in store) http://www.halfords.com/cycling/turbo-trainers-nutrition-training/turbo-trainers/elite-magnetic-force-elastogel-trainer-pack

And I asked the question in store about whether there would be any issues, I was told it would be fine, but I still have some nagging doubt.

Has anyone here used a fixed non QR axle on this type of trainer?

Or a recommendation for one in the same price range?

By the looks of it, yes, it should be fine. But it's also about £50 cheaper in places other than Halfrauds.

Thanks Tim, time for a mooch about the net for the best price.

I use a trainer with similar axle locking with a track bike and it's fine. You've want remote resistance setting for training fixed.

There are tons on eBay for £50.

@amey don't get the muin. It's go no inertia.

Get the lemond. It's fucking noisy but is the best.

Jetblack whisper supposed to be good as well.

inertia = resistance?

@danb will look into Jetblack .. similarly priced.

No, high inertia means more road like feel (rather than pedalling through treacle)

Otherwise fluid trainers are good.

Kurt K rock and roll
Cycleops jet fluid pro
Elite crono fluid pro super dooper.

Maybe try ride them all and see which you like best, that's my best advice. They will all feel different.

I leant my turbo to Damon whilst I was on holiday recently, having told him about it previously - it's a Tacx Vortex Smart which can be controlled by your laptop or smartphone/tablet.

For e.g. if doing a 2x20 the turbo will control the power, you just need to sit there and pedal, it'll make sure that you are bang on 250 watts/whatever.

Damon came away a convert to how much more convenient this made things - you're welcome to have a go yourself Amey if you would like.

Will do. Do shops let you test ride them?
What 'feel' should I go for? What should I look in a turbo? The noise isnt an issue but I like the idea of not having a seperate wheel which drew me to direct drive. Don't have Wahoo money. I intend to train indoors this winter with HR.

with HR.

Cardiovascular drift is a thing.

You can get a 'smart' trainer with decent power pretty cheap now. I've been using the Satori Smart.

Need to do some thinking/research. Are you selling this? (you were selling a turbo werent you?)

What would work best between 2 bikes? One 11speed road bike and other 135mm disc 9 speed bike.

does smart mean ANT+ ? How does it calculate power?

Need to do some thinking/research. Are you selling this? (you were selling a turbo werent you?)

What would work best between 2 bikes? One 11speed road bike and other 135mm disc 9 speed bike.

No - this is my new turbo, I did have a CycleOps Fluid2, which was/is very good - I wanted the "smart" features so bought the Vortex.

Smart in this context means dual broadcast over BLE and ANT+, and allows the trainer to be driven by a Garmin, an application on a tablet/smartphone, or application on a laptop such as Trainer Road. I use the later, with an ANT+ USB key.

ah so can use with trainerroad etc?

driven by Garmin; does that mean you can change the intensity?

I think I'll also want a 'smart' trainer. Drawn by Zwift too ;)

I've got a Elite Qubo Wireless Digital, don't think I would buy it again tbh, but it does the job. I was using a simple Elite magnetic one with adjustable resistance before and the main difference is in the feel of the resistance and the way the wheel is sprung on to it. This one feels much more life like and is significantly quieter.

About the Satori Smart:

Think of this is a regular trainer with full ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart broadcasting of power/speed/cadence like the Vortex above, but with the downside that you have to manually control your resistance via a little lever. But, at this price point you’re effectively getting power and the ability to complete wattage based workouts successfully – with roll-down calibration. And that’s important, as it’s a step above Virtual Power seen in apps like TrainerRoad, because it can ensure you get accurate results each time due to the calibration component.

Link

Cadence is a bit meh IME using a Garmin (ANT+). Apparently it's better on a phone etc (via Bluetooth Smart), or you can pair a dedicated cadence sensor.

The tacx Neo looks fun. It has a light underneath it that changes colour proportional to power. Nova drivers will be well jelly.

Just got myslf a Cycleops Fluid trainer. Have fitted the QR skewer for it but if I still want to take the road bike out on the err, road, can I use the same QR skewer safely?

Yep, I often do.

Yes, but you shouldn't be using the same tyre on the turbo as on the road.

shouldn't

Bollox.

I used to use a turbo wheel, can't be buggered anymore, so run the normal wheel with the normal tyre, hence the turbo skewer staying in for the odd club-run etc when I forget/CBA to swap it.

get a spare rear wheel with a proper turbo tyre on it. Doesn't have to cost much or even anything, a lot of wheels are worthless once the brake track is too worn as it's cheaper to replace then repair so bike shops just throw them away.