FAO Cyclists - Turbo Trainer

[Bunwig]

Bought myself a road bike a couple of months ago and have been managing to get in 50-70 miles a week since. With the dark evenings and poor weather of a British winter just around the corner if been looking at getting a turbo trainer for the garage. Does anyone have one? Are they a worthwhile purchase is it better to just MTFU and get out in all weathers.

[Freknōttr]

This is RR, where the only advice ever is to MTFU.....

[WaspInWales]

This is RR, where the only advice ever is to MTFU.....

Get a mac

[wwoth]

Bought myself a road bike a couple of months ago and have been managing to get in 50-70 miles a week since. With the dark evenings and poor weather of a British winter just around the corner if been looking at getting a turbo trainer for the garage. Does anyone have one? Are they a worthwhile purchase is it better to just MTFU and get out in all weathers.

Definitely worth getting IMO. You might also want to rig up a laptop with a DVD drive, as there are DVDs you can buy with sessions on them to relieve the boredom. Depending on how cold your garage gets, you might also want to get a fan as it's easy to overheat in a tough session. Oh, and get a tarp or something to cover the bike as sweat is pretty corrosive.

Also, get a good one like Tacx. They vary a lot in quality.

[canute]

Personally, my enjoyment of cycling comes from the surroundings rather than the mileage.

It should be pretty easy to knock 40 miles off at the weekends, leaving just 10-30 for the week, if you're really keen on keeping those distances up.

Of course the quality of the surroundings has a big effect on motivation. I took these in the middle of last winter...

http://www.nowrugby.com/mb/picture.php?albumid=45&pictureid=325

http://www.nowrugby.com/mb/picture.php?albumid=45&pictureid=324

[wwoth]

Personally, my enjoyment of cycling comes from the surroundings rather than the mileage.

It should be pretty easy to knock 40 miles off at the weekends, leaving just 10-30 for the week, if you're really keen on keeping those distances up.

Of course the quality of the surroundings has a big effect on motivation. I took these in the middle of last winter...

http://www.nowrugby.com/mb/picture.php?albumid=45&pictureid=325

http://www.nowrugby.com/mb/picture.php?albumid=45&pictureid=324

Nice.

Ever spent a winter in Scotland?

[switchskier]

Nice.

Ever spent a winter in Scotland?

They say that if you can ski in scotland you should be able to manage just about anywhere and it's meant to be the same with cycling. Answer to the OP, mtfu.

[wwoth]

They say that if you can ski in scotland you should be able to manage just about anywhere and it's meant to be the same with cycling. Answer to the OP, mtfu.

Lol. Last winter was do-able, if not particularly pleasant. The two before were feckin impossible to cycle through.

[WaspInWales]

I was thinking about getting some rollers or a turbo trainer myself as i'm struggling to go running at the moment due to shin splints....need a new bike as well though!

[canute]

There was snow on the side of the road as I cycled up that hill. Sure, it was 15 degrees and sunny, but snow I tell you, snow!

[wwoth]

There was snow on the side of the road as I cycled up that hill. Sure, it was 15 degrees and sunny, but snow I tell you, snow!

Snow at the side of the road is fine, it's when it's on the road that I get twitchy. I cycled in a Sportive on April 27th this year where we had snow on the side of the road and still in the trees, on the higher parts of the route. And this was an unusually mild winter.

[canute]

Snow at the side of the road is fine, it's when it's on the road that I get twitchy. I cycled in a Sportive on April 27th this year where we had snow on the side of the road and still in the trees, on the higher parts of the route. And this was an unusually mild winter.

Psh, whatever. This snow was just two weeks old. Two whole weeks. I coulda doid.

[Bunwig]

Cheers for the advice. I think for the time being i'm going to just MTFU and get out there.

Nice photos Canute, where is it?

[canute]

Cheers for the advice. I think for the time being i'm going to just MTFU and get out there.

Nice photos Canute, where is it?

Taken from the Port Hills looking over Governors Bay, a few km south of Christchurch, NZ. The road down to the bay is steeeeeeeeep! It's even steeper going up:

http://www.mapmyride.com/api/4p/Route/view_route_elevation?get_profile=eb9c97a212cfe896d f7c9e2ab78d232b&consumer_key=b513571b80685c74fa95b7755d916c2404888 9df4

[lethalflanker]

Bought myself a road bike a couple of months ago and have been managing to get in 50-70 miles a week since. With the dark evenings and poor weather of a British winter just around the corner if been looking at getting a turbo trainer for the garage. Does anyone have one? Are they a worthwhile purchase is it better to just MTFU and get out in all weathers.


As regards riding in all weather, as someone wiser than me said "There's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing!" Road riding is great, I tend to go out in most weathers.Good cycling jacket and gloves plus arm and legwarmers and good shoecovers and a base layer should see you through.
However there are moments when a bit of indoor riding is the only answer, then it really boils down to what exactly do you want and how much do you want to pay!
A turbo trainer is where you see the biggest difference between a cheaper and a pricier model. In simple terms the more you pay the quieter it will be. A fan operated model is as noisy as f*ck but a magnetic or gel/liquid unit will run much quieter. Some will have a mileage/ speed computer built in a swell.
But if you're asking my advice then I would definitely go with a set of rollers. They have a much more realistic riding experience, they help no end with your balance and pedalling, this is the one I use..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elite-Parabolic-Rollers/dp/B005YZLQ36


I find that these are excellent for beginners as they have a conical edge to the drums which help prevent you falling off too often at the beginning, they do take a bit of getting used to but once you've got it then they are brilliant!! Also it's well worth looking on e-bay for these rollers as a lot of people try them once or twice and then give up, they often come quite cheap on there.
As someone mentioned get a sweatcatcher to prevent corrosion and definitely, DEFINITELY!!!!, get a fan as you will sweat like you won't believe

Hope that helps, ask me if you want to know anything else!

[wwoth]

As regards riding in all weather, as someone wiser than me said "There's no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing!" Road riding is great, I tend to go out in most weathers.Good cycling jacket and gloves plus arm and legwarmers and good shoecovers and a base layer should see you through.
However there are moments when a bit of indoor riding is the only answer, then it really boils down to what exactly do you want and how much do you want to pay!
A turbo trainer is where you see the biggest difference between a cheaper and a pricier model. In simple terms the more you pay the quieter it will be. A fan operated model is as noisy as f*ck but a magnetic or gel/liquid unit will run much quieter. Some will have a mileage/ speed computer built in a swell.
But if you're asking my advice then I would definitely go with a set of rollers. They have a much more realistic riding experience, they help no end with your balance and pedalling, this is the one I use..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elite-Parabolic-Rollers/dp/B005YZLQ36


I find that these are excellent for beginners as they have a conical edge to the drums which help prevent you falling off too often at the beginning, they do take a bit of getting used to but once you've got it then they are brilliant!! Also it's well worth looking on e-bay for these rollers as a lot of people try them once or twice and then give up, they often come quite cheap on there.
As someone mentioned get a sweatcatcher to prevent corrosion and definitely, DEFINITELY!!!!, get a fan as you will sweat like you won't believe

Hope that helps, ask me if you want to know anything else!

I take it you don't get much black ice and snow in Southend. :f_2biggrin:

You're right about the clothes though when it's not icy.