Turbo Training

[bethell87]

Hi All

I am looking at buying a turbo trainer to help boost my training. I am new to the sport and am only putting out 200-300 watts in a session.

There are some good turbo trainers with a maxx watt of 1000. Will these be too powerful for me?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Dave Pace]

I would just google turbo trainer and then read about the results to see what best fits what you want.

 

[alienator]

What features do you want with your trainer: power readout; computer integration/ride simulation; adjustable resistance.....?

 

[bethell87]

Hi Alienator

I am looking for simply a turbo trainer that is right for me. I am happy to buy a cycle compter that i can just link to the back wheel of my bike and that can give me most readings.

I want a resistance changer on the handlebars so I can change this easily while riding.

I am just worried about turbo trainers that have a high maxx watt like 1000, will they be to hard to ride at my level (slower speeds with output of only 200 watts)

I do not want to spend too much on a turbo trainer!

 

[dhk2]

Originally Posted by bethell87 .

Hi Alienator

I am looking for simply a turbo trainer that is right for me. I am happy to buy a cycle compter that i can just link to the back wheel of my bike and that can give me most readings.

I want a resistance changer on the handlebars so I can change this easily while riding.

I am just worried about turbo trainers that have a high maxx watt like 1000, will they be to hard to ride at my level (slower speeds with output of only 200 watts)

I do not want to spend too much on a turbo trainer!

Suggest you look at the non-adjustable "wind" trainers, which use a simple squirrel-cage fan or impeller as the load. They mimic the wind resistance you get on the bike, so are very easy to pedal at low speeds, but get much harder around 20-25 mph. You just pick a comfortable speed and gear on the bike and pedal away, using your gears to set the pace. When I rode one a lot, I had a little workout of shifting up into a higher gear every 3 minutes, then back down a gear for recovery.

Only downside is the wind noise generated by a small squirrel-cage fan, particularly if you're pushing hard at 20 mph plus. Suppose that's where the name "turbo trainer" came from.

 

[maydog]

Adjustable resistance on a simple trainer is not very important, since you can use your gearing to get to the appropriate resistance and cadence. My fluid trainer is adjustable, but I leave it a max resistance all of the time. Sure my wheel speed may be lower, but my cadence and power output is the same as "going faster" on a lower setting.

 

[alienator]

If you're looking for the most well regarded trainers, two of those are those from Kurt Kinetic and 1Up USA. Fluid and magnetic trainers are nice in that they're pretty darned quite and so won't put out the neighbors or the S.O. The 1Up trainer is rather unique in that it uses ball bearings and changing moment of inertia to provide resistance. It is also very quiet.