Passing my time on my Turbo-Trainer

kerry4sam · 20-10-2014 8:55pm #1

In the Hope that it may help someone ...

Picture This! Lashing Torrential Rain outside; tis cold; tis windy; tis dark; it is has just become tis by this kerry woman. Anywhoo,

Turbo-trainer all set up thanks to one of my brothers and two awesome local mechanics Denis & Matt; The Lone Traveller: One Woman, Two Wheels & The World! and of course some cringy-music on the headphones, namely The Nolans "I'm in the Mood for Dancing" and ...

Miles n Miles covered; over an hours of very happy peddling reading and listening to pedal-turning music; a bitta outa tune singing and ...

One Very Happy, Energised, Content kerry4sam on her bicycle

Just a lickle something that may coax someone onto a turbo this Autumn or Winter,

So how do you pass your time on your turbo? What music do you listen to? Ever read a good auld book to take your mind off the mileage?
kerry4sam

yop · 20-10-2014 9:15pm

2 hours watching Midsomer murders yesterday! Riveting I know

Straatvark · 20-10-2014 9:19pm

I have a friend that can only found time between 23:00-01:00 to train, so he set up his IDT outside on the porch. He then use the time to hunt snails with his airgun as they craw up against his garden wall. He got the odd rat or two as well on a good nights

crosstownk · 20-10-2014 9:42pm

Maybe I'm odd but I fire up the Flightradar24 app and pick a flight that's between 1 and 2 hours from Dublin. Then I switch on ATC and listen for it to arrive in Dublin airspace. When it lands at Dublin I stop pedalling.

detones · 20-10-2014 9:47pm

Turbos are unpleasant devices to use. I prefer to get it over with. I would not have the patience to steadily peddle away for an hour or two. I tend to kill my self for 45 mins max doing intervals including a warmup. I don't think it's a good workout unless after you end up on the floor in a puddle of sweat in the foetal position crying for your mammy.

oythovki · 20-10-2014 9:51pm

Pearl Jam & Michael Jackson

Beasty · 20-10-2014 10:29pm

I've installed a fridge, fan, TV, Blu-ray and surround sound in my new "facility". I also can use the Virtual Reality Tacx but tend to reserve that for 3+ hour sessions.....

MugMugs · 20-10-2014 11:05pm

I generally watch telly on the spinner and spin hard during the breaks. Watched Layer Cake last night.

smacl · 21-10-2014 8:16am

Was on the TacX Flow VR myself for about 45mins last night, and managed quite a decent sustained output for a first session in a while. Really need to recalibrate the unit as I'd say it is way off reality, was aiming for close to 300w average and managed 283w, but I suspect the figures are meaningless other than relative comparison to previous effort.

Cadence magnet has gone AWOL which is a bit of a pain, and the unit itself is starting to show signs of wear and tear, but still does the job. Might upgrade to a unit with greater resistance once funds become available, as the simulated gradient on the Flow isn't great.

rollingscone · 21-10-2014 8:25am

Just had an abortive first attempt at a Turbo session. The bike keeps listing to the left despite multiple efforts at resetting it in the clamp....much internetz research awaits....

pats22b · 21-10-2014 9:26am

i'm with detones - should be a puddle of sweat on the ground after- i spend my 45 mins looking at the rox 10 bike computer to make sure i'm working as hard as i think i am - lots of staring at cadence, speed and hr measures.

yop · 21-10-2014 9:38am

pats22b wrote: »

i'm with detones - should be a puddle of sweat on the ground after- i spend my 45 mins looking at the rox 10 bike computer to make sure i'm working as hard as i think i am - lots of staring at cadence, speed and hr measures.

It was more river than puddle of sweat

magicbastarder · 21-10-2014 11:44am

has anyone invented a system to plug a turbo trainer into google street view?

yop · 21-10-2014 11:59am

magicbastarder wrote: »

has anyone invented a system to plug a turbo trainer into google street view?

http://turbobiketrainer.com/virtual-reality-turbo-trainers-2013-2014/

Daroxtar · 21-10-2014 12:01pm

magicbastarder wrote: »

has anyone invented a system to plug a turbo trainer into google street view?

This^^ I've been bugging my mate who does programing about it for the last while. He said it's doable but you need permissions from Google and all the turbo manufacturers. I guarantee it will make a fortune for whoever gets it right.

RobFowl · 21-10-2014 12:05pm

Turbo trainers=Pain and discomfort
Turbo trainers do not = enjoyment on any level......

yop · 21-10-2014 12:18pm

RobFowl wrote: »

Turbo trainers=Pain and discomfort
Turbo trainers do not = enjoyment on any level......

The young one with the lovely arse in front of me at turbo training made it enjoyable.

G1032 · 21-10-2014 12:56pm

crosstownk wrote: »

Maybe I'm odd but I fire up the Flightradar24 app and pick a flight that's between 1 and 2 hours from Dublin. Then I switch on ATC and listen for it to arrive in Dublin airspace. When it lands at Dublin I stop pedalling.

You'd be pedalling for a long time if they had to circle Dublin Airport for a half hour only to then be told they have to detour to Manchester!!:)

fat bloke · 21-10-2014 1:43pm

The only way to do turbo is with structured intervals. If you have to do say 8 minutes at a certain wattage or heart rate and a different cadence every minute you're like the game show contestant spinning 25 plates at once. Every 60 seconds you're juggling gearing and turbo resistance to the new cadence while maintaining your goal heart rate or wattage. There's never a dull moment. The 8 minutes are gone in a jiffy and you have a few blessed minutes recovery before the next 8 minute stint is due.

martinbourke11 · 21-10-2014 4:37pm

like to vary the turbo stuff, mix of interval sessions but really enjoying watching TDF/Classics re-runs on youtube, especially ones i can't remember who won- 2014 amstel gold race last night, thought i was phil gilbert for a split sec....then reality

diomed · 21-10-2014 4:41pm

30 minutes is enough. If you do an hour or more you avoid the thing.

dragratchet · 21-10-2014 5:24pm

usually 3 turbos a week, all 45-55 minute sessions.. couple sufferfest videos and one session of my own making where i increase speed every five minutes for 40 mins and finish with 10 out of the saddle followed by a warm down. currently watching the shield on neflix.

detones · 21-10-2014 9:29pm

There's a series of these videos on YouTube. I think there great. Easy to follow and it keeps you interested. The key is to have a turbo you can vary the resistance with. I'd be shattered after this.

http://youtu.be/mv0H9iCz8Ms

ROK ON · 21-10-2014 9:34pm

Anyone getting onto a turbo and reading a book or watching TV is deluding themselves IMHO.
You'd be better off sitting on your comfy chair reading said book.
Turbo is a way to get various types of intervals done.

Sinbad_NI · 21-10-2014 10:00pm

About to subscribe to trainer road to hopefully get some level of structure and goals for the winter garage season.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi · 22-10-2014 1:20pm

ROK ON wrote: »

Anyone getting onto a turbo and reading a book or watching TV is deluding themselves IMHO.
You'd be better off sitting on your comfy chair reading said book.
Turbo is a way to get various types of intervals done.

You can still have stuff on the background but its unlikely you will hear or see what they are saying if pushing hard during an interval.

I normally turbo 3 times a week, right now BG efforts, VO2 intervals and some SS to threshold efforts.

Setup, a big a$$ fan (a must), wahoo kickr (great piece of kit) and i pad for watching stuff in the background on Netflix or listening to music. A bit of structure to your sets and the turbo sessions fly by.

setanta159 · 22-10-2014 5:21pm

this is one of the best videos on youtube for the torture that is turbo training. I only wish these guys would make a few more of them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSFYRiqodvU

yop · 22-10-2014 5:26pm

Moshe Colossal Gunsmith wrote: »

You can still have stuff on the background but its unlikely you will hear or see what they are saying if pushing hard during an interval.

I normally turbo 3 times a week, right now BG efforts, VO2 intervals and some SS to threshold efforts.

Setup, a big a$$ fan (a must), wahoo kickr (great piece of kit) and i pad for watching stuff in the background on Netflix or listening to music. A bit of structure to your sets and the turbo sessions fly by.

Absolutely, I have Trainer Road sessions i follow on my laptop and have the TV on also in front of me, I can still maintain my pace/cadence/HR as required and still watch the TV if there is something on.

furiousox · 22-10-2014 8:40pm

This is a pretty good turbo session.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv0H9iCz8Ms

helimachoptor · 22-10-2014 8:49pm

Ive tried on many occasions to love the turbo.. always failed miserably but am going to make a proper effort this winter

Beasty · 22-10-2014 9:18pm

Just spent a very enjoyable 45 mins on the Wattbike watching RTE2. Even hit a couple of post crash power peaks

Now watching a much more boring 2nd half from the comfy chair in the lounge....

FrankGrimes · 23-10-2014 10:18am

Yeh I find that it's only the most intense intervals that you need to concentrate on so can't be keeping track of something you're watching - but for high intensity intervals, there's plenty of low intensity time in the OFF intervals so they're still good for watching stuff.

I find www.lynda.com is brilliant for this - I learned photography over the course of a few months last year, mainly from Lynda.com courses (absolutely top notch professionalism in their courses) from the turbo. Also did Lightroom - want to learn some basic graphic design so have started into an Adobe Illustrator course on it now - not the best for the turbo as you'd ideally be following on with replicating the actions live in Illustrator, but the key concepts do stick. Not for everyone, but works for me most of the time, other times I can't contemplate it so just stick on tunes.

My current list of playlists on Spotify is pretty uninspired - anyone got some Spotify playlists they could point to that they find great for motivation on the bike? Will also download them on the phone app for offline playback on the road.

I got a fan on a pole from Argos a few years back and it has a remote control - has more than earned its cost from its usefulness during turbo sessions.

Other tip I'd suggest is something like this little wireless keyboard with trackpad for under 20euro - great for controlling the PC/laptop during turbo sessions. I have it and the fan remote control stuck onto the side of a cupboard with velcro sticky tape beside where the turbo is setup, handy for just grabbing them any time during a workout.

Beasty · 23-10-2014 11:08am

FrankGrimes wrote: »

I got a fan on a pole from Argos a few years back and it has a remote control - has more than earned its cost from its usefulness during turbo sessions.

Got this to switch the fan on and off remotely - the remote for that and the TV just go in the back pocket

Amprodude · 23-10-2014 10:48pm

furiousox wrote: »

This is a pretty good turbo session.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv0H9iCz8Ms

The two women in the front left of screen would make it a pretty good turbo session to follow alright.

Beasty · 23-10-2014 11:19pm

Beasty wrote: »

Just spent a very enjoyable 45 mins on the Wattbike watching RTE2.

And tonight it was 30 mins of the Amsterdam 6 Day

yabadabado · 23-10-2014 11:57pm

quick question regarding turbo trainer.I have gotten one of a friend and Im wondering can anyone recommend a cycle computer.

dragratchet · 24-10-2014 8:55am

the metrics you'll be able to monitor whilst on the trainer are speed & cadence, and heart-rate/power. for the first two you'll need something like a garmin 500 with a speed and cadence monitor via ant+. if you're interested in putting any structure to your work out these are essential and the most cost effective way to go.

jinkypolly · 24-10-2014 9:43am

yabadabado wrote: »

quick question regarding turbo trainer.I have gotten one of a friend and Im wondering can anyone recommend a cycle computer.

If you have a laptop you don't necessarily need a cycle computer. You will need a speed/cadence sensor on the bike and a Ant+ dongle for the laptop. I used TrainerRoad for about 6 months before I got my Garmin Edge 500.

yabadabado · 24-10-2014 11:49am

jinkypolly wrote: »

If you have a laptop you don't necessarily need a cycle computer. You will need a speed/cadence sensor on the bike and a Ant+ dongle for the laptop. I used TrainerRoad for about 6 months before I got my Garmin Edge 500.

I don't have a laptop could that set up be used on a PC/tablet/android device ?

yop · 24-10-2014 12:31pm

yabadabado wrote: »

I don't have a laptop could that set up be used on a PC/tablet/android device ?

Only on laptop/pc so far

http://www.trainerroad.com/faq

FrankGrimes · 25-10-2014 3:50pm

Beasty wrote: »

Got this to switch the fan on and off remotely - the remote for that and the TV just go in the back pocket

Meant to say, this is the fan I have, getting good value out of it for the 78euro as it's been going strong for about 4 years now. Advantage is its remote lets you control speed, direction, mode (constant, or intermittent gusts) and you can set it to figure of 8 movement which I find best. For an extra tenner though, if buying now, I'd go for this one as the reviews are good and it looks neater so would take up less space.

kumate_champ07 · 25-10-2014 8:21pm

my main turbo training usually lasts aprox 50mins and is made up of 5/10min blocks. for this I stick on a track world cup/champs or olympics to watch. my garmin 500 has my custom training programs and gives me pacing prompts. watching high paced track cycling is good motivation for high intensity turbo sessions. my training is based around 5/10/20-40 second efforts with recovery in between
I get off the bike for 2 mins every 10 mins.

in the evenings Ill watch a 60min episode of some good tv, all Im doing here is steady pace light spinning. maybe Im lucky but Ive never been bored on my turbo trainer and Ive done 3hrs/day for a while

<snip>

smacl · 20-11-2014 2:26pm

Decent turbo session on Monday, hopped on the turbo again last night only to watch my virtual self get slower and eventually stop followed by the tacx software reporting that the electo-magnetic brake was on the blink. Could be general wear and tear, although the I also suspect the daughter's new puppy may have confused it with a lamp post and peed on it. Looking around for tacx spare parts I was once again shocked at the variance of price out there. Active sports were looking for £199 (€249) for the same part that Athlete.com have for €109. Managed to get just the electronics for less again, so hoping that will do the trick.

hoosh1 · 20-11-2014 4:03pm

Hi, I have a tacx turbo trainer and usually spend around 50 mins on either watching a film or a sufferfest video on the laptop. I use my Iphone 4 and mapmyride to track my outdoor rides and do not have a cycling computer. I am wondering is it possible to monitor speed, cadence and heart rate, ideally using my phone so that the distance covered syncs to my mapmyride account and I can also monitor my effort on the turbo.

Any ideas?

pointer28 · 20-11-2014 4:27pm

hoosh1 wrote: »

Hi, I have a tacx turbo trainer and usually spend around 50 mins on either watching a film or a sufferfest video on the laptop. I use my Iphone 4 and mapmyride to track my outdoor rides and do not have a cycling computer. I am wondering is it possible to monitor speed, cadence and heart rate, ideally using my phone so that the distance covered syncs to my mapmyride account and I can also monitor my effort on the turbo.

Any ideas?

Trainer Road have just released their IPhone App

www.trainerroad.com

Perfect for what you want and you can download the workouts later and send them to GC, Training Peaks, Strava and probably Maymyride but not sure on that one.

Cee-Jay-Cee · 20-11-2014 7:50pm

I bought a Bluetooth cadence/speed sensor on eBay and use it with wahoo on my iPhone. I have a HRM I could also use with a Bryton 35 but couldn't be arsed. As long as I know cadence and relative distance then I'm quite content.

smacl · 04-12-2014 4:06pm

New electrics for tacx brake unit arrived yesterday so the turbo is up and running again, and managed a reasonably intense 45mins last night. If the goddamn puppy piddles on the turbo again, I'm going to make myself a new set of 100% authentic hush puppies made with real puppy.

Passing my time on my Turbo-Trainer

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