I need to get all this stuff...

junii

Turbo Trainer
Heart rate monitor
Winter gloves
Winter shoe covers
Cap to wear under helmet to keep my head warm

The turbo trainer and HRM are the main ones though. I plan on using the turbo trainer alot. Because of this im thinking of getting one of the ones where you can take the back wheel off completely as ill probably end up having to buy loads of tyres otherwise. I can't seem to find them on the net though to price them. CRC do not seem to have them. Anyone know who sells them.

As for the HRM, ive been told that you need to pay up to €300 for a good one. Is this true? Should I get a HRM and cycle computer all in one even though I already have a cateye.

And should I buy this stuff on ebay? If not, im thinking of holding bac buying it until the January sales. Historically, has this kind of stuff been reduced in these sales?

Thanks.

daymobrew

junii wrote:

Winter gloves
Winter shoe covers

I have the Altura Thermastretch gloves (e30) but my thumb and fingertips were quite cold this morning. I have the Altura overshoes (e30). Easy to get in and out of. Nice big reflective patch on the back. I like these a lot. I had toe covers but they disintegrated when I walked on them.

junii wrote:

Cap to wear under helmet to keep my head warm

Maybe an Altura skullcap for e15.

junii wrote:

I plan on using the turbo trainer a lot. Because of this I'm thinking of getting one of the ones where you can take the back wheel off completely as ill probably end up having to buy loads of tyres otherwise. I can't seem to find them on the net though to price them. CRC do not seem to have them. Anyone know who sells them.

I'm not sure I understand. The only types I know are those you connect your rear wheel to. Continental make a tyre for turbo trainer use. 700x23 for e25. It is not for outdoor use.

junii wrote:

As for the HRM, ive been told that you need to pay up to €300 for a good one. Is this true? Should I get a HRM and cycle computer all in one even though I already have a cateye.

Browse around the Polar site and see what it recommends. It's your choice if you want a HRM that connects to the bike too.

junii

Ive seen one where the back wheel is off and you connect the chain to some hub in the back or something. Its a big thing. It says advanced training systems on it but can't find anything on google. Anyways seeing that I can get a tyre like that the normal TT one should be fine. I was just concerned because I was using someone elses TT for just three hours over the space of a few weeks and my tyre has really lost quite abit of rubber.

I was thinking of getting new Mavic rims for my SCR3 to replace the ones that came with it anyway. Then I could put that indoor tyre onto the old rim. Is this a worthwhile upgrade? Im planning on just getting a 50 or €60 set and nice red tyres to match the scheme of the bike. One of the main reasons I want to get it is to transform the look of the bike. The standard wheels don't look fantastic.

cerebus

I think you might find it very off-putting if you had to change the back wheel every time you wanted to take the bike off your trainer onto the road and vice-versa. I know I struggle for motivation if I have to change anything (e.g. pedals for example) at times...

Seeing as how you are keen to spend loads of money, why not get a cheap second-hand bike that you can use on your trainer? Provided you dial it in to something very close to your regular road setup you should not suffer switching between the two. (Also allows you to ride the beater outside in the worst of weather when you want to protect your nice bike, though this means you are back to the same situation re the turbo-trainer except with your beater bike - maybe everyone should have two beaters...)

junii

Well, Im not really that keen on spending all my money. In fact, im skimping on the TT by sourcing a second hand one. All the things I lined out in the original post; I feel are a neccesity as I want to get into racing and have a structured training plan (only possible on a TT I think). I plan on keeping my bike indoors all week on the TT and then just taking it off Sat & Sun for a group ride. HRM is vital if I plan on training for racing. This is the one Ive decided to get http://www.polar.fi/polar/channels/eng/segments/Cycling/S720i/allfeatures.html ;S720i

€50 or €60 euro isn't a whole lot to spend on a nice looking set of rims which will have the advantage of being lighter and also will be handier in the sense that I can use the old back wheel for the trainer tyre. I don't think I would mind having to change the wheel once a week to go out on the group rides especially seen as I usually have to travel anyways to meet the group which means taking off the wheels to put it in the car.

daymobrew: Thanks for the links.

junii

After spending most of today researching im coming to the conclusion that I would be better off getting a powertap. The power sensor in the polars isn't great and it can't be used indoors on the trainer. Id have to spend about €350 in total to get the HRM and Power sensor which is an optional extra and I may be able to pick up a powertap on ebay for under €500.

I almost feel bad writing this as the price of the powertap is much more than I originally planned for but I feel now as though id be wasting my money on the polar.

Morgan

How about just getting a cheap, basic HRM which just displays your heart rate? That's plenty for getting fit over the winter. Have you entered a race yet? There's more too it than just fitness. Aren't you in the West? Why not go along to Rás an Turcaí on December 28th and see how you get on?

Splash out on power meters, multi-featured HRM etc. when you need to shave seconds off your race times.

rubadub

I can think of better things to spend the money on. I have a HRM from argos for under €30 and it works fine. No amount of gadgetry will make you lose weight or put on muscle (which I take is what you want from reading your other posts), hard work will.
€300 would get you a good set of weights for your home, or some other fitness equipment. All of this gadgetry will only give rough estimates as to what is going on in your body.

cerebus

Have to say I agree, a simple HRM-based training program is probably the way to go until you're racing with the big boys and need to start worrying about shaving seconds.

Merckx once gave some good advice that you might find useful starting off: 'Don't buy upgrades, ride up grades'.

junii

After thinking about it for a while Ive decided to take the advice here and just get a half decent HRM...

Cheers guys.

Membrane

rubadub wrote:

I have a HRM from argos for under €30 and it works fine.

I've been thinking about getting a basic HRM myself.

Whilst climbing I like to lift myself off of the saddle, being the lazy sod that I am I then have no choice but to push it, or fall over

But I have a nagging feeling that my heart rate doesn't rise high enough whilst standing on the pedals, and that I should remain on the saddle. But I can comfortably let the speed drop lower when I do that without falling over, which makes me work less hard.

Does the E30 HRM from Argos do anything more than give an indication of your current heart rate, or does it log your heart rate over the course of a ride?

Tales Of Topogr

More gadgetry to look after.........Did Kelly or Roche have these?
Don't get me wrong, was considering getting one myself but didn't. Just back to road cycling after about 20 odd years. OK, got a Cateye Astrale (with cadence, which I couldn't be bothered with!). Use it mainly for time out on the ride, occasionally check the AV speed and distance. All you need IMO. What I'm doing now is a route around Glencree Valley every Sunday morning and see if I can knock off a few minutes. Sounds good to me. Couldn't be bothered with checking this HR and that Max Min Hr. Just enjoy the ride (and a lovely route it is aswell), push on the hills etc, push into the wind on the way up blah blah.
Got the dhb overshoes from Wiggle and like them. Got a HH base layer from same and love it. Bought a club Windtex Jacket.
Sorted.

rubadub

Membrane wrote:

Does the E30 HRM from Argos do anything more than give an indication of your current heart rate, or does it log your heart rate over the course of a ride?

It will give an average, but like cycling speedos that gets disrupted when you stop at lights, i.e. heart rate and speed averages get lowered. On the argos one you can enter age, weight, sex etc, and it gives calorie counting, it does laps and a few other functions I never use. You can specifiy your heart rate range that you want to be in. It then beeps if you go too low, and has a different beep if you go to high.

There is another cheap one in argos by the same make and you can plug your mp3 player into it, inline, so the beeps sound up over your music, another has a radio.

My one doesnt appear online (but argos online is crap) but is like the 2 at the bottom of this page
http://www.argos.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=30001&catalogId=10151&langId=-1&searchTerms=HEART+RATE&viewType=seeAll&sortBy_1=&perPage=10&searchScope=458&searchType=&maxResults=12&currPage=1

There is a relatively cheap polar cycling one there near the top.

Handy thing with argos is the 16day returns, so if it is uncomfortable you can get your money back with no questions.

daymobrew

Tales Of Topogr wrote:

OK, got a Cateye Astrale (with cadence, which I couldn't be bothered with!).

The stationary trainer workouts I am doing are centred around cadence. I use it like a rev counter in a car, using it to decide when to shift up or down. While I can easily tell when I'm cadence is really high or really low, the Astrale will show precise changes that I use to make decisions.
In a duathlon, I begin the cycle with a high (~100rpm) cadence, and reduce it to ~85 after a few mins.

Having said all that, I managed just fine with previous computer which didn't display cadence.

GP

just my 2c worth.

one of the bike shop in our link area (www.thebikeshop.ie) is haveing a lucky draw whereby you could get up to €150 back on your purchase. I have also seen some very basi HR monitors in the shop for around 50 (I think!)

might be a good idea to see if you can get some sort of deal...