Tacx Trainer's

E@gle.

Winter will shortly be in so i think its time i invested in a Tacx Trainer.

Anyone got any recomendations i was thinking of getting this one because it has a bike computer so i can keep records of my time/distance /speed etc.

I am also kind of broke so i may end of buying this http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=171&idproduct=17833


Anyone have any experience with any of these?

I got a few suggestions to buy a roller, but i would probaly end up killing myself (and my bike)on one of those.

smithslist

cant really comment on this specifc trainer, but i have the Tacx T1435 Sirius Trainer

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=17834

which I find very good, one thing that i based my decision on buying this is that it provides less noise than other trainers due to its soft gel it uses, which is handy as im live in a housing estate.

havent looked alot into it, but heres the tacx forum that maybe be useful.
http://www.tacxvr.com/phpbb2/

E@gle.

i think that sounds like one i'd be interested in.

Also do you use a special tyre when on your trainer, i heard that your rear tyre can get very hot and eventually blow

smithslist

yeah i burned many a tyre using the trainer (and the smell is pretty bad also) before i found out about the Continental UltraSport Hometrainer Tyre 700cc.

http://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticycle/ti%20hometrainer.shtml

or

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=0&idproduct=13055

the first few times it will smell and erode a bit, but then after its ok.

happy spining.

E@gle.

yeah im gonna go and buy the tyre as well. any issues with sweat dripping onto the frame i hear that it can cause the frame to corode i have seen this

http://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=171&idproduct=18237

uberwolf

distance and speed are an absolute irrelevance on the turbo trainer. It's all about training to your heart rate zones.

Drop 30 bills on the HRM, and save it on the TT on board computer.

You'll get more effective training that way IMO.

Quigs Snr

Couldn't agree more with uberwolf here. Speed is often not very realistic on a turbo trainer (although by messing with the settings, I can get the speed on my TacX Imagic match my real life speed pretty accurately on the real life video's and virtual terrains). The caveat being that although its not very accurate with real life on most regular trainers, you can still compare with previous performances on the Trainer to see if you have improved.

HR is king on the turbo. I would usually ride along at 75-80% for an hour or two and not look at the speed at all. But if you are recording the speed you should find over time that for the same effort (HR), you will eventually cover more distance/maintain a higher average speed. So its handy that way.

Hungrycol

E@gle. wrote:

I got a few suggestions to buy a roller, but i would probaly end up killing myself (and my bike)on one of those.

I heard these aren't great because of no resistance, unlike the turbo trainers, but good for balance. Heard a funny story once about a bloke training on rollers for a few hours in his kitchen and knowing that he was building up large amounts of static electricity he couldn't stop to put his hand down to get off the bike (everything around was metal, kitchen sink etc) without getting a massive shock:eek: ! His family wouldn't touch him either until he bribed his son to help him off!

tunney

Quigs Snr wrote:

HR is king on the turbo.

Going to disagree - its all about power!

Quigs Snr

Well tunney, that depends. My Tacx has a power output, I think riding at a certain rate of power, indoors at least, is somewhat less reliable for winter training. Typically my power drops a little in winter and furthermore it can vary byt quite a bit from day to day based on fatigue and other things. In short, if I want to train at 80% of my max power, well that number will vary from day to day.

You could say the same of HR, but for me that varies by a lot less. So I prefer to work off HR, as it means I can more easily ensure that I put in a comparable amount of effort. I like to use Power as a way to measure how much return on effort I am getting e.g. I would hope that by Spring I will be producing more power at LT than I do now...

A guy I know is a pro, he doesn't have Power on his trainer but he does use a Powertap out on the bike.