The "I should have left the credit card at home" thread

Beasty

dquirke1 wrote: »

Now, how to explain what i paid to someone who thinks €300 is expensive for a bike :eek:

Just say it's another wheel - there's no need for anyone else to know how much you paid (and we won't tell). I'm sure "someone who thinks €300 is expensive for a bike" has no idea what a Powertap is, or the significance of "808" - of course this does assume separate credit card accounts;)

smacl

Fancied a turbo trainer for the cold weather, and also like the interactive video game idea, so have just ordered up a Tacx flow multi-player trainer and some software. Once again shopping around made a huge difference (CRC €626, Wiggle €565, Bike24 €369).

at1withmyself

Need a clock for the appartment so why not, in post now so looking forward to seeing what its like on the wall:

lafors

smacl wrote: »

Fancied a turbo trainer for the cold weather, and also like the interactive video game idea, so have just ordered up a Tacx flow multi-player trainer and some software. Once again shopping around made a huge difference (CRC €626, Wiggle €565, Bike24 €369).

Cool, you'll have to post up a review for us!

smacl

lafors wrote: »

Cool, you'll have to post up a review for us!

Only had a few goes on it as yet, so this is still very much first impressions.

First off, outside of a good price, the box arrived 5 days after the order, so once again I've either been lucky with Bike24, or they really do have their eye on the ball.

The tacx flow multi-player is basically a regular Tacx flow 2200 with a TacX steerer unit and software in a bundle. As such, if you already had the turbo trainer, you could upgrade to the VR handily enough. This also means you can disconnect the turbo trainer from the frame and use it as a very portable standalone unit. Assembly was straightforward enough, taking me about 2 hours. Quite a few wires going around the place, and if I was doing it again, I'd look to see whether some or all could be fed through the tubing. These include cadence sensor to the turbo / brake, cable from turbo / brake to controller, mains cable, cable from steerer to controller, and USB cable from controller to PC. To be fair, they do supply a bunch of mini cable ties. Construction wise, the only bit I didn't like were the very tight rubber connectors from the controller to the handle bars which I found a bitch to connect. The software claims to require a XP / Vista or Win7 (32 bit only), 2GB of memory and an ATI or nVidia card with at least 512mb on board. I used an older XP box with a 256mb ATI card which seems to work fine. The software requires on-line registration, so if you're planning on using it in the shed away from an internet connection, get it installed and registered first.

Up and running, the system is pretty sweet. You've got a choice of training options including virtual reality courses, and video footage courses. If you have an internet connection you can compete or cycle with other people around the VR courses, if not you can set up a number of virtual opponents. While the VR graphics aren't quite state of the art, they're impressive, and I got immersed after a couple of minutes. You can choose different camera angles, such as riders view, slightly behind the bike, and aerial view. On screen you also see your speed, cadence, power output and distance to other riders. What I haven't figured out how to turn on yet are route markers, so unless I hang behind other riders and follow them, I invariably end up taking a wrong turn. (Flashbacks to the WW200 coming out of Avoca) Other small touches are nice however, as your cadence is also reflected in the leg movement of the cyclist on screen, and once your putting out a certain amount of power going uphill, the guy gets out of the saddle. Crowds cheer you on here and there, and there's some extra occasional animation like level crossing gates. You can also go seriously off course and cross country, much to my daughters delight as she left the road to go down the train tracks when having a play last night.

As a workout, I find the VR courses quite a bit tougher than I anticipated. When you hit the hills you do need to gear right down, just like the real thing. I found the inertial modelling a bit weak, in that normally if I'm tearing down a hill, followed by a small up hill, I can use my inertia to pretty much coast over it. On the VR trainer, the hills get tough as the gradient changes, and don't seem to take inertia into account so much. Needless to say, steering is a bit different as well, in that you turn the bar rather than leaning, but I got used to this pretty quickly. After a smallish 22k circuit, the floor was a pool of sweat, and according to the unit I was 630Kcals better off. It felt like more, and could well have been more given the number of times I went off course. On the same course last night, the software stopped recognising the brake after about 40 mins, but this could well be down to either me sweating profusely over the controller (to be cling filmed tonight), or a dodgy USB connecter on the Dell. Is it just me, or is the amount of sweat you generate on a turbo session frightening?

My conclusion to date, while no substitute for actually braving the elements, this is a wonderful piece of kit for the money, and I reckon I'll happily while away many hours on it over the next couple of weeks burning off Christmas excesses. Outside of being fun, I don't think I'd work as hard without the VR element providing challenging hilly courses, obstacles, hair pin turns and spectators to cheer me on. Whether I'm as enthusiastic in a couple of months time remains to be seen, though I'm looking forward to trying the extreme MTB course tonight. I'd say if you had a group competing over the internet it would be great gas, and this could add no end to the longevity to the device.

There are plenty of add ons you can buy, including video footage of many race stages and tours, as well as HRMs, wireless sensors etc.. There's also an arcade pack available, which I bought, but doesn't seem to work (doesn't recognise brake) despite downloading upgrades etc...

I'll stick up another post after Christmas to let you know how I've got on, a few weeks in.

moby2101

great review...thanks..Im gonna order one of these in the new year..
looking forward to your next instalment!!:)

3102derek

New wheels fitted today:D

Dubba

Picked up a Elite Magnetic Cycle Trainer from Halfords yesterday for €155 and used it twice so far. Perfect for crappy condition days or for when time is short.

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_223837_langId_-1_categoryId_212649

Next linked purchase :pac:

smacl

Dubba wrote: »

Next linked purchase :pac:

Considering the same myself. Half the time on the roads, I'm complaining about the wind, now I'm actually thinking of buying some in. Whod've thunk it

Dubba

Half joking about the fan really, but having sweat a lot even tho its very cold at the moment maybe its a good idea.

kumate_champ07

was just thinking do people use a fan even when its cold, my turbo trainer is arriving tomorrow, I live alone so can leave the heat off while I train.

theres a fan that attaches to rollers* that gives extra resistance, any turbo specific fans with a remote/sync so you can turn up the wind effect as you go faster?

*http://www.velodromeshop.net/index.php?p=product&id=568

Dubba

Well I was using mine in a cold room (17degs according to my garmin) and was sweating quite a bit after 10min and a lot after 25mins - actually dripping.

The thing I found is you wont really cool down till you stop.

I live alone too and was thinking that I might position the turbo by the back door of the house and open it once I've warmed up.

Carpenter

3102derek wrote: »

New wheels fitted today:D

And the price was

chakattack

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

was just thinking do people use a fan even when its cold, my turbo trainer is arriving tomorrow, I live alone so can leave the heat off while I train.

theres a fan that attaches to rollers* that gives extra resistance, any turbo specific fans with a remote/sync so you can turn up the wind effect as you go faster?

*http://www.velodromeshop.net/index.php?p=product&id=568

Even in a freezing cold room in a cold house I roast on the turbo.

Picked up the cheapest fan in argos, was hesitant that it might be sh*t but it's more than adequate and was only 30 bucks - you sweat a little, same as usual cycling but nothing like the previous severe dehydration and puddles of sweat on the floor

I wouldn't pay an extra hundred

seamus

Bit the bullet and ordered some panniers today. Had a £50 voucher for CRC but their selection is crap so I used it for other stuff.

The Altura ones have good reviews online - could have gotten just one of the 20L panniers, but the price for 2 was pretty good.

ray o

Lost the run of myself on Christmas Eve and bought a 2011 Kona Honky Tonk

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=74472

The bike arrived yesterday and am very happy with it. I was close to traveling to Galway a couple of months back to buy the 2012 model but didn't like the new color scheme. Delighted to pick up the nicer looking 2011 model €310 cheaper and delivered direct to my door.

mloc123

This:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=55140

This:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=55167

This:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=27912

And these:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=36189

smacl

moby2101 wrote: »

great review...thanks..Im gonna order one of these in the new year..
looking forward to your next instalment!!:)

Well, a couple of weeks in and loving the Tacx VR. After a bit a googling, I've figured out how to turn on the direction indicators, which is really necessary when racing against virtual opponents. There's quite a range of VR tracks, with my favourite being the extreme MTB track which includes obstacles such as jumping crashed cars in a road tunnel, scooting around a disused mine etc... Setting up other riders on the same circuit means you tend to push a bit harder, particularly coming towards the finish. I find I work harder for shorter periods on the trainer, so while 2 hours would be a short spin for me on the road, an hour at full tilt on the trainer is a good workout. I'm currently averaging 190w over the hour, but would like to bring this to >200w per hour over the coming weeks. I find having power output, cadence, speed and distance remaining, along with a vertical profile of the track, all very useful in maintaining a constant effort. The software stores the stats for all your sessions for analysis if you're that way inclined. It also has a GPS import option to let you re-run your recorded road spins, albeit without the VR background. This is supposed to link into google earth when on-line but I've yet to try it. I'll stick another post up when and if I get around to trying this. If you want to race against real opponents over the net, you need to buy a license (€40 / year). I could see this being useful for more serious cyclists than myself, who might want to host a few sitting room club races.

All that said, the VR training is still nowhere even close to as much fun as being on a bike on the road. Climbing the nine stones yesterday with a hangover was surprisingly a joy; I reckon getting on the trainer would have made me vomit (less fun). The other thing is the sweat. There's no way I could use the trainer without needing to mop the floor afterwards and have a shower, so the whole notion of it being a handy way to grab a short sharp exercise break isn't entirely true. The plan going forward is for early morning sessions before work, and maybe a few evening sessions as well, with weekends on the road.

All in all, a great piece of kit for the money. A couple of software crashes, quite possibly down to drowning the controller in sweat, but nothing too serious. I'm also using a slightly under specced graphics card, which I'll replace shortly. I'm going to leave a second bike permanently attached to a spare PC, to minimise the set-up time overhead. If you couldn't do this, in terms of space or spare kit, I'd say a simpler turbo with music and/or videos might be a better option.

Dermot Illogical

I had a voucher for the LBS, so got a Cateye Nano Shot light.

Dubba

Bought a couple off things I'd been putting off.

SRAM PG1050 Cassette 10sp 11-28 for €38
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=51846
&
X-Tools Bike Tool Kit - 18 Piece for €54
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=40997

xxyyzz

The weather's been so crap lately I ordered this today. Naturally the long range forecast for next week is reporting the first dry spell in this country in about 8 months.

gman2k

From Merlin
http://merlincycles.s3.amazonaws.com/p/l/1800.jpg
£74 !!!!

CheGuedara

Moving towards Euro-ness with a move up the colour spectrum from black to red

Not a fan of the shop but the bike24.com prices are pretty awesome...

manwithaplan

CheGuedara wrote: »

Not a fan of the shop but the bike24.com prices are pretty awesome...

Just bought an Ultegra group for €599 for the race bike build there. Got a pair of Look Keo 2 Max carbon pedals for €88 also, which I thought was mental cheap (cue someone with a link to them at a cheaper price!). That's pretty much everything now - off to Cliff in Eurocycles to put it all together.

I know I should built it myself but I don't trust me not to make a balls of it. For the anoraks, it's:

Felt F1 SL frame (2009 model).
Devox carbon bars (original to bike)
Devox carbon railed saddle (original to bike)
Felt 1.1 carbon seatpost and stem (original to bike)
Ultegra groupset - 53/39 chainrings, 11-25 cassette, 172.5 cranks
Fulcrum Racing Zero wheels (Conti GP 4000s tyres, Conti ultralight latex tubes)
Look Keo 2 Max carbon pedals

About €2,000 all-in (excluding cables, housings, bartape and bottle cages).

Whether this all makes any difference is another matter entirely.

Hungrycol

manwithaplan wrote: »

Felt F1 SL frame (2009 model).
Devox carbon bars (original to bike)
Devox carbon railed saddle (original to bike)
Felt 1.1 carbon seatpost and stem (original to bike)
Ultegra groupset - 53/39 chainrings, 11-25 cassette, 172.5 cranks
Fulcrum Racing Zero wheels (Conti GP 4000s tyres, Conti ultralight latex tubes)
Look Keo 2 Max carbon pedals

Sounds like a beute. Look forward to the pics. Interested to know how much Ciliff charges you for a complete build. Got my Zeros on Friday and they look amazing, not been on the road yet cos still waiting on chainrings and pinch bolts.

manwithaplan

Hungrycol wrote: »

Sounds like a beute.

Hopefully it will ride well but it's a bit of a Frankenstein's monster when it comes to colours etc. In particular, the red bladed spokes don't match the frame and I'm afraid red bartape will only make things worse. Will let you know about the build costs but the rough quote was very competitive.

BDK

manwithaplan,where did you get your wheels and for how much?Trying to price up for a new build myself.Cheers,BDK.

manwithaplan

Got them in early 2011 from bikepalast.com for €600 or so. Used them for racing on my existing bike last season. Think jedi-sports.de might be the best deal going at the moment.

BDK

Cheers,would they be classed as purely a racing wheel or strong enough for training aswell.How do they hold up,any problems?

manwithaplan

I only use them for racing but they would be strong enough to stand up to much more use. They are possibly a bit too nice to use in winter but, not being deep section, they aren't weather-dependent. I prefer to use cheaper heavier wheels to train on, mostly so that I feel the benefit of the good wheels when racing.

I have had no problems with them.