Which Turbo trainer???

Mcofferon

I'm close to buying a turbo trainer and could do with some advice.

This winter had me wimp out on a few of my early morning circuits and now I've broken my collar bone so all I can do is wash the bike - slowly. I'd been riding to trim down and build fitness, plus occasional commutes to work. Weekend spins were getting longer and I was hoping to try my hand at a couple of the sportives later in the year.

Now I'm just seeing the hard work come to nowt. I figure the turbo trainer would get my legs working sooner, even if its just very light upright spinning, plus it will come in useful later in the summer when the snow returns

Looking at special offers at the moment, a couple of the tacx trainers seem good value. The entry level Blue Twist for about €105 shipped from Germany and the Blue Motion for £139 from CPC (less £10 with a voucher).

I know the Satori range is well respected, but anyone using any of the Blue range? What about the Elite Trainers, worth a go? Your thoughts...

smacl

I find the vr trainer great to keep me motivated over the long term, had one for two winters now and still use it most nights when I'm not out doing anything else. Having virtual opponents to compete against makes me push much harder than I would otherwise. One , could be worth investigating / trying out.

Masala

Having virtual opponents to compete against makes me push much harder than I would otherwise

Hi Smacl... can u give any more info on this. New to Turbo training myself (mine is the Elite from Halfords - which I am very happy with) ... but lately and looking for excuses to 'finish early'. Like the sounds of what u suggesting!!

Thanks in advance

smacl

Basically, you're in a virtual 3d course (roads / hills / forest / off road etc...) and you set up opponents to race against, where you can define their speed, weight etc... and off you go. The option I use most is to select my own recent performances on the same route, and try to shave a few seconds off the time each go. It's a decent enough way to monitor relative improvement, and great fun.

I'm currently running the older TTS v3 software, but you can get a good idea what the newer version looks like here.

Masala

Thanks Smacl.... €125 for software is almost price of my Turbo. ......

Mcofferon

Hi Guys

Thanks for the comments so far. Smacl, I'm really looking at the budget end of things and much as I'd like the Virtual Reality option, cost wise thats on the long finger.

At the moment I'm focussing on the Budget Turbo Trainers and trying to work out whats the least I can get away with. For example, the really basic systems dont even have remote (handlebar mounting) resistance adjusters. Have forum members found this to be an important feature, or do they tend to set and forget, then adjust the workload through the bike gears?

Cheers

ford2600

Get a second hand entry level mtb, but a decent light on and go ride at night in forest roads etc...

uote="Mcofferon;84047118"]Hi Guys

Thanks for the comments so far. Smacl, I'm really looking at the budget end of things and much as I'd like the Virtual Reality option, cost wise thats on the long finger.

At the moment I'm focussing on the Budget Turbo Trainers and trying to work out whats the least I can get away with. For example, the really basic systems dont even have remote (handlebar mounting) resistance adjusters. Have forum members found this to be an important feature, or do they tend to set and forget, then adjust the workload through the bike gears?

Cheers[/quote]

elnino23

bike24 have a very good deal on the entry level tacx at the moment 79 euro