garmin or turbo

tritriagain

Simple question . I have limited funds am new to tri training and expect to be mop at best. Do I buy garmin 310 or turbo trainer. All advice welcome.

zico10

You can do turbo training sessions without a Garmin, bu you can't do them without a turbo trainer. For that reason I'd recommend the turbo trainer.











Or a pair of Oakley's.:)

Oryx

A turbo.

A turbo means actual training, , letting you train at odd hours on in really lousy weather. , The watch is just about crunching numbers.

zico10

Oryx wrote: »

A turbo.

A turbo means actual training, , letting you train at odd hours on in really lousy weather. , The watch is just about crunching numbers.

Yeah, but Oakley's look cool.

Oryx

zico10 wrote: »

Yeah, but Oakley's look cool.

Obviously oakleys would be anyone's first choice.

ray o

Both....buy 2nd hand and get both (depending on your budget of course). I'd say you could pick up a decent turbo over here - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1205

Now the weather is getting better you might see some decent entry level ones up for sale soon.

And the odd 310 pops up here every now and again too

Chartsengrafs

I would have said Garmin, but after reading Oryx's post it's hard to argue with that logic.

Trig1

simple... turbo... why... sufferfest!!!!

tritriagain

Oryx wrote: »

A turbo.

A turbo means actual training, , letting you train at odd hours on in really lousy weather. , The watch is just about crunching numbers.

Thanks for advice. Now ill put you on the spot..... Which turbo?

sconhome

tritriagain wrote: »

Thanks for advice. Now ill put you on the spot..... Which turbo?

The best for your budget.

kingQuez

I'd agree with ray o, if you can do it -- both second hand. But if you're new to tri and expect to be MOP, and can only get one, I'd get a garmin.

Why? Turbo sessions mostly suck. They're simply not intrinsically fun and you need a lot of self-motivation to get benefit from them. The clocks just changed, and the weather is improving. Turbo trainers really come into their own for people who are motivated to train during the winter when it's simply not possible to get outside due to lack of light or bad weather, or for folk with small kids meaning that you can't actually leave the house even if you wanted to. If you're still keen on doing turbo trainer sessions when the winter rolls around again, start putting a couple of quid aside over the summer and you'll find a second hand one when the time comes. In the meantime, get out on the road and work on your bike handling skills, do intervals on a quiet road, and work on your suntan

Garmins are great for a few things.. for improving your times and getting fitter they help with pacing your efforts cycling and running (be it off pace, heart rate etc.), for improving your motivation you can upload the files to websites like strava.com where you can see leaderboards and track your own performance relative to other cycles/runs you've done over certain segments. I think you get more bang for your buck with a garmin. If you abandon triathlon after a year or so you'll still get occasional use out of it, as it's unlikely you'll outright stop cycling or running.

If both my garmin and turbo broke in the morning, the garmin would be the first to be replaced.

tunney

I have one Garmin*
I have a primary turbo and a backup turbo.

The clocks have gone back, the sun is out and I wore shorts to work today. I'll still be on the turbo tonight. A good turbo session can't be done on the road I've done turbos in the garden in 24 degree heat. If you go so deep you puke, want to sh1t yourself and cannot see straight then the road is not the place for you.

If your sessions are boring then you are doing the wrong sessions.

*Okay I have a SRM PC7 and three Polars

Fazz

Turbo.

Probably my favourite sessions every week...

Invaluable IMO. Without a doubt the most practical and best spent money to enable best return on investment.

RedB

kingQuez wrote: »

I'd agree with ray o, if you can do it -- both second hand. But if you're new to tri and expect to be MOP, and can only get one, I'd get a garmin.

+1

Yes, a turbo may improve your cycling and mental strength if done right but the same can be said for a garmin.

As a wanna-be MOP I find the Garmin great for pacing and motivation as I'm ultimately only racing myself. It helps to get your session in the right zone/pace, it gives you instant objective feedback, it records the details of the sessions, it gives you targets, you see progress easier and its good for more than one discipline.

Oryx

tritriagain wrote: »

Thanks for advice. Now ill put you on the spot..... Which turbo?

I have a very basic turbo but I manage to suffer on it anyway. At a minimum choose a quiet one. If you have the money get one that measures power. Someday I'll upgrade to a tacx flow or similar but if money allowed I'd put a power meter into the bike. But at my level I'm getting plenty out of the basic setup.

tunney

Fluid trainer with adjustable load.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Turbo and a cheap stopwatch is all you need.

sconhome

tritriagain wrote: »

Simple question . I have limited funds am new to tri training and expect to be mop at best. Do I buy garmin 310 or turbo trainer. All advice welcome.

Starting out again, I'd do the same thing all over (except better and harder ) decent cheap HRM, turbo and Map-My-Run / Ride / Fitness.

Buy a reasonable turbo, stuck for time / weather, a decent hour long session on the turbo will be invaluable.

TBH the watches can form a habit of TMI and not enough work done.

A HRM will allow you monitor and train in the right zones, a good guide for building base fitness.

tunney

Karina Brief Slingshot wrote: »

Turbo and a cheap stopwatch is all you need.

• Fancy turbo that hooks up to a computer
• Garmin
• Power2max power meter
• SRM PCV Durace power meter
• Threadmill

Who do we know who has all these and is looking at a Wahoo Kickr as well???

tunney

amphkingwest wrote: »

Starting out again, I'd do the same thing all over (except better and harder ) decent cheap HRM, turbo and Map-My-Run / Ride / Fitness.

Buy a reasonable turbo, stuck for time / weather, a decent hour long session on the turbo will be invaluable.

TBH the watches can form a habit of TMI and not enough work done.

A HRM will allow you monitor and train in the right zones, a good guide for building base fitness.

My coach made me spend a season or so without any gadgets. To break the obsession with numbers. Worked a treat, still love gadgets but don't freak about numbers.

Fazz

Karina Brief Slingshot wrote: »

Turbo and a cheap stopwatch is all you need.

Echo that.

If you want pace, we all have smartphones and free apps like run keeper with audible alerts whilst music playing and you're sorted.

I started off with run keeper myself - found it pretty good in fairness.

Turbo is individual - I got one that is quiet to suit apartment living.
5 levels of resistance and that's everything you need really.
Mine is a Minoura V150 Turbo. Going strong after 2.5 years of service. Love it.

Hr monitor would be next step then I think.

tunney

Fazz wrote: »

Echo that.

If you want pace, we all have smartphones and free apps like run keeper with audible alerts whilst music playing and you're sorted.

I started off with run keeper myself - found it pretty good in fairness.

Turbo is individual - I got one that is quiet to suit apartment living.
5 levels of resistance and that's everything you need really.
Mine is a Minoura V150 Turbo. Going strong after 2.5 years of service. Love it.

Hr monitor would be next step then I think.

Fan next step after turbo

Fazz

tunney wrote: »

Fan next step after turbo

And miss out on the cool winds and wet rain from the window instead??

That's just soft..

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

tunney wrote: »

• Fancy turbo that hooks up to a computer
• Garmin
• Power2max power meter
• SRM PCV Durace power meter
• Threadmill

Who do we know who has all these and is looking at a Wahoo Kickr as well???

Lol thats a lot of equipment, just to fix it a little i have a garmin 910,305,500.

What can i say i have a problem!

sconhome

Karina Brief Slingshot wrote: »

Lol thats a lot of equipment, just to fix it a little i have a garmin 910,305,500.

What can i say i have a problem!

Nothing compared to the list of gear I've seen from someone, very close to you.

Pot, kettle and all that

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

amphkingwest wrote: »

Nothing compared to the list of gear I've seen from someone, very close to you.

Pot, kettle and all that

He has enough running shoes to go into direct competition with you and open up his own shop!! Sure he has about 7 garmin 910s, not sure what he uses them all for.

tunney

amphkingwest wrote: »

Nothing compared to the list of gear I've seen from someone, very close to you.

Pot, kettle and all that

I only have more kit when you count runners and whose fault is that????

tunney

Karina Brief Slingshot wrote: »

He has enough running shoes to go into direct competition with you and open up his own shop!! Sure he has about 7 garmin 910s, not sure what he uses them all for.

Nine, gone through nine, with this one going back in the not too distant future.

sconhome

tunney wrote: »

I only have more kit when you count runners and whose fault is that????

Guilty m'lord