Sorta-OT: Indoor trainers

[Joe Bernard]

Hi Rivsters,

I've been looking into this for weeks and am quite amazed at how little progress I've made in coming to a decision. All the reviews on this stuff are from 25yo 135 lbs. "roadies" who ride carbon wunderbikes outside and I can't imagine their impressions are going to mean a hill of beans to me. So maybe folks who ride the kind of bikes I ride can help. 

The situation: My riding outside time is limited right now and looks to be remaining that way for a good 6 more months, and I'm becoming hopelessly out of shape and can't wait anymore..I need to ride! I thought about Peloton-type bikes but I think I'd rather hook my lovely Riv Custom up to a smart trainer and actually ride the bike I own. I'm leaning towards direct-drive like Wahoo Kickr or Tacx Neo 2T instead of the kind that keeps the rear wheel on. It's more money but my goal is a thing I'll use and like more than counting pennies. I'll be using apps like Zwift for mimicking road rides and maybe the Peloton app for classes with instructors. 

Does anyone here have any experience with these contraptions? 

Thanks, 

Joe Bernard 

[Ryan M.]

I've ridden quite a bit on trainers and have a direct drive Wahoo Kickr, before that a wheel on fluid trainer and before that a wheel on mag trainer. The Kickr is totally worth the extra cost, IMHO, especially if you plan to use a subscription plan like Zwift. The ability to use erg mode, which is the mode where the app controls the resistance, makes the whole experience more pleasant. I find it also easier to set up the direct drive units compared to the wheel on (plus you don't wear out your tire).

I use Trainerroad for interval stuff but have used thesufferfest and Zwift too. I liked Zwift more than Thesufferfest just because sometimes you just want to get the legs moving and not destroy your will to live, and sufferfest is aptly named. Although, Sufferfest has these workouts with this guy Mike Cotty where they are more for base training. Mike rides through extremely nice looking areas and talks about the route some, which I thought was well done. You can also check out the Col Collective on Youtube which is by Mike. Watching that on youtube while riding the trainer has been useful as a distraction. Really well shot and edited stuff...but I'm digressing. 

Trainerroad has a ton of different workouts and workout plans for the cyclist, but it will not give you anything to watch. I do like throwing on some movie I've seen a hundred times and using that as distraction while using the app. Trainerroad is great if you really want to plan your workouts, it has a great calendar feature, and it will get you faster on the bike, but it becomes more of a chore and you have to supply the mental distraction to riding inside. Zwift, on the other hand, can be just a fun game where you ride around different virtual areas and try to upgrade your bike. 

Your question reminds me that I need to get off the couch and start using that trainer more during this ridiculously cold pandemic winter. 

[Joe Bernard]

Thanks Ryan, this is very helpful input. 

Joe