2018 Indoor Training Self Help Thread | Zwifting | Suffering

[AngryScientist]

Just getting my set-up dusted off for the winter. Trainer needed firmware update, Zwift re-upped (pretty nice that i'm still grandfathered into the $10/month rate). New software, etc.

What else is out there interesting for this season?

alternatives to zwift?

anything else new and exciting in the world of indoor training??

[nephron]

have you tried :
road grand tours
it has 3 different courses
no social aspects but has stelvio and now mt ventoux
it is in beta testing so it is free

also i have been trying big ring vr
that is kind of like tacx real life video rides
but right now still free

i use all three to avoid the boredom

[trener1]

I haven't gotten on the Zwift bandwagon yet.
But I have been using VT/Rouvy, it works for me.
I like "traveling" to South Africa or California on a random cold Wednesday night.

[AngryScientist]

cool guys - i will check these out.

[earlfoss]

Zwift is the only one I have any experience with, but I know that some of my teammates are using Rouvy (sp?) and seem to like it.

Zwift has been handy so far for me and the athletes I help. Programing custom workouts with the terrain feedback + little bit of mental stimulation from other riders seems to be worth a few extra watts on the structured sessions. I guess it kind of turns Zwift into a type of Trainer Road only less boring.

[azrider]

What........you haven't heard? Peloton is where it's at. It's the new "thing". Only $2000 for the stationary bike and only $100 month membership.

Total bargain!!

https://www.onepeloton.com/

https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7aD3XFBUgPuaAdGw/giphy.gif

[54ny77]

i'm ready.

https://4d0850cecf2c5ce919d5-17b283ac00835b5ced4db83c898330a1.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.c om/18852063_why-you-should-try-spin-class_t92272e44.gif

[AngryScientist]

i'm intrigued by Rouvy now. hmmm.

[Hank Scorpio]

Have you heard of One Lap?

[adub]

Don't forget Spotify and a bluetooth speaker cranked to 11 whilst Zwifting!

http://www.lataco.com/wp-content/uploads/to_11.jpg

[trener1]

i'm intrigued by Rouvy now. hmmm.

Rouvy doesn't really get any chatter on any of the forums, but I have been using it for the last 2 years and rather like it.

[flydhest]

Alright, at the risk of thread drift and being told to do an extensive search ... my birthday is in two weeks and my wife has heard me talk about wanting to set up a Zwift setup. We are now in an apartment in NY and I would have to do this at 5:00 am before the kids wake up. Recommendations for this situation? I left my rollers in DC when we moved so I am starting from scratch but this would go in the office/guest room/kids playroom so there will be a large screen Mac in there.

[batman1425]

Alright, at the risk of thread drift and being told to do an extensive search ... my birthday is in two weeks and my wife has heard me talk about wanting to set up a Zwift setup. We are now in an apartment in NY and I would have to do this at 5:00 am before the kids wake up. Recommendations for this situation? I left my rollers in DC when we moved so I am starting from scratch but this would go in the office/guest room/kids playroom so there will be a large screen Mac in there.

Not a whole lot you need. Some kind of trainer - in your case look for the quietest option you can find if you are trying to do it before the kids get up- and some way to measure either power or rear wheel speed.

You can get a trainer that will do all of that and then some, or as simple as a basic magnetic unit and a bluetooth speed sensor will work as well. Can also use ANT+ devices but will need an ANT+ adaptor for your mac to communicate with them.

My personal setup - Kinetic Fluid Trainer, AppleTV 4K to run zwift, Stages PM, Bluetooth HRM, and iphone running Zwift Mobile app. Oh and the obligatory box fan and stack of towels to keep the salt off the bike.

[AngryScientist]

if you're going to buy a new trainer and use zwift - you definitely want a newer "smart" trainer. the big, noticeable difference is that a smart trainer can vary the resistance based on the software, so pedaling gets harder going uphill, and easier when drafting, etc.



i bought mine a while ago and there are newer models and better deals now,

check dcrainmaker for his latest round of smart trainer reviews, he is basically the authority on such things.

[trener1]

Ok I'll give you a brief rundown at various price points.
Non smart trainer, Any Cycleops or Kurt Kinetic Fluid will work just fine.
If you want to go smart, The Wahoo Snap and Cycleops Hammer Magnus are the entry level ones and both go for $599, they really give you all the functionality of the more expensive "direct drive" trainers, but are slightly noisier and have less "road feel".
If you want to spend more and get Direct Drive, seems like the best "mid priced" one is the Elite Direto at around $899.
If you want to blow the budget then the Tacx Neo is the king at $1600.

[flydhest]

Many thanks, all

[kramnnim]

Virtugo is another one to keep an eye on. Mick Rogers is involved with it somehow.

[chuckred]

Alright, at the risk of thread drift and being told to do an extensive search ... my birthday is in two weeks and my wife has heard me talk about wanting to set up a Zwift setup. We are now in an apartment in NY and I would have to do this at 5:00 am before the kids wake up. Recommendations for this situation? I left my rollers in DC when we moved so I am starting from scratch but this would go in the office/guest room/kids playroom so there will be a large screen Mac in there.

At least you can turn the tunes up without disturbing the family.

[AngryScientist]

PSA: i now have very convincing evidence that completing an FTP test very shortly after a huge breakfast of eggs, pancakes and bacon is NOT an optimal strategy.

ugh.

[coffeecake]

lol. I treat them like race-type events now.

The first one i ever did was indoors on a trainer in the summer without a fan. I had to give up after 7 minutes.

[cal_len1]

With as unpleasant as they are, you really just want to have to do them once... I do The Sufferfest, and their new fitness test is even more miserable than standard FTP tests. The last time I did it, I bonked, and now I have to do it again. 100% not looking forward to that...

[carpediemracing]

If you ride indoors a lot nix the Fluid2. I've had three spring leaks on me. Takes a few to several years but still. On a used KK that has been through a few owners I think, it's going strong.

Plus the KK is more consistent in zPower (the calculated power) on Zwift. Once warmed up the Fluid2 handicaps you substantially, about 25% at lower wattages (55w handicap at 200w), about 10% at higher (100w at 1000w).

I have a dual screen video card. Zwift on one screen, with the cpu usage in the background of that screen. On the second screen I have some kind of bike video / movie / music on. Headphones. Fan. Good to go.