Planet Rugby Forum

DOB wrote:

ticketlessinseattle wrote:

DOB wrote:

ticketlessinseattle wrote:so I panic ordered a "HOMCOM Folding Bike Trainer Cycling Roller" - it was the last of any such trainer left that I could find ; only thing is that I'll be literally spinning my wheels with no idea of distance travelled ; story of my life ; is there anything you can order ? thanks much

Any bike computer (cateye, sigma are 2 brands you can look at) can be hooked up to your back wheel. Edit; but on your rollers you should be fine to set up with the sensor on your front wheel.

If you have a gps head unit, they can be paired with a wheel sensor, cadence sensor etc. My home trainer setup is just my bike on a fluid trainer, with a Garmin and a speed/cadence sensor.

cheers DOB, much appreciated ; it looks like the internet is sold out of them at the moment ! I did see something about some not being compatible with certain wheel sizes which seems wrong - I know fcuk all about this stuff (more of a runner for cardio) so feel free to talk to me like a 5 year old....I'm a munster fan so shouldn't be a stretch for you; this one seems to do the trick....
cateye-velo-wireless

Cateye are basically the Nokia of bike computers. They made straightforward, pretty much indestructible simple to use tech through the 90s and 00s, and they’ve been left behind a bit as GPS and power meters and touch screen full-colour smartphone tech have taken over. But that one you’re looking at will absolutely do the job.

Spyglass wrote:

clydecloggie wrote:has anyone actually gone tubeless? Friends and family are raving about it but it seems a bit of a hassle and not easy to get right without the right tools and being of sound mind - both of which may be an issue.

See my post above. I converted three weeks ago and have about 500 miles on GP5000TL's. They'e 25mm wide and I run them 75/85 psi, ride is good considering I have a very stiff frame. My main motivation for the change to tubeless was to hopefully avoid the flats I get around here from small sharp rocks, wire, staples, etc. Theoretically the sealant should seal these types of punctures.

The installation was more difficult than a tubed tire, but still doable for the average home bike maintenance task. First tire took about one hour, including fitting rim tape, tire on/off twice and sealant. Second tire was 10 or 15 mins. Tire was definitely hard to get on rim, but can be achieved by hand, without levers, using soapy water and the right technique. Both inflated first time with only a regular floor pump.

Tires lose about 10-15 psi per week

blindcider wrote:That Canyon is lovely, post up a pic of the finished build so we can pick holes in your saddle height/stack height/pedal choice etc.

Spoiler: show

rustycruiser wrote:

blindcider wrote:That Canyon is lovely, post up a pic of the finished build so we can pick holes in your saddle height/stack height/pedal choice etc.

Will do. This working from home shit is taking all my time though, haven't built it yet. Am waiting to hear back from Canyon customer service about a small mark that looks like a paint crack but I am paranoid could be an actual crack. I think it is fine, but just covering my ass. The mark is from a hole that holds a clip that keeps the DI2 wires from rattling in the downtube

Spoiler: show

rustycruiser wrote:

Spyglass wrote:

clydecloggie wrote:has anyone actually gone tubeless? Friends and family are raving about it but it seems a bit of a hassle and not easy to get right without the right tools and being of sound mind - both of which may be an issue.

See my post above. I converted three weeks ago and have about 500 miles on GP5000TL's. They'e 25mm wide and I run them 75/85 psi, ride is good considering I have a very stiff frame. My main motivation for the change to tubeless was to hopefully avoid the flats I get around here from small sharp rocks, wire, staples, etc. Theoretically the sealant should seal these types of punctures.

The installation was more difficult than a tubed tire, but still doable for the average home bike maintenance task. First tire took about one hour, including fitting rim tape, tire on/off twice and sealant. Second tire was 10 or 15 mins. Tire was definitely hard to get on rim, but can be achieved by hand, without levers, using soapy water and the right technique. Both inflated first time with only a regular floor pump.

Tires lose about 10-15 psi per week

The tubeless setup loses that much? Just sitting? My new rims came tubeless ready, no rim tape needed, valves in the package. I will probably run the bike initially with the tubes and GP4000s that came on the bike as they are 28s and cant fit on my tri bike. But will give tubeless a shot after the tires die. My frame is certainly not as stiff as your Venge, so am hoping a tubed setup will be cushy enough

Spyglass wrote:

rustycruiser wrote:

Spyglass wrote:

clydecloggie wrote:has anyone actually gone tubeless? Friends and family are raving about it but it seems a bit of a hassle and not easy to get right without the right tools and being of sound mind - both of which may be an issue.

See my post above. I converted three weeks ago and have about 500 miles on GP5000TL's. They'e 25mm wide and I run them 75/85 psi, ride is good considering I have a very stiff frame. My main motivation for the change to tubeless was to hopefully avoid the flats I get around here from small sharp rocks, wire, staples, etc. Theoretically the sealant should seal these types of punctures.

The installation was more difficult than a tubed tire, but still doable for the average home bike maintenance task. First tire took about one hour, including fitting rim tape, tire on/off twice and sealant. Second tire was 10 or 15 mins. Tire was definitely hard to get on rim, but can be achieved by hand, without levers, using soapy water and the right technique. Both inflated first time with only a regular floor pump.

Tires lose about 10-15 psi per week

The tubeless setup loses that much? Just sitting? My new rims came tubeless ready, no rim tape needed, valves in the package. I will probably run the bike initially with the tubes and GP4000s that came on the bike as they are 28s and cant fit on my tri bike. But will give tubeless a shot after the tires die. My frame is certainly not as stiff as your Venge, so am hoping a tubed setup will be cushy enough

Yes I'm surprised it loses pressure, I was under the impression that the sealant would take care of any minor leaks. Before I put the sealant in I left the tires for an hour or two to allow the beads to set and the tires to settle into their actual shape. During this time they went down to about 20 psi. I can't figure out where the leak is as there are no tell tale signs of sealant.

rustycruiser wrote: Yes I'm surprised it loses pressure, I was under the impression that the sealant would take care of any minor leaks. Before I put the sealant in I left the tires for an hour or two to allow the beads to set and the tires to settle into their actual shape. During this time they went down to about 20 psi. I can't figure out where the leak is as there are no tell tale signs of sealant.

ukjim wrote:

ticketlessinseattle wrote:so now that I've got my bike rollers/trainer....anyone got any tips for how to stay up on the fcuking thing ! its a piece of shite tbh ; the spanner doesnt fit the screws and the cable isn't correctly attached.....but its mostly me

rollers are great.
start off with a couple of chairs on either side to hold on to.
focus on an object etc that is parallel with your eyes (stare at a dot on the wall or something).
keep your head straight and you will get there within a few minutes.
once you are comfortable with riding on rollers practice taking one hand off at a time.

eventually you get gud

DOB wrote:A trainer mounted to the wheel ought to be pretty stable, I would've thought.



If it's rollers, those just take practice and balance, from what I've heard. Never used them before.

https://hongsenbike.en.alibaba.com/prod ... ainer.html

redderneck wrote: About to pull trigger on a Kickr Snap which looks to be the one on the left in pic above. Reviews seem good. Pal was virtual pub zooming his basement set-up last night, and he has a top-end direct drive Kickr which he raves about, hooked up to a bike which looks like it cost more than my car and enough screens on stands for it to look like he was pedal powering the first space shuttle to the moon. He uses Zwift. Raves about Kickr & Zwift. Serious triathlete though. That kit would be wasted on me - I hope.

Would the wheel-on versus direct drive start to annoy the shit out of me? Would I be kicking myself that the Snap was a false economy? The Snap is at the upper range of what I was hoping to spend frankly.

I am firmly a very-ex rugby player on a bike, not a cyclist. Bought the bike 5 years or so ago and did decent regular mileage for a couple of years; dropped off gradually as new work ramped up its demands. Appreciate any steer.

DOB wrote:

redderneck wrote: About to pull trigger on a Kickr Snap which looks to be the one on the left in pic above. Reviews seem good. Pal was virtual pub zooming his basement set-up last night, and he has a top-end direct drive Kickr which he raves about, hooked up to a bike which looks like it cost more than my car and enough screens on stands for it to look like he was pedal powering the first space shuttle to the moon. He uses Zwift. Raves about Kickr & Zwift. Serious triathlete though. That kit would be wasted on me - I hope.

Would the wheel-on versus direct drive start to annoy the shit out of me? Would I be kicking myself that the Snap was a false economy? The Snap is at the upper range of what I was hoping to spend frankly.

I am firmly a very-ex rugby player on a bike, not a cyclist. Bought the bike 5 years or so ago and did decent regular mileage for a couple of years; dropped off gradually as new work ramped up its demands. Appreciate any steer.

If I were in the market for a trainer today, I'd be going direct drive. But then I'm a cyclist as much as I am a rugby player. And the reason I'm not in the market today is that I get by on a fluid trainer.

I don't know the shelf-life on the direct drive smart-trainers' software or electronic parts, but I've had my dumb fluid trainer for over 10 years now, I've left it out in the rain and had it sit idle in the garage for years on end, and it still works fine. For the difference in price between the Snap and a direct drive, you could get yourself all the power meters etc you could need to get on zwift and throw them on your regular bike. The advantage of that is they come with you when you go out on a ride.

If you want to get on zwift and get the real feel of going up the Alps or Dolomites or Comeraghs, and compete against your mate, it's worth it to get the direct drive. If you're just looking to spin your legs for 30/45 minutes in the evenings, maybe with a structured workout of some kind, the Snap will more than do the job.

redderneck wrote:

DOB wrote:

redderneck wrote: About to pull trigger on a Kickr Snap which looks to be the one on the left in pic above. Reviews seem good. Pal was virtual pub zooming his basement set-up last night, and he has a top-end direct drive Kickr which he raves about, hooked up to a bike which looks like it cost more than my car and enough screens on stands for it to look like he was pedal powering the first space shuttle to the moon. He uses Zwift. Raves about Kickr & Zwift. Serious triathlete though. That kit would be wasted on me - I hope.

Would the wheel-on versus direct drive start to annoy the shit out of me? Would I be kicking myself that the Snap was a false economy? The Snap is at the upper range of what I was hoping to spend frankly.

I am firmly a very-ex rugby player on a bike, not a cyclist. Bought the bike 5 years or so ago and did decent regular mileage for a couple of years; dropped off gradually as new work ramped up its demands. Appreciate any steer.

If I were in the market for a trainer today, I'd be going direct drive. But then I'm a cyclist as much as I am a rugby player. And the reason I'm not in the market today is that I get by on a fluid trainer.

I don't know the shelf-life on the direct drive smart-trainers' software or electronic parts, but I've had my dumb fluid trainer for over 10 years now, I've left it out in the rain and had it sit idle in the garage for years on end, and it still works fine. For the difference in price between the Snap and a direct drive, you could get yourself all the power meters etc you could need to get on zwift and throw them on your regular bike. The advantage of that is they come with you when you go out on a ride.

If you want to get on zwift and get the real feel of going up the Alps or Dolomites or Comeraghs, and compete against your mate, it's worth it to get the direct drive. If you're just looking to spin your legs for 30/45 minutes in the evenings, maybe with a structured workout of some kind, the Snap will more than do the job.

Lovely. Don't need the bells and whistles of higher. Cheers DOB.

Seez wrote:You will get rubber dust from the tyre as it degrades with a wheel-on trainer. Worth getting a trainer tyre if you use it a lot, which won’t degrade but can’t be ridden outside. i’ve had mine for over 10 years and used it heavily. I have it on a very cheap training wheel so to ride outside I can change the wheel not the tyre, because it’s a plum of a job trying to get it off.

Like DOB, I have an old fluid trainer (a kurt kinetic), but with a cheap speed sensor that your phone / pc can communicate with, apps can calculate virtual power and give you a very high standard training programme. I use TrainerRoad, which puts your target and actual power for the interval at the bottom of the screen so you can watch Netflix or Prime without slacking off. Zwift and Sufferfest are also worth trying to see which you prefer, i think they all give you a free trial month.

DOB wrote:

Seez wrote:You will get rubber dust from the tyre as it degrades with a wheel-on trainer. Worth getting a trainer tyre if you use it a lot, which won’t degrade but can’t be ridden outside. i’ve had mine for over 10 years and used it heavily. I have it on a very cheap training wheel so to ride outside I can change the wheel not the tyre, because it’s a plum of a job trying to get it off.

Like DOB, I have an old fluid trainer (a kurt kinetic), but with a cheap speed sensor that your phone / pc can communicate with, apps can calculate virtual power and give you a very high standard training programme. I use TrainerRoad, which puts your target and actual power for the interval at the bottom of the screen so you can watch Netflix or Prime without slacking off. Zwift and Sufferfest are also worth trying to see which you prefer, i think they all give you a free trial month.

Seez,

What sensors do you have to connect to Trainerroad? Do you need an ANT+ dongle to connect to the laptop? I have a speed/cadence sensor for my Garmin, so I just follow GCN workout videos, and try to work off heartrate/cadence for following the plan, but maybe power would help. I'm always going slower at the end of a workout, which tells me I must be working to a higher % of my ftp at the start than they're telling me to.

Spyglass wrote:I used to use a Kurt Kinetic which was fine but I found the VP calc wasn’t very reliable and I wanted to be able to use ERG mode that smart trainers provide, which makes sites like TrainerRoad, Zwift, etc a better experience. So I got a KickR when they were first released and would highly recommend one, expensive yes, but worthwhile if you’re serious about training.

I leave my old bike strapped to it and follow a TR plan that schedules workouts for me each day, so in the morning all I have to do is get on my bike and suffer

Seez wrote:

Spyglass wrote:I used to use a Kurt Kinetic which was fine but I found the VP calc wasn’t very reliable and I wanted to be able to use ERG mode that smart trainers provide, which makes sites like TrainerRoad, Zwift, etc a better experience. So I got a KickR when they were first released and would highly recommend one, expensive yes, but worthwhile if you’re serious about training.

I leave my old bike strapped to it and follow a TR plan that schedules workouts for me each day, so in the morning all I have to do is get on my bike and suffer

Which FTP test do you use on TR? I thought I'd get a higher result out of the ramp test as I am a bit more towards the fast-twitch end of the spectrum (or at least I think I am!). However, I reckon I'm getting 20-30 watts lower on that than I would on the 2 x 8 minute test. I did my 10-mile PB after doing a warm-up similar to the ramp test - I read about Team Sky's TT warm-up and made my own version in TrainerRoad: https://www.trainerroad.com/app/cycling ... m-up-42min - perhaps I need to do that before the ramp test!

farmerdave wrote:So what's happened to Strava.
I'm guessing they don't like me not paying them money so are dumbing things down to zero.
I'm just too cheap I guess.

dinsdale wrote:

farmerdave wrote:So what's happened to Strava.
I'm guessing they don't like me not paying them money so are dumbing things down to zero.
I'm just too cheap I guess.

Their business model of giving almost everything away for free seems to have been unsuccessful.

P in VG wrote:

dinsdale wrote:

farmerdave wrote:So what's happened to Strava.
I'm guessing they don't like me not paying them money so are dumbing things down to zero.
I'm just too cheap I guess.

Their business model of giving almost everything away for free seems to have been unsuccessful.

Especially with all the extra lockdown log-ins. Probably put too much pressure on their software

Spyglass wrote:

P in VG wrote:

dinsdale wrote:

farmerdave wrote:So what's happened to Strava.
I'm guessing they don't like me not paying them money so are dumbing things down to zero.
I'm just too cheap I guess.

Their business model of giving almost everything away for free seems to have been unsuccessful.

Especially with all the extra lockdown log-ins. Probably put too much pressure on their software

Strava needs to improve their algorithms to weed out the bogus KOM's caused in the main by the wave of new cyclists that are using the Strava phone app and then forgetting to stop their ride when they get in the car to drive home

ukjim wrote:On a happier note I have just bought some new wheels.

ukjim wrote:your cassette will make zero difference. 12-28 is perfect.

only 2 things will increase your speed. power to weight ratio and drag reduction.

best way to get faster is to ride more and lose weight.

aero gainz are expensive and only really worth chasing if you are racing and in decent shape.

ukjim wrote:

Jim Lahey wrote:

ukjim wrote:your cassette will make zero difference. 12-28 is perfect.

only 2 things will increase your speed. power to weight ratio and drag reduction.

best way to get faster is to ride more and lose weight.

aero gainz are expensive and only really worth chasing if you are racing and in decent shape.

Cheers .
What about tribars? Make much of a difference on flats?

yep a big difference getting an aero position makes a world of difference. Tribars are a no no for group riding and you look like a nonce (or worse a triathlete) if you are not in a tt and you ride with them.

I will dig out the gains chart

Jim Lahey wrote:

ukjim wrote:

Jim Lahey wrote:

ukjim wrote:your cassette will make zero difference. 12-28 is perfect.

only 2 things will increase your speed. power to weight ratio and drag reduction.

best way to get faster is to ride more and lose weight.

aero gainz are expensive and only really worth chasing if you are racing and in decent shape.

Cheers .
What about tribars? Make much of a difference on flats?

yep a big difference getting an aero position makes a world of difference. Tribars are a no no for group riding and you look like a nonce (or worse a triathlete) if you are not in a tt and you ride with them.

I will dig out the gains chart

You got clipless pedals ? Big improvements there.

Fair enough.
I’m hitting 1hr 10 over 40km on a relatively flat course (230m climb) and I am hoping to take another 5 mins off that at some point.
I’ve been doing early morning duathlons on Saturday mornings with the cycle, 5 min transition at the house then a 10km run. Given that I’m usually out on the bike at 5am (to avoid bastarding traffic lights) appearance shouldn’t really be a factor!

Jim Lahey wrote: ↑Tue Sep 15, 2020 10:10 am Lads, finally got the sign off from the missus to get a turbo

So should I go Kickr Core or Kickr Smart Trainer? KST is £300 more expensive. Is it worth paying more for it?

ukjim wrote: ↑Sun Jun 14, 2020 1:34 pm https://cyclingtips.com/2010/04/biggest ... equipment/

3. Shoe Covers will cost you no more than $50 and could save you half a minute in 40kms. Shoe covers smooth turbulent air over the straps and buckles of the shoes.