Power Training: Indoors vs On The Road (and equipment choice)

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alcatraz
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Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:19 am

by alcatraz

Tobinhatesyou assumes you will use your indoor trainer a lot.

In that case it makes good sense (vortex is kind of loud). If not then you really might just be paying premium for another dust collector.

It might not be the best way to find out if indoor training is for you.

Since the OP will get a power meter the issue with varying numbers will be less of an issue by comparing the pm readings to a few trainer readings at different times.

/a

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AJS914
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by AJS914

I will grant that direct drive trainers have benefits but I haven't had any of the problems you point out. Yes, you have to keep your tire pressure consistent on the Vortex and to achieve the best accuracy you should do a warm spin-down calibration for best results.

I've checked my calibration many times and there is hardly any variance.

DCRainmaker said that the Vortex and Kickr Snap were basically tied in functionality.

Personally, I don't think spending $1300 on a direct driver trainer would have been worth it for me. Others can decide for themselves their own price vs. functionality threshold.




TobinHatesYou wrote:
Fri Feb 02, 2018 7:44 am
The Tacx Vortex or Flow is the absolute bare minimum for a cyclist who wants to lightly train and simulate grade changes. I'm going to have to disagree with you on the point of it being good enough for anyone.

These wheel-on trainers are very bothersome to keep calibrated. Is your tire worn? Does it have oil on it? Is the ambient temperature different? Did you pump the tire to the same pressure as last time? Is the roller tension exactly the same? This will all affect the trainer's power estimation / spindown time. If you are serious about training you at the very least need consistency...consistency with accuracy is even better and worth paying for.

The Tacx wheel-on trainers are not as beefy as the Wahoo KICKR Snap or the CycleOps Magnus. The former has a pretty large flywheel and is effective silent. The Magnus is capable of a ridiculous amount of resistance for those who can really put out high instantaneous or 5s values. Wheel-on trainers are around 25lbs...some are much lighter, a few are noticeably heavier. Weight and stability matter when the bike is static (unless you have some sort of rocker plate.) Most of the direct-drive trainers are closer to 45lbs and much more suited to standing efforts and sprints. Direct-drive trainers also remove a lot of the variables from Wheel-on trainers. Remember, consistent power measurement is key.

I would only ever use a wheel-on trainer with a separate power meter, which is why the power meter should be the first purchase. A power meter + existing dumb trainer is better for training than a Tacx Vortex by itself. It is however also more expensive unless you look for bargains on single-leg options, but the extra investment is worth it.

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ergott
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by ergott

I like using bike mounted power meter so my numbers are consistent with what I see outdoors as well.

robertbb
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Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:35 am

by robertbb

Just pulled the trigger on Garmin Vector 3 (dual). Hope it shows up quickly - site says 6-10 weeks :-(

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