It's All About the Climbing [Wahoo Climb + Kickr]

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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Conza
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2017 3:28 am
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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by Conza

I love to climb, and am about to be very new to indoor training :shock: . I'll explain what I have on the way, and the proposed setup shortly. I am basically seeking advice on anything and everything you think I may have missed or should consider when setting up a good as possible 'Pain Cave'. I don't want to have everything arrive and then need to wait a week or something else to make it ideal :lol: .

Goal: get as fit as possible whilst replicating the experience of riding the most iconic climbs in the world.

Context:
    Ground floor apartment outside area 3/4's undercover but with minor exposure to elements. Trainer to mostly be located there.
    Former road bike (crashed) and now dedicated indoor bike.
    Variable weather in Melbourne.
    Training for Alpine Classic (250km, 4km vert), and Three Peaks Falls (235km, 4km vert)

Have:
    Ipad 4th Gen (iOS)
    Old Laptop (Windows)
    May be able to use: Smart-ish TV
    Garmin Edge 520
    Garmin Edge 500
    Google Nexus 5X

On the way:
    Wahoo Kickr v.3/17
    Wahoo Matt
    Wahoo Desk
    Wahoo Climb (approx Jan)
Recommendations for the following would be greatly appreciated: :beerchug:

Need:
    Fan/s?
    Fan or switch remote?
    Headphones?
    Sweat cover?
    Towels?
    Certain cables to get things going?
    ANT+ dongle?
    Cover for Indoor Trainer to protect from the elements?
    Extension cords, surge protector power board?


Planned trainer apps I will trial, then make a choice for. Thought may be handy for others:

Realism Trainer App Breakdown:
I copied DC Rainmakers app table and removed all things I wasn't interested in. Really keen on doing high quality real course smart trainer controlled rides that link up with strava. Order of importance:
    (1) smart trainer controlled
    (2) real course
    (3) strava segments integration/ability to upload/export
    (4) video simulation/3D likeness to the real deal would be a bonus, but mostly want to be able to jump on the trainer and do the Great Road Climbs of the Dolomites and Italian Alps, the Pyrenees, Southern Alps, and Northern Alps—to the point that it is not too far from actually being there…
    (5) Ability to create own routes (if all of the above isn’t possible) would be more icing.

I believe Rouvy, or Fulgaz are the best for this so far. So to check I rated the things that were great, and negative the bad. For those interested:

Image

Many thanks!

Let me know if I've missed anything, or any recommendations you may have.
Last edited by Conza on Tue Dec 12, 2017 10:54 am, edited 3 times in total.
It's all about the adventure :o .

tomee
Posts: 220
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2014 8:52 am
Location: AUS

by tomee

edit NVM
thought you missed TrainerRoad but then read you wanted course realism.

The BKOOL software ive only been able to work once out of the 5 times i've tried. I gave up after that.

i signed up to Sufferfest only to find out it didnt support Android so i unsubscribed and went TrainerRoad and run it with Zwift.

by Weenie


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motorthings
Posts: 344
Joined: Mon Nov 17, 2008 9:56 pm

by motorthings

i recommend at least the following:
fans
remote fan switch
USB Dongle Extension for ANT+ sensor

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Conza
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2017 3:28 am
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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by Conza

tomee wrote:edit NVM
thought you missed TrainerRoad but then read you wanted course realism.

The BKOOL software ive only been able to work once out of the 5 times i've tried. I gave up after that.

i signed up to Sufferfest only to find out it didnt support Android so i unsubscribed and went TrainerRoad and run it with Zwift.


Right. I was surprised by BKOOL after doing the analysis breakdown. Seemed to stack up pretty high, but guess it's flaky.

motorthings wrote:i recommend at least the following:
fans
remote fan switch
USB Dongle Extension for ANT+ sensor


What fans would you recommend? I am thinking small, powerful, quiet is the trifecta. Hard to get?

What remote fan switch is out there? What do you use? They easy enough to find?

Why would I need the USB dongle extension? :o
It's all about the adventure :o .

Shrike
Posts: 2019
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2016 5:08 pm

by Shrike

Yeah Trainerroad and Zwift is my current setup too. I liked the idea of realistic climbs, and bought some on the Tacx App - Ventoux etc. Actually not bad, but in the end, if you're goal oriented, and want to get up those climbs faster then you'll want a serious structured training plan, so Trainerroad wins out in the end. You could run Trainerroad + Tacx App videos or Trainerroad + some other realistic looking climb app. Turn ERG mode off.

That would give you both the structure and feel of climbing and realism of working your gears to meet power targets. Not even a big deal to setup. One screen/device can take ANT+, the other can take bluetooth. Eg. Use your phone for Trainerroad and use your iPad for whatever app you want to ride on visually.

Also worth noting that Zwift CEO says they are toying with the idea of putting in a major climb this winter. We will find out soon, maybe within the next month if they go for it. They do have Watopia Mountain, but it's doable in around half an hour for a lot of people. Zwifters have been requesting something much longer and it might be about to happen. That could be the ultimate training companion to complement your Kickr Climb as lets face it - when Wahoo made the Kickr Climb, it was all about the Zwift experience.

RE: fans. Forget about quiet. Get a massive fan. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oypla-Electric ... ywords=fan

I have a 14 inch fan, and an 18 inch fan. The 14 inch is okay when it's cool outside and all the windows are open, but if it's even remotely warm the 18 inch fan makes a huge difference to how you feel during intervals. This is the single most important part of indoor training. It doesn't have to be a messy sweat fest. I spent years like that - buckets of sweat, feeling like a hot mess. Now I can stay cool and put down more power and it's all to do with temperature regulation.

Remote control would be a bonus but not a huge deal. It's nice to have, but also an extra bit of faff.

You want something to hold your phone, some good stands and things. That Kickr Table is okay, but it keeps the screen far from you, especially if you have the Kickr Climb. Might have to get creative there. Tacx do a nice tablet stand that fits over your front wheel. Just can't see that working on your setup though.

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TonyM
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by TonyM

Are you using TrainerRoad and Zwift during the same training session ?

Shrike
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Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2016 5:08 pm

by Shrike

Yes, running them at the same time. Just turn the Controllable Trainer option on Zwift off, so then Trainerroad controls you in ERG mode. Getting quite popular this method

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TonyM
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by TonyM

Ok trainerroad controls your home trainer but what does Zwift do? Zwift get your watts but doesn‘t increase the difficulty when climbing gor example? Not sure I get it.

Shrike
Posts: 2019
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2016 5:08 pm

by Shrike

Yeah Zwift just gets watts and cadence sent to it and you ride around as normal. No resistance changes due to gradients. Just the same as if you were running Zwift in ERG Mode when doing a workout.

It's basically just a distraction while you're working out on TR. More than that sometimes it genuinely helps you though a long interval if you get some guy riding up your ass and you don't want to crack in front of him :lol:

AJS914
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Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

Conza wrote:
tomee wrote:What fans would you recommend? I am thinking small, powerful, quiet is the trifecta. Hard to get?


A big fan on a low setting will move more air and be quieter than a small fan.

tomee
Posts: 220
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2014 8:52 am
Location: AUS

by tomee

TonyM wrote:Are you using TrainerRoad and Zwift during the same training session ?


like the Shrike has said i run Zwift as a distraction and to keep track of KMs (km is just something i like to keep track of)

run TR on android mobile which already has Ant+ chipset and then run zwift on ipad/ipod with Ant+ dongle.

pair everything on TR app and then pair everything except 'Controllable' trainer and zwift.

i could post a photo but dont know of any free hosting like photobucket.

i also agree with him if you are looking to climb hills faster a structured plan is the way to go

Edit: does this work? zwift with ant+ dongle > TR on android phone > iPad for movies / music
ImageIMG_20171107_071509 by Tom, on Flickr
Last edited by tomee on Mon Dec 11, 2017 10:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.

AJS914
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Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

Free hosting: I'm using flickr now.

tomee
Posts: 220
Joined: Thu Oct 16, 2014 8:52 am
Location: AUS

by tomee

AJS914 wrote:Free hosting: I'm using flickr now.


forgot about flickr. updated my above post. thanks

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TonyM
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Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:11 pm

by TonyM

Thanks for the explanation!
And the pic!

liketoride
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Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 3:05 am

by liketoride

I too run tr and zwift together and can say when you feel like you can’t make the interval and someone on zwift comes up behind you I️t is amazing how you have the ability to finish. Doesn’t happen all the time but every now and again is nice

by Weenie


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Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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