Spinning bikes

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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John979
Posts: 1046
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2005 11:29 pm

by John979

Paul;

This morning I also took a good look at the flywheel and hub design. First, the flywheel is tapered such that most of the mass is at the rim and the flywheel thickness in the taper part is less than one centimeter, limiting the amount of conducted heat. Second there is a large collar on both sides of the flywheel in which the PT unit sits. I really don’t see how any significant heat could be conducted to the strain gauges.

Have you tried a drift test with minimal power? Perhaps you have a mechanical defect? Another interesting test would be to simply warm-up the collar with a blow drier and see how much the torque zero drifts. IMHO, you should see little drift.
John979

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Paul_nl
Posts: 462
Joined: Sat Nov 15, 2003 4:35 pm
Location: The Netherlands
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by Paul_nl

John979 wrote:Paul;

This morning I also took a good look at the flywheel and hub design. First, the flywheel is tapered such that most of the mass is at the rim and the flywheel thickness in the taper part is less than one centimeter, limiting the amount of conducted heat. Second there is a large collar on both sides of the flywheel in which the PT unit sits. I really don’t see how any significant heat could be conducted to the strain gauges.

Have you tried a drift test with minimal power? Perhaps you have a mechanical defect? Another interesting test would be to simply warm-up the collar with a blow drier and see how much the torque zero drifts. IMHO, you should see little drift.


I have had a good conversation with Robb Zbierski from Cycleops. The problem I have with my powertap in the flywheel is quite unique and Cycleops is investigating the problem. They are very helpfull and they send me a new flywheel. When they receive my faulty flywheel they will test it why the torque is off after an workout because a normal flywheel won't have this problem.

I had tested my flywheel by cycling 30 minutes with no resistance. I got two results. 1.) after 30 minutes the zero torque was still zero. 2.) A lot of pain in unknown muscles the day after the test 8)

Probably there is another problem but that's where cycleops will look at.

I was happy to hear from cycleops that the problem with my indoortrainer is only a problem with my indoortrainer and that they are going to fix it. And John I am happy to hear that your indoortrainer is working good.

John979
Posts: 1046
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2005 11:29 pm

by John979

Paul;

I knew Saris would respond promptly once they understood you had a problem. My only concern with the beast was the difficulty shipping back a heavy flywheel if something went wrong.

I will certainly put mine to use over the weekend as it is snowing in New York.

John
John979

uncle-gee
Posts: 102
Joined: Tue Nov 07, 2006 4:29 pm
Location: Canada

by uncle-gee

I'm looking for a CycleOps Club Pro 300 Pt (the one with the tension knob on the frame)

Folks, where to get this one at the lowest price ?

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redhed18
Posts: 166
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2009 5:34 am

by redhed18

I've got the 300PT, had it for a year or two now?

The flywheel takes some getting used to but I've never ridden fixed - nor have I tried any other typical stationary trainers either to compare.
If you wind it up as hard and as fast as you can until you burn out and can't keep up your cadence, then you better be prepared to grab the brake! :D

My suggestion to those thinking of throwing down for the 300PT is at least think about what Saris is going to do in regards to a Joule-based indoor trainer.

In reality they may do nothing to change the product line, just when Joule was announced, my first thought was "Heyyyyy how can I get that..."
The computer on the 300PT is nice enough but nowhere near as sexy as Joule!

Unfortunately I would guess that they are not planning on making an upgrade option available ~ technically it might be rather awkward to do since the 300PT uses a wired power meter (right?) so they would have to wire it to Joule or route the wiring to some other transponder that could talk to Joule via ANT+... or replace the hub entirely ($$)?

Hardly criticisms of the product though, it's a very solid bike.

Here IS one annoyance:

The seatpost adjustment lever, which you crank until it is tight - then you're supposed to move the lever to a position out of the way (like DT Swiss RWS skewers)... I can barely find a position in which there is no chance of my leg rubbing/bumping the lever. The leg/lever clearance is pretty close. I'm hardly a mutant, but maybe my positioning is funny compared to others. Again it may be something that I am doing wrong, but make sure you pay attention to this when you demo the bike. It seems like a better mechanism could have been designed.

Under the "would be nice" category...

A way to program in a session, otherwise you have to keep spinning the tension adjuster to get the workout you want. "Hill... NOW (spin spin spin spin)... " The tension adjuster is somewhat limited in that regard. (Maybe there's features I'm not using of the onboard computer,... RTFM? ;) ) Undoubtedly such a product would cost more. I think some new $$$ trainers can pull map data from the internet so you can "ride a route" - sounds cool anyway.

Another thing that could be improved would be more of a typical road-bar setup. Their site said they were considering it, but don't count on it - it has said that for a long time. It would be awesome if you could just install any old 31.8 handlebar. Maybe they could make dummy brifter hoods to stick on it for a more authentic feel. I'm thinking of putting some bar tape on mine to see if it improves the feel at all.

Again, overall it is a great product - I just wanted to share some of my thoughts.

PS. just thinking if Saris didn't come through with an upgrade to Joule, one option might be the new pedal-based power meter from Metrigear? Actually if one was thinking of going that route, you'd be better off with the cheaper non-PT models (100 or 200) and then add on Metrigear + a Joule head? This might also let you get into a Cycleops trainer and upgrade to power/etc later?

julianfranco
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2008 4:42 am
Location: California, USA

by julianfranco

I also have a Pro 300PT. I love it. I'm super busy so I end up putting a lot of time on the bike. My 300PT came with the adjustable levers for the seat height as well as a couple of bolts. I ended up going with the bolts and ride it in a fixed position and now have no issues with the adjustable lever. It's a bit of a compromise but if you're not sharing the bike with someone else, it's not to bad.

I'll second some of the things previously stated in a "would be nice" category...

I'd like to be able to program in a workout instead of counting out the minutes and hitting the intervals. Not necessary, but it "would be nice.

A huge plus would be a typical road bar setup. I saw a picture of CVDV on cyclingnews.com last year where he was on a Pro 300PT with road bars. I called and asked about it but they said it's not something they are planning. I did think about rigging mine up with a stem and road bar but am afraid to modify it.

I've put enough miles on mine to wear out the bottom bracket once already. I cant say enough about the customer service at Saris. Great experience and their folks are tops in my book!

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redhed18
Posts: 166
Joined: Sun Nov 15, 2009 5:34 am

by redhed18

HOW DID I MISS THIS????

I noticed that Saris says this about Joule 3.0
"Resistance control always accessible for PowerBeam and 400 Pro usage"

So I figure the 400 Pro has got to be a new Joule-enabled indoor cycle right?

RIGHT -- see here -- FRICKIN' AWESOME

http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.com/2 ... e-ops.html

Damn that is exactly what I want...
:cry:

uncle-gee
Posts: 102
Joined: Tue Nov 07, 2006 4:29 pm
Location: Canada

by uncle-gee

Where can I buy a PRO 400 now ?

Francois_Viviers
Posts: 186
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2003 7:12 pm

by Francois_Viviers

It has been a longwait for the pro 400, but finally they are here in the U.K. Initial impressions are that the build quality is 2nd to none. It is a very well built training bike, and the flywheel is very heavy.

Only issues I have had so far has been that I have had to figure out for myself how to create workouts and do certain function on the Joule 3. The bike comes with a instruction manual on how to assemble and then another instruction manual for the Joule 3. So the computer part of it is generic and not a step by step guide on how to set up your PRO 400.

But figured it all out, so now down to workouts. You can create workouts based on slope, gearing, power range, or power.

Started creating interval workouts in power mode, only issue is that n this mode you cannot use gears, so when you lose RPM you are stuffed. Swiched from power to slope, this has been much beter. In this mod you can use gears, which is just a flick up or down on teh Joule 3 nib. This allows you to keep up RPM.

The trainer is very very solid, and doing sprint workout son it really is no issue. I have been alergic to putting my bike on the computrainer for the past 2 years after I wrecked a bike doing sprint workouts. Now at least peace of mind. And the best is that it is always ready to jump on.

Very happy with this, and I think it is worth the price tag, and teh electronic brake is probably worth teh jump in price from teh pro 300

robertbb
Posts: 2179
Joined: Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:35 am

by robertbb

Paul_nl wrote:
John979 wrote:First, why get a spin bike? They have the best "feel" of any indoor training option, due to high inertia.

In November, I am getting a CycleOps PT300 -- a spin bike with a built-in PowerTap power meter. For anyone considering purchasing a spin bike, I recommend investigating a PT300.

My advice would be: don't buy it.

I have one and it's inaccurate. The zero torque before a workout is 0 inch*lbs and after one hour at 300 watts it is 10 inch*lbs. It is due the fact that the complete flywheel becomes hot after one hour and the electronics of the powertap become also hot. Due the change of zero torque my Pro 300PT is off by 16% after one hour.

It's too much for an indoorbike of 1850 dollars.


Buy an alloy bike for that, a kurt kinetic indoor with the wattmeter, and as a bonus you get a beater to ride to the pub :-)

selenarichard
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Joined: Sat Feb 09, 2019 10:36 am
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by selenarichard

Paul_nl wrote:
Sun Sep 03, 2006 11:06 am
Are there spinning bikes (hometrainer with a fixed gear) with changable cranks or adjustable crankarms?

I am looking for a spinning bike with a crankarm length of 175mm or a spinning bike with adustable crankarms. Does it exist?


Is the lemond revmaster a spinning bike or just a stationary trainer?
I think it would be better to do a research for treadmills because I have seen some of them with extra ordinary features.

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