BIKE THREAD

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mrs shanksi Nov 2015 6:50pm, 8 Nov 2015 6,845 posts	0 mrs shanksi Let me explain the situation. My cycling club have set up turbo sessions for over the winter but you have to bring your own turbo. Last week I had to fold down seats in my car, put bike in car, take bike out of car etc and repeat after session. It's a hassle for a weakling like me and I don't have time to put bike rack on car. (can't keep bike rack on car as it then doesn't fit in garage). The community centre is literally 5 mins cycle away and I thought it would be easier to cycle there if I could carry the turbo. Also means I wouldn't have to change shoes. I didn't realise it was such a ridiculous question! We're also considering a cycle trailer instead. My first post on this thread I think. I'm mostly a runner but I did a big cycling event in August and I'm trying to keep the bike fitness up over the winter.
GlennR Nov 2015 7:26pm, 8 Nov 2015 15,413 posts	0 GlennR It's probably not a silly question really, just that to me a turbo is something that lives in the garage and only gets used when it's too wet to drive to the gym to use the Wattbike.
Hanneke Nov 2015 9:17pm, 9 Nov 2015 68,348 posts	0 Hanneke Can you leave the turbo there during the week, provided you don't need it at home? I'd find it rather too heavy to carry on my back on my bike, even for 10 minutes... But a large bergen should work, or strapping it to a large framed rucksack, practically using it as a carry frame? I have a large thin rucksack I bought in NY years ago, for the carrying of painthings on the bike. I used to hate having to drive to deliver works of art in London...
Gobi Nov 2015 11:12am, 10 Nov 2015 57,434 posts	0 Gobi I would not want a turbo on my back Bigger car ?
mrs shanksi Nov 2015 11:23am, 10 Nov 2015 6,852 posts	0 mrs shanksi Thanks for replying guys. Hanneke unfortunately I can't leave it there. Also I want to use it at home, and shanksi does too. We watched a turbo session thing on the TV through You Tube! Who knew?! Gobi my car is big enough, the issue is me getting the bike in and out of the car. I think I'm going to take the back seats out of the car to make it easier. I've found a rucksack big enough but I think it will make me a bit unsafe on the bike. So now I'm thinking about things to measure cadence. The devices seem to vary a huge amount in price. Are the cheap ones ok? Not sure about buying just a cadence /heart rate device for using during turbo or splashing out on one of these bike computer things that fit on your handlebars. shanksi is in turmoil because he loves a gadget but he's worried about spending loads of money! Of course if I get one then he might want one... We're already thinking about getting another turbo so we can do sessions together.
Nellers Nov 2015 1:12pm, 10 Nov 2015 30,274 posts	0 Nellers Buy a cheap cycle computer from Halfords, Mrs S. It will give you a reasonable estimate of speed/distance for less than £20 and you can see what you're doing more easily. I generally go very low-tech with turbo-training. I estimate distance based on time and my average pace on the road, and judge effort with my Garmin HR monitor. Sensors for Power, Cadence, pant colour etc are probably useful to monitor and use at the top end but the likes of me just need to move our legs more! (ducks and takes cover)
richmac Nov 2015 1:23pm, 10 Nov 2015 9,360 posts	0 richmac Cheaper stuff tends to be wired which is ass when you use the bike on the road. I kinda used the bikes in the gym a lot to feel what the cadences felt like and just tend to go at that speed when on the turbo. I use a bike computer that shows speed on the turbo and chase targets using that.
Nellers Nov 2015 1:46pm, 10 Nov 2015 30,275 posts	0 Nellers The bike computer I tried was wired. Twist ties to keep the wires out of the way while it's on the turbo then I wipped it off in the summer when I went back on the road. Havent bothered using it this winter, though, as I can estimate distances from ave speed and effort from the HR. It's just another number to obsess over. I do enough of that. Now where's that graph?;-)
Dai Bank Nov 2015 2:33pm, 10 Nov 2015 4,328 posts	0 Dai Bank I have a cycle sensor from Garmin that I can use with my old 305, bought it off Amazon some years ago. I suspect that there may be a sensor available to use with a more up to date G but I haven't checked.
Gobi Nov 2015 3:02pm, 10 Nov 2015 57,438 posts	0 Gobi Cadence matters - just saying I guess it just depends what you want from training