hippo Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 3 minutes ago, darrenm said: This was my bike after doing a cyclo-cross race on Sunday. My bike really wasn't happy. Hero ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardiffGreens Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 (edited) 29 minutes ago, hippo said: I am a road cyclist, and have dabbled with zwift (on line racing) - but only at the budget end, it was infuriating experience, calibrating the bike, checking the power meter , checking your HRM, then the otherwise reliable wifi dops out. It might be different with high end kit - like a wattbike atom, or wahoo kickr - but Im not about to experiment with £2k !!!! I have a couple of friends who've been ok with their budget wheel on trainers (though bluetooth/ANT+ dropouts are infuriating no matter what you spend), though I suspect they'll be quite a few second hand trainers going on to the market in the spring in case you wanted to dabble again! But I can't disagree that the "difficulty curve" to getting everything right isn't a total nightmare for what "ought" to be a fairly straightforward process. I keep an eye on Zwift's forums and the number of people that have similar issues even with top end kit is not small. I had a 6 year old Tacx trainer that I'd been using with their old training software (mostly RLV of scenic routes with automatic resistance adjustment in time with the incline to match the video, though there was some limited VR stuff in there) - thankfully some enterprising folk had managed to reverse engineer the proprietary tacx usb protocol this trainer used in order to develop some software that'd act as a go between for zwift and the old school tacx stuff so you could use it as a controllable trainer, which sufficed until I saved some pennies (once it became apparent that WFH was going to become a thing) for an upgrade. I've also just spent 2 and half hours on an extended lunch break cycling on the spot up a pretend Ventoux (no sight of Father Christmas though) to unlock a make-believe virtual bike. At least it's got purple and blue wheels; still at least it will help work off some of the Christmas cake I've been mainlining the last fortnight... Edited December 15, 2020 by CardiffGreens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippo Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 26 minutes ago, CardiffGreens said: I have a couple of friends who've been ok with their budget wheel on trainers (though bluetooth/ANT+ dropouts are infuriating no matter what you spend), though I suspect they'll be quite a few second hand trainers going on to the market in the spring in case you wanted to dabble again! But I can't disagree that the "difficulty curve" to getting everything right isn't a total nightmare for what "ought" to be a fairly straightforward process. I keep an eye on Zwift's forums and the number of people that have similar issues even with top end kit is not small. I had a 6 year old Tacx trainer that I'd been using with their old training software (mostly RLV of scenic routes with automatic resistance adjustment in time with the incline to match the video, though there was some limited VR stuff in there) - thankfully some enterprising folk had managed to reverse engineer the proprietary tacx usb protocol this trainer used in order to develop some software that'd act as a go between for zwift and the old school tacx stuff so you could use it as a controllable trainer, which sufficed until I saved some pennies (once it became apparent that WFH was going to become a thing) for an upgrade. I've also just spent 2 and half hours on an extended lunch break cycling on the spot up a pretend Ventoux (no sight of Father Christmas though) to unlock a make-believe virtual bike. At least it's got purple and blue wheels; still at least it will help work off some of the Christmas cake I've been mainlining the last fortnight... Horses for courses I think. With Asthma Im never going to be the greatest cyclist. so long as I can keep up on the club runs anything else is a bonus. - 45 minutes spin is enough in the winter months. The only place I could do a zwift set up is in the garage (kids still at home) - it might not be so bad if you just jumped on and it worked - but hanking about with ERG mode in a cold garage wasn't for me ! - give me trainer Amy Joe in my bedroom any day (for the spin only - you understand !!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 28 minutes ago, darrenm said: This was my bike after doing a cyclo-cross race on Sunday. My bike really wasn't happy. Is that SRAM or the fishing tackle people l What club are you in ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 5 minutes ago, veloman said: Is that SRAM or the fishing tackle people l What club are you in ? Good spot on it being SRAM. It wouldn't be that obvious to me. No club, I'm more of a runner. But I know a few people from RRPCC. There were loads of HA&CC people there on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 This is my Zwift setup. The road bike is on an Elite fluid crono gel dumb trainer. My watch broadcasts HR via ant+, I've got a Garmin Vector 2S power meter and a speed sensor on the back hub. The PC is an old crap thing with an Ok graphics card and I use a cheap 3rd party USB ant+ stick to receive. It all works very well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 18 hours ago, darrenm said: No club, I'm more of a runner. But I know a few people from RRPCC. There were loads of HA&CC people there on Sunday. Redditch Road and Path - a good old established club. Couple of Vets from that club race in Time trials that I stagger 'round Halesowen - big club now- having the track. Think they have a good Youth Programme. What road bike do you have ? Incidentally, I think SRAM were/are very inventive in Bluetooth connection; don't know if you have that ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 5 minutes ago, veloman said: Redditch Road and Path - a good old established club. Couple of Vets from that club race in Time trials that I stagger 'round Halesowen - big club now- having the track. Think they have a good Youth Programme. What road bike do you have ? Incidentally, I think SRAM were/are very inventive in Bluetooth connection; don't know if you have that ? Well, since you asked My road bike is a 2018 Giant TCR advanced 2. 5800 105. I've put some Cero AR30 wheels with Conti GP5000 tubeless tyres on. I changed the RD to long cage and put a 11-32 on and a 100mm stem because it's a M which is slightly too big for me. I should really have had a small. That one hasn't got a look in since I got the gravel bike, an On-One Space Chicken. SRAM Rival 1x 11-42 with hydro discs. It came with Panaracer Comet hardpack 38mm which are actually brilliant over everything. But I put some WTB Nano 40mm on for the CX because of the larger nobbles. I'm hugely looking forward to bikepacking next spring, probably around the King Alfred's way. I've got all the gear ready for the Space Chicken. I've only got ant+ stuff, I know bluetooth is bigger and better on bikes now but I've always been Garmin so no reason to change. I ride a few RRPCC TT's locally. K34/5 is my favourite because it's overall downhill so my weight advantage helps Where and what do you ride? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 Near Lichfield - in South Pennine club based just outside Burton. Have decided to stop racing open time trials as :- since breaking my hip and having a metal pin inserted, I have lost a lot of power on that side and .. I was never any good anyway . Used to ride that K33/D your way - not a fast course but fairly safe. TT bike - a Pinarello Montello - an ex GB team frame. Road bike - elderly Dogma + Sestriere winter bike. There is dealer for those CERO wheels not far from me in Barton U Needwood - Cycle Division; they are nice wheels aren't they ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted December 16, 2020 Share Posted December 16, 2020 Just now, veloman said: Near Lichfield - in South Pennine club based just outside Burton. Have decided to stop racing open time trials as :- since breaking my hip and having a metal pin inserted, I have lost a lot of power on that side and .. I was never any good anyway . Used to ride that K33/D your way - not a fast course but fairly safe. TT bike - a Pinarello Montello - an ex GB team frame. Road bike - elderly Dogma + Sestriere winter bike. There is dealer for those CERO wheels not far from me in Barton U Needwood - Cycle Division; they are nice wheels aren't they ? They're very good yeah. Very loud freewheel which means they must be fast 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 Just ordered a Wahoo Kickr Core. I'm having a bit of a reconfiguration of cycling gear. I've got a Giant TCR Advanced 2 road bike and I got the On One Space Chicken gravel bike. The gravel bike is smaller so fits me better. I'm happy with the 1x chainset and the hydro brakes are brilliant. So I've decided to sell the TCR and use the gravel bike for everything. All I need to do is get some road disc wheels and I can just swap them around and I'm sure the gravel bike will be a perfectly capable road bike. The problem was that I now use SPD on the gravel bike for obvious reasons (dabbing, CX running, touring, etc) but I've got some Garmin Vector 2S power meter pedals on the TCR which are Look Keo. I use the power from the pedals for Zwift on my old dumb trainer. Therefore I'm going to lose the power data when I'm out riding on the road in return for a much better trainer and a single bike with different wheels. I'm going with SPD only which means I'll need to get some stiff shoes for road use because the current Halfords cheapo shoes I've got are flimsy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted February 13, 2021 Moderator Share Posted February 13, 2021 Probably not one for the cycling purists but I went for it with a Peloton bike, lands on Wednesday and can’t wait. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 25 minutes ago, TrentVilla said: Probably not one for the cycling purists but I went for it with a Peloton bike, lands on Wednesday and can’t wait. I've found that since I changed my old dumb trainer for a wahoo kickr core direct drive trainer, I'm going on it every day and looking forward to it. A good feel on a static bike makes all the difference so I'm sure you'll really enjoy the peloton bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 On 15/01/2021 at 15:29, darrenm said: Just ordered a Wahoo Kickr Core. I'm having a bit of a reconfiguration of cycling gear. I've got a Giant TCR Advanced 2 road bike and I got the On One Space Chicken gravel bike. The gravel bike is smaller so fits me better. I'm happy with the 1x chainset and the hydro brakes are brilliant. So I've decided to sell the TCR and use the gravel bike for everything. All I need to do is get some road disc wheels and I can just swap them around and I'm sure the gravel bike will be a perfectly capable road bike. The problem was that I now use SPD on the gravel bike for obvious reasons (dabbing, CX running, touring, etc) but I've got some Garmin Vector 2S power meter pedals on the TCR which are Look Keo. I use the power from the pedals for Zwift on my old dumb trainer. Therefore I'm going to lose the power data when I'm out riding on the road in return for a much better trainer and a single bike with different wheels. I'm going with SPD only which means I'll need to get some stiff shoes for road use because the current Halfords cheapo shoes I've got are flimsy. So I sold the TCR. Got the Kickr core. Got some Cero AR30 disc wheels and new Northwave gravel shoes (very stiff). The gravel bike is a fantastic road bike and my experiment has worked. A single do it all bike which can easily go on and off a great trainer and will do anything simply by changing the wheels. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 1 hour ago, TrentVilla said: Probably not one for the cycling purists but I went for it with a Peloton bike, lands on Wednesday and can’t wait. Well I count myself as a bit of a purist but - I reckon you have done the right thing. I haven't been out on the road for nearly 2 weeks - either too cold or too icy. There are a number of "mature" riders such as my self, who think it is not worth going out in "iffy " conditions for fear of coming off and further burdening the NHS with an injury. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippo Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 2 hours ago, TrentVilla said: Probably not one for the cycling purists but I went for it with a Peloton bike, lands on Wednesday and can’t wait. Be interested to see how you get on. Good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted February 18, 2021 Moderator Share Posted February 18, 2021 On 13/02/2021 at 11:59, hippo said: Be interested to see how you get on. Good luck with it. Got it this morning, I love it already. I got the new on the Peloton + with the larger screen. Will let you know how I get on bit it is a fantastic piece of kit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted February 18, 2021 Moderator Share Posted February 18, 2021 On 13/02/2021 at 11:06, veloman said: Well I count myself as a bit of a purist but - I reckon you have done the right thing. I haven't been out on the road for nearly 2 weeks - either too cold or too icy. There are a number of "mature" riders such as my self, who think it is not worth going out in "iffy " conditions for fear of coming off and further burdening the NHS with an injury. I only started with my road bike in the summer so I'm a newbie but not much of a fan of the winter riding and find it hard to get out with kids so this seemed logical solution. Early days but would recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenm Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 8 hours ago, TrentVilla said: I only started with my road bike in the summer so I'm a newbie but not much of a fan of the winter riding and find it hard to get out with kids so this seemed logical solution. Early days but would recommend it. If you do it regularly you'll get on your road bike in the summer and fly. People who do regular spin build up a lot of bike fitness that works in the same way out on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 My exercise bike should be arriving today. Went for the XeroSport Bluetooth bike. Should be decent enough for what I’ll do. Thinking will join up to Zwift, anyone use it? Any other spin classes should look out for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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