Turbo Trainers

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CarolynRach
CarolynRach Posts: 203 Forumite
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in Sports & fitness MoneySaving
Hey,
I'm looking at a Tacx Turbo Trainer to keep my fitness up when I just can't face cycling outside. Anyone know if they're worth the money?

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  • dont_use_vistaprint
    dont_use_vistaprint Posts: 601 Forumite
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    edited 19 November 2018 at 7:14PM
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    CarolynRach wrote: »
    Hey,
    I'm looking at a Tacx Turbo Trainer to keep my fitness up when I just can't face cycling outside. Anyone know if they're worth the money?

    I wouldn't bother, get decent second hand rollers. A turbo wont give the same core workout as cycling and will damage your bike

    https://totalwomenscycling.com/fitness/turbo-trainers-vs-rollers
    "It is not the critic who counts..." - Theodore Roosevelt
  • indesisiv
    indesisiv Posts: 6,359 Forumite
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    That link above is clearly written by someone who really doesn't like turbo trainers.
    I have a tacx neo smart trainer and I love it for keeping fitness up. Its direct drive so I fail to see how it damages the bike.
    I have it linked up to zwift so it gives me the variability of the resistance when climbing or descending. Personally I also like being able to free wheel for a sec whilst switching tv channels or music, cycling inside is so boring otherwise!
    “Time is intended to be spent, not saved” - Alfred Wainwright
  • Nebulous2
    Nebulous2 Posts: 5,116 Forumite
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    Halfords are selling a tacx flux for £399. You can get an extra 10% off if you are a member of British Cycling. I bought one at the weekend, so I'm still playing around with it, but I didn't want to pay for a top-end trainer. So far it has been fine.
  • CarolynRach
    CarolynRach Posts: 203 Forumite
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    Thanks! I'll look into that one. I was originally going to get a cheaper one, probably just the Tacx Blue Twist as that's less than £100 at this shop.

    Might be worth spending a bit more though, hmmm....
  • Nebulous2
    Nebulous2 Posts: 5,116 Forumite
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    Again you can get a bit more from Halfords. I had one of these. I also bought a mat and riser block. I've just upgraded to the flux.
  • CarolynRach
    CarolynRach Posts: 203 Forumite
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    I'm going to get something this weekend! I'm hoping there will be some good offers!
  • mdori003
    mdori003 Posts: 103 Forumite
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    A good turbo trainer is worth it's weight in gold. I started with a basic Tacx model (a dumb trainer - no ANT+/bluetooth compatilitiy) which was okay for looking at GCN videos on youtube but not immersive.

    Since I moved to a smart trainer (Kickr snap, reconditioned direct from website) I've been able to use 3rd party apps like zwift and it has hugely changed my training and motivation to train.

    But both can work depending on your personality, both are better than rollers and neither will damage your bike (although if you have a top end carbon framed bike do check your warranty). I use an early 90s steel frame banger on the trainer.
  • plunt
    plunt Posts: 525 Forumite
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    i second the kickr snap reconditioned! great workout and syncs with a bunch of different apps, including ones which have actual video of different places around the world, so one day i was cycling in Japan, the next in Norway!

    Benefit of the Snap is that its super easy to take off and the unit folds up a fair bit for storage purposes
  • CarolynRach
    CarolynRach Posts: 203 Forumite
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    Thanks for the info guys! Paid a bit more and got a smart one!
  • dont_use_vistaprint
    dont_use_vistaprint Posts: 601 Forumite
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    edited 3 December 2018 at 4:10PM
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    indesisiv wrote: »
    Its direct drive so I fail to see how it damages the bike.

    Don't take my word for it, check your bikes warranty - many are void if you use a turbo. Bikes are simply not designed to be used in this way. Some info below on different brands

    https://road.cc/content/feature/216681-it-okay-use-your-bike-turbo-trainer
    "It is not the critic who counts..." - Theodore Roosevelt
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