Cool looking fwd to that tonight.

I'll be joining in tomorrow morning and I'm just training in order to train.

If I had a rear der....I would join...but alas Spooky is out of biz and finding a new der hanger is becoming a thing

Soon, daylight will wane to a depressing 5pm sunset, CX-fueled handup belly fat will have accumulated, the outside weather will be garbage, and you will all be joining me on Zwift Island (and hopefully we'll have some virtual computrainer type sessions).

I was on this morning for the first time in months for a short interval session. London is boring.

Not a fan of the London course either.  Too bad they don't allow users to choose where they want to ride.  Personally I like the fictional courses, there was a really randomly wacky one that started at a marina, climbed up to a snowy mountain top, and then featured the descent back down.  Haven't seen it again since that week...

I'm waiting for the one that goes past the nude beach....

twoyacks said:

I'm waiting for the one that goes past the nude beach....

You know its going to just be fat dudes in bucket hats sunning themselves like elephant seals hauled up from the tide line, but if you like it go to town.

Anyone have recommendations on smart trainers to use with Zwift or Trainerroad? Hoping to ramp up my indoor training past roller sessions as it gets colder and darker outside. The one point of consideration (besides price) is that I'd like the trainer to be as quiet as possible, since it will be used primarily while the girlfriend is sleeping in the room next door.

I know the Kickr is the "gold standard" but that price has me considering other wheel-on options - mainly the Tacx Vortex as I've heard good things about its noise levels. 

Any thoughts and/or recommendations are appreciated! I saw there was an "indoor trainer" thread but saw this one had some recent activity.

Check out past Trainer road podcasts since that subject came out and they made plenty recommendations on different apparatuses.

If you have a power meter, then all you need is any good dumb trainer and an ANT+ dongle (or some way to connect the meter signal to the computer)

-- I think, Sebastian, you already have a power meter don't you? it doesn't have to be a smart trainer -- you might already have a trainer too, I presume.

I think a smart trainer might be more convenient (Jeff/Jill can speak to that), but agreed that all you need is a "dumb" trainer, power meter, and HRM to make it all work.

I've repeated this a million times, but a trainer specific tire is a lot more silent than the constant whining of a road tire against a roller if you don't get a trainer that mounts directly to your drivetrain.

Thanks for the replies, all. 

The reason I'm intrigued by smart trainers is the fact that I can set up a workout and focus on pedaling (as opposed to keeping my power consistent), although I know it's definitely possible to get as good of a workout on a regular trainer.

I guess I'll just keep poking around and see what I can get a good deal on - there's still a bit of time before it gets bad enough outside that I wouldn't prefer a few Prospect laps to an indoor session.

Right, the advantage of the smart trainer is that it controls the resistance. I love the Kickr (as much as its possible to love something that causes pain, which, come to think of it, can be very possible) but to get onto Zwift you certainly don't need one. But you'll probably beat me up the mountain (though you'd probably do that anyway).

Sebastian, I'm sure Redbeard can hook you up with a good deal, though maybe on a group buy? But if you can swing the cost I'm sure you'll be pretty pretty pretty happy with a smart trainer.

For anyone else who wants to get in on the Zwift thing, if your budget is limited, a cheapo trainer works totally fine. My cheap ancient Nashbar fluid trainer (though made in Italy??) works great. My power meter on the other hand...cuts out when someone uses the microwave upstairs. *Sad trombone*

David Yang said:

Sebastian, I'm sure Redbeard can hook you up with a good deal, though maybe on a group buy? But if you can swing the cost I'm sure you'll be pretty pretty pretty happy with a smart trainer.

For anyone else who wants to get in on the Zwift thing, if your budget is limited, a cheapo trainer works totally fine. My cheap ancient Nashbar fluid trainer (though made in Italy??) works great. My power meter on the other hand...cuts out when someone uses the microwave upstairs. *Sad trombone*

ant+ or bluetooth?  my ant+ dongle works best when usb-extension-corded right next to the devices, i assume you have tried this?  other people might not have though so i'll suggest it in case someone else is having an issue (like I did) with ant+ USB dongles talking to their devices

Yeah my laptop is maybe a meter away from the stages crank. Connectivity is 99% fine, like I said, it's literally really only when someone uses the microwave upstairs.  Why it cuts out randomly on the road, I hear it's due to my older Garmin. C'est la vie.

The biggest reason for a trainer specific tire (IMHO) is to avoid the rooster tail of shredded black rubber behind you that you'll get form a road tire on a drum.

David Yang said:

Yeah my laptop is maybe a meter away from the stages crank. Connectivity is 99% fine, like I said, it's literally really only when someone uses the microwave upstairs.  Why it cuts out randomly on the road, I hear it's due to my older Garmin. C'est la vie.

I believe the term you're looking for is "C'est la poche chaude"

David Yang said:

Sebastian, I'm sure Redbeard can hook you up with a good deal, though maybe on a group buy? But if you can swing the cost I'm sure you'll be pretty pretty pretty happy with a smart trainer.

I think there has been discussion proposed on the Sponsorship thread.  I think we need to do a group order? @Craig Zolan, thoughts on this?  I know that I'm interested in a Kickr and I think others have expressed interest too.

Pretty good and comprehensive Zwift review by Outside Magazine:
https://www.outsideonline.com/2111486/boredom-bikings-biggest-enemy-can-zwift-defeat-it

We did a group buy for Kickr last year. We'll do something similar this year. There are a lot of new smart trainers on the market and I'm sure Ilya will have something to say about them once he returns from Interbike, which is going on right now. 

Speaking of Kickr - they just launched at Interbike a studio package for bike shops to do something similar to computrainer sessions. See DCRainmaker: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/09/wahoo-announces-kickr-studio-platform-for-local-bike-shopsstudios.html

This digression probably belongs in the gear thread, but interesting to see that hardware makers are working on an end to end product rather than using existing workout platforms like trying to integrate with Zwift or computrainer or whatever.

Hm, I should add that a lucrative market is gyms offering spin classes and being able to offer a hardware and software package would be pretty enticing for owners/operators/franchises.

David Yang said:

Hm, I should add that a lucrative market is gyms offering spin classes and being able to offer a hardware and software package would be pretty enticing for owners/operators/franchises.

Funny you should say:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/business/spin-class-full-feel-the-burn-from-your-living-room.html?_r=0 

Coincidentally i have just completed a $5 million fit out of 4 floors for Peloton's new office space in Chelsea and they are starting construction on another floor in November  , times are good .
Still trying to wangle a few bikes for our office  

Back on topic, I'll probably start up a regular Zwift ride during weekdays for people short on time.  Thinking of having a conference line through a 3rd party call in service (gotomeeting or join.me or something) in case people want to talk trash or whatever.

Okay gonna hit Zwift island at 7am, meet before the start line.

If you want to join and chat over voice, go to http://join.me/hellodaveguy for VoIP or for a traditional call in number.  We can coordinate over voice what route we want to take. 

Sorry if I missed anyone, but the cold I've been fighting for a week decided to go bonkers.  Took some sudafed (I have a TUE from the pharmacists at CVS) and decided to break up some masonry and pour concrete instead...

Riding again tomorrow and Wednesday, 2-3pm.  Willing to change it up to 8:30p evenings.

David, is it ok to dial in even if there isn't a virtual me on Zwift island riding a bicycle made of pixels? I like the idea of team trash talk.