Zwift.

[DarrenM]

Cool. Found some info in the ACF Zwift thread as well. I just stick HDR in my surname and join from the app. Easy.

Do you guys go on teamspeak for this? I'd need to hook up a mic and push to talk button.

[norbs]

I tried ts and it was shit. Some people have extra loud trainers

[DarrenM]

No worries. I was more worried about it sounding like a perverts conference call with everyone heavy breathing into their mic's. Listening to that for an hour could scar someone for life

[DarrenM]

Well for the first minute or so my bike wouldn't move. Either the zwift app didn't have proper focus on the pc or it was due to doing the spindown with 20 seconds to go. My tablet was flat and wouldn't power on until then.

So I basically rode by myself and watched everyone slowly pull away. Got lapped at about 18km, but they had a head start so it doesn't count

Was going to do an hour but I was struggling at 50 mins so I stopped. Not big on the flat course. Doing it solo is just a massive grind with little variation. Kinda wish the kickr would power the wheel a bit on the downhills so you could roll and recover a bit, but I guess that defeats the purpose. I'll give it another go in a couple weeks and see how I compare anyway.

There was 211 riders at the start IIRC.

[norbs]

Bummer Darren.

Yeah, I try and get things sorted well before the start time. There often seems to be a little wrinkle in the process.

That was hard yakka tonight, but I didnt get dropped, so win.

[KNAPPO]

Real quick set of questions regarding trainers.

My local bike shop has their last 2nd hand unit going for $100. Its a dumb trainer so ide need to also get a speed sensor and Ant+ receiver to get hooked up with Strava/Zwift.
Im planning on using it with my Avanti Competitor hardtail with a 1.75 road tyre I have but im wondering if its worth going down the dumb trainer route or is it better to get a trainer that has a variable resistance motor ect?

I would like to do some training indoors when the weather is cold and to do a bit less night riding by myself in the winter months. I ride a lot by myself at night and am always worried about coming unstuck on a dirt trail with limited access if I get injured. Ill be using it when kids are asleep so noise is a factor.

I almost bought the trainer at $100 but as its tax time soon I wanted to explore other options before making a off the cuff decision.

[CLP]

Real quick set of questions regarding trainers.

My local bike shop has their last 2nd hand unit going for $100. Its a dumb trainer so ide need to also get a speed sensor and Ant+ receiver to get hooked up with Strava/Zwift.
Im planning on using it with my Avanti Competitor hardtail with a 1.75 road tyre I have but im wondering if its worth going down the dumb trainer route or is it better to get a trainer that has a variable resistance motor ect?

I would like to do some training indoors when the weather is cold and to do a bit less night riding by myself in the winter months. I ride a lot by myself at night and am always worried about coming unstuck on a dirt trail with limited access if I get injured. Ill be using it when kids are asleep so noise is a factor.

I almost bought the trainer at $100 but as its tax time soon I wanted to explore other options before making a off the cuff decision.

if you go down the dumb trainer route, make sure it's one that Zwift knows about. the trainer needs to have a known speed vs. power curve (or alternatively, you need a power meter on your bike)

personally, if you can afford it, I think the smart trainer is the way to go. Even without zwift, it allows you to tailor your training plan if you use it in ergo mode.

[hutchy]

never!

Got a link? [/quote]

Scroll down the page a bit.......you may need to be a member of the group to view though.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ZwiftOz/[/quote]

One of the Culburra boys gets his Kickr today. I sent him this link and he says it does work on Facebook.[/quote]

Back from holidays just now so sorry for the late reply to this. If you search Zwift Oz in Facebook it will come up, it's a closed group so you will need to send a join request.

[norbs]

Back from holidays just now so sorry for the late reply to this. If you search Zwift Oz in Facebook it will come up, it's a closed group so you will need to send a join request.

No worries Hutchy. I was using a shared login but it got closed down.

[norbs]

I am going to do The pretzel over the weekend to support this...

http://qhubeka5000.org/

[KNAPPO]

personally, if you can afford it, I think the smart trainer is the way to go. Even without zwift, it allows you to tailor your training plan if you use it in ergo mode.

Thanks again Norbs. Had a solid convo on the phone with Norbio about trainers. I now have a much better understanding of the pros n cons of each. Only downside I can see at the moment is ill have a max gear ratio of 44-11t, but as my main purpose will be riding/training more whilst being available to the family this isnt too much of a problem. Itll only be an issue when doing a Zwift ride with roadies.

I plan to use my hardtail on it with a Maxxis Overdrive rear tyre as I have a pair of them sitting around doing nothing.

[CLP]

personally, if you can afford it, I think the smart trainer is the way to go. Even without zwift, it allows you to tailor your training plan if you use it in ergo mode.

Thanks again Norbs. Had a solid convo on the phone with Norbio about trainers. I now have a much better understanding of the pros n cons of each. Only downside I can see at the moment is ill have a max gear ratio of 44-11t, but as my main purpose will be riding/training more whilst being available to the family this isnt too much of a problem. Itll only be an issue when doing a Zwift ride with roadies.

I plan to use my hardtail on it with a Maxxis Overdrive rear tyre as I have a pair of them sitting around doing nothing.

if noise is an issue, then you'll want to run in a smaller gear anyway (assuming you were to run in ergo mode). any noise from the trainer is likely from the tyre/roller interface. slower wheel speed means less noise Doesn't really apply if you were to be running in Zwift though.

[norbs]

if noise is an issue, then you'll want to run in a smaller gear anyway (assuming you were to run in ergo mode). any noise from the trainer is likely from the tyre/roller interface. slower wheel speed means less noise Doesn't really apply if you were to be running in Zwift though.

The kickr Snap is surprisingly quiet. Well, compared to the old jetBlack fluid trainer.

[KNAPPO]

Noise is a bit of a concern as it will get some use when my kids are in bed.

I will most probably use it in my man cave with my sim racing rig pc when I want to use Zwift, but I would also like to use it in the back lounge room while the Mrs watches TV, the noise could be a little annoying for her ide imagine. The other option is in the shed for training non Zwift rides.

If the kids dont wake up with the ruckus of FnF then I think ill be alright.

[hutchy]

Noise is a bit of a concern as it will get some use when my kids are in bed.

I will most probably use it in my man cave with my sim racing rig pc when I want to use Zwift, but I would also like to use it in the back lounge room while the Mrs watches TV, the noise could be a little annoying for her ide imagine. The other option is in the shed for training non Zwift rides.

If the kids dont wake up with the ruckus of FnF then I think ill be alright.

In my case using the Snap the fans for cooling make the most noise.

[KNAPPO]

2 questions for you Zwifters.

Where is the best, cheapest place to grab a ANT+ usb stick?
How would a i5-6200U @ 2.3ghz witha Nvidia GTX 950M 1GB hold up for single rider zwift sessions?

I plan on using my gaming PC most of the time but I noticed on the Zwift recommended specs for GPU's = NVIDIA GTX 650 - 1GB dedicated GPU. Extreme spec = NVIDIA GTX 970. Min GPU = 1GB dedicated GPU.

[norbs]

2 questions for you Zwifters.

Where is the best, cheapest place to grab a ANT+ usb stick?
How would a i5-6200U @ 2.3ghz witha Nvidia GTX 950M 1GB hold up for single rider zwift sessions?

I plan on using my gaming PC most of the time but I noticed on the Zwift recommended specs for GPU's = NVIDIA GTX 650 - 1GB dedicated GPU. Extreme spec = NVIDIA GTX 970. Min GPU = 1GB dedicated GPU.

https://lamaoz.myshopify.com/

That PC will be fine for single rider sessions.

[KNAPPO]

https://lamaoz.myshopify.com/

That PC will be fine for single rider sessions.

Champion.

[GT VIRUS]

I love that you bastards complain about the cost of iRacing's sub, but will pay for this ugly thing!

[KNAPPO]

I love that you bastards complain about the cost of iRacing's sub, but will pay for this ugly thing!

Im not going to be using Zwift for its graphics.
iRacing, even if im the worlds best racer wont get me to lose my gut.

[norbs]

I love that you bastards complain about the cost of iRacing's sub, but will pay for this ugly thing!

No comparison at all. iRaping has heaps of GREAT competition. Zwift is on its own.

Plus, it is far better for you than iRacing or AC etc.

[KNAPPO]

What kind of tyre wear do you blokes experience on the trainer. Been doing a bit of reading and see so many mixed reports...


Ill give the tyres I have a go at first but im wondering if im going to have to go down this road:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-inside ... -mtb-tyre/
http://www.wiggle.com.au/vittoria-zaffi ... -tyre-mtb/
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/continental-hom ... iner-tyre/

[CLP]

What kind of tyre wear do you blokes experience on the trainer. Been doing a bit of reading and see so many mixed reports...

I use whatever is on the bike at the time I wouldn't bother with a specific trainer tyre unless you're having serious issues with tyre slippage that you can't resolve by adjusting the roller tension.

[KNAPPO]

I wouldn't bother with a specific trainer tyre unless you're having serious issues with tyre slippage that you can't resolve by adjusting the roller tension.

I take it the slippage is what causes the tyres to destroy themselves on the roller?

[CLP]

I wouldn't bother with a specific trainer tyre unless you're having serious issues with tyre slippage that you can't resolve by adjusting the roller tension.

I take it the slippage is what causes the tyres to destroy themselves on the roller?

Nah... it's just annoying and causes inaccurate power/speed readings on a smart trainer. It also makes an irritating high pitched squeal.. Over tightening the roller tension may cause excessive wear, though you'd probably notice the excessive drag on the wheel long before then. There's only one trainer I know that by design *may* cause additional wear, and that's the BKool trainers. That's because the roller isn't smooth. Jury is still out on that one though.

Probably pulling the trigger on a Kickr Snap tonight :o Might need to investigate computer options for it soon