Turbo training gears - Triathlon

Toro

16/01/2012 at 11:20

I have a spare bike but one of the gear levers is broken (Ican't remember which). I am looking at getting a turbo and would consider putting this bike on it in a fixed gear (or moving it by hand before each exercise). I could vary resistance via the turbo but having never used a turbo would this be a good idea? What do most people do?

fat buddha

16/01/2012 at 11:35

I use my standard gears on the turbo so the resistance alters as I change gear.

if your turbo offers resistance change via a separate bar lever(some do, many don't) then you could use the bike in a single gear OK. otherwise if it's something you have to change manually it will limit the flexibility.

why not get the gear lever fixed??

Cheerful Dave pirate

pirate

16/01/2012 at 11:58

I've used a turbo that way before, on an old bike where the gears were so knackered I couldn't change gear any more and just changed the resistance on the turbo. It was OK like that - this is a Tacx Excel (I think, it's an old model) where I can change the resistance using a control at the bars, as FB says. If you can change either the front or back then so much the better.

Using an old bike like that is a good way of making the most of it without having to bother repairing it. This old one of mine had no brakes, no working gears, a front wheel so out of true it wouldn't clear the forks anyway and frankly would have been a deathtrap on the roads. Still good for lots of turbo miles though.

Toro

16/01/2012 at 13:48

Thanks for that. I may look into fixing it but for now I will give it a go like this. I can't remember which lever is broken as it's a continental set-up and I know the brakes are the wrong way round but not sure about the gears!

popsider

16/01/2012 at 15:04

If it's the front it hardly matters - you can leave it on the big ring - if it's the rear then if you can't fix it just leave it in a decent gear for your efforts - it's a disadvantage but not the end of the world especially if your turbo has variable resistance.

Edited: 16/01/2012 at 15:05

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