Stationary bike suggestions?

Bump...

Spendy but check out the neo smart bike and the wattbike. Wattbike is probably the most well known and respected in the industry.

IndoorsAreGreat wrote:

Spendy but check out the neo smart bike and the wattbike. Wattbike is probably the most well known and respected in the industry.

Thanks for the suggestions, those weren't on my radar. They look perfect for what I want. Wattbike seems to be sold only through local dealers and you have to fill out a contact form to learn where those are?

A bit expensive... on the other hand, I estimate I've put about 600 hours onto my trainer I bought on craigslist for $40 bucks over the last 2 years. That's the equivalent of like 18,000 miles. If I think of it that way, $3k seems pretty reasonable amortized out. Running shoes are cheaper per mile, of course....

And if getting a trainer means my wife uses it too, the cost per use goes down more still.

Hmm, the wattbike atom isnt available in the U.S. yet.

Anybody know of any others? I found a nordic track one for sale for a grand. Not sure I trust anything nordic track brand, though

Based on your criteria, which are similar to mine, I highly recommend the concept2 BikeErg.

I got one about a month ago, and have been using it every day since then.

If you have any questions, I'll be glad to answer.

Some answers to your questions:

The settings have markings, and are fast and easy to adjust.

The BE is easy to get on and off and is extremely stable, which is very important to me.

It was easy to get the same setup as on my road bike, and to make any adjustments from there.

The BE freewheels just like a regular road bike, and has a relatively quiet fan resistance.

The resistance is easy to adjust, and easy to calibrate with the monitor for workouts and time trials.

The Pm5 monitor is similar to a power meter, as watts are relative to your pace.

The important thing to me and to most people is that the readings are consistent and reliable.

I got mine about a month ago and have been using it every day since then. I've probably done more

on the BE since getting it, then I did in the last 10 years. It is easy to use, and great for motivation as well.

Concept2 has an online meters board and rankings (totally optional) which are also helpful for motivation.

The cost of the BE is much less than the Wattbike, and it's also much better.

Here's a comparison from Youtube. I'll check this thread tomorrow in case you have more questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDwvEc0FtE0

I recommend the BikeErg wrote:

Based on your criteria, which are similar to mine, I highly recommend the concept2 BikeErg.

I got one about a month ago, and have been using it every day since then.

If you have any questions, I'll be glad to answer.

Interesting, thanks. How is the volume of the resistance fan? What's the hardest setting like, is it "out of the saddle" tough?

GherkinMobile wrote:

Interesting, thanks. How is the volume of the resistance fan? What's the hardest setting like, is it "out of the saddle" tough?

The fan resistance is controlled by the damper setting, and your speed. The damper can be set from 1 (easy) to 10 (quite hard). The resistance - called the "drag factor" is controlled by the damper and your speed, is about 45 at the lowest setting, and 230 at the highest, which is quite a big range. You mostly find the setting, and then use the same setting all the time. However, it is easy to change and adjust.

The fan sound is a steady low hum, which personally I find to be rather pleasing, and the pedals drive an internal belt, not a chain, which helps to make it more quiet and steady.

GherkinMobile wrote:

A bit expensive... on the other hand, I estimate I've put about 600 hours onto my trainer I bought on craigslist for $40 bucks over the last 2 years. That's the equivalent of like 18,000 miles. l.

Or... maybe 9,000 miles.

Since you probably ride about 15 mph and not 30.

GherkinMobile wrote:

A bit expensive... on the other hand, I estimate I've put about 600 hours onto my trainer I bought on craigslist for $40 bucks over the last 2 years. That's the equivalent of like 18,000 miles. l.

Or... maybe 9,000 miles.

Since you probably ride about 15 mph and not 30.

So far I've been using damper 3 on mine.

Standing is good. It's just like a regular road bike in that regard except smoother.

You can make the resistance as tough as you want.

real life indoor cyclist wrote:

GherkinMobile wrote:

A bit expensive... on the other hand, I estimate I've put about 600 hours onto my trainer I bought on craigslist for $40 bucks over the last 2 years. That's the equivalent of like 18,000 miles. l.

Or... maybe 9,000 miles.

Since you probably ride about 15 mph and not 30.

I meant to write 12,000, was a brain fart.

When I ride a flat ride outdoors of 40 to 70 miles, I average 20mph on my tricross. Hills, obviously slower. If I'm on the mtn bike, obviously slower. Not really the point of my post, but thanks for pointing that out, it helped the discussion immensely.

Unless you get a legit spin bike, no stationary bike is going to mimic real riding. My preference is a smart trainer like a Wahoo kickr for just under $1k and you can ride on Zwift with it using your actual bike. You get practice with your outdoor bike that you can use for racing or it's just convenient riding something that fits you specifically. Zwift has group rides and races that are really intense so you can get a great workout. The real issue is being burdened by the insane amount of daily events going on like every 30 minutes. You have to know when to race and when to back off and it's difficult.

If you have suggestions of spin bikes that freewheel, I'm all ears. Otherwise, I'm not sure im interesting in mimicking "real riding" on a fixie. Being unable to adjust the nuts now and then drives me crazy.

Road bike on the trainer is what I've been doing. I like it a lot. I'd like something I can adjust do my wife can ride, too. My bike is too large to adjust down for my wife.

My only interest is fitness, so knowing when to race and when to back off is easy: I'll always be focused on the fitness and never racing! I can definitely see the appeal of those apps, though, just not something I need.

Here, I have the model with drop down handle bars, the older model. I can't complain about it.

https://www.proform.com/exercise-bikes/tdf-bike?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq7K_ndqz5AIVkZOzCh0KVwDgEAQYASABEgJz4fD_BwE

On the other hand you can get one of these instead...

(You will need a quality bike for it)

Good luck!

https://zwift.com/?utm_source=cm&utm_medium=cpm&utm_campaign=shift_glo_all_cycling_specialistdirect_cyclingnewsvideowall_brand_aug19

If to take into account the criteria that you want, then such spin bike will cost about 1000 bucks. I never had a spin bike, because I prefer a real bike and I think that there is nothing better than riding a Giant along Honolulu tracks, but my wife believes differently and therefore a couple of years ago I bought her a smart spin bike with the form factor of the bicycle and she is very happy. I chose spin bikes at

. So I advise you to look there too. I hope you find the right model.

It depends on how much you want to spend. The Wahoo is going to have road bike geometry since it's your road bike. It's also direct drive so you can put whatever cassette you want on the back and not tear up your tire.

I just got one and it connected immediately so i have power, cadence, speed, and HR if you have monitor. I'm just starting to sync it all with zwift. After one ride, i don't think i could go back to a trainer.