Trainers for Cruzbikes

BentNotBroke

BentNotBroke

Member
I'm starting this thread to hopefully draw a sub-conversation away from another thread I started about my first Cruzbike.

The topic seems interesting enough that it deserves its own thread. I hope to learn from it for the long Maine winter that will inevitably end my season. Unfortunatly, it's making my original thread a bit disjointed.

Here are the posts that have been written already in my other thread to get things started:

trplay wrote (in response to my umbrella joke):
Drop the umbrella plan and pick up a smart trainer. Then come join the Zwift ZRL Cruzbike racingteam. You are just in time for the season kick-off.

5duece wrote:
What smart trainer pairs well with a V20? Just picked up a new to me V20 from this forum in May. It took 90 seconds to get going and peddling around the high school parking lot but 90 days have passed and still don't have great starts. I can grab the water bottle on the go after taking the advice from LarryOz on grabbing it every few miles so I am making progress just not on my take off.

LarryOz wrote:
I like the Wahoo CORE, but if you have front Disc Brakes you will have to remove the caliper. Not a huge deal to unscrew a couple bolts. But the Wahoo KICKR is such that I don't think yo need to remove the caliper. It is just a little more expensive since it is adjustable to different size drive wheels.

Mathew Fy wrote:
I recommend getting any wheel-off smart trainer that meets your needs and fits your budget. You don’t have disc brakes so no worry about the caliper getting in the way.
Interestingly, after my first winter of only riding on the trainer, it was an eye opener getting back onthe road. I felt quite unstable for a while.

5duece wrote:
I have disk brakes which was an issue when it showed up at the door (disk bolts on rear were striking frame).
I can borrow a Wahoo KICKR so will try that and see if that works.

Cpml123 wrote:
I haveElite Suito with my S40 with disc brake. No need to remove the caliper. That was the reason I picked it (and all Wahoo's were out). REIhas 90 day return policy on the trainers.
 
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Beano

Well-Known Member
Tacx Neo works well with a Cruzbike. You do have to remove the caliper if running disk brakes and they do come with the through bolt adapters should you need them given that the new S40 out comes with these as standard.
 
S

SageRider

Member
Wahoo Kickr works with my '20 S40. Just needed to remove the Kickr's handle to eliminate interference with the S40's brake caliper.
 
J

Jay Y

New Member
I have a 2018 kickr and just got the 21 's40. Can/should I use the skewer that is on the s40? Do I need to do anything else (aside from maybe dealing with the handle/brake interference issue)? From searching around, it seems my kickr is past the point of needing the separate adapter kit for the through-axle adapter. My previous bike had the same size thru-axle, but I was using the one from the bike.

SageRider said:
Wahoo Kickr works with my '20 S40. Just needed to remove the Kickr's handle to eliminate interference with the S40's brake caliper.
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S

SageRider

Member
Jay Y said:
I have a 2018 kickr and just got the 21 's40. Can/should I use the skewer that is on the s40? Do I need to do anything else (aside from maybe dealing with the handle/brake interference issue)? From searching around, it seems my kickr is past the point of needing the separate adapter kit for the through-axle adapter. My previous bike had the same size thru-axle, but I was using the one from the bike.
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I don't have definitive answer for you. I have not tried a '21 S40 on the Kickr (mine's a '20). I would use the thru axle that came with your S40 and just give it a try. I am guessing you would need to use the correct diameter thru axle spacers that came with your Kickr.
 
dule0911

dule0911

Active Member
I have 4 trainer candidates lined up, and putting price aside, with which one I can expect the least problems? I don't want to take anything off the bike except the wheel.
Bikes are 2019 Q45 with Avid BB5 brakes (stock build) and 2020 S40 (custom build with IS to FM adapter and ultegra caliper).

- Wahoo Kickr CORE
See that the CORE causes clearance issues with disc brakes, but looking at the non-casette side of the trainer, I don't see that much of a difference to the regular Kickr (except the handle). Regular Kickr is to pricy to be my first ever trainer.

- JetBlack VOLT EMS
Can't find much user experiences for this one, on paper it seems ok. Anybody tried one with a cruzbike?

-Elite Suito T
From your posts this one seems to work, just not sure since it has the lightest flywheel of the bunch.

-TackX Flus S Smart T2900S
Least favourite of the bunch, since it has a 10% gradient limit, for training I would like to have a bit more if possible.

Any suggestions appreciated. Outside the US so currently limited to these 4. I don't have a chance to try anything except maybe the TackX with my bikes, so trying to minimize the risk of incompatibility with the cruzbikes.
 
C

cpml123

Zen MBB Master
I have Suito, and it works with both S40 and Q45 with disc brakes and QR and thru axle. I can't comment on light fly wheel since it seems to generate more than enough resistance than I could ever push anyway. :)
 
CruzinCambridge

CruzinCambridge

Active Member
I just got my Elite Suito set up with my S30 and it was super easy. No issues with the disc brake or derailleur or anything. Popped it on and did my first ride on my zwift trial in about 15 minutes. Thanks @cpml123 for the advice!

In that first ride I noticed I wasn't able to shift into the big ring... which was odd... but may be related to running a new/different cassette. It's also feels like the bike is a little less stable than it should be because the trainer is "backwards"... with the flywheel between the axles instead of outside, and the feet facing the wrong direction. Going to work on putting down some plywood and 2x4s to make it all more stable. Then I've got some work to do to get screens setup more stably and a towel bar, etc. After I get a things a little more dialed in, I'll be able to report on the ride quality. The auto-resistance mode going up hill and doing intervals was super cool though.

I've never noticed the rear suspension sapping power on the road (maybe because I'm so unstable on the road I'm rarely putting in heavy efforts), but on the trainer, I'm bouncing it up and down really good.
 
F

FrankHugh

New Member
ccf said:
I have the original Tacx Neo. Have put a Sofrider, S30, and V20 on it with no problem.
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I’m trying to understand what I will need to do when putting a Vendetta onto the Neo or Kickr. Are you using anything to mount the trainer on to allow it to move with each pedal stroke? Another member sent me an image of a home made plate on dolly wheels. Being able to mount the bike on a trainer is a make or break on whether I go Cruzbike or something else
 
B

Beano

Well-Known Member
FrankHugh said:
I’m trying to understand what I will need to do when putting a Vendetta onto the Neo or Kickr. Are you using anything to mount the trainer on to allow it to move with each pedal stroke? Another member sent me an image of a home made plate on dolly wheels. Being able to mount the bike on a trainer is a make or break on whether I go Cruzbike or something else
Click to expand...

If you mean to replicate the front end moving like it would do out on the road then it's a no, although I think @trplay did put something together to allow this though I could be wrong.

A Cruzbike, both S40 and V20 will go onto a Tacx Neo, FWIW I do use a SARIS rocker plate, this does not mean the trainer moves as it is fixed but the whole bike does move fore and aft and side to side, works better with a upright bike than a recumbent, but still makes a difference when on a recumbent.
 
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FrankHugh

New Member
I have the same rocker plate but Im unsure if that would put even more stress on the front end of a Cruzbike. If I go the cruzbike route I’ll have no chance of a test ride so just trying to understand how it works on a trainer. To be honest I still don’t fully understand. Don’t suppose you have a video of you on the trainer.
 
Mathew Fy

Mathew Fy

GRU
I’ve tried both styles. My original trainer was a Kinetic Rock and Roll on-wheel that required manual gear changes to alter resistance. I like to watch movies during my sessions so I’d miss out on the program. Also too easy to slack off. The side-to-side motion didn’t do much for me, kind of a waste.
Now I use a Neo smart trainer with much better training results.
I tried a swivel approach using Lazy Susan style hardware and a piece of plywood. The motion’s stronger than what I feel when riding outside and would be good if you also want to train your arms or try to smooth your pedaling, but I find it too distracting.
There’s been other forum threads.
https://forum.cruzbike.com/threads/v-on-a-trainer-swivel.13304/
https://forum.cruzbike.com/threads/zwift-steering.13056/
https://forum.cruzbike.com/threads/any-one-using-roller-trainer.12619/
 
F

FrankHugh

New Member
Is it fair to say the cruzbike on a trainer is a touch compromised or am I reading Into something that isnt actually noticeable once pedalling away? Another member sent me a picture of a lazy Susan setup and my first thought was that it would be more draggy than what you would feel on the road.

I’ve been looking at ways to drill into the rocker plate and simply attach a free spinning display stand to the plate and that would hold the Kickr but allow it to move with little to no drag.
 
LarryOz

LarryOz

Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
FrankHugh said:
Is it fair to say the cruzbike on a trainer is a touch compromised or am I reading Into something that isnt actually noticeable once pedalling away? Another member sent me a picture of a lazy Susan setup and my first thought was that it would be more draggy than what you would feel on the road.

I’ve been looking at ways to drill into the rocker plate and simply attach a free spinning display stand to the plate and that would hold the Kickr but allow it to move with little to no drag.
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My 2 cents:
I have been riding my V20 on a Wahoo trainer since 2015 - and some years have put in thousands upon thousands of miles. I cannot say anything has been compromised.
From the training aspect doing intervals on a trainer is so much easier than out on a real road, especially when you are going "all out" - I don't have any problem taking it off and hoping on it and riding it on the real road.
 
F

FrankHugh

New Member
LarryOz said:
My 2 cents:
I have been riding my V20 on a Wahoo trainer since 2015 - and some years have put in thousands upon thousands of miles. I cannot say anything has been compromised.
From the training aspect doing intervals on a trainer is so much easier than out on a real road, especially when you are going "all out" - I don't have any problem taking it off and hoping on it and riding it on the real road.
Click to expand...
Is the Wahoo trainer fixed to anything to allow for movement?
 
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