Vendetta on a Turbo Trainer

Mwhwsmith

Member
Autumn is goint to be setting in here in the UK soon, and I have being looking at options to train on the V indoors.

I have a Turbo trainer which fits well on the front wheel, but have noticed that I get a lot of movement through the bike when I pedal hard. Specifically, my wooden floors are quite slippery and I have noticed that while the rear wheel stays on one place, the front wheel (complete with the turbo) moves/slips on the floor gradually leading to a feeling of being 'off-centre'.

I have tried various means to increase friction between the floor and the Turbo - I have tried using various mattings and other items to secure the Turbo in one place, but to no avail. I'm coming to the conclusion, that I either need to start drilling into the floor (not keen!) or think of another solution.

I also displike teh feel of teh V on a Turbo - it feels like the bioke is absorbing a lot of forces/stresses/strains that would otherwise have been dissipated in lateral movement on the road. I suspect the wear rate on the bearings and joints is much higher when on the Turbo than the road.

So my questions are:

a) Have others encountered this issue and do you have any solutions / fixes? What is the best indoor traing set-up for a Vendetta?
b) Does anyone use rollers for training? If so, is there an issue with using the rollers in reverse? (ie do rollers even work in reverse?)

Thanks
Mike
 

snilard

Guru of hot glue gun
b) Does anyone use rollers for training? If so, is there an issue with using the rollers in reverse? (ie do rollers even work in reverse?)
I have used V on rollers. I can ride on rollers with my RWD without difficulties. Of course some attention is needed to stay on rollers but you can still think about other things. My rollers ar conical so I can feel when I am approching side of roller. With Vendetta it is possible to ride on rollers but much more attention is needed. High intensity is real challenge if not nearly impossible.
I stopped riding V on rollers because I have issue with knee. I think that some training would make riding on rollers easier but I haven't given it the time.

a) Have others encountered this issue and do you have any solutions / fixes? What is the best indoor traing set-up for a Vendetta?
If I remember it correctly there was technique how to train your pedaling style on turbo. You lift your rear wheel a little by elastic rope connected to cailing. Than your frame can rotate on stationary front. I think that this may solve your problem.
 

ratz

Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Autumn is goint to be setting in here in the UK soon, and I have being looking at options to train on the V indoors.

I have a Turbo trainer which fits well on the front wheel, but have noticed that I get a lot of movement through the bike when I pedal hard. Specifically, my wooden floors are quite slippery and I have noticed that while the rear wheel stays on one place, the front wheel (complete with the turbo) moves/slips on the floor gradually leading to a feeling of being 'off-centre'.

I have tried various means to increase friction between the floor and the Turbo - I have tried using various mattings and other items to secure the Turbo in one place, but to no avail. I'm coming to the conclusion, that I either need to start drilling into the floor (not keen!) or think of another solution.

I also displike teh feel of teh V on a Turbo - it feels like the bioke is absorbing a lot of forces/stresses/strains that would otherwise have been dissipated in lateral movement on the road. I suspect the wear rate on the bearings and joints is much higher when on the Turbo than the road.

So my questions are:

a) Have others encountered this issue and do you have any solutions / fixes? What is the best indoor traing set-up for a Vendetta?
b) Does anyone use rollers for training? If so, is there an issue with using the rollers in reverse? (ie do rollers even work in reverse?)

Thanks
Mike

Yeah that takes some practice. Solving it will smooth out your pedaling actions.
  • Ride with your hands off the handlebars; sometime helps on the hard stuff to place hands behind your head for better breathing.
  • If you need to do something really hard push on the handle bars instead of pulling; the effect is the same but won't destabilized the training.
  • Practice pedaling circles.
  • Understand that on a training you will occasionally push <=250 watts for a 1-3 minute interval. You'll never push 650 watts for more than 10 seconds
  • Keep you cadence in the 85-110 range; slower cadences are going to stress the frame
  • You will have to tight the the headset stack periodically no way around that; don't ride with it loose that would be the most likely way to cause damage.
  • If you can figure out the ceiling rope trick go for it. but make sure the bike stays level; training an inch or two off level will not return the same improvements.
 

MrSteve

Zen MBB Master
A piece of plywood as wide as your Turbo trainer and as long as your wheelbase will work.
Glue and screw cleats onto the plywood to hold both your Turbo trainer's feet in place and your rear wheel in place.

I never did this myself, because I enjoy the challenge of keeping both the bike and the trainer in line.
 

Mwhwsmith

Member
Many thanks for the guidance.

I have however found alternative solutions:

1) I have bought a 'new-to-me' Sofrider that should be suitable for winter use (and also rides out with the kids). This means I can venture outdoors more through winter
2) I have permission from my better half to drill holes in our wooden floor to fix the turbo trainer. I suspect this is because she has her eye on redecorating in a year or so!

Very excited tobe picking up the sofrider this weekend.
 
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