Home› General Training Discussions

Power for my road bike or a new trainer?

Clark MitchellClark Mitchell
in General Training Discussions

Some quick background - I have a power hub for my tri bike that I use for training and racing.  I also have an inexpensive fluid trainer that I use all winter and for many of my IM workouts.  Actually, as i write this, I'm realizing that I use the trainer a LOT.

With christmas gift cards and some savings, I currently have enough cash set aside to afford EITHER some sort of power setup for my road bike OR a new high-end trainer like a whaoo kickr.  

So my question to the group is which one should I get and why?

Comments

  • Al TruscottAl Truscott
    Tri bike wheel with power hub wont fit on road bike? If you can trade the wheel back and forth, that eliminates the need to buy another one, IMP. How often do you use road bike for actual racing focused training? Which bike are you using on the trainer?

    The value of a better trainer would be mainly convenience...the ability with Kickr to pre program workouts which set the resistence of the trainer, forcing you to ride at the precscribed effort level.
  • kimmydctkimmydct
    Good point Al. This is what I do. Once tri season is done, I put the PT on the road bike as I ride more "recreationly" but still like power data. (And when I say "I", I mean my LBS) image I think it requires the swapping of the cassette too but again, it is the LBS' problem, not mine. Then when I'm ready for the Out Season, the PT goes back on the tri bike.

    I guess the cost will add up over the years, but it would take a long time of swapping 2x/year to equal another PT wheel.
  • Coach RichCoach Rich
    Kim et al:

    The swapping of a cassette is about as difficult as changing your shoes. Seriously. Having an LBS do this for you is a waste of time and money, frankly, as I imagine it would involve taking both bikes to the LBS, etc.
  • Al TruscottAl Truscott

    I've discovered a way to take an *intact* cassette off a PT hub in less time than it takes to change my shoes. Literally two seconds. When I get home next week, I'll take a picture to demonstrate. See the diagram in the link below. I remove the part labelled FH-PRO27 (on the far left). It just pops off if I put in one of those plastic caps that go into a wheel when it is shipped. Then, the cogs come off still attached to the inner housing (labeled FH-DA015), leaving  behind the parts labelled HB-RO22 and FH-RE201. (If I knew the names for all these things .. well, you might not.) The diagram is labelled Campy, but I do this on Shimano and SRAM hubs.

    I do this each time I fly with my bike, for easier packing into its suitcase. So 5-6 times a year, meaning 10-12 removals. It is honestly easier to do this than taking off a bottle cage, and certainly than fixing a flat tire. If Kim is dealing with one cassette and two PT hubs, this method will save a trip to the LBS.

    http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qldY8yQWEPE/TCCWyiprREI/AAAAAAAAApU/7ta-dNAWw3A/s1600/Campanolo_hub_diagram.bmp

     

  • Clark MitchellClark Mitchell
    My "road" bike has disc brakes so switching the wheel is not an option.

    I use the tri bike on the trainer so I have power and to get used to being in aero.

    I do some race focused training on the road bike and I would do more if I had power on that bike.

    +1 on changing a cassette being straight forward. I do it for races since they tend to be flatter than my local rides. I'm curious to see Al's link as that seems like an easy option for travel.

    Thanks all.
  • Mark MaurerMark Maurer

    Yep, it's pretty easy to change a cassette on a powertap hub if both bikes use the same cassette. Even if one bike is Campy and the other is Shimano it's really easy once you get it set up. I've pasted the instructions below. First take the wheel off the bike and remove the quick release skewer. There's a little cap at the end of the axle that you remove and then just pull the cassette with the freehub body attached off the axle. Then put the cassette/freehub body on the other hub, replace the cap and the skewer and install it on the other bike. I have a Shimano tri-bike and a Campy road bike and one PT wheel so I bought a Campy freehub body and set up my cassette on that. When I want to change bikes I take the wheel off, change out the freehub/cassette body and go out the door. It takes longer to boot up the Garmin than to do that. Here's a video that shows the process of changing the freehub without a cassette attached but the process is the same if the cassette is on the freehub.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5F56lmd9mE

    If you have to change the cassette between bikes and only have one freehub it's a little more difficult but not that much. You will need to get a cassette removal tool at your LBS and either an adjustable wrench or one that fits the tool. Here's a video on how to do it.



    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXQ3R3qdc_c

      

  • Mark MaurerMark Maurer
    Check with Rich on PT wheels from Wheelbuilder. They're also having a sale now. i really like power now that i have it. if you can live with the trainer I would go with power. You could also try Ebay and see if you could get both within your budget. I've gotten PT wheels there for really good prices though disc brakes might be a little more hard to come by.
  • tim cronktim cronk
    However you go about it.... I'd always vote for power on the road bike over an updated nice new kick ass trainer like the Kickr because the PM can be used inside and out ! The Kickr will never give you power outside and the PM will always work inside No matter what trainer....

    Something to consider---- The PowerTap rear wheel PM set up will NOT work on a Kickr or Lemond (any trainer NO rear wheel) .... IMO those trainers feel much nicer than any that keep the rear wheel on the bike ... Including the Computrainer
  • William JenksWilliam Jenks
    My daughter was changing cassettes when she was 12. Seriously.
Sign In or Register to comment.