Timeline for How to add resistance to my bike trainer?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 15, 2017 at 21:00 | comment | added | Kibbee | Same way it calculates the speed on the road. It counts the number of revolutions of the wheel in a given period of time. You just have to put the magnet and sensor on the back wheel instead of the front where people normally put it for riding on the road. The makers of fluid trainers go through a lot of effort to make the force required for riding on the trainer similar to the effort required for going on the road at the same speed. So if your wheel is spinning at a speed that would make you go 30km/h on the road, then the effort you need to put in would be similar to on the road. | |
| Jan 15, 2017 at 6:22 | comment | added | qazwsx | @Kibbee: how would this computer detect the speed I'm cycling on the trainer? I don't get it. | |
| Jan 8, 2017 at 22:46 | comment | added | Kibbee | Any basic speedometer with a magnet that goes on the spoke would be sufficient. Something like this would be fine. However, If think you'll be using your trainer a lot I would recommend getting something with ANT+/Bluetooth so you can track your progress using a computer, or even use something like Zwift which let's you ride in a virtual world. | |
| Jan 8, 2017 at 22:17 | comment | added | qazwsx | Could you please give an URL to an example of the kind of speedometer you have in mind? | |
| Jan 8, 2017 at 22:16 | comment | added | qazwsx | The tires are the original ones. AFAICT, they are 700c 33mm and the regular looking crossbike tire. | |
| Jan 8, 2017 at 21:42 | comment | added | Kibbee | If you have a speedometer, you can check if your speed matches up to the resistance curve shown here. The power to go at the speed on the speedometer should be very close to the power required to go the same speed on the road. Which means it should take some serious effort to get it over 40 km/h. One last thing, are you using the regular tires that came with your bike, or did you get a trainer tire? | |
| Jan 8, 2017 at 21:35 | comment | added | Kibbee | Yes, the largest ring on the front and smallest on the back will create the maximum resistance. | |
| Jan 8, 2017 at 21:11 | comment | added | qazwsx | To be immediately helpful, couldn't you just let me know if "having the chain on the largest front ring and the smallest one on the back" gets me the highest perceived resistance from the bike? Your sentences 3 through 5 do NOT explain this really. | |
| Jan 8, 2017 at 21:03 | comment | added | Kibbee | OP definitely could have more power than me. However, my estimated power on Zwift gets up to around 300 watts and that puts me in around 42x15 at 90 RPM. If the resistance on the trainer is anything like mine, then I doubt he is spinning out a 46x11 gear. I'm guessing you're right about the unit being defective or the unit is set up incorrectly. It's also possible that the unit has a different resistance curve. Assuming it's made for road bikes, it might be expecting that the bike has a 50 or 53 tooth chainring on the front. | |
| Jan 8, 2017 at 19:14 | comment | added | Criggie♦ | Could be that OP has much more power than you? Or his one is possibly faulty, based on the Amazon reviews. This system of paddle wheels inside a non-linear fluid is also used in some 4WD cars like the Landrover Freelander, where its called an IRD. Two known faults are when the fluid "sets" and becomes like paste all the time, and when it breaks down and goes very runny all the time. I suspect the latter may have happened here. | |
| Jan 8, 2017 at 16:36 | history | answered | Kibbee | CC BY-SA 3.0 |