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Post by triitout on Jan 7, 2022 20:20:56 GMT
It's the ultimate beater bike. A $40 purchase with a slight dent in the chain stay. Paint was about 5 out of a 10 scale. Original death fork on a frame that was fairly battered does not inspire confidence. Last year I made it a bit prettier with white Rustoleum brush on paint and a general good cleanup. It became my indoor trainer sweat bike. Perfect......until this year when I upgraded to a "smart" trainer that requires constant shifting as it adjusted to the grade changes on the video with increasing and decreasing resistance. Using friction shifters with a 7 speed cassette, 700c , and the 130mm spaced wheel I jammed in just was impossible. I just ordered a Shimano Tourney indexed RD 7 speed, Sunrace down tube 7 speed indexed shifters, and a KMC 7 speed chain so I hopefully don't struggle with finding the right gear quickly. The old setup was adequate for the old dumb trainer which required little/no shifting. I'm hoping this new setup works out well. I've been beating up my too nice for a trainer Vitus which shifts decently fast with index down tube shifters. Wish me luck.
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Post by brianbutler on Jan 7, 2022 20:29:05 GMT
It's the ultimate beater bike. A $40 purchase with a slight dent in the chain stay. Paint was about 5 out of a 10 scale. Original death fork on a frame that was fairly battered does not inspire confidence. Last year I made it a bit prettier with white Rustoleum brush on paint and a general good cleanup. It became my indoor trainer sweat bike. Perfect......until this year when I upgraded to a "smart" trainer that requires constant shifting as it adjusted to the grade changes on the video with increasing and decreasing resistance. Using friction shifters with a 7 speed cassette, 700c , and the 130mm spaced wheel I jammed in just was impossible. I just ordered a Shimano Tourney indexed RD 7 speed and Sunrace down tube 7 speed indexed shifters so I hopefully don't struggle with finding the right gear quickly. The old setup was adequate for the old dumb trainer which required little/no shifting. I'm hoping this new setup works out well. I've been beating up my too nice for a trainer Vitus which shifts decently fast with index down tube shifters. Wish me luck. Good luck.
Brian
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Post by wheelson on Jan 7, 2022 22:46:07 GMT
It's the ultimate beater bike. A $40 purchase with a slight dent in the chain stay. Paint was about 5 out of a 10 scale. Original death fork on a frame that was fairly battered does not inspire confidence. Last year I made it a bit prettier with white Rustoleum brush on paint and a general good cleanup. It became my indoor trainer sweat bike. Perfect......until this year when I upgraded to a "smart" trainer that requires constant shifting as it adjusted to the grade changes on the video with increasing and decreasing resistance. Using friction shifters with a 7 speed cassette, 700c , and the 130mm spaced wheel I jammed in just was impossible. I just ordered a Shimano Tourney indexed RD 7 speed, Sunrace down tube 7 speed indexed shifters, and a KMC 7 speed chain so I hopefully don't struggle with finding the right gear quickly. The old setup was adequate for the old dumb trainer which required little/no shifting. I'm hoping this new setup works out well. I've been beating up my too nice for a trainer Vitus which shifts decently fast with index down tube shifters. Wish me luck. The great thing about these old steel bikes is the ability to make ‘em into what you want. I don’t think a 7 speed for a Viscount is a bridge too far. Best, John “wheelson” |
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Post by sirjoe on Jan 10, 2022 15:56:11 GMT
A few years back I repurposed an old Miyata Five-14 by putting on a full 7-speed Tourney group and have been happy with it on my Wahoo KickR. Enjoy the ride!
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Post by triitout on Jan 12, 2022 3:10:20 GMT
A few years back I repurposed an old Miyata Five-14 by putting on a full 7-speed Tourney group and have been happy with it on my Wahoo KickR. Enjoy the ride! That sounds encouraging. I picked up a Tacx Flow. Waiting for the Tourney RD to come in. Which app are you using? I started with the free 30 day Tacx app and found the videos to be of good quality. I'm now a couple of days into the Fulgaz app and it's got a fair amount of Ironman courses to play around on which is cool as I'll never do Kona or Lake Placid for real. I haven't tried Zwift yet as I think it maybe a bit too much of a gamer app. I'm enjoying "visiting" real ride locations instead of Watopia..... so far. |
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Post by triitout on Jan 14, 2022 23:51:29 GMT
The deed is done. Pretty quick and easy conversion. I stay away from shifting onto the smallest cog due the frame rub from the chain. I don't have any need for that hard of gear at this point. The Tourney is not the smoothest shifter but it works very adequately for indoor use with the video apps. I rode Cape Anne, Mass (Brian's home state) today and also took a quick jaunt over the Golden Gate Bridge. The Fulgaz app is really a nice way to "tour" without leaving the basement. With 1000's of videos, I've got more than enough choices. It really helps that the smart trainer (Tacx Flow) gives you the feel of hills by automatically changing the resistance. That being said I'll take an outdoor ride over indoor every time its decent weather.  IMG_0731 |
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Post by brianbutler on Jan 15, 2022 13:03:03 GMT
Nice setup, Michael. I have a couple of questions after studying your photo. Is that a Garmin GPS on your handlebar and, if so, where did you get or how did you make, the strap to hold the Garmin mount? I'm looking for an easy way to move my Garmin among bikes without fiddling with the little rubber bands. Also if it is a Garmin 530 or better, how does the Tacx communicate with the GPS?
Cape Ann is a good riding area. Plenty of topography and nice ocean scenery. Unfortunately, the traffic is always monstrous between here and there. One of my daughters lived in Gloucester for five years and it could take two hours to make the 60 mile trek.
Brian
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Post by triitout on Jan 15, 2022 20:47:54 GMT
Brian, I'm fresh off the video ride of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail in Lanesborough, Mass. Lovely fall foliage day and nice and flat course. Much warmer in my basement than the 15 degree chill outside.The last time I was in Cape Anne was during college days. Amazingly, I recognized the small shops on the narrow streets down by the water. Long time ago but it feels like yesterday. Your traffic sounds like the same deal for me taking a trip to the Hamptons.....not good!
Glad you like the setup. truth be told, I don't own any electronic devices like Garmin. I do know that the Tacx unit, my laptop and the app are all Bluetooth. What you see is a rear pickup wired bike computer. I find them to be very accurate as well as nice and inexpensive. For some reason, the speed and distance from the app output can vary by 5-10% on some courses so I don't trust them for my records. My entire fleet is equipped with wired front pickup computers except the ones that double as trainer bikes which have the rear wheel pickup. A good inexpensive model is any of the Protege series from Planet Bike(rear wheel pickup) or the Cateye Velo 7 (front wheel pickup). I did think about getting a Garmin for open water swims but so many reviews are negative regarding their accuracy for that job. At least I have my trusty Timex Ironman watch for the pool and running. I've gotten good at counting laps in my head and knowing my mileage markers on neighborhood runs.
Cheers, Michael
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Post by brianbutler on Jan 15, 2022 21:43:59 GMT
Nice to hear about your virtual ride on the Ashuwilticook Rail Trail. My wife Joan and I did it in person last summer from Adams to Lanesborough and back. She said to mention a key feature of that trail - real restrooms at the ends and middle - that you wouldn't necessarily appreciate on the trainer. That trail is in perfect condition.
Thanks for the info on your logging setup. I have an old Garmin Edge 200 that I use to navigate primitive breadcrumb-style routes. It does not have Bluetooth or any advanced navigation features. I was thinking about upgrading to an Edge 530. I don't really "need" the extra navigation features but they could be useful on some of the mutli-day tours I would like to do. I was hoping to hear a case study of using the Tacx to transmit ride information to a Garmin device. That additional trainer functionality could push me over the edge to buy one.
I use the RideWithGPS app on my phone to log mileage. After calibrating the GPS sampling interval to 5 seconds, it is quite accurate. It uploads rides directly to RideWithGPS, which I can view on the phone or computer. I don't use the phone for navigation due to weather and other hazards.
Brian
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Post by sirjoe on Jan 24, 2022 17:20:40 GMT
Michael, nicely done. I think you'll find that will work out well for you.
I use the Sufferfest videos to train with. I find they are more engaging than the other apps, but they are targeted towards racing. Wahoo bought them out, and they are now found on the SYSTM App, which has a ton of other riding content packed in. Worth trying the free trial.
That said, I agree Zwift is more game like, but if I wanted gaming, I would actually prefer RGT. Either of those are more fun if you know the other riders in the group.
I have a Rouvy subscription because they are used by the Project Hero riders. They have good video tours, much like Fulgaz.
I have ridden, and enjoyed, Fulgaz. That is not a bad choice. If it works for you, simply stay with it! Jumping from App to App will drive you nuts...
Brian, you can get a set of 2 Garmin mounts on Amazon for about $10, and I have them zip tied onto my different bike's handlebars so I can swap out my Garmin Edge 810 unit from bike to bike.
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