geepondy

Hi, strongly considering getting a trainer and using it with my 20 year old Trek Hybrid. The bike has an 8 cog Shimano Deore LX cassette. I think I'd rather just leave the cassette on the original wheel and buy a replacement. Can I just buy "any" Shimano 8 speed cassette as I see there are some pretty cheap ones on Amazon.

BTW at a friends recommendation, I'm thinking of getting the Magene T100 "dumb" trainer to be able to do so cardio and get me thru the winter. He said it does have a power meter and you can use it to some extent with Zswift. Sound like a good option?

unterhausen

You need a spacer, but any 8 speed cassette should work.

Never heard of that trainer. Here is a review

PoorInRichfield

I'm leery of cassettes that are too cheap as they need to be durable and sometimes the cheap ones are not. If the cassette has steel cogs, it'll probably be fine, but if the cogs are aluminum, I'd stay away as you don't want to bust a tooth while you're putting load on the cranks.

The power meter on a "dumb trainer" doesn't seem useful to me. The point of a power meter on a smart trainer is to allow the trainer to automatically adjust resistance based on whatever the software is telling it... and that's the game-changer. I understand not every has the money or even the desire for a smart trainer, but it's my opinion that a saving for a lower cost smart trainer is a better investment than a "dumb trainer" if you actually want to get fit w/o going insane from boredom.

Het Volk

This is where the entire "peloton/Zwift" culture is ******** getting out of hand. Hate to break it to you, but prior to Zwift, people used power meters. They used power meters to train. They used power meters to determine their FTP and train to raise their FTP. They used power meters to do more than race against ******** avatars.

Het Volk

What would concern me is their use of two (2) AAA batteries. That level of power to power a magnetic resistance wheel?

Thomas15

Ouch!

Thomas15

The software I use pairs my power meters and smart trainer controller separate.

geepondy

I've also considered just getting a spin cycle with a cadence meter and pair it with my IPAD and one of the fitness app - the poor man's Pelaton. I'm sort of trying to go for the KISS protocol to get in some winter cardio but would like some sort of interactive feedback. It seems like for $500, you can get a decent enough spin bike. Hopefully next winter will be able to return to the gym.

mstateglfr 

I used a dumb trainer for the last 6 years and its been fine. My legs and lungs get a workout. Its never been as targeted as it could be, but im not training to compete so it doesn't need to be as targeted as it could be.

I used that dumb trainer for 2019 and 2020 on zwift. It was fine as I enjoyed myself and got plenty of fake miles in while staying active.
I recently got a direct drive smart trainer and it too is fine. I can now 'feel' climbs. Thats it. Thats really the difference.
So far, my zpower with the dumb trainer was 3% above what my current direct drive trainer claims. I am not faster or slower now. I shift more frequently now.

Maybe I lucked out and the algorithm for my dumb trainer and personal stats just happened to make for a perfect storm where zpower is basically in line with what my smart trainer claims.

Its neat to have new things, but using a dumb trainer with a power meter or zpower was just fine for my needs.
And this direct drive trainer has been neat, but certainly isn't a game changer, at least not yet. I ride the same time and frequency as I did with the dumb trainer at the same avg watts, but my cassettes cogs get more use now.

Thomas15

I think getting a spin bike that will be interactive at that price point will be a challenge. You can however get a wheel-on smart trainer for that.

geepondy

It seems like you can get an OK non-interactive spin bike for about $500 and according to the youtube video you can then get a bluetooth cadence sensor and heart rate monitor (or just use my apple watch heart rate monitor). Then use your own tablet with the Peloton app which will recognize the cadence sensor and heart rate monitor and then somewhat mimic the Peloton experience.

Wonder why there is such a big price difference between the Peloton app ($15) and the all access membership that is required if you get the Peloton bike ($40)?

Thomas15

First it appears that you have grabbed the tiger by the tail and have most of this figured out which is truly wonderful!

I suspect that the answer to your question in bold lies somewhere in the key words: all access.