jlt199

Long story short, I've landed up with both a KK Road Machine and KK Rock and Roll (and a Cycleops Fluid 2 - but that's another story). I want to make the trainers smart so that I can use apps for training rides.

Question is, do I but KK InRide system, or a third party power/heart meter? If third party, can you recommend which one?

Also, which are the best apps to use for the best training rides?

I should probably mention that I'm a complete beginner

Thanks
Jane

generalkdi

I use the InRide with TrainerRoad. It works well, but I take the numbers with a grain of salt since it's not fully accurate (still good enough tho). You can still compare InRide number with InRide number, so it's good enough for me, and good enough for any training program. It's a cheap way to have some power numbers and power training during the winter (and winter is looooong here!).

gregf83 

Nothing will make the KK trainer 'smart'. A smart trainer has a variable load that can be controlled by an external program allowing one to generate harder loads when the virtual ride is going up a hill.

Adding a powermeter to your bike on the trainer will give you an accurate repeatable measurement of your power but it won't change the load.

The load on the KK trainer is proportional to the speed you ride at. The faster you ride the more power it takes. The relationship is simlar to what you experience riding outdoors so a 10% increase in speed will take approx 30% extra power.

I would recommend starting with Zwift. It's a popular training simulation that allows you to ride virtual courses with other riders. They support the KK trainer and all you need is an Ant+ compatible speed sensor (anything that works with Garmin is ant+) and an Ant+ USB receiver for your computer. If you go to Zwift's website they provide decent instructions.

Inride is just a device that takes the speed you're riding on the trainer and converts it to a power number using a simple formula. Zwift will do the same thing. Without an actual power meter the power estimates from Zwift or Inride will be around 10% accurate. That should be good enough to start and you can decide later if more accuracy from an actual powermeter would be useful.

gsa103

The InRide just converts speed to power.
Zwift/TrainerRoad/etc should be able to do the same conversion with a speed sensor on the bike. So you really don't need anything.

The KK resistance (speed vs W) curves are published online and reasonably accurate. There's some variation trainer to trainer, but the repeatability on any given trainer is very good.

jlt199

Would something like the Wahoo Blue SC Speed & Cadence Sensor work? Could I also it outside on actual rides?

If I can then I'm leaning towards the third party sensor

jlt199

Also, heart rate meter. Presumably out on a ride, I would need to connect to cadence sensor and heart rate meter with Bluetooth. But I can only connect to one Bluetooth device at a time.

What do you use?

generalkdi

Just a quick note, the inride takes the speed everytime the trainer (instead of the wheel) does 1 loop, it's generally more precise during accelerations since it has a much better update frequency. Everything you said is valid though, no need for the InRide powermeter if you have a speed sensor that you can read live from your phone/computer.

deapee

I'm pretty happy with inride. Mine does NOT do ant+ however.

gregf83 

It looks like that sensor supports both bluetooth and Ant+ so it should be fine. You'll need to decide what type of receiver to get on your computer. Many laptops have bluetooth built-in but you'd need an external receiver for Ant+ e.g. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NCYDSG2...a-349864256080

If you end up with a Garmin head unit for riding outdoors you'll want to make sure the sensors are Ant+ compatible. The one you mentioned is but some may be bluetooth only. If you use a phone or wahoo head unit then the sensors can be bluetooth (often referred to as BLE - Bluetooth Low Energy)

gregf83 

I don't think you're restricted to only one Bluetooth device. Shouldn't be a problem connecting to HR and speed/cadence sensors. My phone has no problem connecting to multiple bluetooth devices.

Bsgs87

I use the kk rock and roll when riding indoors and I just use the inride app which will give you power test and training programs, all for free. I use a Element Bolt cycling computer which works with both bluetooth and ant+. This is a great computer which is easy to setup and has many screen options. Screens can be customized and while riding you can just push a button to adjust the screen so you can see as much or as little as you want. It is GPS and will show you when you are receiving a phone call, text or email and can be adjusted so it will only show which you want to be notified about or none. Love this computer.