Originally Posted by
zjrog
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........A few months ago I bought a used Kurt Kinetic fluid trainer (wish I'd splurged for the Rock and Roll!), and spent $50 for their iNride sensor. It has a known power curve and the sensor provides a power output that lets me ride at speed in Zwift. Granted, it doesn't provide resistance changes to terrain, which is why I call it my "HalfSmart" trainer... I paid $90 for the used trainer, $50 for the ANT+ sensor. A few bucks for an ANT+ USB dongle, a 15 foot USB extension puts the ANT+ dongle at the trainer for the best possible signal quality. I use a laptop presently for Zwift, then HDMI cable to my 50" TV. And my phone on the bike for the Companion app.
This is almost exactly my story in every detail except I found a Kinetic trainer that needed minor repairs for a little less money ($50.00). I also bought the InRide sensor, a wheel on trainer tire, a dongle and HDMI cable from PC laptop to TV running Zwift and using the companion app on an I-phone. I added a $20 cadence monitor because the InRide estimates the cadence, but it is fairly accurate. I also (as I'm sure zjrog does) use a HRM.
Semi-smart is the way I describe this set up also. Sometimes, even though I correctly pair the ANT+ sensors, sometimes the InRide will take over for the cadence sensor IF I stop pedaling on a downhill. When that happens it makes it very difficult to do a
super tuck but that is only a minor annoyance. In other words I'm not going to pay $1000 for a smart trainer just to achieve flawless super tucks.
I think for a budget set up and given that i'm a Zwift beginner this is a good option. Hard to spend the bux for a smart trainer when you are not sure if you will like it. I am totally addicted to it and may at some point upgrade to a smart trainer but this set up actually works well.
When you are on an uphill grade, the InRide requires additional w/kg to achieve/maintain speed. This can only be accomplished (within reason) by shifting to a higher gear instead of a lower gear as you would do if you were pulling a real hill outside. But the w/kg requirement is close to what would be needed outside, it's just that you are in a different gear.
I know that some posters here have a dim view of indoor training. But for me it has turned out to be a big positive and at a low cost. When I first started doing this in mid-November I struggled to do any kind of prolonged (say 1 mile+) uphill at +/- 10% grade. Now I can do this with relative ease and at 90% of max HR. So there is no doubt that using the trainer has helped increase my physical ability and Zwift has helped make it interesting enough for me to get on the thing 6 days/week.
I do a lot of climbing on Zwift. What I would consider "a lot" might be nothing to some but in the last 7 days I have climbed 17,000 feet and have been up the Alpe du-Zwift two times. Last night I did the less demanding "Epic KOM" of which I haven't been on in about a month. In my head last night was a "recovery" ride so I wasn't trying to pull big numbers. Still, I beat my personal best on the Epic KOM by 4.5 minutes. Even if not real world accurate it is still relative and this is a big improvement.