Elite Class

I finally pulled the trigger on an Elite Qubo Digital Smart B+ trainer. Click here to go to the company site. It's an interactive smart trainer. The supplier is the usual suspect - Exad Sports. The items should arrive by next week, I guess.

Elite is a reasonably famous and top of the line professional cycling trainer manufacturer from Italy (I am not too sure if this trainer is made in Italy). They are the official suppliers to many top of the line cycling teams like Sky, BMC, Merida, Movistar etc. So their credentials are unquestionable. They also make home cycle trainers for amateurs like us. What I am getting is an entry level kind of model within the smart trainer category. The MRP is Rs 31K. However, being a long term customer I am getting a decent discount that others may not get. In fact we are getting two. Both of us are getting the discount.

Apart from the trainer I have ordered for two more items. One is a Su-Sta stabiliser block to be placed under the front wheel so that the bike is level on the floor. Its tilt can again be adjusted to give a real road feel while climbing hills (upto 6 per cent incline). The other item is a bottle cage. It looks pretty smart and I fell for it. I will possibly get a dedicated training tyre later. As of now, I am okay with my normal road tyre. I am also on the lookout for a used rear wheel to convert it into a dedicated training wheel. 

If I get a tyre only for the trainer - every time I want to ride the trainer after a normal road ride, I have to change the tyre. And then again change it when I want to go out. This is not feasible. That will put me off. I know. So I would rather have a dedicated wheel with a specialist tyre than change it every time I change the type of ride from home to road and vice versa. 

I am new to smart trainers. I have no clue what all it entails. And how much I can use it, in terms of technology and compatibility with various products. I am reading up on everything. Let me see. Once it comes home I will learn more things. 

As of now I know these things about connectivity. It can connect to my Android phone. It can connect to my Mac. That's what Jasraj said. I will have to check that out. I thought it's only PC. It can also connect to any ANT+ device like a Garmin Edge 520 but that alone is more expensive than the trainer. The trainer can calculate cadence. It is an algorithm based calculation and may not be 100 per cent accurate, which is fine with me. I am not preparing for Le Tour.

My initial plan is to use it first with my phone using their own software. I believe the software can even make a virtual course out of a real route you take (with the camera of the phone on video mode) and then you can go on that route at home. I am curious to check this feature out. 

After this I shall graduate to either my computer or get a tab for myself. 

I am not sure if I can afford Zwift. As of now, it costs $15 per month. And then every time I make a dollar payment the bank charges me. That will make it about Rs 1500 per month or so. Expensive. Though cheaper than most gyms. I am hoping they will soon have an Indian affiliate who will accept INR.

Update on 4th April, 2019

It has been almost a year since I wrote the post above. The trainer was set up after it arrived without too much fuss. The instructions weren't very dependable but there weren't too many things to do. I set it up fine. Perhaps had to make a few phone calls to Nishant Maheswari (who bought one with me).

Once I set it up and started riding it was kind of fun. But for the life of me I couldn't set up the Elite training app. I just couldn't understand how to use it. I took a temporary Zwift account and rode on that game for a few weeks. Zwift was good but not really affordable at $15 per month. The Zwift free account is not forever. So gradually I lost interest in using the trainer.

Another problem for me with the trainer was it makes you feel immensely hot. And in the hot and humid summer of Calcutta it wasn't fun to ride the trainer. When you are cycling on the road you have the benefit of the breeze on your face which keeps you cool. At home there is no such advantage. People use pedestal fan to overcome this. In my room there is no such space for a pedestal fan. So gradually the trainer fell into disuse. But it was exposed and right in front of my eyes.

After Rana and I firmed up the plan to go to Darjeeling hills, I revived my interest in the trainer and restarted it. Initially the bluetooth connection was not working and I panicked that it might have started malfunctioning. However, it soon started working fine and I finally took a paid account in Zwift on 12th February.

Now I have been Zwifting consistently for two months. This is serious practice and training. If I go to my account I can see I have already clocked more than 300 kms and climbed more than 5000 meters in this period.

Recently of course I discontinued my membership because from 12th April I will be off for a week and then take some more time to recover. Once I am back in shape I will most definitely take the membership again. It is like a temporary suspension.

The trainer works fine for me. I have used both my Merida and Surly on it. The Surly tyre is much wider. I used the 1.5 inch Continental tyre on it. I can't remember but there is a maximum tyre width.

My FTP on the Surly is much less than my FTP on Merida. It stands at 146 now for the Merida.

Now that it is April, I am beginning to sweat a lot while Zwifting in my room. I sit bare chested on the saddle and drink lots of water. But I sweat rather heavily during the training sessions. After a one hour full blast training, my shorts and the brief inside are wet like I had a swim in the pool.

I have half a mind to install an AC in the room (there is no space for a pedestal). If not, then I will have to take the trainer and computer to our bed room every time I want to train, when more serious summer sets in. Let me see. Installing an AC in my study room is easier I guess.