1. FAN :
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| Tristar table fan |
A good fan is essential to make your indoor ride more comfortable. Even in the middle of winter when your man-cave or barn is cold, turn on the fan from the beginning. At the start I put on a bike jacket, which usually can be taken off after about 5 minutes. A ventilator ideally has a remote control so you can adjust the wind while cycling, but it is not necessary.
I myself have a Tristar table fan, has 3 levels and has a rotation function, so the air is blown out in different angles. A great fan, that also works in my caravan because it looks also nice (price around 35 euro). So for a ventilator important is the diameter (minimum 25cm), rotate function, minimum 3 levels and if you have the money for it a remote control.
2. MUSIC:
Simple tip from my part: listen to a podcast. I do it via Spotify and then listen to a podcast about cycling, crime, football or any other interesting topic.
Overview podcasts for road bike fans
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| Podcast selection on Spotify |
3. CLOTHING:
I used to put on my old (washed-up) bib short when I cycled indoors, but I came back from it. Especially when your rides get longer than an hour, it's just noticeably different when you put on your good bib short. In fact, if I'm going to do an indoor ride longer than 1.5 hours, I'll even put on my ASSOS bib short. For me ASSOS is the top, a brand from Switzerland. I must say not cheap, but for me worth all the money. I use this one for most of my outdoor rides, but like I said also my longer indoor rides.
In the Netherlands it starts around 130 euros, but if you look good you can get it under 100 euros like in this example (shot taken April 2020) below from a Dutch webshop.
(this is the 'start' BibShort van ASSOS, they have a whole range of bibshorts...)
4. VIDEO:
This one is easy, I used to watch HBO/Netflix on my laptop when I wasn't using an indoor training program yet. But since I started using Rouvy/RGT, I don't need it anymore. So while I'm cycling, I just look at the training program screen and preferably on a big televesion screen 😎
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| Watching a movie during training (past) |
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| Watching the training program (now) |
5. RockerPlate
Now that I mention this, I think a full blog about the Rocker Plate would be better. In short: your bike trainer is standing firmly on the ground in your house/shed. Your bike is clinging to it, so it's also completely solid and stiff. However, while cycling, your bike normally swings a bit from left to right. Now however, because the bike is completely stiff in your bike frame, this is not possible. Especially on longer indoor rides, you will notice this. You don't sit well anymore, you get pains. This can be solved by a rocker Plate. This is an undercarriage on which your trainer is standing which allows the trainer and bike to swing slightly. I built one myself last year and I like it very much. I will discuss this in detail in a next blog and so you can easily make one yourself.
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| DIY rocker plate under my TACX Flux |
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