{"id":18610,"date":"2017-12-28T11:24:32","date_gmt":"2017-12-28T16:24:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/?p=18610"},"modified":"2017-12-28T11:24:32","modified_gmt":"2017-12-28T16:24:32","slug":"2017-2018-trainer-setup-cycleops-hammer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/2017\/12\/28\/2017-2018-trainer-setup-cycleops-hammer\/","title":{"rendered":"2017-2018 Trainer Setup: CycleOps Hammer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"\/gallery\/v\/aroundthehouse\/various_bits\/IMG_9518.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" title=\"Trainer setup for 2017-2018 with a much simpler home theater \/ computer setup, CycleOps Hammer, and Salsa Vaya with Stages power meter.\" src=\"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/gallery\/d\/111732-2\/IMG_9518.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>For winter 2017-2018 I&#8217;ve put together a revamped, and much improved, trainer setup in my basement. Since <a href=\"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/2015\/02\/11\/kurt-kinetic-road-machine-pro-flywheel\/\">the last setup with a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine<\/a> things have been changed pretty significantly. I had previously set things up in front of a CRT HDTV which I&#8217;d previously used as a gaming \/ home theater setup but over the years I didn&#8217;t really use it for anything other than <a href=\"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/gallery\/v\/aroundthehouse\/various_bits\/IMG_8036.jpg.html\">movies while on the trainer<\/a> and basement music; just kind of a waste. This fall I sold the CRT HDTV and stands, picked up a cheap LCD TV (with built-in Netflix and Amazon apps), and put the whole setup on a metal stand in front of the trainer.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/gallery\/v\/aroundthehouse\/various_bits\/IMG_9519.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" title=\"Detail of Garmin ANT+ USB sensor positioned for good communication with the CycleOps Hammer, Stages, and HR strap.\" src=\"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/gallery\/d\/111734-2\/IMG_9519.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The result is a nice setup where a movie plays at eyes-on-the-road level and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.trainerroad.com\/\">TrainerRoad<\/a>\u00a0is just a glance below. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cycleops.com\/product\/hammer\">CycleOps Hammer<\/a>\u00a0smart trainer provides resistance when riding, a nice step up from using a power meter, fluid trainer, and shifting to reach power targets. Four speakers (plus two over the workbench) are connected to a home theater receiver \/ amp, making for great audio from movies, or music via the AppleTV (and iTunes), although I tend to have subtitles on while watching movies to keep the audio at a reasonable level. A <a href=\"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/2014\/02\/03\/lasko-pro-performance-high-velocity-utility-fan-model-4900\/\">squirrel cage fan<\/a> blows from a distance to keep me cool while riding. To ensure good ANT+ connectivity I&#8217;ve located the Garmin USB adaptor to a table next to the bike where it has a short path to the trainer, power meter, and my heart rate strap.<\/p>\n<p>Since I have a <a href=\"https:\/\/stagescycling.com\/us\/\">Stages<\/a> power meter on the Vaya, I have the option of using <a href=\"https:\/\/support.trainerroad.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/204631294-PowerMatch-Using-Power-Meters-with-Smart-Trainers\">TrainerRoad&#8217;s PowerMatch<\/a>. This uses the on-bike power meter and adjusts the smart trainer so that everything matches. I understand how this will benefit those wanting the same power numbers indoors and out (since no two units match exactly), but I&#8217;m still undecided if it&#8217;s a good setup for me. I&#8217;ll be working that out over the next few rides.<\/p>\n<p>So far this setup is working out very nicely. While expensive initially (almost the cost of a bike) I vastly prefer the feel of a direct drive smart trainer to the fluid trainer with power meter. Both are effective, but I&#8217;m really enjoying not having to shift and chase power targets. Both Kristen (she also bought a Hammer) and I are following TrainerRoad plans over the winter, and as it moves into more over-under workouts, especially those with very short high intensity intervals, having a smart trainer is a huge bonus. It&#8217;s very difficult to effect radical changes in power and stay on target when shifting and matching speed to a power target. A smart trainer eliminates that need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For winter 2017-2018 I&#8217;ve put together a revamped, and much improved, trainer setup in my basement. Since the last setup with a Kurt Kinetic Road&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/2017\/12\/28\/2017-2018-trainer-setup-cycleops-hammer\/\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">2017-2018 Trainer Setup: CycleOps Hammer<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,16,10,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-acquired-things","category-around-the-house","category-cycling","category-electronics","entry"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18610"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18615,"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18610\/revisions\/18615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nuxx.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}