Apparently you can use your track bike on zwift now with virtual gears.
It totally makes sense, major limitation is it only works with zwift right now 
As long as it has 130mm spacing!
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Good point! Not that I have zwift or a track bike anymore, and I am not paying some mofo $30 a month so I can ride inside.
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How is this better than using gears?
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I think it was to do with people wanting you use different bikes with different gears on the same erg?
Itās a lot simpler to sell people a trainer that doesnāt need a bike-specific cassette (or require the user to be able to install/swap a cassette for that matter). Plus thereās the ability to swap multiple bikes with disparate drivetrains. Basically Iām surprised that wahoo/tacx/elite didnāt do it sooner.
Its not. You lack the inertial changes that having different gear ratios provides as the flywheel doesnāt spin faster or slower, itās always tied to your cadence like riding a fixed gear.
Itās probably the main downside of most smart bikes. The resistance feels like youāre going uphill as it increases. A heavy flywheel attempts to curtail this a bit, but it doesnāt feel the same. On a stationary bike, however, a single speed belt driven drive train is just so much more durable its kind of worth the trade off IMO.
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Probably because it would be a downgrade in ride feel on their trainers.
They also all already make smartbikes with virtual shifting.
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I will certainly defer to your expertise on flywheels - Iāve only read the DCR review and he said it was basically the same feel as a kickr core.
Iām viewing it from an ease of use perspective for the average consumer that just wants to start riding indoors and doesnāt know any better. The barrier to setting this thing up vs a kickr is lower and makes it easy to swap between multiple bikes.
Oh Iām not denying that itās easier, but some āreal feelā is missing when you take away the gear ratios.
Anytime all the resistance is electronic braking, you can tell. In contrast, I love the resistance feel of a spin bike because itās magnetic and it doesnāt feel like a brake and feels quite opposite to an electronic braking unit. But it also is not great for training for that reason. Itās like riding a track bike with disc wheels. The pedals just want to keep turning for you.
Everything thing is a trade off.
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Save yourself a few bucks if this is you
Threw on some of that hyper expensive Silca bar tape and, wellā¦
I hate it. Itās bulky, hard to wrap, and maybe shock absorptive, which is something that I donāt want.
The 3.75 stuff? If so, yeah, not for everyone. The 2.5 is far and away the favorite tape of everyone in the shop right now.
3.75 as in itās 3.75mm thick? That seems way too thick!
that actually sounds kinda great?
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Yeah, Iād be into that, too. But Iāve got big hands and flexible desires.
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Itās chunky and kinda firm. I found it hard to wrap, but thatās on Enve aero bars which have a difficult curve where the top meets the hook.
The only caveat is the price. For what it costs it should be nothing less than perfect. Not sure if Iām going to try the thinner version next or go back to Lizard Skins.
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Getting a lot of tension on the thick Silca stuff has been key IMO. But itās still definitely thicker than I would want on my own bike. The thinner Silca is a completku different animal. Easier to wrap. Feels great. The actual texture is the only thing the two have in common.
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