Recommendation to turn bicycle into exercise bike?

[Watchkeys]

Has anyone got any experience of these, and any advice to offer? I'm going to be buying a bike for training, but will want to be using it indoors sometimes, so I'm going to get one of those doofers you put on the back wheel to turn it into an exercise bike.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated, thank you.

I’ve got a wahoo kickr which is very good

Thanks @QuebecBagnet

Can you tell me what you like about it? I don't really even know what the features are on these things, and what might be good to look out for/pitfalls etc.

What sort of bike do you put in it? Is it easy to connect and disconnect? I'm a runner, I'm not used to this stuff

I’ve got one, it’s called a turbo trainer but I don’t know what the brand is. You normally use a road bike on them as there is a lot of friction against the back wheel so you need a smooth tyre. If you get a smart turbo trainer you can connect to Zwift which is a training app a lot of cyclists use and makes indoor cycling much more fun. It’s easy to set up and remove the back wheel once you get the hang of it.

I use a road/racing bike. It’s dead easy to take off and put on. Saying that I use my summer road bike on it in winter and just leave it on. I use an app on my smart monitor called Zwift and it connects to Zwift and I can meet friends and do virtual races, etc. the wahoo connects to Zwift so the faster I pedal the faster I go in the app

I've got a Tacx Neo T and zwift subscription. Cost a bloody fortune but 2 years after purchase I'm still using it several times a week.

For context I race (don't let that put you off - but just trying illustrate I'm a cycle alot). So I used to have a 'dumb' turbo trainer. One that I just fitted my back wheel in. I did hour long sessions on it af power intensified prescribed by my coach... so all aimed toward my goals. I couldn't manage more than an hour. Even though the sessions were fun. It just hurts where you are sat on the saddle (decent shorts, bike fitted etc), because the bike is fixed still.

I upgraded to rollers - these are like a treadmill for a bike. Much more fun to ride as you need to engage your core and it gives a more natural ride. But. Again. Same issue with pain. I couldn't manage more than an hour.

I then ended up splashing out on the Tacx smart trainer. You take your rear wheel off the bike and fit your bike onto the cassette attached to the trainer. It generates automatic resistance so you can programme a work out in. Or it'll connect to apps like zwift and adjust resistance to simulate the virtual gradient on screen. You can do this with rollers and less expensive turbos. But the game changer is that the bike 'sways' as you peddle. Consequently I don't get any pain at all. I've sat on it and knocked out four hour, steady state endurance rides. That's how good it is!!

I wouldn't do without Zwift. It is everything you could ever need to keep indoor riding fun. You can sign up to specific programmes. Or you can free ride round the different virtual worlds. You can join virtual races or virtual group rides. You earn virtual points and collect virtual badges. It's brilliant!! I've tried other similar platforms, but nothing is as good as Zwift.

Thanks @morningstarz , you're an education! Much appreciated