Latest / Be A Badass Every Day Podcast / 013 Do You Actually Need a Bike Trainer?

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013 Do You Actually Need a Bike Trainer? · Be A Badass Every Day Podcast

• 0:10
  Britt Burtner: Now, let's… Let's do this thing! Woohoo, Season 2! Woo!
• 0:15
  Coral Owen: Season 2, here we go. Oh, boy. Alright, hey everyone, welcome back to the Babe Podcast, and officially welcome to Season 2 of the Be A Badass Everyday Podcast. Britt, I can't believe we're in Season 2 already.
• 0:32
  Britt Burtner: I'm super proud of us for sticking with it.
• 0:35
  Coral Owen: I mean, it was a little… a little hit or miss last year, like, I think… I'm really pumped about all of the episodes that we did, but consistently good is my goal, like, podcasting goal this year, to just be more consistent, like, showing up imperfectly.
• 0:52
  Coral Owen: our mutual, wonderful friend, Chris, had a great, phrase for her approach to the year, and I think, like, I'm gonna invite that in our space. Consistently good without the weight of perfection.
• 1:05
  Britt Burtner: Ugh, I love that so much.
• 1:06
  Coral Owen: Got it.
• 1:07
  Britt Burtner: I feel like that's the tagline for my whole life, so yes please, that's welcome here.
• 1:12
  Coral Owen: More of that in all areas.
• 1:14
  Coral Owen: Awesome, so we're gonna kick off, our 2026 season of…
• 1:20
  Coral Owen: podcasting, still triathlon, but podcasting season. We're gonna be doing a lot more of athlete questions. I'm really excited about this. So, the question we're gonna talk about today is one that I have been getting
• 1:33
  Coral Owen: so often. I mean, I seriously have probably had 10 conversations about this in just the last week and a half alone.
• 1:40
  Coral Owen: Yeah It's good. Britt, are you pumped about it, too?
• 1:45
  Britt Burtner: Oh, I actually really am, so this is one of those topics where I feel like people are either quietly confused, or very loudly convinced they're doing it wrong.
• 1:54
  Coral Owen: Yeah, and it's definitely one of those… sorry, we are gonna tell you guys what it is shortly, but it's one of those spaces where I feel like people are also, like, just really afraid of, like, breaking something or doing it wrong. So here's… here's, like.
• 2:08
  Coral Owen: the basic version of the question is, do I need a bike trainer? If so, what kind? Why? And, like, I just don't even know where to start with this.
• 2:18
  Britt Burtner: Yup, and, you know, there's usually kind of, like, a follow-up baked in, like, I already have a Peloton, or I found a cheap trainer online, or I don't want to overcomplicate this…
• 2:30
  Coral Owen: Totally. So, we're just gonna distill all of the conversations that we've had recently into today's episode, and really just dig into why might you want to invest in a bike trainer, what it actually helps with.
• 2:45
  Coral Owen: And also, when it may not be the right fit for where you're at right now. Because we all know that triathlon comes with a laundry list of things we get to invest in. So, why might we be adding yet another?
• 3:00
  Britt Burtner: Yep, absolutely. So, let's start with the big one. Do you actually need a bike trainer to train for a triathlon?
• 3:05
  Coral Owen: No, of course not. You know, in the sense that you absolutely, 110% can finish a triathlon without one. I think I went
• 3:14
  Coral Owen: gosh, probably 4 or 5 years. Granted, that was in a very different season of life. I had a lot more time in high school as a junior athlete. But you absolutely can finish a triathlon without one, and people…
• 3:25
  Coral Owen: literally have been doing it forever. But most of the athletes that listen to the pod, babes, you know, we know that y'all are…
• 3:35
  Coral Owen: Women juggling work and family, limited training windows, and a trainer, it really does change how effective your training can be, and also when you can be doing that by training safely.
• 3:46
  Britt Burtner: Yes, absolutely. It just removes so many variables that can be barriers to getting outside on your bike.
• 3:54
  Coral Owen: Right, and you know, just to name a few, traffic, stop signs, weather, limited daylight, crazy drivers, hello, Florida, mental load, and again, indoor training, it's not about avoiding the road. Like, we still are going to be getting outside, and working those
• 4:10
  Coral Owen: handling skills and things that you just can't practice inside. But for these specific sessions, it's about creating a space where you can execute a workout exactly as it's intended.
• 4:22
  Coral Owen: And especially when you're riding maybe 2 to 3 times a week at most for many of our athletes, that precision, it really does matter.
• 4:30
  Britt Burtner: Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, for a long time,
• 4:35
  Britt Burtner: Bike trainer advice was kind of just grab a cheap one and get started to see if you like it.
• 4:41
  Coral Owen: Totally, and I mean, what did you have when you first started?
• 4:44
  Britt Burtner: Let's try having I had what I call a dumb trainer.
• 4:48
  Coral Owen: Yes.
• 4:49
  Britt Burtner: It's just, like, one of those that you, like, it's just resistance on your rear wheel, uses fluid as resistance, and, like, basically, you can't really…
• 4:59
  Britt Burtner: tune how hard the resistance is very easily, and let me tell you, I hated that thing with a burning passion.
• 5:07
  Coral Owen: Yeah, so before I had a fluid trainer, they actually had mag trainers, which was magnetic resistance. That thing was so loud. I think I paid, like, 50 bucks for it. And that was the first one that I had when I was in college, and this is, like, circa…
• 5:23
  Coral Owen: 07, 08. It lasted forever, but it… yeah, again, it was kind of a set it, and that's… that's all of the resistance you got, and it also chewed… and we'll talk about these kind of cons here in a second, chewed through my tires, like, nobody's business.
• 5:37
  Coral Owen: But, you know, that… that has been my advice for a very long time, especially beginner athletes who had no trainer at all to begin with.
• 5:46
  Coral Owen: You know, is just get that basic trainer just to get started.
• 5:50
  Coral Owen: And so, you know, that… we really are in a space… these… these types of trainers, they were a little bit newer, but I started racing about 20-plus years ago. You know, but you can find a secondhand classic wheel-on trainer, like the ones that we're talking about, magnetic or fluid, really are the most common these days.
• 6:08
  Coral Owen: Like, the Cycle Ops Fluid 2 is, like, one of the most ubiquitous ones. But you can snag those used.
• 6:16
  Coral Owen: I feel like there's always listings on Facebook Marketplace.
• 6:20
  Britt Burtner: 50 to 100 bucks, and a lot of times, we've had so many, babes pay it forward, even just within the Facebook community, for $0, and, you know… I'm gonna say, I… when I got my direct drive trainer, I very merrily gave that fluid trainer.
• 6:36
  Coral Owen: Yeah, so here you go. Yup.
• 6:39
  Coral Owen: Yeah, but, you know, at face value, and just kind of that, you know, just getting started.
• 6:47
  Coral Owen: It does… it definitely is a lower-cost option.
• 6:51
  Coral Owen: So, you know, just, again, to give a better sense for, like, what all this setup entails, with a classic trainer, just to bring this home, you do leave your rear wheel wheel, you leave your rear wheel on, and if you're riding
• 7:06
  Coral Owen: you know, indoors a couple times a week, like we already mentioned. One of the cons to this is that that resistance drum or wheel that you basically crank up against the tire rubber
• 7:18
  Coral Owen: it actually, it will chew through that tire rubber much, much more quickly than if you're outside riding on the road. So, a lot of times, what we will advise, if you've got this classic trainer, you're calling it a dumb trainer, you often will need to, if you're not going to be replacing that road tire.
• 7:38
  Coral Owen: you're gonna be getting a trainer tire, which is much, much more durable rubber. And then if you're riding outside and inside, like a lot of our Florida athletes do year-round, we can ride outside.
• 7:49
  Coral Owen: you may end up needing to buy, then, a second wheel, like, the metal part, and then also a cassette. And so, you know, you can see, like, this starts to add up.
• 8:02
  Britt Burtner: Yep, that's it. So, it's like, all of a sudden, your free fluid trainer, isn't so cheap.
• 8:09
  Coral Owen: Yeah, so you're… when you start tallying this, like, the classic trainer, the trainer tire, the cassette, maybe a second wheel and all this.
• 8:17
  Coral Owen: you know, you're kind of looking at maybe $300 or more, and that's, again, on the cheaper end, plus going through the hassle of swapping things back and forth. So…
• 8:26
  Coral Owen: That's even before we talk about time and mental fraction.
• 8:29
  Britt Burtner: Yeah, and I will say, like.
• 8:32
  Britt Burtner: It matters a lot more than you expect to have to deal with taking rear wheels.
• 8:39
  Britt Burtner: on and off your bike, and your bike on and off that trainer in that manner. I know it sounds like, oh, it's no big deal. From first-hand experience, I found it so annoying that I would just never use it.
• 8:52
  Coral Owen: And, like.
• 8:54
  Britt Burtner: I like working on my bike, I'm handy, but it just… it was just… it's a… it's too much effort for a random weekday workout for me.
• 9:01
  Britt Burtner: So…
• 9:02
  Coral Owen: Yeah, that's a really, really good point. And, you know, so, again, with all of this, like, tallying up of the extras and the ands.
• 9:10
  Coral Owen: We're at a place now with the technology of direct drive trainers and just, you know, kind of the access.
• 9:17
  Coral Owen: that a direct drive trainer, it's actually a lot more accessible than it used to be. It used to be, you know, you couldn't get in the door for less than $1,000. But now, I was actually… I've been scanning, actually, a bunch, you know, like, a bunch of listings recently.
• 9:33
  Coral Owen: finding Wahoo Kickers, brand new, online right now for $350 on sale. So, you know, you're finding
• 9:40
  Coral Owen: really high… and that's a great trainer. You know, so you're finding new models right now that are ranging $350? Like, that's definitely the low of the low end, but still a great high-quality trainer. You know, upwards of, you know, $7,800, maybe $1,000 if you're on the higher end.
• 9:57
  Coral Owen: And then, a lot of times, people are investing or, you know, getting out of triathlon, and you can find solid secondhand options very well in that $300-$400 range, very consistently.
• 10:09
  Britt Burtner: Yeah, absolutely.
• 10:12
  Britt Burtner: And, you know, that's… when I switched over, I have… they don't make them anymore, but it's actually a Zwift-branded direct drive trainer, and man, do I freaking love that thing. I, like, I can't recommend them enough.
• 10:25
  Britt Burtner: But there are still a couple situations where a classic trainer could work for you.
• 10:32
  Coral Owen: Totally.
• 10:33
  Britt Burtner: Yeah. So.
• 10:37
  Coral Owen: I'm gonna edit that out. Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, one of the biggest things is if you're in a true winter environment, not like Florida winter, even though we're getting quite the cold snap right now, and you're not riding outside for several months, at least.
• 10:55
  Coral Owen: A wheel-on trainer with a trainer tire, that can be a very reasonable setup.
• 10:59
  Coral Owen: And, you know, for most of our athletes, though, even if you're riding mid… indoors midweek.
• 11:05
  Coral Owen: you still are probably going to be wanting to go outside, especially as it's warming up on spring and the winter. That's where that swapping, the wear and tear and the friction, really start to show up and just be a little bit more than a…
• 11:17
  Coral Owen: Pain in the butt.
• 11:20
  Britt Burtner: Yeah, so, okay, beyond convenience, which I think we've established, what actually makes a direct drive trainer worth it?
• 11:28
  Coral Owen: Absolutely. So, the two big things, here are going to be simplicity and power. So, from a simplicity standpoint, we've talked just a lot about, like, the logistics side, so just to recap for a direct drive trainer, this is… you've got a base of a trainer.
• 11:45
  Coral Owen: and you… there's a cassette that… which is the rear gears on your bike. The trainer itself actually has
• 11:55
  Coral Owen: a rear cassette of its own. So, you take off the rear wheel from your bike, and the chain will actually integrate and start, be spinning on the rear cassette that's on the trainer itself. So, there's no rear wheel involved. There's no tire wear, it's…
• 12:12
  Coral Owen: more or less easy on, easy off, unless you've got horizontal dropouts, which, if you have horizontal dropouts, you will know, because it's a pain in the butt. But overall, much more easy on, easy off. There's just…
• 12:24
  Coral Owen: So many fewer steps between you
• 12:26
  Coral Owen: And starting the workout, when you are working with a direct drive setup.
• 12:31
  Coral Owen: From a training standpoint, this is really where this shines, you know, just leagues above a classic trainer.
• 12:40
  Coral Owen: When we train with power, so we're measuring watts, it is an instantaneous
• 12:45
  Coral Owen: feedback, and it's also very objective. It tells you how many watts you're putting through your pedals, and it's a right now. It's not as, you know, like a lagging measure, like heart rate,
• 12:57
  Coral Owen: It's also, like, heart rate's also very subjective to caffeine. We could have a whole… we should actually do an episode about that, Brett. Let's file that away. And a lagging measure. And then also, when we train by RPE, perceived effort, which, you know, is one of those things that we typically will go with.
• 13:15
  Coral Owen: On the classic trainer side, along with heart rate.
• 13:18
  Coral Owen: You know, we can feel a certain way, but our legs might feel a little bit differently, so, because we've got cardiac, and then we've got, kind of, leg output.
• 13:27
  Coral Owen: And those are a little bit, you know, kind of two different species we work in with the bike. It's very unique to cycling. And then also we're working with Cadence, which a direct drive trainer also
• 13:39
  Coral Owen: we'll measure. So, but yeah, just the metrics behind training with power in a direct drive setting, so good. So, so good.
• 13:48
  Britt Burtner: Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, it's basically… it gives you all this information that is so helpful to have when your time is limited, and you're really trying to have a specific session, with a specific goal.
• 14:03
  Coral Owen: Exactly, and
• 14:05
  Coral Owen: I know, especially for babes that are just getting into the sport, this data side of things, it can feel intimidating, but really understanding, just at a baseline, your watts and your cadence, and how those play together, that's really…
• 14:21
  Coral Owen: what we're getting at here. And so, power is letting you execute… ex…
• 14:27
  Coral Owen: letting you execute, excuse me, we don't edit this podcast heavily, by the way, so… thanks for riding this train with us. Executing the intervals cleanly, you're also going to pace a lot more accurately, like, Direct Drive Trainer has something often called ERG, or it's not often called.
• 14:44
  Coral Owen: Direct drive trainers often have a function called ERG mode, where it forces you to hold a specific power output.
• 14:53
  Coral Owen: It's kind of like, think of it like, you know, you set the pace on a treadmill, like, you have to hold a 10-minute mile. Like, I may have to hold 150 watts, and like, if I, like, fall below that, or, you know, rise above it, the trainer is going to adjust the power, excuse me, adjust the resistance, so that I'm forced to…
• 15:11
  Coral Owen: lock back in on that power setting. And then also, it really helps you understand
• 15:19
  Coral Owen: What different efforts feel like, and just help you understand your cadence to your power.
• 15:25
  Coral Owen: And that feedback loop, just that efficiency in training, it so accelerates your progress, and just your learning as an athlete, both about the sport, about the how, but also for yourself. Who are you as an athlete, and what are your strengths, and what are your areas of opportunity?
• 15:44
  Britt Burtner: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, something I've really noticed for myself, is I really, really like the direct drive trainer for forcing me to, be in scenarios where I have to put out a lot of power for a sustained amount of time, because in Florida, we're missing this little thing called hills.
• 16:03
  Coral Owen: Yeah.
• 16:04
  Britt Burtner: So, I actually really enjoy it for that, because I think it really has, it's done a lot for my cycling. But I think we should also make sure we talk about Peloton here, because I know a lot of athletes may already have one.
• 16:20
  Coral Owen: Absolutely. So, I do want to preface this next bit by saying we work with a bunch of athletes that either have, you know, one already in the home, maybe you share that with your partner, a roommate, you know, and you've got limited
• 16:34
  Coral Owen: square footage in your house. We also have athletes, that travel frequently, and so, like, the Peloton is a key…
• 16:43
  Coral Owen: aspect in their training plan as they're traveling, like, that's the bike that they're training on. So they're definitely… this is never going to be a one-size-fits-all approach or recommendation. That's why we're unpacking all of these, like, if-then scenarios. But if you have a Peloton and…
• 17:01
  Coral Owen: Some of these other considerations.
• 17:04
  Coral Owen: let's get into maybe when you could consider moving away from that Peloton and using a direct drive trainer. So…
• 17:14
  Coral Owen: here's my advocacy for getting a direct drive trainer, even if you already have a Peloton, right? So, on your direct drive trainer, you're going to be riding your race day bike, most likely, and so you're riding on the same geometry, the same fit.
• 17:29
  Coral Owen: Having the same muscle recruitment, and also being in that same position that you're going to race in.
• 17:34
  Coral Owen: And this is especially important when you are putting forth, like, we'll do a lot of, like, if you're in your base phase, great, zone 2, all day long, recovery rides.
• 17:44
  Coral Owen: But as we get into those race builds, those race-focused builds, we're putting a lot more, you know, a lot higher power out, working in
• 17:52
  Coral Owen: tempo, threshold, like, zone 5 and above.
• 17:58
  Coral Owen: That higher intensity, when you are training on that, it directly translates to the higher effort that you're putting forth.
• 18:06
  Coral Owen: on your race day, and on your road bike. And so, if you're only riding 2-3 days a week, that's pretty common. I would say 95% of our athletes are riding 2-3 days a week max.
• 18:18
  Coral Owen: You want those efforts to translate directly, as directly to race day as possible, and so when you've got the stationary bike or the Peloton for 50% of those, or more even, it just isn't apples to apples, even if it's adjusted out well.
• 18:32
  Britt Burtner: Yeah, totally. And so this basically all comes back to how most of the Babe athletes train.
• 18:41
  Coral Owen: Exactly, and so, you know, most… most of our athletes… we know that y'all are not changing… chasing max volume, we're chasing the most effective volume possible, and so when we're time-limited, quality matters way, way more than quantity.
• 18:57
  Coral Owen: And so, again, just to bring this all home, the direct drive trainer is going to make it a lot easier to hit the right effort, to stay consistent in your training when you're working in those limited daylight hours and crazy life scenarios. Train earlier or later in the day, and also remove barriers that lead to skip workouts. So, and also, again, when these workouts are easier to execute.
• 19:18
  Coral Owen: They're gonna happen more consistently.
• 19:20
  Britt Burtner: Yep, absolutely, and it doesn't sound sexy, but consistency is exactly what drives results over time.
• 19:26
  Coral Owen: Yup, not perfection.
• 19:30
  Britt Burtner: Exactly. So, okay, so how do you think athletes should think about this decision?
• 19:35
  Coral Owen: Absolutely. So, if you're asking how to make the most of limited training time, a bike trainer.
• 19:43
  Coral Owen: Classic or direct drive is probably going to be a really, really good answer for you. Starting to get into…
• 19:50
  Coral Owen: which is the best option, unless you are very budgetarily constrained, I would definitely start investigating in the direct drive trainer
• 20:00
  Coral Owen: you know, avenue, to be one of the more impactful tools that you can add to just your training options. And again, it's not… you don't have to have the…
• 20:09
  Coral Owen: the newest one, or the fanciest gear, you know, getting a solid option, like, ask within your community, you know, ask if anybody has one that they're offloading, look on Facebook Marketplace, you know, we can get in for a much lower threshold than
• 20:24
  Coral Owen: the sticker price, if you will. So, and again, it's all about reducing friction, improving your workout quality, and knowing that the time you're putting in is going to be moving you forward in the most effective way possible.
• 20:35
  Britt Burtner: Yeah, so, you know, just kind of to wrap it up here, if you have been thinking about this, you are definitely not alone, and as someone that sometimes gets a little bit of analysis paralysis, maybe it's time to just go ahead and try and make a decision.
• 20:52
  Coral Owen: Exactly, and you know, wherever you land, the goal is the same. Training that fits your life and supports the version of you that you're bringing to the start line. So, you know, also, if y'all have any questions, we know that there's a lot of options, especially when it comes to gear.
• 21:07
  Coral Owen: Don't ever hesitate to drop us a DM on Instagram, at Team Babe Athletics, or if you're in the Team Babe Facebook group, you can always post on the Q&A that we do each week.
• 21:17
  Coral Owen: Or just send me an email, coral at teambabethathletics.com, and we're happy to help you sort through all of the things.
• 21:25
  Britt Burtner: Yay! So, thanks for being here with us, and we'll see you next time!
• 21:30
  Coral Owen: Till then?
• 21:31
  Britt Burtner: Stay badass!