I am decided that I want to sign up for Trainerroad and am wondering what the best setup is in terms of all the gear necessary like for example Trainer, PowerMeter, laptop/ipad, headunit, and whatever else? In other words, if budget is a non-issue what would be your ideal TR setup? Context: I am a Mountain Biker and have 2 full suspension MTBs with no power meter on either. I will be training for MTB Stage races primarily. Thank you for your input!
Just my 2c based on my experience and what you describe:
Trainer - any high end trainer Neo2, Direto XR etc etc.
Tablet - for TR
TV with some sort of streaming device (Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast etc) - for entertainment.
Rocker Plate - for comfort
Hardtail MTB frame with same gearing as the race bike.
Really good fan with WiFi remote for power
My assumption being you have the space/option to leave everything set up all the time so itās always a towel and drink bottle away from ready to rock. Removing barriers to training
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A dedicated shed cooled to about 0C.
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If money is no factor, get a few good fans and wireless headphones. I wish I had some wireless headphones for the trainer (that I didnāt care about getting all sweaty)!
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Money not a factor?
Dedicated training room with picture windows of a great view. AC, fans, surround sound & a couple mounted TVs.
A 15k bike in the to stare atā¦wishing you were riding it outside.
Kickr bike (donāt want to wear out the s-works). 
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Ideal? Something not posted by me in this thread Let's see your paincave!
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Kickr bike on saris mp1 rocker plate
Wahoo headwind fan
Wahoo desk
iPad for trainer road
Computer with large monitor for streaming entertaining or running Zwift or fulgaz along with TR
Same bike inside and outside, and bike has a PowerMeter of course. Mount to Tacx Neo 2T smart trainer. Push TR workouts to headunit, Garmin 1040 will give you the best experience but Iām really happy with Edge 530. Then run Zwift or RGT or ā¦ in sim mode and follow the workout on your Garmin. Challenge yourself like riding outside. Plenty of fans, and if your races are in the heat do some heat training by not going crazy on air conditioning. I actually saw biggest gains on TrainerRoad by doing intervals in an 80F garage and some 2-3 hour rides in 100F heat on the weekend. Whatever you do, strive to make inside more like outside.
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Dedicated Ti frame built to match your outside bike geometry and same components, quarq crank power meter, kickr + InsideSide Kickr E-Flex
Dedicated pain cave with awesome fans + big TV with dedicated Mac mini great wireless earbuds. Nice shelf / table for towel, bottles, etc
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Money no factor - bike with exact same geometry that you use outside or, custom / completely adjustable to match different geometries. Could either go with something like a full TacX bike or custom.
And, add a sauna big enough to do heat acclimation workouts inside on the trainer.
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I would have 2 fansā¦otherwise good list.
Thanks everyone for all the great input. My question primarily revolves around the equipment necessary in order to train. Fans. AC, pictures, saunas its all good and helpful and super fun to read. But in terms of the essentials like for example trainer, Iām hearing a lot of āKickrā and āTacxā. Is that right?
Bike for example, Iām hearing āthe closest in terms of geometry and gearing to my racing bikeā. Makes so much sense. You all agree?
Power meter (Quarq) on outside bike?
Very useful stuff, keep it coming. Thank you!
Anything else?
You can use TR with very little, it can run off your phone and you can do workouts by RPE outside. However, thatās not the best way of using it. As a more useful minimum, youād want a powermeter on the bike, a high-end trainer, a laptop/screen for watching stuff, and definitively at least one high-power fan.
You said āmoney no issueā, so youāre getting recommendations according to that. If you really want to spend on your TR setup, and keeping in mind that both your MTBs are full suss, Iād either get a dedicated trainer bike (a hardtail similar to your racebikes), or a smart bike home trainer. It saves you from getting corrosive sweat all over your good bikes. You still want a screen and a fan.
I think that once you start working with power, youāll want power outdoors, so get powermeter for both your bikes. Iād also get HR monitor - TR doesnāt really use that data, but nearly wveryone else does.
Yes, Ideally you want the exact same geometry inside as outside.
In terms of Power Meters, somewhat depends on what groupset you have. Some reviews here:
Quarq is a good choice with some qualifications (e.g. - Shimano cranks can cause some issues) But, good idea to put your race bike and power meter on your trainer, bring your head unit, and compare output of your on-bike power meter to the output of your trainer.
If money isnāt a constraint, then you should have a power meter on the trainer bike, and ideally it should be the same make / model as the one on your outside bike. Power meters all have their idiosyncrasies- especially left only crank ones - so best to match the idiosyncrasies
No budget restrictions, a house in Boulder for Summer and Tenerife for winter.
More seriously:
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Dedicated training space with good HVAC for general hot/cold and at least two fans for spot cooling. Fans should have remote control adjustability.
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Dedicated training bike with power meter which matches your outdoor training bike and race bike. Powermeters that allow calibration of slope (not zeroing but actual calibration) are helpful. For example, when I was āseriousā I had matching SRMs on the dedicated indoor training bike, my road bike and TT bike. I would calibrate them every couple of months with the same weight.
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Best trainer of the type you prefer. I like rollers so I have eMotions. If you go with a wheel off trainer, then add in a full bike rocker plate (Chad McNeese can tell you which one).
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Dedicated computer to run TR with a good size monitor. As a roller guy, I donāt watch TV. If I was a trainer guy Iād have a TR monitor and a second one to stream video content.
TL;DR
Dedicated space
Dedicated bike
Dedicated computer and monitors
The rest is really details of how nice you want the look and feel to be.
Enjoy!
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The only thing Iād change with my current setup is using Garmin SPD pedals (dual sided, since budget doesnāt matter). That way I can have consistent PM readings on all my bikesā¦ As it stands, I got 3 different power meters between the trainer (Kickr Bike), my MTB (LH crank), and my road bike (spider).
I would also have an entire wall of flat screen of my cooled shed . An immersive experience
Personally, assuming this is accurate, I would go with the Muoverti
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