Minoura have released an App that, used alongside one of their indoor trainers, allows you to ride your favourite routes inside, and it can calculate your wattage too so you can train by power.
It’s cruel to mention it while the sun’s out, but autumn isn’t that far off. Sorry. If you ride indoors, Minoura’s new Live Training App could make life a lot more interesting. We first mentioned it back in January but it's available now. This is how it works…
First of all, you need a Minoura trainer. The Live Training App is compatible with any Minoura V-series or LiveRide trainer. The cheapest Live Training compatible model is the £199.99 V130.
You can use the trainer as a normal portable trainer if you like, or you can increase its capability by using it alongside the LiveTraining App. That gives you course simulation, speed, cadence, heart rate and power read outs on your iPhone or iPad. First question: will there be an Android version? We’re told that one is ready but it relies on the manufacturers having a standard platform on which to receive ANT+ data.
The App will cost you £6.99 from iTunes. You need sensors on your bike to take the speed and cadence measurements, of course. Trek Speedtrap and Giant Ridesense integrated ANT+ sensors work fine, for example. If you don’t already have ANT+ sensors, you can buy them separately.
Then you need a Wahoo dongle for your iPhone or iPad to receive the ANT+ signal. That costs £67.
The power measurement comes from reading the speed and knowing the level of resistance you have the trainer on. Minoura reckon it’s accurate to within +/-5%.
The other clever part is that you can ride any route you create yourself or import course data that you can then simulate. You can load your own ride files from another cycling app or from a GPS-enabled computer like a Garmin, or you can use a pre-loaded course or create your own route with mapping software. The App tells you when to adjust the resistance on your trainer to simulate the course you have selected.
Alternatively, you can set interval training goals on the screen if you like, or just use the system as a normal bike computer to record your performance.
The LiveRide trainers we mentioned earlier are new, by the way, featuring super-strong magnets that provide a wide range of resistance. We have one on the way so standby for a review on Road.cc shortly. For more info on the range, visit the UK importers Zyro.
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Just to let you guys know I found an iPhone app called Motivo (www.motivo.cc) that works with most turbo trainers and gives a power reading. Works with Wahoo Bluetooth Heart Rate monitor / Speed Cadence sensor or you can use your existing Garmin kit with the Wahoo ANT+ adapter. Loads fully coached workouts and full plans also.....hope it helps.
I have just got the Minoura Live Ride 540 turbo trainer and downloaded the Live Training app, etc. I cannot see how to download my rides from my Garmin or Strava onto the Live Training. How do I do this?
Further to the comment about new phones not being made with ANT+ this seems unfounded, Sony Ericson among others are contining to develop the technology and are including it in some of their newer phones including the Xperia S. They (and others) are also working on an external ANT+ usb adapter, similar to the Wahoo fit key in order to enable non ANT+ phones to have this capability. It should be available to use on all android phones that are Android 4 or higher. Having spoken to Minoura support it is also worth noting that there is a slight mistake in their web documents about the Live Training. It says that it doesnt support Garmin and Digifit ANT+ sensors, but actually they only meant the Digifit and Garmin ANT+ keys (they work like the Wahoo Key) but that HR belts and Speed Cadence (ANT+) from Garmin should work fine.
Never used a turbo but think I might this (off) season. Looks like this might be a good option. Can you actually recreate a specific grade of incline with resistance? Or do you have to switch to thinking about watts. Are Garmin sensors ANT+?
Jezza - yes, all Garmin wireless sensors are ANT+.
There's even this thing that can connect your ANT+ data to google streetview if you're on windows (I'm not, so can't vouch for how well this works) http://www.routeviewer.com/
BTW if you're using the normal garmin speed/cadence sensor on a turbo, and want to use eg an edge 705 or 800, you need to disable the gps on the Edge so that it can pick up the velocity from the wheel sensor only; otherwise your speed sticks at zero.
Thanks Bazzargh - noise seems to be a well covered issue with trainers, wonder if I can getaway with locating in spare room without annoying the household! No garage
There are NO ANT+ adapters for Android and pretty much never will be.
Below is a list of current Android phones that have ANT+ enabled. New phone's don't adopt it and probably never will.
HTC Rhyme
Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman
Sony Ericsson Xperia Active
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc
Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini
Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro
Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo
Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo V
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray
Sony Ericsson Xperia X8
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro
Roll on the android version then...
Sadly not, no support for ANT+ on Android devices (possible exception is one or two of the Sony models?)