I brought up this critical nutrition-rolling issue to KOM Cycling, and their initial response was “Yikes…that is an abnormal amount of deflection and substantially different from our recorded measurement of 1-3mm of bend on the production unit”, with a promise to dig into the other units on-hand and see what was up. Certainly, it’s not as heavy-duty or tip-proof as the other options out there. So if you’ve frequently got small children poking at your setup (or curious climbing pets), you might want to consider splaying the legs out a bit more for more stability. But I didn’t have any problems with that, or with myself bumbling into it. As for the build material, again, it’s not overkill, but it doesn’t seem cheap either. It seems right-sized for the price and what you’re using it for. Most of us won’t be riding the trainer desk, but rather, the bike. In general, at a high level, you probably wouldn’t notice the difference between them. But, you don’t come here for high-level differences. Here’s the nuances: If you had the desk completely in front of your bars it would work but then for me it would be a bit of a reach. As it is where I have it placed the farthest away edge can be a tough reach when on the trainer. Usually only an issue on long trainer rides when I’ve got the desk loaded with bottles and food.

Even if you do have a smart trainer, it’s likely it’ll measure power slightly differently from a power meter on your bike, so true training devotees who want the most consistent data possible might be better served with a single power meter they can use inside and out. And if you want a sure-fire sign of how popular indoor training now is, there are even cycling-specific fans out there, which can link up to your smart trainer to vary the amount of cooling based on how hard you are pedalling. As I said, I’ve been using both side by side for quite a while now, and probably even use the RAD/Lifeline desk more since it’s in the position closest to the wall (which is what I consider my primary trainer spot).

That said, I don’t tend to use my fan there, since about the only thing it’ll then cool is my crotch. And while my junk’s hotness levels might be off the charts, I can’t say it’s a major priority compared to cooling my chest/head. So I tend to put the fans off to the side anyway. And, even better is that now I have a handy place to mount my phone (including the Sony Ericsson Xperia Active with the new Sportypal mount). Also, this would prevent any sweat/water issues since it’s a bit away from my body. Don’t worry though, I won’t mention the name of any certain Seattle individual that recently killed their phone through sweat on a trainer… Indoor cycling sessions can be a great way to keep training when you can't get out. But with nowhere to put your stuff, set-up can feel a bit of a faff. The last thing you want to do once you’re on the bike and in your flow is get off! Enter The Planet X trainer table - this piece of kit will upgrade your indoor training experience. While we’ve technically assembled the unit by now, we’ll adjust the height and leg distribution. For the height, it goes from crazy short (34”/86cm) to far higher than I need (50”/127cm). All assuming normal leg spread. This enables me to use it on a variety of bike applications without problems: I’m often testing a multitude of devices on the bike at once, usually just due to the limited time I have to try and gather data across the 4-5 products I might have in the queue for the bike alone. One of the reasons I do a lot of testing on the trainer is because it’s one of the easiest places to discover and learn a new bike computer, app or device. Inaccuracies become easily apparent in a highly controlled environment, and are also easy to document photographically.

Laptops can be costly due to the convenience of their portability. Since there is limited space for components, laptops don’t have the extensive cooling capabilities that desktop computers do. Be sure to protect your investment by buying a quality laptop cooling pad. It’ll ensure the longevity of your computer. From there I decided to start loading it up. First I grabbed the Tacx handlebar unit, since that has actually been my biggest pain in the butt from a mounting standpoint – since they don’t make an adapter to mount to a triathlon bike. It easily fit though on the mic stand: You can technically choose whether to screw it towards the front or the rear of the desk. The ‘front’ of the desk is the one with the water bottle holders.An anti-bacterial substance, chamois cream is designed to eliminate friction between your skin and your clothing, hopefully preventing those dreaded saddle sores and, even worse, potential infections. If you’re using a single fan, we’d recommend a diameter of at least 12 inches to ensure you get the coverage required. A small desktop fan simply won’t cut it in the heat of a tough session. Combine that with the Wahoo ANT+ dongle and I’m ready to roll! Or, you can just pull up Netflix and watch movies instead. Or play Angry Bird HD. Your choice. However, off to the side works great too – especially for some smart bikes. For example, on my Peloton bikes, the off to the side spot makes a great space to stash things, since the Peloton bike itself only has two water bottle holders and no other places for phones or small potted plants: The biggest advantage for me is really the water bottle holders…but as noted, not actually for water bottles. Instead, I put my remotes in there most times. I just find it easier to grab. Also, sometimes I put nutrition in there. But yeah, I’ve one water bottle too. Wrap-Up:

Here is another excellent idea for a couch laptop stand. It’s very sturdy and allows you to lounge while browsing. The nature of riding on a turbo means you are likely to be rooted to your saddle, pedalling harder than your usual ride outdoors, producing more sweat, increasing the chance of those sores forming. The Planet X Trainer Table is the perfect upgrade for your turbo training experience. Keep all your essentials to hand, allowing you to focus on your training session and keep updated with your stats. That’s so long as you have the right equipment, of course, and a few well-chosen accessories, you can make the experience almost as good as riding outside. Almost. That was then followed up a couple days later with an exceptional amount of details and detailed pictures from the assembly line, showing the problem that led to that issue with an injection point in the mold in certain cooling circumstances. They said it didn’t impact all units, but may have impacted some. They’ve changed their assembly line already, and if people find units with the bowing, they’ll happily replace them.

Power meter

Note that if you don’t have bar tape handy, you can probably just use a bunch of duct tape. It just won’t look as pretty. Or, you could really use anything else to act as a wedge depending on the device your mounting. Most ziptie mounts won’t need it, but some of the screw-based ones have limited range and thus the bar tape covers the gap. The Planet X Trainer Table is super versatile, with the possibility to use it as a standing desk. So whether you're working, or training from home you can do so in absolute comfort for optimal results

Finally, note that there’s no power in it. In my case, I just have a longer USB-C cord and longer Apple Lightning cord nearby that I can drag up there if I need to charge things. The SARIS TD-1 desk does have two USB ports and two AC outlets, super handy. In fact, it’s also sitting in my cave. Expect a review of that in a few weeks. So I set about trying to figure out how I could make put together a unit that cheap, easy to assemble, and would hold at least three devices. Turns out, it was far easier than I realized. There are lots of options on the market, with the main consideration generally being around where you want to measure power.

The best shoes for indoor cycling

Total DCR install time: 10 minutes including taking a pile of unnecessary photos and shooting video too. Normal person assembly time: 3 minutes tops. Daily Usage: On the bottom you’ll see six screws. you only need four of them. The other two are in case you inexplicably manage to lose half the required screws, you’ve still got enough screws to make it work. With that, go ahead and screw on the mounting head. Ultimately, if you follow the three bears model, it works just fine at a reasonable leg-spread distribution: Note: There are a slew of mic stands out there, I selected this one primarily because it had a heavy round base that wasn’t shaped like a tripod – but was still small. I figured the tripod style ones would be easy to trip over.)