Turbo help

As said above, trainer tyres are quieter, spare wheel set up ready to go with a close ratio cassette on it, a fan is essential even in winter, drink, towel (or thong ) and something to keep you motivated.

A well used rear wheel is an option as you're not going to be doing any braking so as long at the rim can take a tyre it will do. eBay or maybe your LBS if someone has replaced old wheels and they've still got them. Swapping tyres will soon become a chore. Get a mat under the turbo to make it quieter still, yoga mat will do.

Another 'fest user here and just started with Trainer Road. The difference is... painful.

For me the turbo is hell. I use it a lot in race season though because it helps a lot getting me race fit. Anyway it has helped me to have a bike permanently set up on the turbo. If this is practical for you it can be the difference between regular use and the turbo gathering dust. If not definitely have a spare wheel ready to go.

TrainerRoad is superb, difference for me between the turbo gathering dust and being used 3 times a week for up to 2.5 hours at a time. Buy a DVD box set and only let yourself watch it while on the turbo for extra motivation.

I train with the 3cltv DVDs developed by team sky's Peter Kenaughs dad. They're fun. I believe you can preview them online.

My experience is that turbo tyres significantly reduce the noise from the turbo as compared to a regular road tyre so has been a popular purchase in my household.

As well as sufferfest there also lots of world tour races on you tube from years gone by, go for giro or tour mountain stages or the spring classics...

Sufferfest videos are excellent. I also use TrainerRoad alongside the sufferfest and have made excellent progress.

+1 for sufferfest videos.

Use old tyres - turbo tyres are a waste of money. I keep the tyres i change when i put new ones on the bike....works fine. When they get buggered just use another....

I find the turbo really useful for training but I can only manage an hour or so before complete boredom sets in. Luckily you can get a lot done on one in an hour.

It's true that a turbo will knacker your rear tyre so if you have the cash, a spare rear wheel with turbo-specific tyre is a good idea. Tacx, Schwalbe and CycleOps amongst others do turbo tyres (have a look on Wiggle for example). Easiest place for a cheap rear wheel would probably be ebay.

Must haves for me are: front wheel support of some kind; towel and drink; fan to keep you cool; some form of entertainment/distraction, such as music/DVD; a plan of what you are going to do in your session (e.g. a training video such as Sufferfest or one of the various training plans you can find on the web); and a stopwatch. There's probably others but these are my main ones.