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Question about Indoor Bicycle Trainers

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Gigs

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I think I'd like to get an indoor bike trainer to help me work on my endurance on the bike (and deal with getting my butt used to the bicycle seat, still).

Can anyone recommend anything here? I have a Specialized Safire mountain bike, and also a Scott P6 hybrid bike. I assumed I would use the Scott bike on an indoor trainer, so as to not put the wear on my Specialized. Are all bike trainers created equally? I see prices ranging from $60 - $400. If I go with a cheap one, am I able to adjust the gears/tension easily, to help me practice climbing?

Thanks in advance!
 
#2 ·
You'll possibly want to get a slick rear tire no matter which bike you use as trainers tend to be hard on tires.

Also, they definitely are not created equal. A good mag trainer, in your hardest gear, is still only going to offer so much resistance. But a fluid trainer costs a lot more.

Finally, on climbing, they make blocks that raise your front wheel varying amounts, which helps some, but IMHO really doesn't make it any "harder" to pedal, which when really biking going up a hill is harder. So I am not sure how much they help other than things like posture, etc.
 
#3 ·
Well in my experience, riding on a trainer is HARDER than riding for real, at least if you try not to stop.

Riding for real, there are a LOT of times (if you're just a "normal" rider and not a racer) when you stop pedaling and coast. It kinda sucks doing this on a trainer because you feel like you're quitting, LOL. (The trainer and all the noise grinds to a halt.)

I found that riding a trainer for 30-45 minutes without EVER stopping felt like an hour or more of real riding.

Scott
 
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#4 ·
^ ^ ^ = truth.

I've ridden a lot of trainer this year. Get a decent mag or fluid trainer. There is going to be noise. Inflate your tires to the same pressure every time. Put the same amount of tension on the rear wheel. Adjust how hard it is to pedal with your gears. My butt hurts more on the trainer because I'm not shifting around and getting out of the saddle as much. As far as practicing climbing, blocks don't make it feel more like climbing. Use heavy gears and work on your muscle strength and other days do intervals to work on your cardio.
 
#5 ·
If you can afford it, I would recommend a Computrainer. You can hook it up to a computer and ride a virtual reality course. If you have a GPS, you can import your outdoor routes into it and have very realistic elevation profiles. This makes riding on the trainer way more interesting and tolerable. Training with power is a lot more effective then training by heart rate. Another option is to get a normal fluid trainer and ride a bike with a power meter on that trainer. I have had good experience with Powertap on my road bike.
 
#6 ·
Cost is like anything, relative to quality and perks. The cheaper you get the more combersome (hard to load and un-load the bike) and loud a trainer is. The cheapest are usually magnet or wind (very loud). The expensive trainers are fluid trainers, the faster you spin the more fluid gets pressed out by centrifugal force, resulting in more weight that is being spun, resulting in more resistance. I have one of the these (cycleops), the most like riding on the road (besides rollers- which I would not recommend unless you are a big time roadie). I also have a magnet trainer, VERY linear resistance, you can adjust it with a lever that is bar mounted, this is not a bad option either as it is lower cost.

MOST IMPORTANTLY!!! Get some old tour de france videos to watch or a good movie or do spinnervals (I like suffer o'rama, the name speaks for it's self). Riding a trainer is PAINFULLY boring. Doing self motivated intervals is very tuff to sustain over time, you will dread it. If I am just spinning for 30-45min I will watch TDF. If I need a good kick in the teeth I use the spinnerval. Well worth the $$.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Thanks so much for everyone's input! It sounds like I should go with a fluid trainer? Without blocks, but riding in the higher gears, that should still help my stamina when it comes to climbing outdoors, right?

The Kurt Kinetic trainer stood out to me, but that seems so expensive ($350-$400), which you guys are right: You get what you pay for.

I'm also looking at the CycleOps Mag Indoor Bicycle Trainer. Has anyone used that one?
 
#8 ·
Gigs said:
I'm also looking at the CycleOps Mag Indoor Bicycle Trainer. Has anyone used that one?
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I have the cycleops fluid. Great trainer. they make good product. they also support the race scene, having trainers there to try and sponsor races which I like.
 
#9 ·
I'm down to either the Cycle Ops Fluid or Kurt Kinetic Road Machine personally. Should be able to get either of those new for ~$300. Seems to be the sweet spot for function, durability, and noise level.

I was set on the KK Rock 'n Roll, but dunno if I can swing the extra $150-200 or if it would be worth it if I did.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
Well the Cycle Ops one is like $160 and the Kurt Kinetic one is around $350. I wonder if there is a huge difference in quality there...

I think I am going to ultimately go with the Cycle Ops Fluid.

Thank you all so much for the input! It is very much appreciated!!
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
D3DO said:
I have the cycleops fluid. Great trainer. they make good product. they also support the race scene, having trainers there to try and sponsor races which I like.
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Wait, I'm confused. what is the difference between the CycleOps Fluid and the CycleOps Mag?
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
Sid Nitzerglobin said:
The CycleOps Fluid is fluid resistance vs. magnetic. Fluid trainers can generally provide more resistance, can be more durable, and quieter than the cheaper magnetic ones.
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Ohhh! That makes sense!

Well the Fluid one is like $100 more than the mag one. Do you think that its worth it to go with the fluid?
 
#14 ·
Gigs said:
Ohhh! That makes sense!

Well the Fluid one is like $100 more than the mag one. Do you think that its worth it to go with the fluid?
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I do personally.

The only magnetic ones I would consider are in the $600-1500 range and are of the computrainer variety (i.e.: hook up to your PC and let you run virtual courses, race others against others over the network, and upload your GPS courses) and that's a good deal more than I can afford or justify spending at this point. The only real advantage I can see to magnetic trainers is the ability to vary resistance to simulate courses/climbs, but that doesn't really seem to start coming into play until you spend a good deal of cash.
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
Sid Nitzerglobin said:
I do personally.
The only real advantage I can see to magnetic trainers is the ability to vary resistance to simulate courses/climbs, but that doesn't really seem to start coming into play until you spend a good deal of cash.
Click to expand...
Do the fluid trainers not have this ability as well???
 
#19 ·
I used to have the roller type trainer.
It was difficult to use at first but it helped my balance considerably which helped my trail riding skills.

That said, I probably wouldn't buy another, unless it was dirt cheap
 
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