I used an old road bike I was given for years on my trainer. I still have it hanging in the garage

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

A beater from Craigslist is going to be fine. You might like to bring along your own tires and tubes, and bring your own contact points (saddle, tape, pedals)

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'It never gets easier, you just get crazier.'

How next to nothing?
You can get a new 105 bike for $500.
Probably $200-400 on Craigslist for something that might work.
$100-150 for a decent dumb trainer on CL.
$50 for a speed/cadence sensor to use virtual power.
You'd be set for trainer rides.

Probably work pretty well for your situation.

If you want to ride, you might want a little more bike.

Dead seriously, if you know you will be riding indoors, just go to dicks and buy a $250 stationary bike.

Contrary to what folks say, you can hammer the heck out of these, and the upright position isn't a problem as long as you get some time before race day on your bike.

I ride these uprights all the time at the gym at lunch or later, and it's legit.

I train on a specialized Sirrus hybrid it's like 20 years old. It was $150 on cl including a helmet, pedals and shimano shoes that were a perfect fit, bike lock and it also had aero bars on it. I originally bought it for camping trips but i tinkered with the brakes and shifting and cleaned it up and it's fine for me. I had bought a Blackburn mag6 for my daughter on amazon for about $120 and I use that.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/...hite/6409556604.html

There's a crap unit with a trainer for $150. Search with a keyword "trainer". Under bikes on cl. And u can find people just dumping their old stuff. Edit there was a couple mtn bikes with trainers for $70 &$80 wow that's dirt cheap. The other option to consider is to find some spin classes.

CL is what I was thinking. I really just needed to hear that people do it and feel they can get a decent training session out of it without being miserable.

I have an extra seat. I will probably carry pedals and sensors back and forth until that gets old. If the bike ends up being road worthy then I will leave a helmet there too.

I am sure I can find something for less than bike transport costs to/from. May even be able to sell the bike off at the end and break even.

Big thank you to all!

I should also ask about doing intervals on a mag trainer or should I hold out for a fluid trainer?

You can find a mag trainer that has adjustable resistance. Mine has six settings but I only use 1 and 2 if I go to 3 I almost come to a dead stop so it's rough but by shifting gears in 1 and 2 I can get a good workout. My trainer folds up I would just pack mine and bring it with me.

I did 3 years on mag trainer - never knew of anything better / different.

Intervals aren’t ideal, but I guess they are better than doing no intervals at all. If you do a slower ramp up to power (say, maybe anything over 10-15 seconds) I’d say it won’t bother you much at all

Are you staying at hotel? When I drove back and forth to Sam antonio weekly for a few months I’d bring trainer / bike and ride on the porch each morning. Hotel lobby held the bike / trainer for me when I didn’t bring it back w me

You might consider buying a used Kickr / Neo / Flux on Craigslist and then reselling it after. I promise it’s way more fun using zwift and one of these, than “blind” solo trainer rides on the mag trainer!

I plan on staying at the same hotel. That would be amazing if they will let me store the trainer and bike there. I can always leave it at the plant and transport it to / from the hotel each week.

I will have to give some thought to a smart trainer, but have been happy to this point on my KK fluid dumb trainer.

My shortest intervals are 2 min, which I could always add some time on to for a smoother transition.

Theft

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Eliot
blog thing - strava thing

I got a KK for $125 on CL. With $50 or less on a speed/cadence sensor and almost any bike you can run Zwift or Sufferfest or TrainerRoad and have good training. Use virtual power for repeatable training sessions.

I bought a $700 CX(ish) bike on bikes direct four years ago and mounted it to a mag trainer I already had. Thing hasn’t moved since (though I did recently upgrade to a neo).

A good find on CL and a decent mag trainer is more than good enough.

There is zero reason to spend a lot of money (700 is even too much) for a trainer (indoors or out)....

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Taylor Rogers

2024: IM Hamburg

Have you used the new generation of smart trainers?

I didn’t understand why they were so much better, but now that I’ve spent almost a year almost exclusively inside, I very much appreciate the better trainer

I just upgraded from a mag trainer from performance bike. Travel Trac Mag+ which DC rainmaker points out as a good budget option. It was like 85 bucks when I got it (they always have sales). It tops out at about 350 watts (you could hit 400+ on very short intervals), but got the job done for me for the last 3 years.

It imagine you could pick up a bike on CL and be all in under 300.

I'll ship you my old trainer for free if you want to pay shipping. But shipping is orobably as much as a new. And the trainer isn't the quietest when new, but mine spent a night outside where it got wet and I think has a little corrosion in the resistance unit. Your neighbors would know you are riding for sure.

Not sure if to the OP or me...

But yes, training exclusively indoors is much nicer on my Tacx Neo Smart than my old mag. But having put 3000+ miles a year on my mag over 5-6 years I yielded great training and racing gains one certainly doesnt need to spend Neo money if you don’t want too. More noting that a good find on CL, and reasonable mag trainer and you can get some good workouts. Especially when time/travel/logistics demand a focused workout.

Also a good argument for cheap bike and mag trainer is a low risk investment to the OP and seeing if that works for them from a time/schedule/location standpoint. If it does then build up the bike/trainer whatever to nicer stuff...

Consistent training is far more effective than fancy gear. But fancy gear sure is sweet!!!!

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Taylor Rogers

2024: IM Hamburg

Performance Bike currently has the Travel Trac Fluid Comp trainer on sale for $99.

Assuming they have a size that fits you, Nashbar has a brand new Claris equipped bike for $299. The current Claris isn't horrible. For use on a trainer, I'd throw on a $17 Sunrace 11-23T Cassette.


You can probably unload the lot for $200 or more when you're done.



I bought a $400 Sora-level road bike off Nashbar 3 years ago. Still have it, still ride it more than the 105-equipped, carbon framed Orbea Ordu tri bike I subsequently bought. The only substantive upgrade I've done is tires. Cheap bikes typically come with miserable tires. If you're going to ride on the road, budget another ~$50 for set of semi-decent tires.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

Transporting the bike might get old, see if the plant where you plan on storing it has a shower and see if you can workout in the storage area (pain cave). If not, a a gym membership with spin classes are convenient.

As a road warrior, I joined LA fitness and would stop in whenever I was on the road, worked well for consistent interval training and I saved my long rides to San Clemente for the weekend.

Happy Training!

Have you looked into a gym or training center in the area?

Are you offering him your bike??

Yeah there is a YMCA but it’s not super convenient or cheap for the amount of time I’ll be in Bristol.

I think I will try to swim at the local college 2x week and then run on the rail trail most mornings or at lunch and bike on the trainer at night.

There was some talk that the office was going to try and swing a deal at one of the local gyms. So there is that...

Like one of the other posters mentioned, I used to have a LA Fitness membership which worked all across the US. It was great as most of them had a 25 yd pool. It was worth it because I could use it while in SD and on the road. There just isn’t a location near Bristol.

Ordered the trainer from PB. Easier than chasing one down through CL. Thanks!