I was looking to get an indoor trainer this winter to try and improve my 5:30 IM bike split. I assumed Computrainer was the way to go. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Tacx? LeMond? I read that Erg videos work well with Computrainer. Do you know of any knew types of trainers that might be coming out in the next few months? Let me know what you guys think!
edit: I saw that Tacx has a “genius” product coming out this winter, anyone have any experience with this?
Do you have a power meter? How much entertainment do you need? How often/how many hours of use will it get?
-Physiojoe
I don’t have a power meter. I can always watch DVD’s. And I am planing on using it ALOT.
I am kinda partial to my own setup, just because it is cheap and practical. Smart shopping and ~$1000 gets you a Powertap and nice trainer (I use a Fluid 2). This way you can monitor power and track progress year round, and during races if you wanna use a disc cover.
I personally record 20-30 hours of bike racing on the dvr each summer and keep it saved for trainer season. Along with music it works pretty well.
If you’ve been on here much you probably already know one of the best ways to improve is to train with power (and knowledge of power). Not saying you can’t take 30 minutes off your split without using it, but a power meter will likely bring faster and more consistent progress.
-Physiojoe
Computrainer. You’ll love it. If you want variety, you can use it for:
ergvideo
rm1 (the new “3D” computrainer software) to ride prescribed workouts or real courses
RCV
netathlon (nobody talks about this enough… online racing that works with CT. I haven’t done it in ages but I’ll bust it out again in the winter. a ton of fun and really pushes you when you have live competition - and those guys are GOOD).
Buy a mountain or cross bike and get outside. I used to ride the trainer in the winter and hated every minute of it, so this past winter I got a MTB and a cross bike and had a blast riding outside all winter long. Slap some lights on them and do some night riding. I ended up doing more riding this winter than I ever did before and had my best season on the bike ever, 58 min OLY split. Get off the trainer and outside on some trails.
Buy a mountain or cross bike and get outside. I used to ride the trainer in the winter and hated every minute of it, so this past winter I got a MTB and a cross bike and had a blast riding outside all winter long. Slap some lights on them and do some night riding. I ended up doing more riding this winter than I ever did before and had my best season on the bike ever, 58 min OLY split. Get off the trainer and outside on some trails.
^^^this^^^^
and a halfway decent fluid trainer for when youre time crunched.
Buy a mountain or cross bike and get outside. I used to ride the trainer in the winter and hated every minute of it, so this past winter I got a MTB and a cross bike and had a blast riding outside all winter long. Slap some lights on them and do some night riding. I ended up doing more riding this winter than I ever did before and had my best season on the bike ever, 58 min OLY split. Get off the trainer and outside on some trails.
Sorry, @ 8:00 pm, with 24" of snow on the ground and it’s -20 with wind chill. The trainer looks really good!
Buy a mountain or cross bike and get outside. I used to ride the trainer in the winter and hated every minute of it, so this past winter I got a MTB and a cross bike and had a blast riding outside all winter long. Slap some lights on them and do some night riding. I ended up doing more riding this winter than I ever did before and had my best season on the bike ever, 58 min OLY split. Get off the trainer and outside on some trails.
Sorry, @ 8:00 pm, with 24" of snow on the ground and it’s -20 with wind chill. The trainer looks really good!
x2…I have considered a mtb for winter training since I come from that background, but I would have to buy another power meter and also risk crashing, the last thing I want to do in preparation is break a bone.
I’m not a triathlete so I won’t crash on the trainer 
-Physiojoe
I love my Kurt Kinetic Mag trainer, good resistance and not too loud.
I second the Kurt… A lot depends on how much you are willing to spend… keep in mind that consistent training in its own throughout the winter will yield great results.
Using a power meter with a trainer is nowhere near the quality of a workout an ergo trainer will provide. Computrainer if you have the bucks, power beam pro if you want to save a bit of money.
Get a cheap ass trainer, even a used one where the fly wheel is sticky and ride it. You will be stronger afterwords, trust me I know from experience. All my friends were on computrainers and expensive crap and I rode a junky mag trainer where the fly wheel was sticky and I rode hella faster the next summer.
It’s all in the engine you were given at birth. Either you got it or you don’t. Don’t spend your money on wasteful junk. Just pop in a Tour De France video and jam some tunes and rock out on the trainer you got, increase the resistance when you get stronger.
Just my 2 cents…
I’ve used the same Kurt Kinetic trainer for the last 5 years and it still works great. As for entertainment I enjoy the Sufferfest videos.
Buy a mountain or cross bike and get outside. I used to ride the trainer in the winter and hated every minute of it, so this past winter I got a MTB and a cross bike and had a blast riding outside all winter long. Slap some lights on them and do some night riding. I ended up doing more riding this winter than I ever did before and had my best season on the bike ever, 58 min OLY split. Get off the trainer and outside on some trails.
Sorry, @ 8:00 pm, with 24" of snow on the ground and it’s -20 with wind chill. The trainer looks really good!
Some of the best rides that I had all year were just like that. There is nothing better than riding a bike in snow. Plus if you crash you have 24" of snow to cushion your fall.
It’s usually the -20, that is thecshow stopper for me. Sometimes it’s not reasonable to be outside.
I have a set of rollers and a trainer (Elite crono elastogel Fluid & elite v-arion inertial rollers).
The variation keeps me motivated for several months.
My plan this winter is to keep what I have train as much as possible. I’ll then buy a power meter in December/January to increase motivation mid winter.
Power2max is the current contender but we’ll see…
I like the Lemond Revolution better than the computrainer. Feels more road like (though the computrainer is still good) and much less of a pain to set up and no wires cluttering up the basement. Revolution is loud, so I use it with an IPOD and watch an old race on TV while riding or do an endurance films ride video. Perfect for an hour long workout and easy as can be to set up. Other advantage is not wearing out your tires. If you want something more quiet so you can watch movies, I would go with a computrainer. Computrainer is still much more road like than a fluid trainer.
x1 on the Lemond Revolution. I’ve also had a Computrainer and Kurt Kinetic Road Machine. For me the Lemond is much more enjoyable to ride.
I like the Lemond Revolution better than the computrainer. Feels more road like (though the computrainer is still good) and much less of a pain to set up and no wires cluttering up the basement. Revolution is loud, so I use it with an IPOD and watch an old race on TV while riding or do an endurance films ride video. Perfect for an hour long workout and easy as can be to set up. Other advantage is not wearing out your tires. If you want something more quiet so you can watch movies, I would go with a computrainer. Computrainer is still much more road like than a fluid trainer.
I don’t think any trainer has a road feel. Once you get past expecting it to be the same and just knowing that whatever gains you get on it will translate to gains on the road you will feel more motivated and do the workouts. I still find it very hard (mentally) to do freeform workouts on a trainer. When I set up intervals (even hard ones) an hour+ on the trainer doesn’t feel like an eternity.