Hi Guys,
I’m looking for a Trainer at the moment, have been told to get one that mimics road conditions as close as possible. What type & make could you recommend?
Trent
If you have got the dollars to spare a computrainer is excellent.
Rgds
Pete
Could you not just use a spinning bike - you know the kind of bike that is used in a spinning class. It would have to be able to be set up exactly like your current ride, otherwise forget it. But I think these bikes have a lot of adjustment in them, so I’m guessing that you could set it up the way you need it.
As for mimicing road conditions - I’m not sure that anything on the market today can do that - not that I’ve done much research on this. Isn’t indoor training mostly for off season when you should be doing mostly spinning technique and zone training? Then duplicating road conditions(hills,more resistance when cycling faster) is not necessary. One big short-coming of these kinds of bikes is that they don’t measure anything, like watts or cadence. But then a traditional basic set up doesn’t measure anything either. You have to attach your own measuring devices. I’m sure you could easily attach your bike computer to one of these bikes and at least get cadence. I don’t have any experience with attaching the more advanced hardware that measure watts - that might prove impossible to wire onto one of these bikes.
The main advantage I see to using a spinning bike is that you save your delicate/expensive racing thoroughbred from all the torsional rangling you get on a traditional trainer. You also save the paint job on your racing steed from all the corrosive sweat you would otherwise be exposing it to (a towel would go a long way to preventing, but not stopping that).
It just seems that a spinning bike is exactly what the doctor ordered for off season type training. Does anyone have any experience with using a spinning bike for all your off season training? BTW - I currently use a Minoura Mag Turbo and my Cervelo One. I’ve had this spinning bike idea in my head for a few months now and this seems like a good time to bounce it off the rest of you.
I have two indoor trainers. The first is a Volare Elite magnetic trainer and the second a 1up usa trainer.
Both are excellent, but for different things.
The magnetic trainer is great for heavy resistance work. It is a wonderful workout when that thing is at a high resistance and you can only pedal at about 30 rpm. If you don’t have good long hills where you live this is the only way to get this kind of workout.
There are two problems with a mag trainer. It is loud. The resistance is not progressive - i.e. you stay at one resistance level all the time.
The 1up usa trainer is whisper quiet. The resistance is progressive. It really does feel like I am riding outdoors - well, except for the lack of traffic. If I had one trainer to buy it would be this one. This is the trainer to do 2 hour rides on when you start at 5am because there is no other time in the day. This is the trainer to do your spinerval tapes with. But you can’t really pound your legs like you can with a mag trainer.
Of course if you get a compu trainer you can essentially get the best of both worlds.
Hope that helps -
I use a 1up Trainer with a variety of cycling video’s. (Tour, Spinervals, etc.) Having used both mag and fluid trainers, the 1up is the one to get. Ultra-quiet, the only noise you will hear is your chain. The closest to road-like feel you can get indoors. I’ve put 900kms on mine over the past few months and still looks & operates like brand new. Hey even if something did go wrong it, there is a lifetime warranty on it.
I own and use a Schwinn Spinner Bike and I love it. I rode it this morning because it’s raining in NYC right now. I simply strap on the HRM, pop a cd in my fanny pack, clip in, and I get really intense rides in. It’s quiet, which it has to be in a Brooklyn apartment with my wife sleeping in the next room and it’s virtually maintenance-free (a little oil now and then, a clean up of the sweat after each ride, and it’s ready). Another good thing about it is that you can’t coast on the sucker because it’s on a freewheel so you gotta push all the time. I’ve even started arranging some towels on the bars so that I can get down in the aero position, which has down wonders for my real rides. I hope this helps.
I use a Performance Bike Trac 2000( I think), a fluid trainer that shows speed/watts/time, with averages and max for all those figures. I put a computer that measures cadence (and also speed at rear wheel. It’s worked great for about 3 years, cost was around 299(maybe 399?).
I have an old road bike on it that set in almost the exact configuration as my tri bike.
“Another good thing about it is that you can’t coast on the sucker because it’s on a freewheel so you gotta push all the time”
I found this out the hard way. My wife and I were in buying a treadmill last winter and while she and the sales guy were running the charge card, I decided to check out a Shwinn spinner that they had on the floor. It felt great. Quickly adjusted the saddle height, got on and cranked it up to about 120rpm to check out the ride feel. After about 30 seconds of that I decide that’s enough and stop cycling. Big mistake. Me and the Schwinn do a nose stand and start rolling forward, then come to a crashing stand about 18 inches further toward the store front. My wife whips around and gives me that ‘you big asshole’ look. The sales guy didn’t even look up.
So is this your primary/only trainer? Also, is there enough adjustment in the Schwinn to replicate your normal bike?
“So is this your primary/only trainer?”
I also have a Cyclops that I don’t use anymore (too noisy, my bike got soaked with my corrosive sweat on every ride, etc etc). As for Spinner adjustability: I can pretty much get it set exactly like my tri bike. I put a selle san marco saddle on it (I found it cheap at bicyclesports.com) and some cheap LOOK 206 pedals and it feels vitually the same. I think one of the benifits I’ve noticed this year is that my pedal strokes are more efficient and I can spin like mad out on the road. I do recommend getting a big rubber excercise mat to put under it if you sweat a lot, like me. I also lay down newspapers on top of that before each ride.
PS your in store Spinner story was hilarious. I had somewhat the same experience in my first (packed) spinning class AND my wife was there. Ah married life.