Summer and I are still both on dumb fluid trainers. Kurt Kinetic and Cycleops Fluid 2. Oldies but goodies. We don’t zwift so not an issue for us. Another member of the household wants a trainer for their bike though. In current times its a bit harder to find one in the sub $100 range I’ve bought a few trainers in, but I’ve got a chance to buy a Lemond Revolution for $180. I figure either we add that in as one of our two trainers and give one of our fluid trainers to the family member at a cost of $100ish. I’ve heard it has great road feel which would be nice, and the noise isn’t really an issue since our fans are hella loud anyways. Any reason not to do this? Wouldn’t mind not having to deal with a trainer specific wheel.
I still use a Lemond Revolution in 2020! For $180 that would be a great deal.
Couldn’t really use through axles with it as far as I know, but if still on quick release, go for it.
I still use a Lemond revolution for 95% of my training, housemates have an Elite Zumo, and I’ll use that when doing a TR ramp test, find it easier to manage cadence using a smart trainer for the last couple of steps as opposed to the dumb trainer, but still do all of my training on the Lemond with that FTP setting.
Use the power meter on the bike rather than the one on the trainer for everything
The Revolution is still the most “realistic” feeling trainer out there, IMO, but it is definitely outdated in some ways that may be pretty important.
Through axles are a no-go, no real way around that at all.
Odds are it has a 10 speed freehub, and you’ll have to do some messing about to get an 11 on there. It’s not an off-the-shelf freehub body so you can’t just swap it out, and the company is gone so there’s close to zero chance of getting one of the few 11 speed upgrade kits they made.
So, if you’re using a non-thru axle bike, and you’re running ten speed - or willing to muck about with conversion cassettes and the like - go for it.
I’m pretty sure mine came with a 10/11 speed freehub, maybe it was changed in later produced units?
Also, this is pure speculation, but even if it is 10 speed, you might be able to get it to work with an 11 speed cassette taking one cog off and adding spacers. I don’t use a full spread of the cassette from very easy to hard efforts, so you wouldn’t miss one cog most likely.
Odds are it has a 10 speed freehub
Thanks for the insight! I will be on time brakes for the foreseeable future and the one I’m looking at is actually already set up with an 11sp cassette, and I’m fairly certain that’s on an 11sp hub not just a machined cassette.
Sounds like for $80 net cost it’s a reasonable up/sidegrade. My Fluid 2 has some life left in it but not a ton considering how much I ride it. It’ll last much longer with the relatively little use it will get with it’s new rider.
A direct-drive trainer(wheel-off) is one of the significant advancements of humankind 
For $80 that’s a no-brainer for sure
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I could be wrong, but don’t think the Lemond Revolution ever came with an 11sp freehub. I believe they were out of production before 11sp became a thing. Doesn’t matter, though, now that Shimano does 11/34 11sp cassettes that will work on 10sp hubs. Sure, you’ll never need the 34 on your trainer, and your bike might not be set up for a 34, anyway. But, that will only matter if you try to shift onto it. The second cog is a 30, the third a 27. You could easily make it work if you just stay in the 27 or smaller cogs.
I’m pretty sure mine came with a 10/11 speed freehub, maybe it was changed in later produced units?
Also, this is pure speculation, but even if it is 10 speed, you might be able to get it to work with an 11 speed cassette taking one cog off and adding spacers. I don’t use a full spread of the cassette from very easy to hard efforts, so you wouldn’t miss one cog most likely.
Odds are it has a 10 speed freehub
You can make 11 speed cassette work on a 10 speed freehub body. What you use is 10 cogs and 10 spacers. No 11th cog and it works with 11 speed shifters, with 10 of 11 cogs on a 10 speed freehub. Set the set screw on your 11 speed shifter to take out the 11th shift or ou will stick your chain in your spokes (almost did that the first time I did this).
I’m pretty sure mine came with a 10/11 speed freehub, maybe it was changed in later produced units?
If it’s black/yellow and it has a Shimano compatible freehub, odds are extremely good that it’s a ten speed freehub. If it’s black/grey, it’s 11 speed. There were some Campy freehub black/yellow trainers (and a conversion freehub) but we didn’t make many of those.
There were a small number of shimano 11 conversion freehubs manufactured, and I would imagine that they found their way out on the black/yellow trainers but there weren’t a lot of them, and they were only produced after Greg sold the company to Hoist Fitness, then bought the rights to the Revolution back.
you might be able to get it to work with an 11 speed cassette taking one cog off and adding spacers.
Taking a cog off isn’t typically a great solution for this trainer. Putting aside for a second the slight difference in cog center spacing between 10/11 speed (it will work, but it’s not perfect), because the Revolution really does replicate an authentic flat-road resistance level, most folks will want to have the full range of their smaller cogs available. It’s quite simple to pull a small cog out of a Shimano cassette, but the larger cogs are riveted together. You can of course use an aftermarket cassette with separate cogs, but even doing that you will wind up having to adjust your shifting when you put the bike on the trainer/take it off an put it on “real” wheels due to cassette alignment and the aforementioned cog center spacing.
I could be wrong, but don’t think the Lemond Revolution ever came with an 11sp freehub.
Yup, you’re wrong.
Doesn’t matter, though, now that Shimano does 11/34 11sp cassettes that will work on 10sp hubs.
Don’t be so quick to recommend this unless you’ve actually tried it. The Revolution does not use a “standard” freehub body, and there’s a flange that may well interfere with a cassette body that overlaps the inside edge of the freehub. I haven’t tried myself, so can’t say one way or the other. It may work, it may not. I *can *say that we considered a custom cassette as an interim option to respond to the introduction of 11 speed, and this was definitely an issue we needed to design around.
Until someone can attest to actually having done this, I wouldn’t buy one expecting it to work.
Strange to read this today, just this morning I was looking at youtube for methods to mount 11 speed cassettes on a 10 speed body revolution.
GPLama has a video about counterboring an 11 speed cassette to fit. Alternatively, the method credited to DarkSpeedWorks, is to start with an 11-25 cassette, take out the largest single cog, and move one of the adjacent spacers to the back side of the cassette. You will have the same ratios as an 11-28 cassette, but with only 10 cogs, no 28. May need to adjust the cable tension to get the derailleur to line up.
Search youtube for lemond revolution.
I could be wrong, but don’t think the Lemond Revolution ever came with an 11sp freehub.
Yup, you’re wrong.
Doesn’t matter, though, now that Shimano does 11/34 11sp cassettes that will work on 10sp hubs.
Don’t be so quick to recommend this unless you’ve actually tried it. The Revolution does not use a “standard” freehub body, and there’s a flange that may well interfere with a cassette body that overlaps the inside edge of the freehub. I haven’t tried myself, so can’t say one way or the other. It may work, it may not. I *can *say that we considered a custom cassette as an interim option to respond to the introduction of 11 speed, and this was definitely an issue we needed to design around.
Until someone can attest to actually having done this, I wouldn’t buy one expecting it to work.
I have one set up with an HG700 (105 level) 11/34 as we speak.
Cool. Good to know it works. Couldn’t tell from your post that you had actually tried it. We certainly never did back at LeMond, as those cassettes didn’t exist at the time.
Edit to add: there definitely were some conversion cassettes that *didn’t *Work!
They are still great trainers, I picked one up 2 years ago for $100 Cdn, it was 10 speed but I found a conversion kit on ebay for $50 for 11 speed. These still go for $200 to $300 on ebay . I bought another near new one earlier this year for around $200 Cdn, it was 11 speed compatible and came with a Campy 10/11 freehub, if anyone needs the Campy 10/11 freehub let me know, I will let it go cheap. I believe the Lemond freehub is a Easton R4. I just use with a power meter.
if anyone needs the Campy 10/11 freehub let me know, I will let it go cheap. I believe the Lemond freehub is a Easton R4.
That’s the 11-speed freehub spec. Different (proprietary) freehub on the 10-speed trainers.
if anyone needs the Campy 10/11 freehub let me know, I will let it go cheap. I believe the Lemond freehub is a Easton R4.
That’s the 11-speed freehub spec. Different (proprietary) freehub on the 10-speed trainers.
I dont know anything about the Lemond Campy freehub that came with the trainer. The package says “250094 Campagnono Hub Adaptor”, do you know who made this freehub, I assume this would also work on Easton wheels?
So…the other day as I was cleaning out the garage…I take a look at the Revolution you sent me (oh so long ago)…and then at the old Computrainer Pro load unit…and then I start thinking:
“You know…if I just cover then ends of the Revolution flywheel to eliminate the fan drag…and then just figure out the proper ratio between the flywheel speed and the CT load unit shaft…a couple of gears…and…hmmm” 
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I have no idea what freehub body was used on the last version of the trainer/the upgrade kit. That was after my time at the company.
It *should *just be one of the Asian OE freehub bodies, likely seen on a fair number of wheels from different manufacturers.
I believe ST member and blogger GPLama has mentioned he really likes/uses this trainer and he’s tested a bunch.