I think I am going to invest in a bike trainer for this winter. What should I be looking for?-primary purpose will be to do a one hour to 1:30 ride during the week-nothing to long. What are the advantages/disadvantages of going with rollers? I will be using my power-tap rear wheel on either setup. What are the differences between an $80 cycle ops trainer on craigslist vs. a $400 trainer new?
Any recommendations as far as brands?
I just got the new Jetfluid Pro and absolutely love it. It is ultra quiet and I really like the resistance feel.
Personally I like riding the trainer versus the rollers as you can be distracted without falling off.
price? and to feel your referring to “road feel”?
It is $399 and just came out. As for the road feel, that is clearly a relative thing. The resistance feels like the road to me for sure, but having your bike fixed certainly doesn’t really.
Here is what the 09 Cyclops Jetfluid Pro looks like
I bought a 2nd CycleOps when I lived in Australia. I love this trainer, but I just returned, and I don’t need two.
http://www.cycle-ops.com/p-118-fluid.aspx
At a minimum, you’ll want to make sure you get a fluid trainer, because this allows you to use your gears instead of an external shifting device that the lesser priced versions have.
FYI: My 2nd trainer is only 5-6 months old, and I’m looking to sell it for $200 + shipping (I paid $550AUD), I live in NYC. Both models are the same, the other is 3 years older. I’m trying to sell the newer one, which has the quick release handle for the tire. You’ll find great reviews of this trainer anywhere on the internet.
I’ve griped about this before without getting a clear answer, but I’ll try again. Why do people spend tons of money for a stationary trainer?
Guess what? They all put resistance against your back wheel that you pedal against. I bought the cheapest one I could find from Performance, I’ve had it for 4 seasons, and it has worked flawlessly the entire time. Trainer time is going to suck whether you spent $50 or $500, and IMO you’d be better off buying a cheap trainer and spending the savings on a 40" LCD and some DVDs.
I’ve griped about this before without getting a clear answer, but I’ll try again. Why do people spend tons of money for a stationary trainer?
Guess what? They all put resistance against your back wheel that you pedal against. I bought the cheapest one I could find from Performance, I’ve had it for 4 seasons, and it has worked flawlessly the entire time. Trainer time is going to suck whether you spent $50 or $500, and IMO you’d be better off buying a cheap trainer and spending the savings on a 40" LCD and some DVDs.
I would agree with this post. I used the cheapest trainer performance sold without issue for about 4 years until i upgraded to a computrainer. This is the only exception if you want to spend $1500 and get racermates computrainer. This is a great toy to have but otherwise wouldnt spend a lot of money on a basic trainer.
Our favorite in a good, basic, reliable varible resistance indoor stationary trainer is the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine. Here is a review of it. They are also widely available so your local IBS will have them to try:
Oh, here’s a photo:
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I would suggest you look at the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine trainer. I recently bought mine from Bike Sport Michigan and love it. Great price and so far it has been exactly what I was looking for.
I have a mag trainer. <$100 delivered on eBay. I too see no reason in spending more for an indoor trainer, would rather buy other goodies.
I ride it 5 days a week. 30 - 60 minutes a pop. (mainly because it’s too dark and too cold by the time I get home from work). Sure it might not be as “realistic” as other products - but neither is riding in my basement watching TV. Not sure about the shifting vs not… but I set my resistance on the trainer, and shift away.
No it’s not a simulation of riding outside, but it allows me to do one leg drills, and with longer/intense sessions there is a puddle of sweat on the floor regardless of how loud or unsmooth it is. Though I don’t think it’s either. It’s plenty smooth and plenty quiet - much quieter than my treadmill.
So yes… spend more… or spend less. Either way you’ll get your workout. I just preferred to keep some money in my pocket.
OK, I have a problem.
When I rode tonite, my bike wheel, the rubber was basically chewed up on my back wheel. I have a Cyclops and noticed when it would spin, it would get really hot, and basically it melted a middle groove into my back tire. So what am I doing wrong? I put the back tire onto a little bit of pressure onto the trainer, because if I didnt, I would be spinning without any resistance.
SO is the trainer in the back of the tire suppose to be spinning and getting that hot, that it has melted my tire??
What am I doing wrong??
What am I doing wrong??
Using a good outdoor tire on your trainer, that’s what. Ideally, you should get one of those tough, thick tires that’s made specifically for the purpose. If you’ve got an extra rear wheel, mount the indoor tire to it to speed up the switch between indoor and outdoor tires - these things are a little tough to stretch over the rim, so they take longer to change than a regular tire.
If you don’t want to buy a trainer tire (or ride 650c wheels), you can just use an old, semi-worn out tire instead. Like, say, a tire that was until recently good for riding outdoors, but has been used on an indoor trainer.
Oh, and when you’re done with your trainer session, don’t forget to loosen the roller so that it doesn’t melt a divot into your tire. Makes your trainer rides a little bumpier. Speaking from personal experience here.
I was in this position a few months ago until somebody suggested getting a spin bike. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me. Not having to worry about changing out the tire or rear wheel, not having to worry about getting my tri bike all sweaty, and being able to climb. The biggest thing for me was that if I got a spin bike, other people (wife, visitors) could also use it. While my spin bike is not commercial quality, it is tough enough to do the job. I found a brand new one on craigslist for $200.
The only thing that I don’t like about the spin bike is the saddle (will be changing that soon) and the fact that it isn’t really meant to get into the aero position. I would like to figure out how to add aerobars onto this thing, but that will take some experimentation. Not sure if I can find bars that will fit, but in the meantime, I just roll up a towel and put it on the bars and rest my elbows on there.
-Nick
Our favorite in a good, basic, reliable varible resistance indoor stationary trainer is the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine. Here is a review of it. They are also widely available so your local IBS will have them to try:
http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/...s/kurt-kinetic.shtml
Tom, a suggestion - date your reviews. If you wrote that in Dec '05, that might be helpful to know.
Second point (not just to Tom), I thought I read somewhere that wind trainers offered the most realistic road feel (vs mag or fluid trainers). Is that true?
OK, I have a problem.
When I rode tonite, my bike wheel, the rubber was basically chewed up on my back wheel. I have a Cyclops and noticed when it would spin, it would get really hot, and basically it melted a middle groove into my back tire. So what am I doing wrong? I put the back tire onto a little bit of pressure onto the trainer, because if I didnt, I would be spinning without any resistance.
SO is the trainer in the back of the tire suppose to be spinning and getting that hot, that it has melted my tire??
What am I doing wrong??
there are multiple solutions. you can use duct tape either on your tire, or directly on the trainer.
another option is continental’s hometrainer tyre.
you can also use old tires that were fairly worn down, but still have that last bit of life left in them.
I am not a bike shop so here is my experience.
Cyclops is the only way to go. They are are an exellent company to deal with and repair their products. They have an exellent warranty.
Search Cyclops on ebay- they have a fluid trainer delivered for $235 buy from them and save. A friend jut got one from there.
(not my auction- just a great deal)
Continental Trainer tires are the ONLY way to go.
Ok, so I duct taped the trainer roller and after 10 mins, my tyre basically put a groove into the tape. It didnt go all the way to the trainer roller but it was going to if I didnt stop.
So the problem is this, the Continental Trainer tyre is only in 700c not 650C, which is what i need.
Is the cyclops suppose to get hot when its used?
So basically am i screwed, and I basically just use up used wheels each time on the trainer?
you need to get a trainer from the tom demerly special
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