trainer recommendations?

[kelownagirl]

I am in the market for a trainer. Anyone have any suggestions as to what to look for, brands, etc....?

Thanks in advance,
barb

[LBTC]

Our Minoura mag trainer does the trick and is still working after lots of years and occasional serious usage. Mag trainers can be good, but some inexpensive ones can apparently feel unbalanced.

If you can afford a fluid, that's what we lust after! They are generally regarded as way better.

Most trainers require the front wheel to be up on a block to make the bike level. Also, we found that sweat, believe it or not, will drip off of you onto the floor surface, so having a mat under the bike and stand is a very good idea.

Good luck! I find it hard to be motivated enough to ride on the trainer most of the time, but when I get into a groove it really helps keep fitness through the winter.

Of course, when we made the move to Vernon, we were expected a lot LESS winter than we'd experienced in Williams Lake, and had hoped to ride our bikes through more of the winter months.....alas! This snow that keeps coming has foiled our plans! That's why we just bought snowshoes! :D

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[KayTee]

For the money, our CycleOps Fluid2 bought on spring sale. The harder I work, the harder it works me - better than our cheapo variable resistance Performance fluid trainer anyway. I put my front wheel up on a cinderblock to better simulate climbing, too.

[Bikingmomof3]

I have a CycleOps Fluid 2 trainer.

[Wahine]

Hey Kelownagirl,

Seeing as you're in Can and can access MEC, i thought I'd send this along:

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442617366&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302882220&bmUID=1167284247172

This fluid trainer is a good value and a very good friend of mine who is a Tri national long course team member, Kona athlete and now a very successful Tri coach, swears that this is the best bang for the buck.

I haven't used it, I also have a Minoura mag, but this is what he suggested when DH and I were thinking of getting a second trainer for riding together.

Hope this helps.

[indysteel]

Barb, I'm also in the market for a trainer and the two that seem to come up the most in the research I've done is the CycleOps Fluid 2 and the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine. I've also seen a number of recommendations for 1up USA. Check out www.1upusa.com for good prices on both the 1up and Kurt Kinetic models. With free shipping and DVDS thrown in, it's one of the better deals that I've seen. One of the best prices I've seen online for the Cycle Ops Fluid 2 is $259 at Colorado Cyclist. The consensus seems to be that fluid trainers (those in which the resistance gets progressively higher as your speed increases) offer the best "road feel."

For the money, I'm looking seriously at the CycleOps Magneto. It's allegely the only mag trainer that offers progressive resistance, but it's cheaper that a fluid trainer. I'm not sure I'm ready to shell out the money for the Kurt Kinetic (which would otherwise be my top choice) so the Magneto may be a good compromise.

[pkq]

I broke down this year and bought a Computrainer because lots of the racer folks I know use them. I'm hoping to have the discipline to ride indoors on bad winter days. I'm tired of my riding pals arising from Winter with thousands of miles on their legs, while I'm still putting on base miles.

[kelownagirl]

Thank you everyone! Checking out the brands and links now.

What makes a fluid trainer better?

[kelownagirl]

Anyone have an thoughts on this one? Blackburn Ultra

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Trainer/product_125394.shtml

barb

[KayTee]

A couple of the folks in my spin group have mag trainers, and the rest of us fluid. The fluid trainers (all either CycleOps or different models of Performance) seem to be quieter and provide higher resistance than the mag models (Minoura, can't remember the other brands). Our consensus is that CycleOps has the highest consistent level of resistance.