e-motion trainer

My e-motion trainer got here yesterday! Oh, wow! What a work-out. I got it set up all by myself (pretty amazing) then called my husband to hold on to me while I tried it out. I mistakenly had the resistance on the hardest setting. I got on & was pedaling while he held my seat. I had placed the trainer next to a sideboard where I could grab it easily in case I got too wobbly. He let go--I remained upright! I was pedaling in granny as hard as I could and in 5 minutes I was bathed in sweat! I reluctantly allowed him to go back to what he was doing and found that I got more and more confident. Still--10 minutes was max. I got up this morning, realized I needed to use the lightest resistance setting, and did much better. I felt I'd really made a huge improvement when I rode a solid 5 minutes without once touching the sideboard and being able to actually look at the television. I just wore regular tennis shoes, but on my next attempt I will clip in. I can't help but believe that using this type trainer will make me a better cyclist. It's got to help my balance. In short--I love it! The website is www.insideride.com

I also have a new huge admiration for the cyclist at Bike Expo who rode the trainer for 2 days straight!

Very cool. I always set my rollers near a wall or in a doorway and rode with my elbow on the wall until I was steady. You're doing great to be riding free for 10 minutes already. Tell us more about how the e-motion rollers "float" and make the ride realistic. Do the rollers move front-to-back or in some other way?

Deb, they float a bit back to front and maybe a tiny bit side to side--I'm not positive about the side to side. And those little bumpers on the front really seem to do the trick when you get too much lateral movement going on the front. When I get more confident maybe I can actually look down at what's going on! I would say that I'd watch my husband give it a try; however, he got on it briefly to try and maybe did one pedal rotation before he bailed. Of course, he was on my bicycle--I'm 5'3" and he's nearly 6 ft. And he had on sandals and socks--not the recomended foot wear! He now has a new respect for my athletic abilities!

I went home at lunch and took a look at the trainer again. It floats from back to front--not at all from side to side.