Getting a trainer...ideas re bike for the trainer?

I am about to get a Kurt Kinetic fluid trainer. I don't want to put my current road bike on it because I am also still riding outdoors and have no desire to lug the bike back and forth--I want a bike I can leave on the trainer.

Sounds like it's important to have the same riding positiion you have on the road so you can train those muscles properly, so I am looking for a cheap road bike in my size (50 cm.) to put on the trainer. Am about to go to the local used bike place. Craig's List seems to have mostly mountain bikes listed right now, around here.

Any other ideas on how to get a bike that'll work for this trainer? Thanks.

For a long time I did lug my bike back and forth, into the trainer and out of the trainer. It wasn't too bad. There were no stairs involved. :p

We initially had a mountain bike in the trainer, before we had singles. When we only had mountain bikes and a tandem.

I don't know that it is that crucial to have the same sort of bike in the trainer.

V.

I bought a Kurt Kinetic a couple of months ago and quickly learned a few things:

-get a bike that has at least halfway decent components. Poor shifting/performance is almost as annoying on the trainer as it is on the road.
- it may take you a while to dial in the right tension for the rear wheel (at least it did me). Once you get it right, it will feel remarkably like being on the road.
- get a couple of spare tires for the rear.
- get a multi-height stand for the front wheel so you can vary the height of the front in relation to the back. It'll make finding a comfortable riding position much easier. (the one I got in the pic below was an extra $20 and well worth it. )

Another tire tip, Continental makes a hometrainer tire. I haven't had an issue with rear tires being chewed by the trainer (I run Michelin Pro2 Race tires) but some people do. I have installed the Conti for this winter trainer season and so far I've been pleased. YMMV. I have the Kurt Kinetic Rock & Roll trainer.

Salsa, the bike on my trainer has a lower top tube (it's a hybrid) The thing is a lot harder to get in and out of, so having a lower tube helps.

Good on you Salsa for getting a different bike for your trainer.

I am a strong advocate of NOT putting precious (either sentimentally or financially) bikes onto trainers.

Its not crucial to have the same sort of bike on the trainer, you just need a bike that fits you.

Also - about tyres, before we bought the spin bike and had a bike set up on a trainer, we used tyres that were worn out for the road but still had some life on them.

Must be the Scots blood in us... we try and extract every cent from anything we buy! :cool:

I do the same thing as Raven on the tires. Your back tire wears faster than the front, so when I put new on last spring, I took a good tire off the front. It's now on the back, on the trainer, but good enough to go out on the road should the weather allow.

I actually saved an old wheel as well as tires for use with my trainer. But I have only one road bike so that's what I use on my trainer, I just swap out the rear wheel once we hit indoor season.

Hey Salsa,

How about Plan B? Instead of buying a used bike for the trainer, why don't you put your present bike on the trainer and buy a new, extra-spiffy bike to use outside? :D

Just doing my part to help the economy and justify buying new bike stuff...

-- Melissa

PS I use my old Bianchi on the trainer. It's the bike I bought during my second year in college, so it goes against RoadRaven's advice of not putting a sentimentally precious bike on the trainer. OTOH, if something were to happen to the Bianchi on the trainer, I'd consider it ample payback for the time it broke my leg. :p

Ha! Don't think I didn't consider that, melissam. But I'm not done with the Bianchi yet...

You made me laugh loudly. Then I showed my spouse your post and HE laughed loudly.

So here's what we've found so far that we think will work---an '07 8-speed Raleigh on sale for $315 (Sora shifters). Best we seem to be able to do without spending a couple of months haunting Craig's List.

How do you know how much tension to put on the rear wheel?

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Originally Posted by Drtgirl

How do you know how much tension to put on the rear wheel?

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I've always used just enough that the tire doesn't slip if I put my thumb on the trainer wheel and try to turn the bike wheel.

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Originally Posted by RoadRaven

I am a strong advocate of NOT putting precious (either sentimentally or financially) bikes onto trainers.

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Are there horror stories? What happens? (Now you have me worried...)

I'll second the reccommendation for a Conti home trainer tire. We have a wheel with one permenently mounted. I'm not totally sure how the Kurt Kinetic works, but I think it may be somewhat similar to what we have. Its a Computrainer and it will automatically change the difficulty. When it starts sending you up a "hill" a regular road tire tends to slip, while the Conti remains nice and smooth.

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Originally Posted by Starfish

Are there horror stories? What happens? (Now you have me worried...)

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Well, its just that road bikes are made for the road. And if you are spending alot of money on a road bike (which is a relative thing anyways depending on what your budget is for a bike) then why on earth would you clamp the forks into one place and then apply pressure in your indoor ride that the frame would not usually have on the road.

On the road, as you lean from side to side, the bike leans with you, the handlebars move, it responds to your requests.

On a trainer, your bike is fixed upright, it cannot move with your movements. And this is probably ok if what you mostly do on your trainer is sit and spin. But I stand, I practice timetrialling, I get tired and start to pulll on the handlebars and I don't want to put my bike through that.

A complicating factor in our house was the number of us wanting to use the indoor trainer... so we were constantly taking different bikes on and off the trainer... and IMHO, your shouldn't mess around with taking your bike apart - even if its just the front wheel - any more than you have to.

Oh, I just told my partner what I was posting, and he called out definately no expensive or carbon frame bikes on a trainer...

I have my beater Bridgestone bike circa '82 maybe '84 ??

Since you are on the trainer, don't you want your work out to be just that much harder. You're not leaving home so does it matter if the rear wheel wobbles or the rear brake pads scrapes the wheel as you spin. Well aside from the added noise but... :D :D :D :p You'll be a lot stronger when you get on your good bike.

my father thought I should train with a cross bike with solid rubber tires with big lug and have the brake pads scrape the wheel at all times. Heavier the bike, the better he thought. He further suggested that I add panniers filled with rocks for hill climbs. :eek:

get a beater even a $50 bike for the trainer. single speed is fine if you can adjust the load while spinning.

Smilingcat

Raven, thanks. That is clarifying! :)