Help with indoor trainer

[fourUNDERfour]

I am a new rider (and new poster!). I have lurked for about a year, getting a TON of good advice from these boards. I need help finding an indoor trainer for the (potentially long) winter months.

A bit of background:

I am a 33 year old mom to 5 kids under the age of 6. I am NOT an athlete of any sort. I started training for triathlons about 3 years ago, right after my 4th was born and I was tipping the scales at 200lbs. Now, one more baby and 50 pounds lighter, I have completed four triathlons and am also working on increasing my biking miles. Hubby and I are hoping to do a 7 day 400+ mile ride next summer so I want to keep the bike fitness I already have and continue to increase my mileage over the winter. I have a Trek WSD 2.1 that was a HUGE upgrade from my 10 year old $70 Kmart special. The more I ride, the more I realize how much I love riding. During my peak tri training, I was getting in about 50-60 miles a week. It is hard to get long rides in with the kids. As I get more comfortable on my bike, I am seeing that I really hate the stationary bikes at the local YMCA. So I am really hoping to find a trainer so I can stay on my own bike for the winter.

So - (are you still with me?? I can be a bit long-winded)

Is there a "trainer for dummies" link? A quick search of trainers at nashbar or performance bike show several different kinds, and a huge price range. I'd be using it indoors, hopefully in the living room. We have a largish area behind the sofa (about 8 x 17ft) - I am hoping that with a yoga mat, it will work there. I can still watch TV if I want, but it would be relatively easy to barracade myself off from the little ones (worried about fingers + spinning wheels, etc). Are the ones in the $100 price range worthwhile? After all the money I have spent this season on tri gear (incl the new bike), I don't have a ton left to spend. Have any of you used the trainer with kids around? Realistically, how long can you spend on the bike at a single time on the trainer? Any other helpful tips/advice? I read somewhere about needing a fan to keep you cool, and being sure to wipe down the bike afterward. Do you just get on and start pedalling? Do you find workout DVDs helpful? Do I need a trainer with adjustable resistance, or can I still use my gears? Anything else I need to know?

Thanks.

[Trek420]

Welcome to TE.

Here's a good place to start.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=28121

[Yelsel]

I don't think you are wordy at all, you should see my posts!

Fluid trainers are the quietest, and have the most "road-like" resistance. These are also the most expensive, and cheaper models will eventually leak. Kurt Kinetic and Cyclops are the two best brands; these will not leak. If you are looking used, don't get the Cyclops Fluid Trainer II (the II+ is okay) -- the II is prior to being sold and is prone to leak eventually. Dirty oil over the floor = one unhappy camper.

Magnetic trainers are considered the next in line - they are fairly quiet, and intermediate in price, but I don't like them because unless you get into the price range of a fluid trainer anyway, you have to adjust them manually. The cheapest you have to stop and get off your bike to adjust -- at least get one with a wire so that you can adjust while on your bike. Usually the adjustment is not continuous and you have about 3-5 distinct resistances.

Wind trainers are the cheapest, and you can get continuous resistance, and also some wind to cool you down! And in the higher end wind trainers, you also get a flywheel effect. They can be very noisy, so many people give them a pass. What I like about wind trainers (besides the wind): less expensive, more portable (you could bring to warm up at events), continuous, and better-made ones will not drown out headphones (watching training DVDs, TV, listening to music).

I got a bang-up deal on a Kurt Kinetic Rock-and-Roll Pro fluid trainer from REI on a closeout -- in their outlet with a 20% off coupon it wasn't that much more expensive than a Performance/Nashbar fluid trainer. Prices vary wildly, and like bikes last years' models are cheaper, so shop around online as well as used.

I am actually "going the other way" -- now that I have the fluid trainer, I want to purchase a wind trainer module for more portability. What I really like about the Kurt Kinetic is that all of the stands (stationary, rock-and-roll) and modules (wind, fluid, and fluid pro) are interchangeable. I only need to purchase the wind module now, not a whole 'nother trainer. (Plus, they are a local company, so it is doubly nice to support them in my case.) Kurt Kinetic Cyclone Wind Trainer -- actual retail $200 or under. You could then purchase the fluid trainer or fluid pro trainer module the next year. There is also a very old Kurt Kinetic wind trainer module that only has one flywheel instead of two, and a light (non-interchangeable) stand, that is really great for portability, and is about $99. I don't come across that much anymore, but that would also be a starter trainer that would be useful in the future.

I've never used rollers, but that is another option that stimulates road riding even better. Retail is usually the same as trainers, but I see them going used for a lot less, since I think most people can't figure out how to use them!

I use Spinerval DVDs -- I've mostly used the Aero base building, recovery/technique, on/off bike strength DVDs, and short training DVDs. I will get more into the road riding and endurance after base building in the winter. I also just got a climbing DVD -- I just got a bike with a granny gear, and figured out it was me that couldn't get up hills, not my bikes. You can join a club and get the spinervals at a discount. In addition to the spinning DVDs, there is a set of yoga for triathletes that I really like, and a set of medical DVDs focusing on rehabbing / strengthening joints, and a Runnervals set. Another option is renting DVDs from mypipeline or another online place. Carmichael training is another set of DVDs, and Joe Friel has some DVDs that look interesting -- I really like his training systems, so I will probably purchase them after I'm done with the Spinervals club. There are also places to download spinning podcasts (some free, some charge), which can be done on the trainer.

Last year I switched entirely to working on my own once I got my trainer (partially since I wanted almost exclusively base building); but this year I plan to go to spinning at least once a week. We have special spinning classes "The Ride" at the Uni gym, which are meant to simulate road riding and advanced road riding skills. I have no clue how "regular" spinning classes work, and how useful they are for riding skills vs. fitness.