Quote Originally Posted by kaian
I use a rim drive trainer. I didn't want to have to worry about going through rear tires, so I got a Minoura rim drive. I've had great luck with it. It's not too loud and provides A LOT of resistance if you want it to. I had a cyclops wind jammer in the past and it was so noisey, plus it wore down my rear tire to much.
If you use a good, hard-compound tire and tighten the resistance on the trainer enough that the rear tire doesn't slip, a trainer shouldn't really wear out the tire. The biggest mistake folks make is not tightening the drum enough. When the tire slips, not only does it get hot, but it wears down. You can hear it (squeak) and smell it (burning rubber) when it's not tight enough.

Rim units are great for mtn bikes and cyclocross bikes, though, but you can even use a traditional trainer on them. Or, you can put a slick on a second wheel and just swap that out when you're on a trainer.

A good fluid trainer isn't noisy at all, but you have to pay a premium for it.

Bottom line is, think about what you'll be using it for, how often you'll use it, and where you'll use it. I'm on the trainer 2-3 times a week even in the summer, so it's worth the investment to me to get a good trainer. If you've never used a trainer (and don't know if you'll like it), you might want to pick up a used on on craig's list or ebay. As you can imagine from the number of used trainers on the market, lots of folks purchase them and never use them.