Indoor trainer

[bluerider]

Thanks everyone for your feedback and advice. I guess I have more to look forward to when the snow hits.

[AutumnBreez]

My DH has recently ordered the Kreitler Rollers with the front fork stand. Without the stand you have to learn to balance on the rollers, and I don't have enough confidence to do that and be clipped in. Once your slow down, you have to be able to balance. Maybe some day I will do it, but other wise it does have a fan for resistance if you purchase that accessory. The rollers have a life time guarantee on them. www.coloradocyclist.com have them, and you can also learn more on the www.kreitler.com
Also it teaches you to train so that you have better form out on the road.

[Pax]

Not to intrude on your thread Bluerider but I have a (sort of) related question. Has anyone used an exercise bike instead of a trainer? Any pros/cons? I'm sure it's not the same as a bike but I like the thought of sitting upright while trying to keep in shape this winter.

[Adventure Girl]

Also, for wind resistance, any ideas? I guess a fan???

A fan might be nice to keep you more cool and comfortable, but it won't help with any wind resistance training because on a trainer you will not be riding into the wind. Your only tension adjustment will your choice of gears unless you have a trainer with variable resistance.

One other suggestion I have is to put a towel or something over your bike to catch the sweat. Sweat can be very damaging to a bike. I just had to have my headset replaced because it was corroded inside from sweat. I'm pretty sure that was from time spent on the trainer. Now I use one of these:

[slinkedog]

Well, that's quite a nifty little doo-dad! I ride my trainer a TON (way more time on the trainer than on the roads) and I do put a towel over my headset most of the time. However, Specialized says that my headset is sealed, so I wonder if I have to worry? Or is everyone's headset sealed and I really need to do the towel thing?

[bluerider]

Hey Adventure Girl,

Thanks for the great advice. I checked out CycleOps and they have this fancy accessory called the Bike THONG. I'm glad it's for the bike. Nifty!

[Trekhawk]

Bluerider - check out this website that Irulan mentioned to me in another thread. www.icebike.org

This might be up your alley as Im sure you get plenty of snow where you are. Are these people crazy or sane Im not sure but its worth a look.