how do I use my trainer?

[Eden]

I've had a trainer for over a year now, but I'm still not really not sure how to get the best use out of it. I'd appreciate any advice!

+ I currently have my front wheel set up on an old phone book. Is that ok? I'll get a block (I think that's what it's called) at some point, but last time I priced it was $100.

This is fine - you don't need to spend big bucks on a trainer block if you have a suitable substitute.

+My back tire squeaks on the tire. What am I doing wrong? I feel as if I'm going to ruin the tire.

You may not be tightening the roller down to the wheel enough. You can also try cleaning your tire with a bit of rubbing alcohol (and the roller if it is dirty). A trainer will wear your tires down faster. If it worries you, get a trainer tire (made of harder rubber) or just use an old tire.

+ I feel as if I have to pedal differently on the trainer. Is that true? Or am I doing something wrong?

You are probably just feeling the fact that you cannot coast.... it takes more effort to ride on a trainer and your form has to be better. No worries this isn't harmful at all - in fact it makes you stronger.

+ I don't have a clue how to train on it. I know how to adjust the tension but on the trainer I find I just pick a level where I feel like I'm working and adjust to keep myself at that level throughout. Definitely not the best way to reach winter goals! I am going to set up a dvd player so maybe that will help.

To best answer this we'd need to know what kind of trainer you have. Some have adjustable resistance, some don't. Is it magnetic, fluid? What brand? What are your winter goals?

+ Is there any maintenance to do on the trainer itself?

Again - depends on the trainer, but most don't require much maintenance. Check for loose/worn parts. Clean the roller if it needs it.

[woohoo]

Some great advice from Eden above! I've ridden my trainer a lot and a couple of tips I'd give would be

• If you just want to spend an hour or two riding, pick a movie and just keep going until it stops - be warned, though, steady state on the trainer can be a lot harder mentally than physically!
• If you have specific aims for your winter training, invest in a good training schedule. There are lots of different programmes online for free, and a lot of reasonably priced training guides available in books.

I like the 'workouts in a binder' series, but am sure other people have different preferences. Spend some time on amazon or somewhere and see if you can find a book that you like the feel of, it'll be quite a personal thing.

For the block, you may need one that matches your trainer but I think $100 is very steep - my cyclops one cost about £12/$16. If your happy with it for now, I'd second the recommendation to stick with the phonebook...

Have fun

[rain]

Thanks for the tips! & Eden thanks for the specifics.

I read on another forum (which differs from my trainer manual) that the correct tightness is to let the bike touch the roller then turn the knob approx 3 more times. What do you think?

My trainer brand is Travel Trac Century V Fluid - bought at the recommendation of a friend who is a cyclist and I know rides his pretty hard. So I'm sure I'm just being timid with mine. I do notice that to turn the wheels my legs need to really make circles, I can't slack or I feel as if I'm jerking up and down.

My goal is to continue to get stronger and faster but I don't know how to quantify that. I'll poke around amazon.

Thanks!

[Eden]

I generally tighten my trainer to the point at which if I grab the bike wheel and try to turn it, while holding the trainer flywheel still, I can't make the tire slip against the roller.

With a fluid trainer the harder you pedal the more resistance you get - pedal easy, not much resistance, pedal harder more resistance. It looks like yours offers variable resistance that you can change manually from your handle bars too. To gauge your workouts I'd suggest getting a heart rate monitor. It doesn't have to be super fancy, but having a monitor and figuring your your HR zones will help you to structure your workouts. Having workout DVD's is helpful as a starting point too. Check your local library - you might be able to check some out before you decide to buy. There are different styles and people often find they have a definite preference for one personality over another.

Keep in mind that trainer riding is *harder* than being on the road. There's no resting ever, so an hour on the trainer is going to feel like 2 on the road... Having a good fan is important too - its soooo easy to overheat on the trainer and have all your energy totally sapped away.

p.s. you definitely don't need to spend $100 on a trainer bock.... I have one in my basement that I made myself from 3 pieces of ply wood and a few screws with a hand towel to cushion and raise the front wheel a bit... I've seen all manner of things used at bike races when someone has forgotten a block - a shoe, a roll of duct tape...

[marni]

road bike rider.com has a good series of PDF files on almost every type of training including inside trainer rides. membership is free and the weekly newsletter is pretty interesting. Down loads of the PDFs are usually about $4.00 for five downloads so you can share with friends. I also am loving pod runner intervals to just close my eyes, get into the drops, listen to and ride.

[makbike]

You might want to check out the Cyclops website cycle-ops.com as it offers some very good videos on set up, tension, etc.