Indoor Trainers- suggestions anyone?

[ridebikeme]

Nice to hear of the variety of trainers that people use!

I use a Cateye.. it measures watts,speed, can also measure percentage of climbing, and have used it for 13 years!! It has been very durable, and like someone else said, has been moved around quite a bit.

Minoura and CAteye are great trainers as well.. Minoura is a bit less expensive and offers several models. Cycleops is also a grea trainer, but a bit more money... depends on what you want... wind, fluid, magnetic?? All three companies stand behond their products very well... another thing to think about over time...

[veloputt]

I'm a huge fan of rollers (mine are Kreitler). You learn to balance and control the bike with your hips, not your hands. Yes, I have fallen off a couple times over the years, but it's worth it as I feel more solid on the road and know what the bike will do. It's the BEST trainer to really feel the effects of your spinning and weight shifts. I like seeing not only how fast I can go (have been up to 35mph) but also how slow (8mph). Put on great music and hammer away!

[extra-vert]

Wow, I'm happy i posted this thread, cause i didn't even know that there were such varying types - rollers, magnets etc. This is very informational. I'm especially intrigued by the roller style, and how you're forced to stay on your game using this style. It sounds like it might emulate the real thing a little bit more. Thanks everyone.

[witeowl]

I'm a huge fan of rollers (mine are Kreitler). You learn to balance and control the bike with your hips, not your hands.... I like seeing not only how fast I can go (have been up to 35mph) but also how slow (8mph). Put on great music and hammer away!

Being completely clueless regarding trainers, but sopping up knowledge happily, I'll share something I read about training for cadence. The Russians teams, I think, used to train at high cadence (100) on rollers - this forced them to become really, really smooth riders even at high cadence and apparently also had the benefit of building concentration. Lose smoothness and/or concentration, and you apparently topple. I imagine you learn quickly that way!

[Bron]

Is there a summary out there of the advantages of different trainer types? If anyone has a link I'd be very grateful.
Does anyone use Tacx trainers? Wondering whether to bid on the one I saw on ebay.....

Thanks, Bron

[Bikingmomof3]

The first year of our race team a bunch of the girls bought the 1-Up trainers because they were cheap (and the price was going up $50 if I recall). Racers give their trainers a lot of abuse (throwing them in the car, using them at races in the dirt, etc). By the end of the first season, all the 1-Ups had fallen to pieces. I wouldn't recommend them. I'm a CycleOps girl myself.

I am new to the world of trainers,but want something I can work on when the weather is not cooperating here. I do not want to spend a lot and I came across a sale on a '05 CycleOps Mag Trainer. Any thoughts??