Trainers?

[Trixiee]

Hello there,

Now that it's getting dark so early, I find that I'm having to cut back on my biking. So now I'm thinking of getting an indoor trainer.

Your thoughts on which is best, ball park estimate on cost, and did you purchase videos to keep you going in the winter?

Thanks very much!

Trixiee

[Veronica]

We use a Curt Kinetic trainer and Spinervals tapes. Very motivating, and an awesome workout. We have six of the nine competition series tapes. It's nice to have a variety.

http://www.kurtkinetic.com/


Veronica

[Trek420]

"Your thoughts on which is best, ball park estimate on cost, and did you purchase videos to keep you going in the winter?"

I use Cycleops fluid trainer no tapes/videos just radio, cd, tv downstairs-sprint during advertisement breaks, fast songs, favorite songs or just for no apparent reason seems to work ok.

I also do spin classes-lots of threads-info on that in "other sports" as well as other sports in winter (see same section). As for cost there's:

Wind trainers-cheapest, noisy and less "lifelike road feel"

Magnetic trainers-quieter, your neighbors will thank you, closer to "feel of the road" more expensive than wind trainers

Fluid trainers-very quiet, very similar feel to road riding, more expensive than Mag but I felt worth it.

Then there's rollers: the best for working on cadence, pedal stroke, there's a learning curve and if you don't mind the possibility of falling over IN YOUR OWN HOME ;-)

but if you race they are the best, haven't tried them myself...anyone?

[Steph_in_TX]

We have the Cycleops fluid trainer and it's nice. My husband uses various tapes, but I'd rather just stare at some TV show. It's been worth the money for us as we have a 16 month old and it's difficult to get on the road much during the week. They are also quiet so they don't disturb the sleep of anyone. I should add that the less tread on the tires, the quieter they are.

We also have rollers....ummm, let's say it's pretty much like riding on ice. I can't do them! My husband got the hang of them very quickly and loves them, but he has been riding much longer than I have. You need to be able to keep your upper body very still and I haven't acquired that skill yet. Maybe one day....

[DoubleLori]

I have a Vetta wind trainer (very old and noisy) and a Blackburn mag trainer. I have to get a new trainer to fit my recumbent since I can't ride standard bikes anymore. I've heard the Cycleops brand has adapters available so that you can ride with smaller wheels. I definitely don't want a wind trainer because of the noise. How do the mags and fluid trainers compare? Can you workout at a really low resistance for long distance or recovery rides? If its raining or snowing on a Sunday, I like to ride for the entire length of a football game to get in some decent mileage.

[DoubleLori]

I forgot to mention that I also have Kreitler rollers. They were fun; I could ride them for up to about an hour before I would lose my concentration. They turn you into a very smooth rider real fast!

(Unfortunately, they don't work with recumbents either, though there's a chance that they might if you got an adapter to hold up the front wheel, but then they wouldn't really be rollers anymore).