I’m curious to learn if anyone owns and uses a bike trainer. For those who cannot make spin classes, for a variety of reasons, spinning at home is a great option. If so, any recommendations, advice?
im actually looking for one right now. when i get it im planning on using it everytime the habs play… in front of the tv.
but im not familiar with the quality i can get for the minimum price. According to some, a mag trainer would be a must.
Generally people demand fluid trainers if they demand anything. Fluid trainers provide “progressive” resistance (it gets harder to pedal when you pedal harder,) without requiring an adjustment dial. Magnetic trainers are louder, less realistic in terms of feel, and require such an adjustment if you want to get any sort of workout. There are hybrid systems available (fluid and mag,) as well as adjustable fluids and so-called “inertial” trainers, which I don’t understand but are supposedly nice. You could also get rollers and try to do like Eddy.
I have a nonadjustable fluid trainer. It’s nice, if you think riding on a trainer can actually be nice. I put it on once this year and it chewed up my tire, so it’s in the doghouse now. Of course, there are plenty of good-quality (and less expensive) magnetic systems out there if you like. Performance made a very popular one under the Ascent name, which you could easily find for US$90 on sale. On that note, I don’t recommend buying CycleOps or Blackburn unless you can find one on sale or are made of money.
One of my pet projects for this winter is to build a set of free motion rollers but I’ve yet to find a place to buy just a resistance unit I can easily mount. I thought about just salvaging some old electric motor and just loading it with a varistor but I have a feeling it would feel like utter crap.
I really resent having to spend hundreds of dollars for a high end system I could build 10x better and free motion for 150$ in parts and a day in the shop.
I’ve seen some Louis Garneau trainers, as in the spinning room for $400, at the Louis-Garneau retailler store (south shore). Maybe CGR sells cheaper ones… I agree magnetic ones are not really nice, and hard to adjust, but still better than nothing.
If you are planning on doing any serious trainin during the winter, maybe not if it is your first season training, I would for sure suggest some rollers. Trainers are probably the most boring thing in the world to ride on all winter. Rollers provide a little bit of fun, you need to stay much more focused the whole time so your ride seems to go by a lot faster. They are very quiet compared to mag trainers, and they force you to use your full pedal stroke (if you get a mag trainer you can take the fly wheel off so it helps your pedal stroke too). Overall rollers are the way to go in my opinion. 8)
The thing about rollers though is that they still have mag or viscous resistors depending on the quality of the kit - the only difference is that the resistance unit is now attached via belt (or other power transfer system) to one of the rollers instead of it using a friction wheel directly against your rear.
Rollers usually have no resistance unit whatsoever, and simply spin on ball bearings. They are more useful for training for form and smoothness, which is beneficial if you are already have a resistance or strength component to your training - our spin classes, for example. There are still differences between roller sets; some will have larger diameter barrels (easier workout) and some smaller, and some will use tapered barrels so that you don’t go flying off the sides if your balance gives out.
You can usually buy an resistance unit but they do not come with it. If you get small rolling barrels I haven’t found there isa huge need for the extra resistance, but it is always an option. The tapered side of the barrels would definately be nice though :lol:
Almost all of the higher end roller units come with some sort of resistor though. You can usually modify your rollers with some sort of side guard (nylon wheels work well) so you don’t go flying off. I’m not sure I’d want to bounce my rims sidewalls off stuff though.
I really don’t get why they make those things so narrow either - big reason #2 I want to build my own, clipping in while balancing off a wall and worrying about steering off half a foot of roller never got my excited about buying a unit.
:lol:
I also agree that rollers are awesome. WAY more fun than a trainer, and I had no idea that some of them came with a resistor! That would make it a no-brainer.
the reason they make rollers so narrow is so that they teach you to ride straight. Get good on rollers and you’ll be a significantly smoother more efficient rider. Minoura have the resistance add on to their baseline model. They also have the standard 20" rollers, or you can go with the wide 24", but really I would go as narrow as possible. Harder to learn, but once you have, you’ll benefit a lot more.
these ones start at about 210$
definitely agree with Vincent. Don’t be a sketchy road rider. Rollers make you less sketchy. Hence, they are good.
yeah but there is no reason why you can’t practise riding straight on wider rollers by deliberately focusing on that and the extra width gives you more wiggle room when you start them up, sprint or ride hands free.