Trainer Recommendation

[racerfern]

I'm fortunate that I can ride outdoors most of the year. However, for convienience I'm thinking of getting a trainer. Based on experience I would like to hear some comments from users about pros and cons of various units. Quiet operation, consistency of resistance when hot, etc. All comments welcome.

[tyhaar]

Fernando,

I have always like Cycleops trainers. The fluid ones are quiet to me and resistence will get harder with your output. The Mag units are nice also and have a dial in knob for adjustment of effort and are a bit louder. Customers service is good with Cycleops for warranty, especially on leaky fluid trainers.

Rollers are good but have not had one for several years and there a lots of new ones out there now. I had a Performance.com one several years ago and slipped off it not being attentive and crashed in my living room and breaking the rollers in the process.

I like trainers for specific workouts as you can really dial in your wattage/time/effort to a tee without outside interference of stops/lights/etc... from the outdoors for interval type stuff. Get some trainer vids for more inspiration and motivation. Spinervals is a good series of DVD vids with Troy Jacobson.

Setup your Garmin and you got your self made coach barking at you...

[xptxc]

Fernando,

Talking about the practice itself. My advice is to do always intervals - its the best way to not get bored in a row.
My coach told me to do so and last week i´ve made one of 4 hours and 2 ou a bit more of 3hours. Did 10 minutes out of the saddle, 10 resting.

[Ratman]

Anybody use any of the Minoura rim-friction models? Thoughts?

Thanks.

[marshr]

Well, I live in an indoor area since currently in middle of ice storm. I agree with Tyhaar cycloops i have had good luck. I am a recreational rider but try to ride alot and last winter put dollars down on E-motion rollers and for me these are incredible. This feels like being on the road and these have "trainer wheels" so except for once on 2-3 day of use i feel off , it is not like the regular rollers on market. I would highly recommend emotion but i have to ride alot inside not sure you need to put down that amount of money for your usage. ibike supports emotion so added bonus. i have no financial interest to disclose especially in the current recession.

[coachboyd]

I know it wouldn't work with the iBike* but you can't beat the intervals program on a Computrainer. I work in a place that has 11 Computrainers, but never ride the 3D program. The Multirider has a great interval feature where it sets you at a specific wattage and all you have to do is pedal your bike and you'll be doing the wattage. You can see how it looked based on my Quarq data. And if you look closely at the end of the last one, you can see where I was having a tough time making it through that interval.






* unless they decide to pursue an idea I tried to put in their ear at Interbike

[Russ]

My first trainer was a fluid2 from Cyclops and I like it fine, until I got my iBike, that is.
The problem there was that the fluid2 production runs seem to produce units that vary
the power curve from one to another. Heat also caused the curve to change. So eventually
I gave up, got rid of the fluid2.

Now I have the Kurt Kenitics road machine and I chose it for the reputed reliable power
curve as well as it's magnetic coupling which eliminates the worry of leaks.

I kind of wish I had gone for the pro model to allow the big flywheel, which is removable
if you wish to lighten up the mass for something. You cannot add the extra flywheel to
the road machine model.

Russ

[MultiRider]

I tried about a dozen trainers before purchasing a Kinetic Road Pro. Only had it a year, but it has been flawless. I like the no-possibility-of-leaks aspect. I use the 6 lb weight if doing intervals, add the other 6 lbs if looking to to more steady effort riding.

I got the Rock And Roll model. It is GREAT! I like it when sitting and LOVE it when standing. Feels so much more like real road riding it is incredible. After training on the R&R, I don't think I could ever do long sessions on a rigid trainer. It is much more natural and comfortable and realistic.

I high recommend the Kinetic Road Pro. And if you can swing the extra $$ for the R&R base, it is worth every penny. Especially if you look at it as a 5, 10, or more year investment.

[racerfern]

Thanks to all of you that posted excellent comments and suggestions. I jumped in with both feet and ordered a KK Pro with the extra flywheel but not the R&R model. Considering my locale, hopefully I won't be forced inside all that much.

[racerfern]

At least one good thing has come from it. I've discovered a miracle that helps to make the indoor thing a lot more tolerable. It's called caffeine

Like George Carlin said, "It's the low end of the speed spectrum" . I make a killer espresso and take a little squeeze bottle on very long rides. It's a definite pain reliever especially after a rest stop where you stiffen up.

[nreimche]

Racerfern,
In case you want a TRAINER, training tip, Chris Carmichael (Lance Armstrong's Coach...and coach to other athletes) suggests that indoor riding (if done correctly and nonstop) takes less time for the same amount of energy expended. He suggests that you should subtract 20% of the time you have to do (in case you follow a training plan) for a ride. W/ that said one can theoretically get a prescribed, hour long, workout done in 45-50 mins. He also recommends a maximum of 2.5 hours, on a trainer per ride.
I also have a Kurt kinetic road machine that I found on Ebay, for only $260 (last years model, same durability). Good choice in my opinion. The lifetime warranty is unbeatable... unless you could take it to heaven (a retorical statement). LOL!

[racerfern]

The lifetime warranty is unbeatable... unless you could take it to heaven (a retorical statement). LOL!

I guess that's why the warranty is lifetime and not forever.

I unwrapped my KK Pro and was set up in minutes. I enabled the trainer mode, downloaded the KK Profile into my Gen3 iAero and started pedaling. I only did 10 minutes to see make sure I wouldn't fall off or go rocketing through the sliders. The Gen3 profile for the KK seems to be pretty close. I'll probably fine tune it once I do a 20 minute all out effort. It certainly is quite a workout to have to keep pedaling. Thanks again to everyone who posted suggestions. Now to put it to good use.

[nreimche]

Yes, as tommyturbo mentioned cardiac drift, you will, probably, have to drink more water or other drink, because I myself drip profusely even at very, aerobic pace. I mean I can ride and stay at below tempo to just above 65% of max heart rate, and within about 20 minutes I am dripping from sweat.
You could save on your heating bill, at this time of year, when you workout? It will help w/ cooling your body to turn down your thermostat or use less wood, as opposed to raising your electric bill w/ a fan. Or use both, of course! I'm rambling now. So Merry xmas to all, and yes, a so-called, schizophrenic can be helpful...too!

[MultiRider]

I connect a fan to an extension cord and tie to my handlebars. I then connect another extension cord to the wall and tie it to my handlebars. When I start to get warm, I plug the extension cords together and the fan comes on. Keeps me from having to get off the bike.

That worked well, but I had the fan on "high" and that is too much at first and not enough later. So I now have two fans and two sets of extension cords. One fan is on "low" and one is on "high". Probably sounds like over kill, but I already had the fans and had extension cords, so it was just a matter of setting them up pointing at the bike. No expense, very little effort, works great!

[Ratman]

For those interested, here's another option for a fan. I recently bought a Lasko Model 1854 18" 3-Speed Pedestal Fan. It comes with a remote control. When I start my workout, I leave it on the lowest setting so as not to overcool. Later in the workout, I can notch it up to "High" without having to get off the bike.

While not as big as a commercial fan, the 18-inch blades still push a good amount of air. I got mine online through Home Depot for about $30 + shipping.