General Cycling Discussion - Trainer?'s

I searched a little, but there are so many threads that it’s hard to find real info. Can someone please educate me a little on trainers? I’m looking for something to use indoors now that the weather is about to snap. I know I want to be able to vary the resistance, but other than that I am pretty clueless. I’m 6’3” 240lbs and want to be able to get a good workout that simulates hills as well as distance. The furthest that I ride right now is a little over 30 miles, but I also like to hit a hill in the neighborhood and power up coast down half a dozen times to build up some punch. Any suggestions? I guess I am worried about not having enough resistance. Do most of these have a flywheel to simulate coasting?

Thanks..KW

I'm much the same size you are, and I have an Ascent trainer. It's cheap, and available at Performance. It has 3 levels of resistance, and includes a new QR skewer (I recommend using it, as I scratched up my dropout trying to use the one that came with my bike).

I've got a Minoura magnetic trainer. They're reccommended over wind trainers only because they're quieter. It has variable resistance, but I leave it in low and shift gears. That varies the resistance just fine.

By the way, I hate trainers.

Trainers come in a lot of flavors, features, and price points. First consider the resistance methods:
Wind: cheap, reliable, noisy, varies only with wheel speed.
Magnetic: can be variable, fairly quiet
Fluid: can be variable, quiet, smooth, some are known to leak.
Kinetic: I have no experience with these.

The variability is either the product of your selected gear rations or adjustability in the system itself. Some have a number of bells and whistles to make the trainer a bit more useful or entertaining, but aren't necessary for a decent workout.

The addition of a flywheel makes the resistance a bit smoother and realistic, but also tends to negate some of the value of the trainer by giving your legs a rest. There is little benefit to coasting.

Also, consider getting a smooth, cheap tire for the trainer (some of them wear tires quickly) and a riser block for the front wheel so it doesn't feel like your pointing downhill the whole time.

Expect to pay $150 for a new, basic, good unit, and much, much, more for a really hopped up computerized model. $300 will buy a really good unit without the electronics. The price difference may reflect the overall quality or simply the brand name.

Most people find these things remarkably boring.

If you're going to be indoors, go for a quiet one that you can position in front of a TV.