Road Cycling - Bad weather coming; too poor for a trainier...

Fielding suggestions as to what to do during the bad weather months (living in the Pacific NW) to improve and all aspects of my cycling ability.

Feilding suggestions as to what to do during the bad weather months (living in the Pacific NW) to improve and and all aspects of my cycling ability.

Not trying to make light of anyone's financial situation but you can get a cheap trainer for less than $100 from Performance with a 20% off cupon. Seems like a worthy investment especially in your area. JAT

you can pick up a cheapy mag trainer from performance bike for $80.

hit it with a 20% off coupon and that's only $64. perhaps you can swing that if you put a few bucks aside from now until winter.

otherwise keep your eye on ebay, craigslist or whatever local message boards you have. that stuff frequently pops up for sale used for cheap.

you'll spend more than that on winter/rain riding gear, for sure.

Definately keep an eye on craigslist. picked up a mag trainer for $20 this summer. definately worth it.

You could also hook up a fixed gear pretty cheap. Salvage a frame, build a rear wheel and you're set. A fixie is a great winter bike. Wider tires make it better, too.

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll definitely keep an eye on the lists

There is a guy in Seattle that I just bought rollers from for $100 (Minoura). They’re going on ebay for $90 plus tax. I did a local pick-up at the shop but if you are heading up to Settle any time soon you might want to look into it. For winter training they are great! Sorry if this is not in your price range.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36141&item=3695341459&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

FYI on the Minoura rollers, I'd highly recommend the resistance unit. I paid around $175 delivered for mine including the resistance unit and feel they were money well spent even if I hate riding them. I bought winter gear for this year so hopefully I'll only be on them when it's raining/snowing/0 and below.

Ride between the showers or invest in fenders and rain gear.

Sorry this is such a basic question but is it bad for the bike to use one of these trainers? I mean, is it a lot of wear and tear? Even though you aren't moving it may wear the chain down...

All good advice, and you CAN get a trainer for $100 or so--but am I the only one around here who's been so broke that $100 was as impossible as $100,000? Cheapest fix I can think of is to buy a set of fenders ($15 to $30 if you look around) and a cheap poncho. The fenders stop the spray and the poncho blocks the rain, and you get circulation under it so you don't sweat it up much.
You might also find a beater bike with fenders in a thrift shop. A friend of mine bought an old three-speed for seven bucks, tuned it up and has ridden it for three winters. All the working parts are inside the hub, where they stay clean, and there's not much to break on it.