Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Indoor trainers...

do any of you use them?

I prefer riding outdoors (and in southern California, that's an option 98% of the time) but with kids who can't be left alone, impending rain, darkness that hits early and stupid California drivers, it would be nice to hit the trail AND watch football at the same time, from time to time.

My wife has been going to spin classes at lunch and love them... so she thinks we want a spin bike for the den now. Costco has one that's basically the same as the one she uses at spin class but a little less stable (same brand, smaller base). I'm not sure riding a exercise bike without somebody yelling at you would be effective, would it? I guess it's better than nothing.

My thought was to get an actual bike trainer like one of those Kurt Kinetics trainers - much smaller and you use your own bike.

Anyway, do any of you have experience or advice to offer in the area of rollers / trainers / spin bikes?

Anyway, do any of you have experience or advice to offer in the area of rollers / trainers / spin bikes?

Yes. If you have had treadmills or any other exercise machines in the past, take a look at them. If you used them for exercising for two weeks, then used them as laundry drying racks for a few years afterwards, you will probably do the same with the exercise bike.

Also, having very young kids around also means more distractions from your routine.

I got a trainer for my road bike, thinking that I would use it, but gave up after a couple weeks. Even with a TV in front of me, I lost motivation. I lost motivation going to the YMCA trainers, too.

It takes real willpower to keep up the training on these indoor trainers.

One of the years I was serious about making gains on the bike, I bought a trainer becaue believe it or not we had rain that year.:D

I set up my own routine with intervals, big ring TT, 100rpm, and sprints in mind. It helps a bunch imo, but you've got to have your mind set on going all out.

I use a stop watch, one minute intervals, 3 minutes rest between (average spinning pace).

If you go when the clock say go, it gets tough in the later portion of the workout. Then the 3 minutes between feel like 30 seconds.

I can get a toally dripping sweat workout in 45 minutes. Watching tv or reading a magazine while on the trainer would be a waste of time imo. When I actually train for a ride, I'll use the trainer and intervals even when it's not raining.:thumb:

I used rollers years ago, but for the last 18 or so years have preferred a trainer. The original wind trainer was incredibly noisy, so I bought a Minoura Mag Turbo about 10 years ago and it's still going strong.
In the winter here it's hard to get a quality workout any other way when the temperature is way below freezing and there's ice everywhere. Mine gets used about 3 times a week, including a spin class where we bring our own bikes and trainers.

The kids aren't THAT young... newly 9 and 11. They're self sufficient, just not old enough to leave on their own for an hour + bike ride. I frequently force them to go with me, but then it's a really leisurely pace and a short ride and not exactly what I want and I have to put up with whining on the hills... or maybe that's my saddle. ha ha.

We do have a treadmill and my wife does use it, so I think a trainer would get used (and I want to get something that I'll be inclined to use from time to time too) which is why I was thinking trainer...

I do know from prior experience that buying anything less than excellent will result in my not going near it, so I'm not looking for a cheap solution.

I like the interval idea Beanz - good call.

The trainer is definitely hard to use - just hard to make myself do it. But it has gotten more use since November than did my stair-stepper or NordicTrac.

Training videos have made it tolerable for me - I use Sufferfest, since they are cheap and are a fun disguise for interval/tempo, etc work. But I really prefer to get outside and ride.

Just be sure you purchase quality - you want your bike held well, and a bit less noise is nice. I like the Kurt trainer, since the impeller is magnetically coupled to the shaft, meaning no seals to leak the silicone fluid. Very nice trainer, can be had for under $300.

I have an appointment with mine tomorrow night about this time....

I have been wanting a trainer for awhile now. I have a son that is about to be a year old and a wife that some times gives me a hard time when I go ride. I actually got a magnetic trainer for Christmas (Blackburn). IMO its nice and I ride while my son is napping or ride before I go to bed. I don't ride nearly as far as I would if I went on my own, but I ride at a harder spinning pace.

I still ride my charity rides once or twice a month. But a trainer (if you use it and continue to use it) is a good investment.

FTR, the trainer doubles as a workstand just fine.:D I do all my bike work on it. :thumb:

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/Madone1031.jpg

FTR, the trainer doubles as a workstand just fine.:D I do all my bike work on it. :thumb:

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/Madone1031.jpg

Yer jest a-showin' off yer steed, thar. Nobody's a lookin' at that trainer...:)

Yer jest a-showin' off yer steed, thar. Nobody's a lookin' at that trainer...:)



:innocent:...........:D

I just performed a 30 min session on mine. I sweat WAY more than I ever sweat on a bike ride - probably because there is no "freewheeling" time.

As Beanz states, if your doing it right the sweat will pour. All I use is my Garmin to race against my "best " time etc.

I have the CycleOps Fluid 2 - Highly recommend it. Very quick mount/dismount and rock solid taking my weight - Im in the 280lbs.

I prefer the open-road but tonight I got home from work and its in the low 40's, windy and rainy. I jumped on the trainer - so much better than a dangerous ride or no ride at all :)

Rollers. If you're gonna train inside, do it right and get some rollers so you don't get sloppy with your technique during your indoor rides. Stationary trainers and spin bikes are tolerant to all sorts of things since the rear wheel is clamped in place and the bike is stabilized. Rollers make you pay attention to every detail.

Clifton - if I were to say, um, stop paying attention for a few seconds, would I go flying off the rollers? I'm willing to take the abuse with a little cussing but I"m not sure my wife would enjoy it.

That's a mighty fine bike repair stand there... how long till Gina gets one too?

Clifton - if I were to say, um, stop paying attention for a few seconds, would I go flying off the rollers? I'm willing to take the abuse with a little cussing but I"m not sure my wife would enjoy it.

That's a mighty fine bike repair stand there... how long till Gina gets one too?

Rollers aren't that difficult to figure out your balance and get fairly smooth on them. I started out the usual way and put them in a doorway so I could fend off with my elbows if I started to drift to either side. It was only about a week and a half before I had moved them out from the doorway and was confident in riding them with just a footstool there to catch my balance when I stopped.
The biggest "trick" to riding rollers is to not watch your wheel. I know the initial reaction is to look at the front wheel so you are sure you're not drifting to either side, but the best thing I've found is to set up in front of the full length mirrors in our gym so that if I'm focused on the faceplate of my stem it's about 8 - 10' (about 4' back from the mirror). When I first started out of the doorframe, I just set up in front of my computer so I could watch movies while riding and use that as my focus point.

No trainers, studded tires and wool for me.

So far my experience with a trainer has been excellent. My wife and I both bought bicycles this year and she was having difficulties balancing outdoors. Come to find out it is because she has MS. Well we bought a couple of cheap trainers and with the crappy weather we have been riding indoors. We have both been successful in losing quite a bit of weight by riding indoors and being on a strict diet. It has really helped her since she doesn't have to balance as much. Definetely worth the money.

mag: Use a fan. it really helps. You dont sweat as much when you are riding outside because of the wind. it keeps you cooler.

You can bring your trainer outdoors. I had one for a while, and this is what I did with it. When the sky opened up and started to pour, I would do an hour on the trainer, then go inside for a hot shower and change of clothes. If you're wondering, the difference is that you won't be 20 miles from your house when you decide you're done ... and you won't have to stop and change a flat somewhere while you get pelted with driving rain.

But I gave mine away. It's mind-numbingly boring, and I prefer dealing with the elements in exchange for the inertia of a bike ride.

It's mind-numbingly boring...

That's been my issue with trainers, too. I've had a Specialized wind trainer for probably 30 years now, and haven't used it at all for about the past 20. And the memories of how dull it was kept me from using my company's Christmas gift card to my favorite LBS as a $200 discount on a shiny new Kurt Kinetic. Instead I took advantage of the shop's current winter clothing sale and got a new long sleeved jersey, a new jacket and a new pair of winter gloves. That should help with the cold weather training better than a trainer would, for me anyway.

I bought a cheap mag trainer. I wanted a nice one, but bought this one so I could find out if I like them before dishing out $300+. So far I don't really like it. I mean I would rather be outside riding, but living in New England this time of year doesn't help me with that, too much. Riding the trainer 30 minutes feels like 2 hours, that is how bored I am on the trainer. I have it set up so I can watch tv, or listen to music. I will give it atleast a month before I cast my final judgement on the thing. But so far, not so good.

Any ideas on how to get over the bordom?
I can't wait for spring/summer... :love:

Any ideas on how to get over the bordom?

Either TV shows/movies that are hyper-attention-grabbing, or music you like that has a BPM somewhere near the cadence you want to maintain.

But I gave mine away. It's mind-numbingly boring, and I prefer dealing with the elements in exchange for the inertia of a bike ride.

+1 I've owned two trainers and between them they've probably only seen 5 hours of use. Riding a trainer has little in common with riding a bicycle, so just because you like bicycling doesn't mean you'll enjoy the intense boredom of a trainer.

Before buying one, I'd suggest doing an experiment. Simulate the boredom you'll encounter a trainer by: getting dressed in work-out clothes then walking or jogging in place for the same amount of time you expect to use the trainer. Make sure you're looking at whatever you expect to see on the trainer (blank wall, TV, exercise video). Try to do that 3-5 times week (or however much you expect to use the trainer). If you can keep the routine up for at couple of weeks then consider investing in a trainer.

They are great for double duty as a work stand. Unlike Beanz I do the heavy cardio stuff at the Y. The trainer I use for base miles and to maintain saddle toughness. CraigB's correct in that action movies are easier to endure the boredum than anything else.

Any ideas on how to get over the bordom?

I embrace it. The ability to ride long hours without any conversation or changing scenery closely simulates what it's like to ride long distance through the overnight hours, especially when it's rainy and overcast or foggy out and you can't see anything outside of your headlight beam. I find that it's good mental training for when I'm outside doing those sorts of rides.

I have only had my trainer since Christmas but so far I think its awesome, its a Cycleops fluid 2 and I use a mountain bike with a slick mounted on it , its pretty quiet and I honestly feel it after riding not like on a stationary bike. Its easy to put the bike on and off of and I usually watch television when I ride it or time it when my wife is doing a workout video and we chat while I ride and she jumps around the room :P

I would recommend a trainer for sure, especially if the other option is no ride at all.

Any ideas on how to get over the bordom?


Rollers on some days, trainer on some days, and always The Sufferfest (http://www.thesufferfest.com/). Easily the most engrossing thing I've experienced. I spent 90 min on the trainer on Sunday without noticing the time passing, I was too busy suffering.

Alright, I understand that some of you are super hard and go outside to ride up Everest, but again... can't do that with the kids in tow so thanks for all the ideas!

My wife and I both use trainers, CycleOps Fluid 2. Reading the posts, I think we are doing it right. I know for me, if I am just watching tv, trying to use the trainer it is very tedious, meaning I can't do it for very long. Now using the trainer indoors with some training DVD's is the way to go. We use the Chris Carmichael Training DVD's. To get into shape this year (since I have been off the bike for 3 years) we used Cycling for Fitness, Cycling for Cadence and Hills from Carmichael. We are now session 6 of the Power DVD's from Carmichael. This training series will increase your power by 12% in 8 weeks. I did these 3 years ago and it was the best workout that I have done. My wife is doing them with me now and they are tough! It is a great workout and the time really flies, you never do the same workout twice and the workouts change throughout the 1 hour. The last one we did (was the hardest so far) was a 10 minute warm up (Cadence at 95, easy gear), 1 minute of sprinting (Cadence above 110, as hard as you can go), 2 minute cool down(Cadence at 95, easy gear), 1 minute of sprinting (Cadence above 110, as hard as you can go), 3 minute cool down (Cadence at 95, easy gear), 10 minutes at Tempo (Cadence 70-75), 6 minutes at Steady State (Cadence 90-95), 10 minutes at Tempo (Cadence 70-75), 6 minutes at Steady State (Cadence 90-95) and then 10 minute cool down (Cadence above 90). The cool thing about these DVD's is they target your riding ability. Before you start the workout you do a fitness test that determines your heart rate or power. From that you calculate your fitness zones (Endurance, Tempo, Steady State, Climbing Repeat and Power Interval). Once you determine that, then you follow the workouts. You have to concentrate on your cadence and heart rate (or power if you have a power meter) throughout your workout, then they have you work on your form, etc. It goes by really fast, even when it is very, very hard.

+1 I've owned two trainers and between them they've probably only seen 5 hours of use. Riding a trainer has little in common with riding a bicycle, so just because you like bicycling doesn't mean you'll enjoy the intense boredom of a trainer.

Before buying one, I'd suggest doing an experiment. Simulate the boredom you'll encounter a trainer by: getting dressed in work-out clothes then walking or jogging in place for the same amount of time you expect to use the trainer. Make sure you're looking at whatever you expect to see on the trainer (blank wall, TV, exercise video). Try to do that 3-5 times week (or however much you expect to use the trainer). If you can keep the routine up for at couple of weeks then consider investing in a trainer.

See this is part of my problem. I have no proble staring at a wall for 30 minutes while on a treadmill. But 30 minutes on the trainer sucks.

do any of you use them?

I rode on one 4 days a week, usually twice a day because 45-50 minutes twice sucks less than 1.5 hours once, for 4 weeks after getting some titanium removed from my leg and being told by the doctor to not ride outside. Usually 3x10 threshold intervals with five minutes between or 2x20 on hard workouts and 45-50 minutes straight at a tempo pace otherwise. Parked it in front of my TV where I'd pull up something on Netflix. Put a trainer block under my front wheel for a level bike. Could have used a fan.




I prefer riding outdoors (and in southern California, that's an option 98% of the time) but with kids who can't be left alone, impending rain, darkness that hits early and stupid California drivers, it would be nice to hit the trail AND watch football at the same time, from time to time.
While better than not riding I didn't think the trainer was as nice as riding in the rain (shoe covers help) or after dark (actually really nice, especially in the summer when it's cooler out). Riding in snow is also better than being on a trainer but being cautious around turns may preclude getting a good workout.

Alright, I understand that some of you are super hard and go outside to ride up Everest, but again... can't do that with the kids in tow so thanks for all the ideas!

I've never seen Everest with my own eyes, but I hope to climb Mount Terror some day. I bet Everest would be easier.


Any ideas on how to get over the bordom?

I've tried reading, but could never make that work. If you're on a trainer and not rollers you can adopt an upright posture if you like to, and I hoped that would mean I could use my hands to hold a book or magazine, and turn the pages. Apart from focusing the eyes on the text, I'd sweat too much, and, honestly, if I was getting the kind of workout I should be, that would preclude reading anyway.

But the mind is a playground. You can let it wander and try to entertain yourself with your thoughts, or you can do a cardio workout until you go zen. Those are the two things that would take the edge off the boredom for me.

I just performed a 30 min session on mine. I sweat WAY more than I ever sweat on a bike ride - probably because there is no "freewheeling" time...
That reminds me - a good fan is a must for rides for trainer rides of 30 minutes or more. The sweat still comes, but it makes the experience a lot more comfortable.
"Any ideas on how to get over the boredom?"
You can get special DVDs just for trainer riding. There are the Spinnervals productions, and a Canadian company call Real Rides makes recordings of actual rides (such as the Penticton Ironman course) with a voice-over coaching the user through an interval workout. My husband prefers the Tour De France and other races on DVDs. He speeds up whenever the pack chases someone down.
If we can ever find our old VHS machine, we've got Tour recordings going back to the early 90s. It means fast forwarding through ancient Red Lobster commercials, but it's a unique way to relive interesting historic stages.

First of all, I read your initial post as this was something that the wife wanted. While a nice trainer may make sense for you, is it what she wants? ("Happy wife... Happy Life...") Most spin bikes give a much different experience than a nice trainer will. Not necesserily better or worse, just different.

Does she have a nice enough bike with a comfortable enough seat that the actual trainer is even a realistic option for her?

If space is an issue, and you are going to leave it set up in the den, a spin bikes usually takes up less space than a trainer and bike on a mat as they are about the same width but a little shorter.

Either way a resoanably good sized fan is a must. Time on either is miserable without one if you are working even moderately hard.

Spin bikes are usually a little quieter than than trainer while in use. The KK you mentioned earlier is reasonably quiet as trainers go but still probably louder than most spin bikes.

I too live in Southern California and don't mind the cold, but a trainer allows me to
1) Do a structured workout that I can control (Not at the Mercy of hills and red lights)
2) Ride at night which I am not comfortable doing here and during the winter it gets dark early.
3) I don't mind the cold, but hate riding in the rain and it rains a fair bit here in the spring.

I actually enjoy the time on the trainer whether I am watching a movie, a cycling video, or just rocking out with the earbuds in. I don't find them to be evil at all and allow me to push myself as hard (or as easy) as I want without fear of crashing or passing out.

I have a Cycleops SuperMagneto Pro for the record. I also have a nice recumbent "exercise" bike in the den that the wife uses because its what she likes despite having a really nice bicycle of her own. She ride it early in the morning before work which in the darkness a real ride ride wouldn't be an option for her.

Good luck with the decision.

Thanks LeeRoy - wife does indeed have a nice bike, it was her Mother's Day present. Cannondale Synapse, she loves it. A trainer/spinner is being investigated at her behest, and I said we could do it for Valentine's day, but I imagine it's something we'll both use. By the time she gets home from work, it's too late for BOTH of us to go for a ride, but it's something I could use during the day (work at home, much easier to hop off a trainer and respond to a call than to turn around and head home when I'm 15 miles away)

Looked up the spin bikes she uses at the gym and they're about a grand, or you can find refurbished ones on CL for 800 or so. I refuse to buy cheap equipment. Heck, for the price, we could get two trainers. :D I'll see how one goes first.

Based on what I've seen, a trainer is far smaller when NOT in use than a spinner, even though it probably takes up a lot more room while in use. That's a consideration for me since her treadmill (yes, she uses it) dominates our guest room.

As for boredom, I like the DVD idea. I can usually tolerate an elliptical for 30 min to an hour as long as there's something on TV. It's odd because when i'm out on the road, I don't like listening to music (or rather, I just don't) and I enjoy the wind, the sun, birds chirping, drivers swearing and running red lights... oh yeah.

Seattle Forest - lemme know when you attempt Everest on a bike and I'll show up and photograph the event. LOL.

I have a Cycle Ops Magnetic trainer (picked it up off CL for $40) and set it up in my living room (only takes 3 minutes, including walking the bike in from the garage) watch some of the shows on the dvr while riding.... I try and sprint through the commercials keeping a steady pace like that of when I am road riding during the show.... it is pretty loud so I wont use it in the house while the kids are sleeping, I get exiled to the garage

As others posted, KIDS as well as cold weather are the reasons I'm on a trainer for a chunk of the time.

SUFFERFEST videos as posted by superdex are pretty awesome. the Downward Spiral is a good starting video. I've converted these to DVDs for watching on the basement TV.

For the off-days (or base building period), I watch TV. something exciting, like tapes of racing from last summer, auto racing, etc.

I've also found workout timers for my phone that are very useful and break up the period. I did a 90 minute workout on Saturday of 5 intervals of 10 minutes in Z3, 5 minutes off, with a warmup and cooldown. Sunday was a recovery day, speed skills of 30 seconds spinning fast as possible, 4:30 between intervals. The phone app helps the time pass.

I also bought a trainer specific tire because my gatorskin tire was shedding black bits and fairly loud and squeaky. The trainer tire is much quieter

Well, just to close this chapter, my personal shopper and mother of my children found a spin bike that she wanted. I was leaning trainer but the price difference wasn't dramatic ($500 for the spin bike) and I won't wear out my bike bits using it either. Plus, I can just set it up and leave it and I won't have to move her bike on and off the thing. It's chain drive, so it's a little louder than a belt would have been but quieter than a trainer and my valentine's day shopping is complete. I tried it out tonight after I finished tweaking the chain alignment and it's not bad. I supervised my daughter's homework tonight from the saddle :) . I'll have to look into some training videos for sure, it came with a few.

Thanks for all the input - I appreciate it.