Originally Posted by PeteHski

Well that's 2 months of potential quality indoor training gone while you ponder over this. I would consider treating yourself to a smart trainer. They are not that expensive these days (especially wheel-on models eg. Kickr Snap) and plenty of used and refurbed ones around. It would be a better experience all round. I do take your point about the waste mentality, but it just seems a bit counter-productive in this case.

FWIW I've had several different indoor trainer setups over the years, everything from those crappy wind trainers you mentioned right through to the latest smart trainers and only the latter have really cut it for me. Everything that came before soon became relegated to a clothes stand. Not saying a fluid trainer isn't a viable option, but I wouldn't spend much money or effort on one that wasn't working properly.