I tried over at the Road Cycling Forum but got no responses. I'll see how I do here.

I am not a cold weather rider. I dread my fingers and toes getting cold so I opt for training indoors. But I primarily ride on a SPINNER (fix gear) and very seldomly on a trainer (multi-gear).

Questions:

1. Is training on the SPINNER doing me any good? On a SPINNER you push the weight versus pulling the weight on a bicycle. Does this make a difference in developing/training the muscles?

2. What is the advantage on training on a SPINNER?

3. What are the disadvantages?

4. For those of you who are training, do you incorporate training on an indoor cycle or do you prefer to use a your bike on a trainer?

5. If you use an indoor cycle, do you also use a trainer? If so, how often do you use each peoce of equipment?

BTW, I went by a LBS this weekend and found out the have a CompuTrainer. Apparently, they have setup for 9 bikes and I found out some of the clubs go there - got to tell my boyz. I will be there to check this out. There was a guy riding in a simulation and the CompuTrainer course was kicking his butt - a realistic ride and race conditions. It was really interesting to see what kind of wattage this guy was putting out over the varying terrain. I'm really curious to see what my numbers are.

6. Anybody use a Computrainer? How do you like it? Is it worth training on it? How often would you use it? (I'm thinking using it once a week for simulation purpose and to take a pulse check to see what my reading are weekly.)

For those of you may not know what this is, it's a 3d simulation that allows you to ride in the simulation while you are on a trainer. Kewl stuff! More importantly, it gives you critical data such as wattage readings, gradients of hills while climbing, and all kinds of data about your simulated ride. For more info, check out: http://www.racermateinc.com/compu_pro3d.asp.

Thanks for your responses.
--