Anyone else put a C&V bike on a trainer to stay somewhat in condition during the winter? I keep my 12 speed Ofmega drive trained Cannondale on the wind trainer. It seems made for just this purpose.

Not me. I just get on my bike at 5:25 AM and ride to the train station as usual. It's bleeping cold out there, but if I don't get on my bike, I don't get to work.

I'm planning to go for a decent ride on Saturday.

I put my Kobe Capri that was converted to upright bars and a cushy B72 seat on a magneto trainer. Why put a fast bike on a trainer when you are going nowhere fast ? Last winter I did about 800 miles on this set up because we had an really cold and snowy winter. Hopefully it will be less trainer and more real riding this winter.

I threw a bike together just for that purpose, dont even need brake calipers!

I don't plan to actually get on the trainer till late this month, maybe even start of january, spend your energy wisely.

My Peugeot will perform trainer duties. Just picked up a fluid trainer after using a weird mag trainer last year. I'm looking forward to seeing how much difference there is. The trainer sits right beside a treadmill and I bounce back and forth between the two while watching movies.

Seems like an activity better suited for Hamsters. Bundle up and ride.

It's nice to get out in any weather.
My Marin is set up with Nokians, so it pretty much goes when and where I want.

BTW - Does anyone have a way to keep the water in your bottle from freezing?

How vintage are we talking?

My '95 Reus is pulling trainer duty as we speak...seen here in the background.

Can't find the photo but I have my Nishiki on a trainer for me, the Raleigh Grand Prix for my son and the Trek 610 for my daughter. My Gitane Sprint is used when I go to the spinning classes at our local bike shop. I've been getting a lot of use the past month from the spinning bike machines at the gym also.

I really admire you guys who get out & ride in the cold regularly!! I live in Georgia, not as cold as many places, but I just can't motivate myself to get out there as often as i should. I am just a wimp....

I built up a Team Panasonic for this winter...I'm hoping to continue commuting through the winter.


Fill it with warm water before you leave.

Or top it off with vodka (antifreeze)

30 miles a day @ 4:15 am - dont mind the cold - but do not do wet (too dangerous imo) - run or stationary bike on wet days

Years ago I was in a traumatic accident and had several reconstructive surgeries. When it gets below freezing outside I damn near seize up. Literally. I have a high pain tolerance, but getting out when it's below freezing and windy is just miserable. I've been doing some research on trainers and am seriously considering buying a Kinetic Road Machine fluid trainer. The Rock and Roll trainer is very interesting too (and expensive).

A trainer was actually my wife's idea. She wants some company while she uses the elliptical in the basement.

I just assumed I'd put my C&V fixed gear on the trainer, but I'll figure out which bike if and when I get a trainer.

Care to share your experience and recommendations, 20grit?

I've always wanted to try a trainer so I could try a trainer tire.

here's one solution water bottle wind screen


I rode my mongoose at 15f yesterday... rear brake froze onto the rim....


I'll be riding several bikes on rollers this winter (team miyata, schwinn p-14)

I had set our trainer up with an old Schwinn World Traveler womens frame so several of us could use it but I hated it and the wife didn't use it anyways so I swapped it out with my sons Batavus Monte Carlo which is a bit short for me so I need a longer seat post.

I'd bring one of my bikes in but then my son couldn't use the trainer because mine are way too tall for him, I also need to find a bit more motivation to hit the trainer because it's just no where near as nice as a real ride outdoors.

One more here that won't ride in the winter, lots of people around here do but I just can't take that kind of cold. It was 7 degrees here this morning and January and February are when the real cold kicks in.

Tire nerd.

Sweet Mongoose!

I'll commute year round w/ studded tires once the snow and ice accumulate, but that's a fairly short ride. I have an old wind trainer at home, but these last couple of years I prefer to use the spin cycle at the gym. It's damn boring and doesn't give me the same pleasure as riding on the roads, but it's a workout. My main form of exercise this winter will be to run, which I will do in temps down to the teens, or I'll run in the indoor track at my school (where I mostly do speed intervals). None of this will make me be in great cycling shape come March, but the improvement curve will be a bit less steep.

Neal

+1 to bundle up and ride through the winter -it's how I travel the 16 miles to work. Personally, I like riding in the cold- if you dress warm and use studded tires, it's actually very enjoyable. Of course it helps that Boston's winters are not as brutal as, say, Buffalo NY, but there are people there who do it too (and I think we can all agree they are badass).

The key I find is having something to watch or pass the time faster - my trainer is set up in the shop in front of a 27 inch tv with a dvd/vcr and stereo. Going through the Terminator series of movies made the training go much faster these past couple of weeks. I've also got a lot of older Giro d'Italia and Tour de France videos that I watch while riding.

The spinning classes in the bike shop are fun - bring your own bike and the owner has a bunch of trainers. We'll usually max out with 20 riders per session or so by January.

Solitary indoor training is a pain/boring - but it is definitely worth it come spring when everything thaws - doesn't feel like it takes me as long to get back up to "speed" on the roads.

Get some Camelbak Insulated water bottles, you can usually get them pretty cheap at your LBS.

I have both mag and fluid trainers that I use when I absolutely can't get outside to ride. They (kind of) do the job of keeping me from losing my chops, but it really is terribly boring spinning in one place so I do try to get out and actually ride point-to-point as much as possible, even if that means I still need to go indoors and spin in place a little while to put in an adequate amount of spin time for the day. I've built up my Centurion Super LeMans with fenders and lighting to use as my winter ride. And I hope C&V'ers will appreciate this: I keep my more contemporary Synapse mounted to one of the trainers. Frankly, I ride my vintage bikes on the road a whole lot more than I do the modern ride, so this is probably an appropriate storage solution!

The problem i have with long rides in the cold is that my inner layer of clothing eventually gets wet from perspiration. Once that happens, Its almost impossible to keep warm. What do you guys do?

I ride in layers and strip off as my body heat changes. I lose my outer jacket pretty quickly and stuff it into my pannier. I also use underarmour, which wicks pretty nicely, and a merino wool jersey (love 'em!!) with wind pants. I've ordered a pair of those wool Italian army knickers that keep getting mentioned on the list but haven't rec'd them yet.

[QUOTE=ColonelJLloyd;11897706Care to share your experience and recommendations, 20grit?[/QUOTE]

I've not actually jumped on the new trainer yet. The one before was a Blackburn that I had borrowed. After a short period of riding, various parts of it had heated up to the point that you'd burn yourself if you touched it. I'm certain this also increased resistance. I was actually given the new fluid trainer but got to choose which one I picked up. I was given a price range and the only one that fell within that price range and had decent reviews was the Travel-Trac fluid trainer from Performance. I waited and picked it up on sale and got it a little cheaper as well. I'll set it up this week and let you know how it runs. One would assume that the Kurt Kinetics/cycleops would be better given their status as higher end.