Okay, so I've had this direct drive trainer for a couple of weeks now, and spent maybe 4 hours on it.



I got this because I didn't want to wear out tires and wheels, and, being a newb, I don't have spare wheels to swap out when I need to use the trainer. Plus, I had been using a borrowed fluid trainer that made my drive-train sound like it was about to explode. Probably operator error. Rather than get a cheap sturdy wheel and tire to swap out, I spent the money on the trainer, finding an eBay deal ($50 off and free shipping) that saved me about $70 on a new unit.

My initial impressions are:

A. It is easy to use. It is much easier to mount the bike on the trainer than it is to put a wheel on your bike, because, well, there is no wheel getting in the way. Pretty quick transition.

B. It is much more 'realistic' than the fluid trainer. Resistance wise, it feels pretty much like you are riding, and you can stand up all you want. It takes awhile for the flywheel to slow down, just like it takes your bike awhile to slow down when you stop peddling. A review I read shows graphs where it matches a bicycle on the road very closely, and so far I believe those claims.

C. It uses a fan to add resistance, and the fan gets loud when you are working hard. If you are working with a DVD, you need to crank the volume up to hear it. I'm considering rigging earbuds, because the way it is now, doing an early morning session while everyone is sleeping would create somewhat-more-than-mild resentment in the household.

I have very little experience with other trainers for comparison, but so far, I consider it a good choice.

I would buy one except I have a fairly new Kurt Kinetic trainer and probably couldn't get much for it on Ebay.

Looks like a very nice trainer. Pricey, but I guess if you factor in the cost of tires, maybe there is less of a difference between popular trainers such as the Kurt and Cycleops.

I also haven't used my current trainer all that much because I have been able to ride almost every day I am in Houston.

Looks/sounds like a good trainer. I'm just amazed that nobody else came out with one like that before now.

SP
Bend, OR

ps - gragitt, I HATE YOU!! We've had snowy, icy roads for most of the past 2 1/2 months. My trainier's really been getting a workout.

https://www.biketechnologies.com/inde...d=53&Itemid=54

And there is one from long ago that is even more similar to the LeMond. No longer made, and I can't recall the name right now.

I rode one of those briefly at the LBS last week and I agree with your assessment 100%. It does get pretty loud when you crank hard on it but that is a pace I would not be able to keep up for very long anyway. I am not experienced with other trainers though... just spin bikes.

I hate you because you can go skiing at Mt Bachelor while I am riding.

Looks as if there was another precursor to the LeMond .... Houdaille Road Machine as compared to the Lemond in this review....
https://university.tri-sports.com/201...ndoor-trainer/