nuttygrandma

Memorial Weekend, I bought my 1st bike and went riding with my granddaugher. After a mile, I was just about crawling back to the car. My legs didn't want to support my body. After a week, I was able to ride about 2 miles (please don't laugh, I did enough for everyone). So, I found a LBS that I like and bought another bike. This one was actually fitted to me and before long, I was up to 3 miles round trip (no longer a laughing matter). Then, I bought my granddaughter the next level up bike for kids. Then to add to the biking saga, my son came home for a month. So, I bought the 4th bike and gave my sister my 1st bike. By 4th of July, my son, granddaughter and I were able to do much longer bike trails. He worked with her on learning how to switch gears and I just kept peddling, up inclines and down inclines, over roots (that wasn't fun), etc. Then, the temperature hit triple digits. I still have too much northern blood to be biking when the temps are over 90 degrees, so I stopped biking. By the end of August, my granddaughter and I tried biking around my neighborhood. My leg muscles left me know I've been lazy. I lost ground.

This weekend, we took the bikes out again and did the short trail along the southern end of the Dismal Swamp in South Mill, NC. Yesterday was a perfect day for riding. Even my granddaughter said it was worth going back again. Unfortunately, our bikes won't work on the dirt trails in the state park so either I get us both bikes that will work on dirt trails or we rent bikes next year. I could have gone much further but the bike path went along a road and she is not ready to ride on roads with traffic.

Now, I don't want to lose what little muscle strength I have recaptured. The days are shorter. I'll be cookig on the grill in the dark before long. There is no way I'll get home from work in time to take a trip around these back streets, before dark. When I was online looking for a rain cover for my saddle (I had to leave my bike up in Chesapeake because my saddle is a very nice, cushy gel saddle and I couldn't imagine driving in the rain with my bike was on the carrier - it was 50 miles of heavy rain before I even came close to dryer roads), I saw magnetic trainers that you set your bikes into for indoor riding. I'm stll not sure of the setting up and how they actually work but will do some more reading before I make my decision. I read the customer reviews on Amazon.com and people were saying that the under $100 ones worked as well as the $300 + ones.

I guess my question is, are they effective for substituting riding outdoors? Will my bike easily fit into the trainer? I just don't want to start all over again, come spring. I might just want to buy another bike for me that will work well on those dirt trails.

Ridinmurray

Trainers will simulate everything except working your balance muscles. I started out much like you did & I didn't want to lose what I had gained. I purchased a fluid trainer & ride the coach Troy Spinerval videos. They will help you maintaine what you have gained. A magnetic trainer can interfere with your cycle computer if your running one with cadence. Happy riding & keep up the good work.

John_V 

For what you are wanting the trainer to do, it doesn't have to be an expensive one. If your LBS doesn't carry inexpensive trainers, try online or some place like Dick's Sporting Goods. Less expensive trainers will be a bit noisier, but unless you are turning out the RPM's, a mag trainer should be just fine.

nuttygrandma

My computer only tracks my time, speed and distance. The LBS didn't think I needed much more and if the computer tracks more than that, I don't know about it. It's just a simple Sigma bike computer. I could make another trip to the LBS, this coming weekend to see if they have an inexpensive trainer but I don't want to spend alot of money on it. It's just a convenience for me. I would much rather be biking on my own bike than to run down to the fitness center and bike on their stationary bikes. Besides, my fitness trainer suggested I stay away from the stationary bikes. He wanted to see me on treadmills or the elipical instead.

I checked out those fluid trainers. Dang, they are expensive, at least expensive in my thinking. I think I would do well with one of the cheaper mag trainers. They really look simple enough and if it doesn't work out, I'm not out of alot of money. I really can't hook my bike up to a trainer right at the moment since it's about 135 miles away from me . I won't be able to retrieve my bike until I have another day off and the sun is shining, or I have another day off and have found a rain cover for the saddle. I guess I should have come home last night instead of entertaining an 11 year old.

Thanks for the advice. You guys are great, always able to put a different spin on thinks and that helps me sort out what I'm thinking.

Road Fan

You sound like a pretty smart grandma, not a nutty one!

Fluid trainers are less finicky than magnetic ones in that you don't need to worry about setting a "hardness" lever or knob. Wind trainers are just as "automatic" as fluid, but howl because they drive a little fan. Fluid trainers give you more resistance as you go faster, much like it feels on the road. So you can make it easier or harder the way tyou do on the road, by pedaling harder or faster, and by shifting gears. It used to be that only the very best fluids (Kurt Road Machine and Cyclops Fluid 2) were very reliable, but I bet that situation has improved. Fluids are the quietest and smoothest, with the Kurt at the top, in my opinion. It is not less than $200, but it's a lot less than all those bikes.

What else to you need? A prop for the front wheel, a music stand for the book or magazine you're going to read, a reading light, a towel to protect the bike from perspiration, and a towel to wipe your face. Also nice is to have the bike face the TV and have the remote on the music stand. A very nice thing is to have a fan in the room, at least a ceiling fan.

The ceiling fan frightes the cat to death - she must think they are vulture wings.

Road Fan

Your fitness trainer might be onto something - probably wants you not focused on just one set of muscles and joints. But I'm no expert on training.

treebound 

I've found mag trainers at thrift shops and see them regularly on craigslist, anywhere from $5 up to well over $100.

Here's an example of one with the handlebar cable to change the resistence level:
https://eastnc.craigslist.org/bik/3215544729.html

And while a proper front wheel chock or block is nice, an old phone book will work too just to level out the bike.

PatW

Training indoors is almost the ultimate in BOREDOM. So having something to provide some mental stimulation is really important. That means a little reading rack or watching TV. Now I ride pretty hard so I also need a heavy duty fan (preferably two). But since you are still working at getting your distance down, I don't think you will be cranking out a whole bunch of metabolic heat, so you should be OK but a fan can't hurt. Now, I like freewheel based trainers which are even more expensive than fans or magnetic ones. A freewheel base gives you more "road" feel than other kinds of trainers. But that is probably not a big thing for you.

The main thing about exercise is doing it. If you do it and stick with it, you will almost certainly improve. Sure there is always the best way of doing things. But actually exercising in the way you can on a regular basis beats out the best kind of exercise if you can't stand doing it that way. I wish you every success.

John_V 

Grandma,

Try this link. I think that it will do what you want it to since you are not wanting to train for competition and just want to keep the legs going through the winter months. Most of the trainers mentioned thus far don't work well or don't work at all if your wheels don't support quick release skewers. This particular one will work with bolted wheels and is under $100.00.

Mag Trainer - Dick's Sporting Goods