Which trainer would you buy-cost being a consideration.
 

The wife surprised me a little bit tonight. She announced that the couch was being sold, and was to be replaced with a PAIR of trainers. Now this couch might have a hard time finding a new home if it was listed as "FREE" on craigslist but it is leaving one way or another. So, before she changes her mind, and thinking of the other stuff you gotta have with a trainer, (mats, fans,etc.) Give me an idea of a decent setup and what I should think about cost wise....

I would buy a pair of Kurt Kinetic Road Machines. They are not inexpensive, but I have owned cheaper trainers, and much more expensive ones, and the KK is the only one I would get in the future.

I have a Travel Trac Comp Fluid trainer that I purchased from Performance Bike. I believe I paid $99 when it was on sale, and also picked up the matt and riser block for the front wheel, though a piece of wood would have been just as effective. There was no shipping charge and I received everything in a couple of days. As for the trainer itself, it's decent. I'm having difficulty finding the right balance of gears and resistance so that I'm not burning up my energy within the first 10 minutes or not at all, and I haven't found it yet.

I just signed up for Zwift and have been enjoying it, so I'm considering purchasing a smart trainer where no rear wheel is needed (you just have the gears there) for next year. Those are significantly more expensive than the trainer I have though.

I'd really try to stretch the budget for a couple of "smart" (i.e. electronically controllable) trainers, because there is so much exciting stuff happening for them now, and looking 3, 5, or 10 years down the road, they're where you'll want to be both as you develop as a cyclist and the tech develops (e.g. Zwift).

I just got an email announcing Wahoo now has reconditioned, certified Kickr Snap trainers for $575, but other brands to look at are Tacx, and Cycleops.

Short of those, I reckon it's a budget issue, like whether you can do $300 unit or just $175 unit. Here's a link to a good overview of the considerations you'll want to make whatever the spend is: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/11/2...endations.html

check you local craigslist first. I see trainers on there all the time. Most are cheap ones but it isn't uncommon to find a good fluid trainer either. Riding friend just bought a cycleops fluid 2 with block and mat for $150 on craiglist, normally $300+.

For mats, I ordered one of these.. the 28x72 size is a bit bigger (wider) than typical yoga mats and was what i needed for my trainer's feet (which is an older 1up USA model). Don't know if this is wide enough for other trainer models offhand, but I couldn't see spending $60 for a piece of rolled plastic that the major trainer makers sell their mats for, and this mat works well on in an apartment (hardwood floors) and rolls up and stows easily.

Amazon.com : 4mm Extra Thick Light Weight Portable Comfortable Spacious Textured Yoga Mat Extra Wide 28x72 Inches Buy One Yoga Mat and Receive a Bonus Heart Rate Watch $30 Value : Sports & Outdoors

For trainers, I like the idea of the Kurt Rock n'Roll Smart Trainer.. though curiously there are zero reviews of this on Amazon.

I had a CycleOps and did not like it. It increased resistance with speed which did not suit what I wanted it for. I also wanted to practice big-gear climbs while standing. I got a Minoura (VR4, I think) and it is much nicer with its resistance...and quieter. Besides these two, I have no experience with trainers though. Some of the ones mentioned here are probably much nicer.

I got a cyclops fluid 2 for $150 on craigslist. Works great.

That's funny, because that's one of the features people pay the big bucks for, the "realistic road feel"!

Also, it's helpful to note the model, as not all Cycleops trainers are the same.

I had the Cycleops Fluid 2. Bought it new and then sold it to a friend cheap. He doesn't like it for the same reasons but he bought it for $100 so kept it. My other friend has one too, and like it but he mainly just tried to get base miles on it thru the winter. I bought it for that as well but mainly so I could do standing climbing and build my legs on bigger gears...slower-cadence standing climbs and intervals with those types of climbs mixed in. The Cycleops does't do that well at all, though it is smooth and well built. I simply had to pedal too fast to get resistance and even then, the resistance was not enough to simulate steep climbs. I have the Minoura V270 Gyro Trainer actually. I can do the flat pedaling and vary resistance by either changing gears or using the seven steps of magnetic resistance. I can do both and stand and climb at a low cadence and big gear. That is the plan this winter, in addition to the heavy-wheeled fat bike. The Minoura is also a fair bit quieter and for me, a much better option. Quality- both are similar.

^^ This. But the one I have still sits in the closet. I *hate* riding the trainer. This year I bought a fatbike and ride instead. Much better decision and one heck of a workout.

J.

John, you're probably from MTBR, right? I agree on the trainer- it can be so brutal...a mental game. That was one reason I bought a fat bike and a cross bike this winter...finally. Been riding the fat bike to avoid the trainer but the trainer will probably happen at some painful point. I hear really good things about the Kurt Kinetic. Will have to see how it work.

Picked up a Cyclops Jet Pro and really like it. Good resistance and not really loud. I had a Cyclops fluid 2 and it was the same as the jet minus the shroud around the fluid unit. I dont need a smart trainer and wanted something I was familiar with second time around. These used to leak but my understanding is that issue is fixed. my last one never leaked.

I can see that, especially for really strong riders.

I use a Fluid2 with a Powertap wheel and a 53/11 drivetrain to ride on Zwift. I can get enough resistance in the biggest gear combo to do around 400w at 65rpm or so, but yeah, those 50rpm/500w grinds are out of reach with this setup.

I picked up a BKool Pro smart trainer when I weighed 390 pounds (I am now down to 360). The arms of the trainer pivot allowing your weight and the bike back wheel to sit on the roller. The new Bkool Pro trainers will work with Zwift, but mine won't, but mine works with the BKool app which is very much like Zwift (and I can input my own routes using GPS data either from a bike computer or from using Strava's route creator).

The Bkool app pairs with Strava so that Strava will record your trainer activity, and BKool will record your outdoor activity loaded to Strava.

I have ridden my trainer for about 500 miles cumulative since October 2014 when I purchased it, and it has held up very well.


No the BKool Pro isn't inexpensive as they run about $650.00 each (available on Amazon and other outlets, and even in some local bike shops... I got mine from the bike shop), but they are less expensive than a Wahoo Kickr which unfortunately has a weight limit of 250 pounds.

I have a spare wheel with cassette that is the same gearing as the wheel I use outside so that when I ride inside on a route I get the same ride (including resistance) as I get outside.

We do standing climb simulations at 60-65rpm quite often and I think my Fluid2 does it just fine. You just have to be in a big gear. Yeah, if you're on a fixed gear or something it's not going to work, but on a road bike it does. Trainers are a little odd and seem to reward lower cadence work, anyway. I have no problem finding a gear for VO2max intervals on a Fluid2 or KK Road Machine standing or sitting at any number of cadences.

Maybe you had one that wasn't filled properly. The resistance goes wonky when that happens. Might explain why it wasn't as quiet as the Minoura. Mine's as quiet as any I've used. Or you could just way stronger than I am. That's also plausible.

If you don't spring for an electronic trainer, get a Kurt Kinetic with the pro flywheel. The extra inertia makes it feel more road-like and is less likely to limit your indoor workouts due to how you handle the dead spots in your peal stroke.

A CycleOps Fluid 2 has 2.75 pounds.
The stock Kurt has 6.25 pounds.
A KICKR has 10.5 pounds.
The optional Kurt pro flywheel adds 12 bringing the total to 18.25.

It's also leak proof, more stable than some trainers, has less resistance drift with temperature, and has a quick release mounting mechanism that doesn't take too much cranking.

Kurt on left, Performance Travel Trac Fluid Comp on right. The difference is comical, and Kurt entirely worth the $100 (trainer) + $90 (flywheel) upgrade.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=495977

"Painful" is the right word, for sure.

A secondary unintended investment in winter riding is the clothes. That sort of took me by surprise, but I think I can be comfortable riding to almost subzero now without it being too out of control. That allows me to get out just about as much as I do during the regular riding season. Still, that was better than buying a trainer and not using it, I guess.


J.

Why get 2 of the exact same thing? Mix it up and get a trainer and a set of rollers.

ELITE QUBO DIGITAL SMART B+... got it for Zwift and I can finally ride trainer again. I did have Kurt Kinetic Rock n Roll which was nice but the boredom got to me. Much more engaging with Zwift and slope changing... (and it helps i have 135 inch projection screen in front of me... :))
Oh, it actually can account for your power so you can do power training if you don't have power meter already. Accuracy is within +/- 5% from my Quarq. (which is a lot if you are doing threshold training, etc but it still does work better than nothing)

This is the problem I'm having in that I don't like the increased resistance as I speed up. I want a more linear resistance, but am a bit weary having read reviews of how loud magnetic trainers can be. Do any of the Zwift compatible wheel-off trainers provide linear resistance or do they all work like fluid trainers?

EDIT - it doesn't have to be a well-off trainer I guess.

Has anyone tried this thing?

Sport Crafters Omnium Portable Cycling Trainer Designed for Pre-Race Warmups

That looks pretty interesting. just because it says it's for pre-race warmups doesn't mean I can't use it as a trainer a few times a week, right?

I wanna know how you get on your bike when it's on that thing?
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=496086

Clip in one foot, mount bike, clip in other foot, ride.
Unclip 1 foot, dismount, unclip other foot.