I'm thinking about getting a trainer. With the daylights saving time now, I don't get in from work until it's already dark, and with winter coming on it will be cold and rainy. What are the pros and cons of fluid vs. magnetic, and which is quieter. I saw some pretty cheap ones on nashbar, are they any good?

I just bought a Kurt Kinetic. It is a magnetically-coupled fluid system - the magnet is the coupler between the roller and the impeller, so there is no penetration of the fluid-holding cavity. Supposedly, no leaks. The only other kind of trainer I am familiar with is the fan or air trainer - they are quite loud.

We tried the Cylceops and the Kurt trainers - the Kurt was louder, but more stable and has the ability for you to increase the flywheel weight.

Kurt Kinetic Road Machine is also on sale at REI right now for $271. And last time I looked, Amazon had the same sale price with free shipping as well.

Kirk Kinetic as far as trainers go, but hell, you're in Texas. Keep riding all winter.

Actually the 1Up trainer is the best of the top three, the top three being 1Up, Kurt Kinetic, and Cyclops Fluid2. The 1Up is also the only trainer of the three still built in the USA!!! It is also the most stable of the three according to 1Up, but Kurt says theirs is also; the 1up gives the widest range of wattage that cannot be overpowered like the others. Just read the site below.

Read all the details here: https://www.1upusa.com/bike_trainer.html You can buy it here, or go here and buy it on the E-Bay site for way less: https://biketrainerreviews.com/1up-al...rainer-review/

A fluid trainer increases the resistance as you pedal faster, the same way that wind resistance increases on the road. A magnetic trainer's resistance doesn't change as much (or at all?) as your speeds increase, so these often have multiple settings, either on the unit or with a cabled remote.

You can increase the workout on a fluid trainer all the way to 10-second sprint levels of effort, just by shifting to a higher gear and increasing your cadence. Or do long steady effort workouts at a lower speed.

The Kurt has a standard power curve, so you can find your watts for a given speed. They say it's the equivalent of a typical sized rider going up a 1% grade. Your bike computer needs to be linked to the back wheel. (It doesn't tell you much about peak watts efforts, but it's still interesting to see how much effort 200 watts, 400, etc watts takes). The other fluid trainers probably work this way, too.

I like our Kurt Kinetic fluid trainers...
We have a Road Machine and a Rock and Roll.
Really isn't that loud at all, esp when compared to other magnetic trainers.
Wind trainers are the loudest, and the cheapest, then Magnetic, then Fluid being quietest and most expensive.
Go grab the KK Road Machine while it's on sale.

Magnetic trainers are loud but cheap. Fluid trainers, the ones that aren't crap, are relatively quiet, but relatively expensive. I am not a fan of friction plate trainers like the 1up or Blackburn Ultra. Maybe the 1up is better, but I had a Blackburn Ultra which is basically the same design (Blackburn licensed the design from 1up) and it was utter crap. My review is somewhere on the boards. I have a Kinetic road machine myself.

I bought a Kinetic Road Machine last week from Amazon on sale and used it twice this weekend. My only comment so far is that it seems quite a bit harder to maintain a given MPH on the machine compared to the road, but it is definitely a good indoor workout option, especially in conjunction with a training video. It really helps having a computer and heart rate monitor, and with power meter, it would be an ideal setup.

^^^
It's designed to simulate a 2% grade hill.

Unless I'm mistaken my trainer is both... it is a bit loud though and I run at max resistance so I have no idea if it's quieter with just the 1 system on...

Based on user reviews, the Blackburn is a poor, albeit expensive, imitation of the 1upUSA. The 1up is a really well-engineered, quality trainer. I've never used the KK Road Machine but it gets great reviews, as does the 1up, which I have and am very happy with.

Go for the magnetic. The Kurt Kinetics are sealed better with the magnets making the coupling and have no o-rings to wear on a shaft.

Colorado Cyclist also has the road machine on sale now too.

I hated using my KK trainer, but it actually worked great. An indicated speed on the trainer felt just as difficult as if I were on the road (30 mph was still hard for me to hit), so I believe the power curve that they publish.

I didn't keep it long enough to see if it would leak, but I don't really see how it would, either. I left the warranty card blank, so the new owner could probably use it if he needs to.

Even though people are saying that it's quiet, it was loud enough that my downstairs neighbor came up to see if everything was OK. I'd recommend some kind of pad if you're in an apartment.

If I had to get a trainer again, I'm about 90% sure it'd be a KK. I would also get a trainer tire to put on my extra wheel because I worried about the hot rubber smell and the shiny flat region on my regular tire.

Fluid is quiet. Resistance is exponential, increases kind of quickly. Your gearing and cadence make the change in resistance. As I only have fluid trainers I'm kind of stuck on one. I've been struggling in the small ring, big cogs for a couple weeks now.

Magnetic is noisier but still not bad. Resistance increases linearly, i.e. not that quick. I prefer this when I'm not fit as it's easier to make small adjustments in resistance, i.e. the bike's gearing is your minor range (at level 1 it's pretty easy regardless of gear), the magnetic one is a major range (difference between 1 and 7 is "big").

If I had a mag trainer now I'd be at level 1-2 and using whatever low wear gear (big ring, middle cog).

When I'm fit the fluid trainer is good, I can hammer the big ring for a while.

To isolate noise from downstairs you need to have air or huge mass in the floor. So concrete floor (think Las Vegas strip hotels - you can't hear through the floor) or air filled something between trainer and floor. The exercise mats help (they have little air bubbles). A long time ago someone suggested theoretically using a lot of inner tube inflated under a big piece of plywood. The plywood would make noise but the innertubes under it would isolate the noise from the floor.

If doing fluid, get the KK. I've had two Cycleops leak on me, working on the third.