Possibly silly question--trainer for FG
 

I've never owned a bike trainer. Dont really know how they work. I live in the frozen tundra of WI where it gets too cold to pee much less ride in the depths of winter. Was thinking about buying one of those indoor trainer thingies to ride my bike indoors in the winter. Can you use those with a fixed gear bike? I know they attach somehow to the rear hub and thought this may cause problems. Just wanted to knwo b-4 i drop $150. Thanx. Feel free to castigate me and innundate me with hate responses if i am totally off my rocker here.

I have the same question. I tried the search function, and read the thread that TIP posted in her hunt. Still would like to know a little more. Do people even do this with fixed geared bikes?

rollers.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...hlight=rollers

i asked that question a while back. I ended up getting the minoura hyper. a tad noisy, and the resistance has a small spectrum (since I am fixed), but all in all it was the right price and a good buy.

i will move to rollers at somepoint, when I have just a tad more room/time. Actually i take that back, i would get a spin bike if I had the room, since its the only way to get a really good climb, and I like my hills.

definatly do not want those big honking rollers in my teenie apartment. I don't know much about these things and the linked thread was a little technical. I did garner that it is possible to use a trainer w/ a fg. I guess i am wondering if there is any type that is better suited for fg bikes (i.e. wont require ordering additional parts). I'm fat and lazy and want something i can take out of the box, plop my bike into and go.

rollers = form, balance, holding a line
trainer = speedwork

Not to take away from the topic, but...

My question is not about me and a trainer. My girl is alittle self conscious and would like to ride for weight loss in the house. I have two fixed bikes, with one being alittle small for me, but that could work for her. I could toy with gearing to make resistance right for her. She has no interest in learning to ride in traffic or even a nice slow bike path. I don't like this, but I like her. So I thought I could get a trainer for me and maybe after some riding in the house, she might get the bug. Well, I guess I don't know whether to fork out the $200 for a trainer or find a used stationary bike on craigslist.

feel free to make fun all you want.

get a trainer if you already have bikes. you can take a bike off a trainer and onto the road, but you cannot really take a stationary out for a spin. Although I am sure someone will prove me wrong

nashbar has a lot on sale. make sure you get one with a remote - as that will provide you with the ability to change your resistance. i have this cheapy: http://tinyurl.com/3qgtr which is on sale for 134.

it works just fine for some winter evening spins. sometimes if i want a long break from my studies i will just throw in a movie and spin. ( i know thats not very focused but it sure is relaxing)

oh yeah - make sure you put a towel down for both sweat and rubber residue - it takes sometime to tighten the tire drive wheel to get tightened just right.

i have a 1 up and i love it. they cost the earth new, but can occasionally be found on cl/ebay (which is where i got mine).

i second sillgirl's towel suggestion, and i usually go one further; big sheet of cardboard on the floor, towel over that (or not, if i'm feeling lazy, but the towel makes the cardboard last longer), and then i drape a towel over the headset/headtube as best i can.

so these trainers work with the track nuts or do you have to replace the axial with one that takes their special skewer?

I like rollers. I have a set under my bed, so they don't take up any spacce when not in use. I got mine at a yardsale for $15

mine works fine with the nuts. they don't seat all the way into the sockets, but if you clamp it down nice and snug there are no problems.

I think I might get this, unless someone tells me I am really off base here. Would be hooking up to a 2005 pista and a 2002 fugi track in a small nyc apartment. I would love rollers, but that would be a disaster in teaching her.

rollers are nice, but the space commitment is a consideration.

i have a Cycle-Ops fluid trainer and love it. works well with my fixies. see what dollface said about clamping down hard.

I love my rollers, but I agree that it's probably not the best teaching tool for someone with a casual interest. I've had mine for a few months and it has improved my stroke quite a bit (I'm new to fixies), but I find at the beginning you fall off quite a bit. I do even now if I don't keep my concentration up.

YAY! My first post!

If you're in an apartment don't get a mag model. They're loud and will rumble your floor. You need a fluid. The cyclops Fluid 2 is the most use one.

I'll admit it: rollers scare the **** out of me. Keep us updated if you go with a trainer as I might be looking into one myself sometime soon. Any problems with trainers and tubular (well, clincher tubular) tires?

If I've gotta ride indoors, rollers are my pick, but I have used a cycleops fluid (2?) with a track bike before without problems. I borrowed it, so I have no idea what they cost new or used. That said, I still prefer to bundle up and ride outside. If you haven't given it a go yet, you should. It's not as bad as you would initially think. Everyone should have one crappy conversion cause crappy conversions are made for winter.

I have a kurt kinetic trainer, which I selected after extensive research. I've used it two or three times, and I absolutely freaking hate it. I haven't tried rollers yet, but a trainer is mind-numbing torture.

can anyone recommend a sub $150 fluid trainer? The quieter the better.

large radius steel or heavy rollers

I tried my f/g on my non-adjustable (for resistance) fluid trainer and found it too difficult and limiting. I would use an adjustable resistance trainer if I was determined to use a fixed gear on it.

BTW, trainers wear out tires fast (though not as fast as a lot of skidding!). Consider a "trainer tire" for your rear wheel. Continental makes one for under $40. Nashbar, Performance Bike etc. sell them if your LBS doesn't. For some reason they're a bear to mount. Have the LBS do it.

Or just buy a cheap crap tire and throw it away after a winter's use.

True, alas. Some people fit book holders to their bars so they can read to help pass the time while training. Others watch DVDs on a laptop or portable player. But it's still hard not to feel like a gerbil.

Performance makes rollers that fold, and the Minoura they have folds as well. They take up just as much space as a trainer when they're stuck, folded, in the closet. I'll make a positive statement for both, they've kept me riding this winter when I otherwise wouldn't be.

he debate about trainers vs. rollers wages on, I see.When are we gonna start building mini-velodromes in our backyards?

It's about time, damnit. That would be so damn cool.