CycleOps Fluid 2 or Magneto?
 

My mom is buying my sister a trainer for Christmas and is on a fairly tight budget. When I told her the prices of these things she was a little worried about the expense. I personally have a cheapo mag trainer that has worked great for me for years, but I want to recommend something nice for my sister that will be a good quality product, but likewise not be overkill. Who knows, she may try it a couple times and hate the trainer. She is a beginning triathlete with cycling as her weakness and wants to get better on the bike over the winter. She's a great swimmer but has spent very little time riding.
I like the CycleOps products and think both the Fluid2 and the Magneto are good products but really would like to keep the price down. Magneto can be had for about $50 less than Fluid2. What do you guys think?

I've had no problem with my travel trac mag trainer:

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes..._1094971_-1___

I'm sure the $600-1000 trainers are nicer, with a more realistic feel and "wind down" and all that. Bottom line though: you're still riding a trainer in a garage or basement. Hell is hell, and there's really no way to sugar coat it to make it better. So buy something that works and go suffer is my philosophy. Especially if you're tight on a budget.

I have 2 Kurt Kinetic Road machines... got one, liked it so much that I got a second one when my husband started riding. They're about $400, but money well spent, I think. When I was shopping for that second trainer, I looked into the cheaper end of things, and didn't like what I found... some trainers were noisy, and most had a quick spin-down time, which made pedalling smooth circles very tough, and I really didn't like that jerky motion, bad enough that it might put me off using the trainer.

So, try before you buy... not all trainers are created equal, and it's worth spending a little more sometimes, especially on something important like fitness. Would someone else be willing to go in on the gift with your mom?

Ah, but low inertia is a good thing. It should be hard to pedal smooth circles - that's how one learns to do it! That's why rollers with plastic drums are so great. It's just my rims, tires, and a few ounces of plastic spinning. Love that steady hummmm.

Fluid is a better resistance unit.
Magneto is ok, but the resistance is not that much. If she wants to get stronger, go fluid. Perhaps the two of you can go in on one together and split the cost.

have had a cycleops and KK road machine, both fluid
the cycleops has a harder resistance than KK, but KK smoother. This makes the cycleops slightly easier for standing, but on the whole KK is better.
Also like the KK magnetic coupling as this reduces the chance of fluid leaks. Thjough neither have leaked this might be an important consideration for use inside
both have bogger diameter rollers so are less damaging to tyres, but if you ride them a lot it will happen regardless.
I like the little calibrated speedo for the KK that reads out in watts...

i've got a fluid 2 and am very pleased with it. here's my review:

http://www.bicyclecenturytraining.co...-depth-review/