Fluid trainers

Quoted message said:

I've already looked through the archives, but I wanted
an up-to-date answer on what are the best fluid trainers
available today. I settled on a fluid trainer because I
wanted progressive resistance, so mag trainers were
out, but wind trainers are way too loud.

I will probably use this indoors, so leakage would be
very bad.

Ideally, the resistance would match a real bike in a
more-or-less aero position.

I bought a Blackburn FT last year. It works well. No leaks.

Buy a fan and some tapes to watch while you're at it or the damn thing
will be collecting cobwebs in the garage within 2 months. imo.

D

I have a CycleOps fluid trainer, purchased this year. It is the
entry-level version (another model had a system to monitor power
output). No idea how it compares to other trainers out there....it is
the only one my LBS carries.

Personally, I don't find the unit to be noisy; It isn't silent, but I
have had no trouble using training videos at normal volume levels.

As far as leakage is concerned, I haven't seen any to date. I
questioned my LBS about this, because CycleOps has had problems in the
past....the owner assured me that they have since fixed the problem.
The unit definitely does get hot, though!

I haven't measured it, but the resistance seems to increase in a
non-linear fashion; the higher your gearing, the more difficult it is
to pedal. How it compares to wind resistance when riding on the road,
I don't know. As far as I'm concerned, it's irrelevant for training.
Pedal faster and the resistance will increase. Gear up and the
resistance will increase. This is close enough to the real world for
most training regimens.

Other general trainer comments:
-regardless of how closely the resistance matches the "real world",
this is *not* road riding!
-it is a good idea to cover your bicycle with a towel while training;
your sweat will accelerate the rusting process (and you *will*
sweat...otherwise you're doing something wrong)
-I like to use a cheapo rear tire so that I don't wear out my good
ones. If you've got the money, you might consider buying a secondary
training bicycle (preferably with similar geometry to your main ride).

Cheers,
Dave

Quoted message said:

I've already looked through the archives, but I wanted
an up-to-date answer on what are the best fluid trainers
available today. I settled on a fluid trainer because I
wanted progressive resistance, so mag trainers were
out, but wind trainers are way too loud.

I will probably use this indoors, so leakage would be
very bad.

Ideally, the resistance would match a real bike in a
more-or-less aero position.

Quoted message said:

I have a CycleOps fluid trainer, purchased this year. It is the
entry-level version (another model had a system to monitor power
output). No idea how it compares to other trainers out there....it is
the only one my LBS carries.

I have had the CycleOps Fluid II trainer for about 2 1/2 years. I have
had many trainers in the past and like this one a lot. As Dave wrote,
the resistance increases dramatically as the speed increases, moreso
than other trainers I have had.

Regarding the company, Graber products bought the CycleOps name a
couple of years ago and their quality is a dramatic improvement (I had
a trainer from the old CycleOps company). My other trainers have
always had the resistance unit fail. This one hasn't yet, with about
4000 (virtual) miles on it.

I have had a small metal piece strip its threads, twice. Graber
Products shipped me a new one at no charge both times.

Quoted message said:

Other general trainer comments:
-regardless of how closely the resistance matches the "real world",
this is *not* road riding!
-it is a good idea to cover your bicycle with a towel while training;
your sweat will accelerate the rusting process (and you *will*
sweat...otherwise you're doing something wrong)
-I like to use a cheapo rear tire so that I don't wear out my good
ones. If you've got the money, you might consider buying a secondary
training bicycle (preferably with similar geometry to your main ride).

I echo these sentiments, especially the one about sweat, a lesson I
learned the hard way.

Speaking only from my own experience,
Tom

Quoted message said:

-I like to use a cheapo rear tire so that I don't wear out my good
ones. If you've got the money, you might consider buying a secondary
training bicycle (preferably with similar geometry to your main ride).

Build a cheapo fixed gear that takes $10 27 inch tires and just leave it
hooked up all the time.

--
Scott Johnson / [email hidden]

Kurt Kinetic.

First, the unit is leakproof. CycleOps have improved, but there are
still seals on the shaft of their unit, so it will eventually leak. The
Kurt unit is magnetically coupled - so it will never ever leak.

Second, the Kurt unit is designed to have the most realistic feel, with
a massive flywheel. You can't coast for as long as on a road bike - but
you can coast for 10 seconds or so, much longer than most Each unit is
individually tested for accuracy, so all units will work the same.

And best of all - you can buy the standard model, or you can get one
individually calibrated for you. Costs a bit more, but then you get
100% accurate road feel. There's no other way a single unit will work
perfectly for both sprinters and climbers.