I have been looking for an answer to my question on this forum for a couple of days, but couldn't find one. I just bought a used CycleOps Fluid trainer from a friend of mine. I believe it's 2 or 3 years old. Since this is the first trainer that I'm ever using, I was not sure about one thing. I am having a hard time adjusting the resistance. As most of you probably know, the resistance is adjusted by turning the knob until it touches the tire. The problem is, when I make it too loose, the tire gets loose and when I put too much pressure on the pedals, it slips. When I make it tighter (higher resistance), the resistance is so strong, that I get tired within a few minutes. In fact, the resistance is so strong, that when I stop pedaling the rear tire stops turning within a couple of seconds. I was wondering if that's normal.
I have been looking for an answer to my question on this forum for a couple of days, but couldn't find one. I just bought a used CycleOps Fluid trainer from a friend of mine. I believe it's 2 or 3 years old. Since this is the first trainer that I'm ever using, I was not sure about one thing. I am having a hard time adjusting the resistance. As most of you probably know, the resistance is adjusted by turning the knob until it touches the tire. The problem is, when I make it too loose, the tire gets loose and when I put too much pressure on the pedals, it slips. When I make it tighter (higher resistance), the resistance is so strong, that I get tired within a few minutes. In fact, the resistance is so strong, that when I stop pedaling the rear tire stops turning within a couple of seconds. I was wondering if that's normal.
Thanks!
Adjusting the tension on the wheel is like Goldie Locks and the 3 Bears. You want to find the tension that's just right. Not too loose and not too tight. It should be just tight enough that your wheel doesn't slip and that's all. Any more and you'll cause excessive heat and could blow out a tube and will wear your tire much more quickly.
On a trainer the wheel will stop turning within a few seconds as you don't have the same forward momentum as when you're riding on pavement. That's normal. That's also one reason why an hour on the trainer is harder than an hour on the road. No coasting. You have to keep pedaling to keep the wheel turning.
I am having a hard time adjusting the resistance. As most of you probably know, the resistance is adjusted by turning the knob until it touches the tire. The problem is, when I make it too loose, the tire gets loose and when I put too much pressure on the pedals, it slips. When I make it tighter (higher resistance), the resistance is so strong, that I get tired within a few minutes. In fact, the resistance is so strong, that when I stop pedaling the rear tire stops turning within a couple of seconds. I was wondering if that's normal.
If I'm reading you correctly, you're misinterpreting something. The black knob doesn't adjust the pedalling resistance, it only adjusts the tension which keeps the wheel from slipping. The pedalling resistance on that trainer varies only with how fast the bike wheel is turning, and is not 'user adjustable'. If the pedalling resistance is too high for you, then you'll need to shift the bike to a lower gear so that the rear wheel isn't turning so fast. As your fitness improves, shift to higher gears to find the amount of intensity that you want for your workout. Hope this helps and I'm not misunderstanding your post.
I haven't done any research on the Cycle-Ops Fluid trainer but I've had a Cycle-Ops Mag trainer for about a year and I always turn the knob 2 1/2 times once it touches the wheel. I've never had any probs doing it that way. I beleive that was actually in the manual that came with it. If you bought yours from a friend you probably didn't get to read that.
Thanks for the replies. I guess I was just using wrong terminology rather than misinterpreting it. What I was wondering was whether or not there was any other method of manually adjusting the resistance/tension on the trainer. From your answers, I understand that there isn't.
"an hour on the trainer is harder than an hour on the road"
This actually answers all my questions.
I donwloaded the manual and turned the know 2 1/2 times after the tube touched the wheel, but that was way too hard for me. 🙂 I guess I'm just a newbie, who needs to train a lot harder.
I donwloaded the manual and turned the know 2 1/2 times after the tube touched the wheel, but that was way too hard for me. 🙂 I guess I'm just a newbie, who needs to train a lot harder.
Well, that's one way to look at it, or you can shift the bike to an easier gear as I suggested. What gear are you using, BTW?
...I donwloaded the manual and turned the knob 2 1/2 times after the tube touched the wheel, but that was way too hard for me. ...
That may be the official "white coat" answer but trust me on this one and just start turning the knob in quarter turns until the tire doesn't slip anymore. 2 1/2 times is overkill. I've been there. I know.
And as Frenchyge says, if it's too difficult then use easier gearing. Your gearing is what you use to increase or decrease the level of difficulty on a trainer. If you have a tripple up front drop it into the smallest sprocket. That should do the trick.
I have the Cycleops Fluid trainer also. I was surprised at how much harder it is than on the road also.
The way I see it you have to ensure that your wheel is not slipping so turn it as people have recommended here.
Personally I see your point that if you do not tighten the tire so that its not tight it will get easier as the wheel is slipping in the trainer. I would say that is not a good idea. Far better to shift to easier gears in the beginning. Personally I tighten the trainer until the wheel does not slip and then I set the gear depending on what I want to train... It is allot harder than on the road...although, I kinda like that as it makes the road trips seem easier 🙂
All good replies. I have both a Cycleops Fluid2 and a Kinetic Road Machine. Because of differences in the power curves, the tension on the tire must be much higher on the Kinetic Road Machine than it does on the Cycleops Fluid2. As several others have mentioned, speed determines the resistance. At speeds below 12.75 mph, the Kinetic Road Machine offers more resistance than does the Cycleops Fluid2. At speeds above 12.75 mph, the Cycleops Fluid2 offers more resistance. It takes 10 times more power to go from 0 to 0.25 on the Kinetic than on the Cycleops, thus the higher tension required to keep the tire from slipping.
I tried to attach a graph of the power versus speed curves for the two trainers, but if it was legible, it was too big to attach, and if it was small enough to attach, it could not be read. The equation to calculate power versus speed is: P = A*s + B*s^3 where P is power in watts, s is speed in MPH, and A and B are constants that are unique to the different trainers. The values for A and B are available at kurtkinetic.comcalibration chart.phpOpen ↗
I have both a Cycleops Fluid2 and a Kinetic Road Machine. Because of differences in the power curves, the tension on the tire must be much higher on the Kinetic Road Machine than it does on the Cycleops Fluid2.
Believe the difference there is in the flywheel mass, rather than the fluid resistance or power curves. The Road Machine takes a little more 'ooomph' to get up to speed because of the higher inertia. Not that this relates to the OP, just wanted to clarify.
I have the Cycleops Fluid trainer also. I was surprised at how much harder it is than on the road also.
The way I see it you have to ensure that your wheel is not slipping so turn it as people have recommended here.
Personally I see your point that if you do not tighten the tire so that its not tight it will get easier as the wheel is slipping in the trainer. I would say that is not a good idea. Far better to shift to easier gears in the beginning. Personally I tighten the trainer until the wheel does not slip and then I set the gear depending on what I want to train... It is allot harder than on the road...although, I kinda like that as it makes the road trips seem easier 🙂
Good Luck
P
I agree.....I use the cycleops habitually.....killed a Open Pave' last month...2 turns on the knob to stop the slippage standing and sitting...🙂
