indoor trainer

cycleman05 said:

What is the best indoor trainer to get. I'm tired of missing sessions because of rain and snow and have decided I need something else. I've heard of flat trainers and rollers, what's the best and what is the difference?

The best is a power based trainer that you can run in ergometer mode like a Velodyne or Computrainer or even a dedicated erg that doesn't require your bike at all. These allow you to dial in specific power levels and you just have to pedal at whatever cadence you choose without having to watch your speed or power to manage intensity. I can definitely work harder and longer on an erg since it doesn't take constant attention to stay at whatever level I'm targeting. But you'd better have a lot of cash lying around to go that route.

In terms of affordable indoor trainers I really like the Kurt Kinetics road machine or even the pro model with bigger flywheel. They're quiet, easy to setup, fold for easy storage and are very consistent in terms of power to speed relationships even as they warm up. I use a the Road Machine model for nearly all my indoor training these days.

Rollers are a lot of fun and the high end models with fans or resistance units or the real high end models with inertial flywheels and or floating frames are amazing but you're talking big bucks again. Without a resistance unit most rollers are great for staying warm between events at the track or good for easy to moderate days when you want the feel of riding and want to smooth out your balance and technique. Without the fan or resistance unit they don't really force you to put out enough power for much high end training even in big gears. They're still fun and I get on mine sometimes during rest weeks but don't really train hard on them.

Hope that helps,
Dave

I just made a thread similar to this one a few weeks ago and all the replies pointed me to the Kurt Kinetics Road Machine, so I ordered it - will be here tomorrow, i'll be sure to post how i like it (yes that was one runon sentence... sorry).

Appreciate the heads up, did you get any DVD's with it or are you just going to wing it?

meams said:

I just made a thread similar to this one a few weeks ago and all the replies pointed me to the Kurt Kinetics Road Machine, so I ordered it - will be here tomorrow, i'll be sure to post how i like it (yes that was one runon sentence... sorry).

1. Velodyne
2. Computrainer
3. Kurt Kinetic Pro or Road Machine or 1upusa with Powertap
4. Kurt Kinetic Pro or Road Machine with KK speed to power computer (KK road w/computer is what I got)
5. Kurt Kinetic Pro or Road Machine with this Chart kurtkinetic.comcalibration chart.phpOpen ↗
6. 1upusa trainer and their chart (KK power on this chart is wrong) 1upusa.com1uptrainerpowercurves.htmOpen ↗

cycleman05 said:

Appreciate the heads up, did you get any DVD's with it or are you just going to wing it?

I ordered it from 1upUSA and got the 3 spinersomething DVDs and free shipping... being as it weighs 33lb the free shipping is a definite plus.

Here's the exact link i ordered it from
1upusa.comkurtkinetictrainer.htmOpen ↗

wiredued said:

1. Velodyne
2. Computrainer
3. Kurt Kinetic Pro or Road Machine or 1upusa with Powertap
4. Kurt Kinetic Pro or Road Machine with KK speed to power computer (KK road w/computer is what I got)
5. Kurt Kinetic Pro or Road Machine with this Chart kurtkinetic.comcalibration chart.phpOpen ↗
6. 1upusa trainer and their chart (KK power on this chart is wrong) 1upusa.com1uptrainerpowercurves.htmOpen ↗

That's a very good list of choices, priority ranked. The only change I would make in the future is to put the estimated cost of each option (market prices).

Welp I drove home to my parents house to pick up my KKRM last night (my college house is in the ghetto and would probably be stolen off my doorstep), and i practically had to fight my dad to get him to give it to me, he was having too much fun being as he rides 20/30 mi/day. Welp - thats 2 more sales for KK.

meams said:

Welp I drove home to my parents house to pick up my KKRM last night (my college house is in the ghetto and would probably be stolen off my doorstep), and i practically had to fight my dad to get him to give it to me, he was having too much fun being as he rides 20/30 mi/day. Welp - thats 2 more sales for KK.

For the money....the KK without a doubt.
🙂

TiMan said:

For the money....the KK without a doubt.
🙂

What circumstances would warrant getting the KK Pro Trainer over the Road Machine? Thanks.

Meek One said:

What circumstances would warrant getting the KK Pro Trainer over the Road Machine? Thanks.

A larger bank account coupled with a desire for a smoother feel........

daveryanwyoming said:

A larger bank account coupled with a desire for a smoother feel........

A weakness for clever marketing probably wouldn't hurt, either. 😉

Meek One said:

What circumstances would warrant getting the KK Pro Trainer over the Road Machine? Thanks.

Only if you like to do a lot of endurance and maybe tempo on the trainer....otherwsie the "better feel" isn't there.

TiMan said:

Only if you like to do a lot of endurance and maybe tempo on the trainer....otherwsie the "better feel" isn't there.

Cool. Thanks Guys.

-Meek

Where is the best place to get a Velodyne?

RapDaddyo said:

That's a very good list of choices, priority ranked. The only change I would make in the future is to put the estimated cost of each option (market prices).

wiredued said:

Where is the best place to get a Velodyne?

You might want to ask Andy Coggan. He seems to have the best knowledge of Velodyne. I need a road warrior rig, so I am focused on the CompuTrainer Pro for now, Velodyne (and full size color photo of the charging Bengal Tiger) later.😉