Trainers

Jaybird2009 said:

Hey,
Anyone any suggestions for me on this one!
I am thinking of buying an indoor trainer but I am not sure if I should get a magnetic one or a wind one. With the wind resistance one you get a progressive resistance, with the magnetic you can manually select.
Any ideas what would be the better of the types, considering the two I am looking at are of equal price??

How about a fluid trainer??? I own one, and though I've never owned a mag or wind, I like the idea of the resistance unit & it feeling more like riding out on the road. I do know that a fluid trainer will kick you butt a bit more because the faster you spin it, the more resistance it puts up.

Does anyone still make WIND trainers?!?

If your choice is between the two types, get the MAG trainer BECAUSE a Wind trainer is many times noiser than a Mag trainer.

Cheers, i'll check them out.

I used to have a wind trainer and it was unbearably loud. Plus I rode it in a cold basement and the wind up my backside made an already unpleasant experience, that much worse. I switched to magnet and it was much more quiet.... But it still stinks. I picked up a set of rollers last year and it is infinitely more enjoyable to ride them.

We've had a Travel Trac Mag Force Plus for several years. It works very well, but I get pretty bored using it.

My wife uses it year around....she'd rather ride her bike in the basement than go outside. 🙄

I have one of these and like it (like being a relative term when it comes to riding indoors):
1up USA

alfeng said:

Does anyone still make WIND trainers?!?

If your choice is between the two types, get the MAG trainer BECAUSE a Wind trainer is many times noiser than a Mag trainer.

I saw one in a local bike shop yesterday, looked like it had been there a while 😉

Jaybird2009 said:

Hey,
Anyone any suggestions for me on this one!
I am thinking of buying an indoor trainer but I am not sure if I should get a magnetic one or a wind one. With the wind resistance one you get a progressive resistance, with the magnetic you can manually select.
Any ideas what would be the better of the types, considering the two I am looking at are of equal price??

Don't get the wind trainer, it is noisey and you cannot select a more demanding workout as your fitness improves. If I had the choice to make, I would go with the mag trainer. That said, the newer fluid trainers are whisper quiet and will give you a more natural workout than either the wind or mag trainer will. Rollers give the most natural workout, but they take a while to get used to them and you really have to concentrate while you are on them. No watching TV or reading when you are on rollers.

Thanks a million for all the posts!
In the end I selected the Mag trainer, I did however have a look at the rollers and the fluid trainer. I will see how I get one with this one over the Winter and see what the story is then. That said I would much rather be out and about.
Go on the Tour of Ireland!

I hope it works out good for you, Jay.

If you haven't already done so, you might want to pick up one of those rubber mats to put under the bicycle and trainer if you'll be using it in a carpeted room to protect the carpet.

I sweat a lot, so I bought one of those sweat protectors ( I can't remember what it's called ) to protect the bicycle from the seat dripping off me. It's shaped like a long triangle, where the corners of the wide part of the triangle velcro loop around the handle bars and then the narrow end velcro loops around the seat post.

Later, we bought an adjustable floor fan that you can tilt to get the air flow in the best position. That simulates the breeze you would normally feel during riding ( we use it at it's lowest setting ) and helps dry you as you ride. That way you're not constantly wiping your face with a towel.

Other than that, we have both a TV set and a stereo with remote controls to use to ward off the boredom of riding in place.

Don't worry about the way that the trainer provides resistance; you have complete control over resistance with your gear lever, whether or not you can adjust the trainer's resistance. Likewise, a "natural" resistance profile is irrelevant, as you pick resistance with your gears. You want to work harder, shift up. If it's too hard, shift down.

I use a Tacx Sirius for intervals (easier doing intervals on a trainer than in city traffic), which is magnetic, and lacks nothing that I want.

artemidorus said:

Don't worry about the way that the trainer provides resistance; you have complete control over resistance with your gear lever, whether or not you can adjust the trainer's resistance. Likewise, a "natural" resistance profile is irrelevant, as you pick resistance with your gears. You want to work harder, shift up. If it's too hard, shift down.

I use a Tacx Sirius for intervals (easier doing intervals on a trainer than in city traffic), which is magnetic, and lacks nothing that I want.

Your dead right, when I tried it out for the first time it was tough to get used to but when you get the hang of it its grand.
Thanks again for all the advice!

64Paramount said:

We've had a Travel Trac Mag Force Plus for several years. It works very well, but I get pretty bored using it.

My wife uses it year around....she'd rather ride her bike in the basement than go outside. 🙄

Freaky, we have the same exact one and my wife's bike is permanantly fastened to it. When I ask if she wants to go for an outdoor ride, she looks at me strange.

PeterF said:

Freaky, we have the same exact one and my wife's bike is permanantly fastened to it. When I ask if she wants to go for an outdoor ride, she looks at me strange.

Yup, sounds just like my Missus. I don't get it.... 😕

You definitely want a mat! I have a dark spot on my carpet that is from little specks of rubber dust from my tires wearing on a trainer. Vacuuming and carpet cleaning are pretty much useless. BTW, has anyone mentioned that trainers eat up tires, so you might want to invest in a trainer specific tire or several cheapies to save wear on your good road tires?

Concerning the Missus, I think most women don't like to be seen doing anything that might be construed as exercise. They seem to want everybody to think that they are just genetically predisposed to have a great figure.