We're looking to get an indoor trainer and really know nothing about them. The designs look pretty similar, but magnetic, fan and fluid types must have their good and bad points. The guy in my LBS didn't seem to be very well versed.
We will be using it mainly with a slick tire mountain bike and maybe with a road bike too. We can spend up to $200. Any information on types and recommendations on brands would be much appreciated. Rollers are not an option for us.
"Dave" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
We're looking to get an indoor trainer and really know nothing about them. The designs look pretty similar, but magnetic, fan and fluid types must have their good and bad points. The guy in my LBS didn't seem to be very well versed.
We will be using it mainly with a slick tire mountain bike and maybe with a road bike too. We can spend up to $200. Any information on types and recommendations on brands would be much appreciated. Rollers are not an option for us.
Thanks in advance.
Go fluid or mag. Much quieter than fan, but less air flow. Of the two, fluid is more realistic, but more expensive. I got a mag for CDN$150 on sale so in the US you can probably get one for less than that. I have a Minoura Mag and it's been good to me for 3 years. Fluid have had some leakage problems with certain models, but overall they're pretty reliable I think. Fluid here in Canada are about $250 and up.
"Dave" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
We're looking to get an indoor trainer and really know nothing about them. The designs look pretty similar, but magnetic, fan and fluid types must have their good and bad points. The guy in my LBS didn't seem to be very well versed.
We will be using it mainly with a slick tire mountain bike and maybe with a road bike too. We can spend up to $200. Any information on types and recommendations on brands would be much appreciated. Rollers are not an option for us.
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
We're looking to get an indoor trainer and really know nothing about them. The designs look pretty similar, but magnetic, fan and fluid types must have their good and bad points. The guy in my LBS didn't seem to be very well versed.
fan - loud. Realistic load that increases as you go faster, just like on the road. I've seen some that have hoods on the fans that will channel the air through ducts back up at you to help keep you cool. Cheapest of the three.
Magnetic - quiet. Fixed resistance. They usually have different resistnace settings. Some require you to change the setting at the magnetic unit, others have a cable system so that you can chang the setting from your handlebars. mid-priced.
Fluid - quiet. Like the fan unit, resistance goes up as you faster. Some units have had problems with leaks. most expensive of the three.
Magnetic - quiet. Fixed resistance. They usually have different resistnace settings. Some require you to change the setting at the magnetic unit, others have a cable system so that you can chang the setting from your handlebars. mid-priced.
Practically speaking, load is easy to change with gear setting, it's not necessary to change the resistance setting during a workout.
The new (and expensive) Kurt Kinetics fluid models have sealed canisters.
-Zilla
Mike Lackey said:
Mag units don't leak fluid.
"Dave" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
We're looking to get an indoor trainer and really know nothing about them. The designs look pretty similar, but magnetic, fan and fluid types must have their good and bad points. The guy in my LBS didn't seem to be very well versed.
We will be using it mainly with a slick tire mountain bike and maybe with a road bike too. We can spend up to $200. Any information on types and recommendations on brands would be much appreciated. Rollers are not an option for us.