Advice on trainers

apeman said:

I'm a newbie and looking for advice on trainers. I've been looking online
at both "Rimdrive" trainers as well as the traditional trainers where the
tire rides directly on a metal tube. Any advice on which is better? Do
the traditional trainers wear out your tire quicker then riding on the road?

Thanks in advance, all!

1. I've never liked the idea of rimdrives. Worn out tires is a cheap fix. Worn out rims are not.

2. Most people who use trainers note faster tire wear compared to riding on the road. The solution is to use a [censored] tire on the trainer. Tires which are cut or have threads showing or whose treads are completely worn down and thus not suitable for road riding are perfectly alright for trainer use.

Bob

Have you considered rollers? They give me quite good cardio workout and are friendlier to the bike.

I have had the same question. How about fluid or magnetic? and How dificult are the rollers to balance on?

You might find this thread interesting cyclingforums.comt353489.htmlOpen ↗.

hd reynolds said:

Have you considered rollers? They give me quite good cardio workout and are friendlier to the bike.

not to mention they teach u how to ride straight... trainers dont do that.

Wisch5200 said:

How about fluid or magnetic? and How dificult are the rollers to balance on?

Not difficult at all if your a regular cyclist. Just make sure you have a wall or an adjacent table or chair to hang on during dismount. If not confident enuf dont go clipless shoes - you'll get the hang of it soon enuf.

Wisch5200 said:

How about fluid or magnetic?

Magnetic is less expensive, but fluid gives a more realistic road feel. With magnetic, resistance is constant, regardless of speed, so the better magnetic units have a switch for multiple resistance levels. With fluid, resistance increases with increased speed; thus, you use the gears on the bike to change the resistance. IMHO, this advantage outweighs the difference in cost between the two.

I have both kurtkinetic.comroadmachine.phpOpen ↗ and cycleops.comfluidsquared.htmOpen ↗. I use the Kinetic, and my wife uses the Cycleops. Both are very good. The Cycleops is more prone to problems (oil leaking out of the chamber) than the Kinetic. It has never happened to my wife's unit, and she has been riding it for an hour per day, five days per week for two years. If the unit fails, the coupany is very good about replacing the entire resistance unit under warranty.

It is more difficult to put the bike on and off the Kinetic than it is the Cycleops, but the difference is minor.

Bobby Lex said:

1. I've never liked the idea of rimdrives. Worn out tires is a cheap fix. Worn out rims are not.

2. Most people who use trainers note faster tire wear compared to riding on the road. The solution is to use a [censored] tire on the trainer. Tires which are cut or have threads showing or whose treads are completely worn down and thus not suitable for road riding are perfectly alright for trainer use.

Bob

Continetal makes a training tire orange in color will last for years....www.excelsports.com

hd reynolds said:

Have you considered rollers? They give me quite good cardio workout and are friendlier to the bike.

Complete newbie here on trainers. I assume rollers can't vary the resistance?. So only way of working harder / easier is to very the speed at which you ride?

Are they noisy?

Aramis7 said:

Complete newbie here on trainers. I assume rollers can't vary the resistance?. So only way of working harder / easier is to very the speed at which you ride?

Are they noisy?

Not really. I own (altho neglected) another minoura roller with mag resistance attached to the 2nd rear roller. It also has an adaptor for a front fork attachement if you dont want to do roller balancing and if you want to use the resistance controller (u can still do roller balancing even with the mag but you have to set it before you mount).

Also if you opt not to use the mag, you need not vary speed to work harder. I sometimes maintain my speed but shift to a heavier (low cadence) gear - my heart rate monitor says it all that I'm doing heavy work.