Indoor Trainer

I have the Tacx fluid and it has given me 6 years of excellent service so far.

Makes me sweat though!!

fraserhannah said:

[font=Century Gothic]Can anyone recommend a good indoor trainer to use when I cant get out on the road.[/font]

Depends on how much ya want to spend. Lots of decent mag trainers from the online retailers at the $75 price point. I can ride pretty much all year long so I just have a cheapo mag trainer for those rare days (and nights) when I can't get out. If you plan on doing a ton of indoor training you may want to opt for one of the better fluid models, many having better ajdustment mechanisms. Cycleops is one of the better tradenames.

capwater said:

Depends on how much ya want to spend. Lots of decent mag trainers from the online retailers at the $75 price point. I can ride pretty much all year long so I just have a cheapo mag trainer for those rare days (and nights) when I can't get out. If you plan on doing a ton of indoor training you may want to opt for one of the better fluid models, many having better ajdustment mechanisms. Cycleops is one of the better tradenames.

I'll vouch for the Cycle Ops Fluid2. I put approximately 1,500 miles on mine this year (we just had a child, and I had very little time to get outside). I love it. Although, generally, the resistance offered on the Fluid2 is higher than some other fluid trainers I've ridden. I started out several years ago with a Performance Bike high end fluid trainer, and even on the highest setting (there were 3 difficulty settings on this particular one) it didn;t come close to the level of difficulty the Fluid2 provides. This has actually been good for me. I am on the middle-weight thin frame end . . . and I benefitted from months of solid strength training with all that resistance. 😄

[font=Century Gothic]Thanks for the help, just ordered a [/font][font=Verdana]Cycle Ops Fluid2 TT, should be here on Monday. One more question, do you change the gear cassette when you change your wheel as I have been advised to use the same cassette as the chain will slip if I use a different one.[/font]

fraserhannah said:

[font=Century Gothic]Thanks for the help, just ordered a [/font][font=Verdana]Cycle Ops Fluid2 TT, should be here on Monday. One more question, do you change the gear cassette when you change your wheel as I have been advised to use the same cassette as the chain will slip if I use a different one.[/font]

Uhh. Not sure what that advice was designed to accomplish. Maybe I am misunderstanding your comment though. Some people like to ride trainers with a fixed gear (single gear). I myself use the same casette that I use on road training rides and have no problems with slipping of any sort (I used a 12/25 rear casette) because obviously the chain length stays the same. I am guessing that if there is a problem with this approach, I'd have discovered by now . . . as I've put so many miles on my bike and trainer inside. Maybe the concern is with ensuring the proper chain length when switching casettes????? Obviously, if you go from a regular 12/25 to a fixed gear you'll need a new chain. If you make dramatic change in casette you should also change your chain length.

fraserhannah said:

[font=Century Gothic]Thanks for the help, just ordered a [/font][font=Verdana]Cycle Ops Fluid2 TT, should be here on Monday. One more question, do you change the gear cassette when you change your wheel as I have been advised to use the same cassette as the chain will slip if I use a different one.[/font]

The only reasons to change your cassette are ...

1) when you want different gearing (hills vs. flats), or...
2) when you've replaced a worn/stretched chain and your gears are slipping

The second one is easy to solve - measure your chain and replace it before it gets worn out. Keeping a stretched chain on will trash the rest of the drive train.

The first one is based on a riders gearing preferences and strengths, such as how good they are/aren't when climbing. The same cassette you use on the flats will work perfectly well for a trainer application.

[font=Century Gothic]The thanks was for helping me to make up my mind regarding which trainer to go for. [/font]

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[font=Century Gothic]I also got a Continental Ultra Sport Home Trainer Tyre and a new wheel as I was advised that the trainers are hard on your road tyres, the Continental is supposed to be low heat and low noise. I had intended to get a second gear cassette but have been advised to swap the cassette when I change the wheels. I was told it was due to the way the chain and gears wear together and if I used a new cassette the chain would be prone to slipping.[/font]

fraserhannah said:

[font=Century Gothic]The thanks was for helping me to make up my mind regarding which trainer to go for. [/font]

[font=Century Gothic] [/font]

[font=Century Gothic]I also got a Continental Ultra Sport Home Trainer Tyre and a new wheel as I was advised that the trainers are hard on your road tyres, the Continental is supposed to be low heat and low noise. I had intended to get a second gear cassette but have been advised to swap the cassette when I change the wheels. I was told it was due to the way the chain and gears wear together and if I used a new cassette the chain would be prone to slipping.[/font]

Right. I got the first part -- no problem. I hope you enjoy the CycelOps and have many hours of trouble free riding. My guess is that you will.

In terms of the seciond part. Absolutely correct. You will definitely go through tires more quickly than normal. I have one additional thought, in additional to using the Conti. Make sure you keep your rear tire inflated to max. psi. This will help some with the wear issue. Even a tire with 10 psi too little will wear very quickly on an indoor trainer.

Beyond that, when you change wheels if you intend to keep the same chain . . . I would also indeed keep the same casette. New chains are inexpensive though. If you decide to get the new casette for ease of switching in and out your rear wheel . . . just pick up another chain and a chain link removal tool. Don't forget the tool, or you'll be swearing when you get home and can't remove the existing chain.

fraserhannah said:

... I had intended to get a second gear cassette but have been advised to swap the cassette when I change the wheels. I was told it was due to the way the chain and gears wear together and if I used a new cassette the chain would be prone to slipping.

Then you have been misinformed. Provided the chain on the bike is still within tolerance, there is no reason to change cassettes. Do a search on this forum to find proper chain maintenance threads.