Tell me all I need to know about turbo trainers...please

beckenham

I know that there are other posts on these forums about trainers but they use terminology with which I'm not familier. I'm new to cycling and have never used a trainer so please bare with me.

I don't want to take my shiney new cayo out in the rain and intend to use the MTB over the local woods during the winter but I get home fairly late from work during the week so if I want to get any exercise, other than at the weekends, I think that a trainer would fit the bill nicely.

How does the bike fit into them? Is this a fairly easy process? Are they noisey?

Also what would be a reasonable trainer on a small budget? (I brought the cayo expert and wifey's already reading through the bank statements with an added vigor, she's recently spotted the purchase of various items such as shorts, computor etc!) :oops:

Any advice would be appreciated.

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beckenham wrote:

I know that there are other posts on these forums about trainers but they use terminology with which I'm not familier. I'm new to cycling and have never used a trainer so please bare with me.

I don't want to take my shiney new cayo out in the rain and intend to use the MTB over the local woods during the winter but I get home fairly late from work during the week so if I want to get any exercise, other than at the weekends, I think that a trainer would fit the bill nicely.

How does the bike fit into them? Is this a fairly easy process? Are they noisey?

Also what would be a reasonable trainer on a small budget? (I brought the cayo expert and wifey's already reading through the bank statements with an added vigor, she's recently spotted the purchase of various items such as shorts, computor etc!) :oops:

Any advice would be appreciated.

In answer to your questions:

easy to fit (will take minutes each time - if that)

can be noisy (depends on quality of trainer, matting and tyre you use)

anything by tacx is worth a look but i would expect to pay <£150 for something decent.

APIII

From my experience, you need to think about getting a turbo specific tyre as these are much quieter and last considerably longer than a road tyre. It does however, mean getting a spare backwheel as changing tyres each weekend is no one's idea of fun. Secondly, get an electric fan to keep yourself cool, otherwise you'll be a sweating mess after about 10 minutes

beckenham

£150 +, spare wheel and tyre :shock:

Wifey's not going to be best please :oops: Do these things ever become available second hand?

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APIII wrote:

Secondly, get an electric fan to keep yourself cool, otherwise you'll be a sweating mess after about 10 minutes

his gf might complain about the increased electricity bill!

i'd agree though, opening a window just isn't enough.

Kléber

The sweat can corrode your bike too.

Also, it is the very opposite of cycling. Everything you enjoy about cycling, from fresh air to the sense of speed, riding with friends, carving a corner, escaping to the quiet countryside or travel cannot be experienced indoors. It's as boring as you can get.

Wait two weeks after the clocks go back and there will be healty supply of turbo trainers on ebay.

passout

Don't bother - buy some decent lights & get on the road. You sweat far too much & go through rear tyres far too quickly. It's really boring too!

PhilofCas

They can be an excellent tool but as others have said they're proper proper boring, 1/2 hr feels like 2 hrs, i have to be really in need of a fix for me to use mine, though having said that, i'd never sell it, if you need to train for something then they're pretty dam good.

I've never had a spare wheel (and hence tyre) but i'd have thought this would be a real benefit as you can scrub tyres to death on them, all in all a good thing to have but just don't bank on it being the solution to bad weather, it just cannot, whatsoever, compare to being out on the road.

Peakraider

If you have kids and responsibilities that mean you can't leave the house while the wife is out... and your really want to spin the legs... then get one. It can mean adding 50-100km to your weekly ride simply from those 20 minutes slots you find in the above kind of situations.

But don't use it as a substitute for real riding.

Yellow Cliff

Well Turbo trainers have their uses and I have used one quite a bit in the past. There are 3 types:

1) Wind resistance: very noisy!
2) magnetic resistance: much quieter. Prices used to start at £70 for a perfectly servicable one.
3) fluid resistance: quieter again, much much more costly, I guess over £100. They do have a tendency to spring leaks too.

They all have a small flywheel to help simulate the momentum of riding on the road in the pedal stroke.

I have a magnetic trainer with variable resistance - this is fine. I don't know if the variable resistance is really worth it if you have gears, but is useful when I put a singlespeed on there.

If you buy a rubber mat to go under the bike it will have 2 benefits: it catches the sweat on the floor and it reduces the noise. Highly recommended. Also, a towel/rag over the handlebars reduces the sweat dripping there, another towel or "sweat net" over the frame helps to minimise corrosion there too.

I have always turbo trained on old tyres (or just what I have on the bike). It is a great way of getting extra use out of old tyres you would otherwise throw out. Don't use expensive newish tyres though, as turbos seem to eat them.

To minimize the boredom plonk it in front of a TV if possible. If you want to watch a programme anyway, why not get some training in at the same time? Used to work for me anyway.

A fan to keep you cooler is, in my opinion, essential!

jimmythecuckoo

passout wrote:

It's really boring too!

too true, until they invest boredom free turbo training I will continue to try and get out of my bike more.

Garybee

I've been looking at buying an i-magic virtual reality trainer for the winter. There's quite a competetive racing scene with these.

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Garybee wrote:

I've been looking at buying an i-magic virtual reality trainer for the winter. There's quite a competetive racing scene with these.

it's the way forward if you really can't deal with the boredom. i just stick a film on if i'm only spinning.

the dvd's such as spinervals are good and some of them are absolute killers!