Rollers/Trainers, Magnetic/Gel - any recommendations?

daniel_b

Hello all,

considering getting an indoor trainer, and have no idea about what is the best option for me.

I see rollers are touted as being good for balance, and realism, but assume there is no way to alter the resistance?
Do you need resistance, or can you just use the gears anyway?

Then I see magnetic or Gel trainers/turbo trainers, how do these compare, and is one way better than the other, or are they just slightly different methods of getting to the same end solution?

My cousin recommended this one:
http://activesportskit.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=52_167&products_id=1841

And I've seen these 2 on CRC that seem ok on the surface:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=15262

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=31106

Any advice, gratefully received!

Cheers

Dan

Mister W

I've never used rollers (too much opportunity to fall off!) but I do have the Tacx Sirius turbo trainer. It's a very good trainer for the price. It's got no bells and whistles, only adjustable resistance, and is very quite. If you're after a basic trainer and don't want to spend too much then I'd recommend it.

You can then spend the rest of the cash on some Spinerval DVDs

daniel_b

Cheers Mister W!

I think it is looking likely to be between the top two, I did a search after positng and found a few threads (Though not as many as I expected) on trainers.

I think the advantage with the top one is it isn;t magnetic and uses gel or oil or something, so it's a lot smoother.
But then the 2nd one has good reviews on CRC, and a good review form yourself

Couple of questions for you, how do you find the rear tyre wear, and do you use a seperate training tyre, as I gather it can be excessive sometimes?

Also, how easy is putting the bike on the trainer and removing it, do you need to replace the skewer, and is it a bit of a faff?

Many thanks

Dan