Trainer advice please

paulbox

With the dark nights drawing in and my waistline winning a battle against my belt, I have been thinking about buying a trainer to use in my garage.

And before I get all the "mtfu" or "get out and ride" posts, I do, but sometimes it would just be nice to spend 30 minutes pedaling away the stresses of the day when I haven't got time to go out.

So, what I would like to know is, what is a good trainer to buy for <£200? I've been scanning the adverts and reviews and I'm finding it hard to come to a conclusion with very little experience. I borrowed one from a friend for a couple of weeks, but that was about 15 years ago so I'm sure they've changed a fair bit.

Are they all suitable for both road & mountain bikes? I have a mtb with road tyres that I can use at the moment, but am thinking about buying a road bike next spring (purely for commuting, honest!).

Resistance - Magnetic / fluid / other?

Is it worth spending more than £200? As always I tend to get carried away and started considering a £350+ Tacx because everybody was saying how good it is...

Any help greatly appreciated, cheers!