indoor trainer for your bikes...do you use one?

aripallaris

just wondered whether you guys used your road bikes indoors mounted onto one of those trainer devices. are they worth the money if your at the early building block stages? currently building up my miles but i cant get out everyday due to a hectic work followed by gym routine.

any particular model you'd recommend?

sungod

tbh i'd save it until you've built up base miles

time on the turbo can be *boring*, so imho best kept for interval sessions, not for doing steady miles

go for a fluid one, avoid stuff like remote control and digital readouts (use a bike computer if you want the numbers), keep it simple

cycleops are good, or if you want to splurge there's the kinetic by kurt (big flywheel, excellent road feel), but for that money you want to be certain you'll use it!

keep an eye on ebay, there are probably a lot of unused turbos out there

aripallaris

thanks mate, was just a thought. i recon your right though better to get the base miles in. will just have to make time

rjh299

+1 sungod
Turbos are good for short, hard sessions. Get some base fitness first out on the road, this can not be done on the trainer unless you find paint drying fascinating.
I've had a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine for couple of years now, great natural feel and controls resistance using gears on the bike. I use my 705 and hr strap to plan work workouts and just to have something to look at.
Pretty much put away for summer but did use it in the garden the other day when I couldn't get out.

psiturbo

Cycle Ops all the way.

Pay the extra as it is worth every penny, go with fluid indoor trainers.

Mine is the Cycle Ops (the one before the quick release), have had it for 3 years now and solid as the first day and besides they offer at least 5 year warranty. Have heard stories where the seals blow up etc and leak, me never.

To help out the seals just in case, I got a small office desk fan pointing toward the fluid housing so it does not cook itself. The fluid trainer is much much and I mean much less noisier than the other crap magnetic trainers and is more consistent in power transfer.

The worst of its kind is the Blackburn.

If you do buy one get the rubber mat and have a big fan placed in front of you.

nomadicbry

my kid users rollers to train in the winter to build and maintain his fitness prior to the race season when the roads are verging on a no go area for bikes
we have a turbo as well but he seems to prefer the rollers. Once you get the balance they're quit easy and feels more natural than a turbo

hugo15

CycleOps Jet Fluid Pro user. Been using it for about 6 months now and very happy with it.

As for them being boring.... I've found that if I have a plan of what I'm going to do when I get on the turbo then the times seems to go by pretty quick. Iif I have no plan for the session then it's a nightmare. I've found having a plan is good for both interval sessions but also can do long sessions. Managed a couple of steady 2 hours when the weather was bad.

Bobbinogs

Turbos are also great for bike setup and even mechanics; I have had a problem with my gears, stuck the bike on the turbo so that I could go up/down the gears tinkering as I go and it is all now sorted.

I also seem to pick up injuries and find turbo training invaluable because I can set a constant low resistance (the roads around my way invariably involve hills) and spin away for 30 minutes to help my muscles recover and keep my fitness. Doing 30 minutes out riding is hardly worth all the faffing about getting ready (contact lenses, helmet, gloves, etc., etc.) whereas I can just grab any old shorts, a t shirt and ipod and go and do some spinning. Same goes for quick blasts after a late finish at work.