Cheap Cheap Turbo Trainers

banana pilot

Let me set the scene...small baby, varied shift work, limited family time (like most on here I assume) and very very limited budget. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to balance all my responsibilities and cycling (and therefore cycling fitness) is taking a very very reluctant back seat.

Apart from my days off when my wife has to compromise by looking after the baby while I cycle, the only other time is once he's gone to bed at 7pm, but dark evenings and cold weather don't inspire me to then kit up and go out riding.

The solution in my head is to get hold of a turbo and set up once he's gone to bed for some music and video motivated rides. Budget unfortunately is massively limited. I've searched gumtree and eBay looking for one nearby for the last month but nothing has come up.

Bottom line, would one of these be a waste of money? I've looked at the £99 decathlon ones which don't look much better.

elderone

Yes it will do just fine.I got a turbo for £50 of ebay (new) and it does every thing i,ve wanted to do.You can still work your knackers off and get a sweat on and thats all thats required of a turbo.Obviously better ones do things better i guess but I can work in zones with my hrm and dont feel im losing out on a cheap one.
Noise isnt bad either as i can be on my turbo in the kitchen while mrs watches tv,no problem.Dont worry about it,just get what you can afford and ride.

banana pilot

Great, it's good to hear from someone who already has one of the cheap ones and hasn't said, "don't buy it, it will set your house on fire, kill off grass roots cycling and offend any real cyclist that sets eyes on it"

jotko

You can get an Elite magnetic trainer from Halfrauds for £96 at the moment - it knocks 20% off when you add to your basket http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_229901



I would try and get one supported by trainerroad in case you want to start using that.

wishitwasallflat

I got a Tacx Speedmatic a few years back for just over £100 and its been fine If you search around they can still be found and haven't increased much as far as I can see.

(PS - my life is similar to what you describe except we had two less than two years apart - so be warned two is more than twice as bad!).

banana pilot

So bottom line is that cheap turbos aren't necessarily a false economy? When I say my budget is limited, I mean £60 will be a stretch, and other things will have to give, so what do I gain by spending another £40-50 on one?

I can't see myself paying a subscription for training routines on the turbo. Once I'm on the bike I have the discipline to work hard, and there's a wealth of training information available for free on the net and elsewhere. I'm not racing or working for a racing level of fitness.