Any recommendations for a bike trainer/turbo?

mjf1017
mjf1017 Posts: 48
edited September 2014 in Road buying advice
Planning ahead. I've got nicely bike fit this year. Good road bike, lots of cycling, plenty of sportives and a tour. Don't want to let it all go over Christmas/Winter.

Any recommendations for a bike trainer/turbo? Something I can put in the garage to use my road bike on? I don't want to spend a fortune, but I'm a firm believer in buying quality and buying one.

Comments

  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    The kurt kinetic rock n rolls are supposed to be very very good and are on offer for half price at a lot of places at the moment. I have a cycleops jet fluid pro which is excellent, had it 3 years. I'd've got the kurt kinetic if I could've afforded it then...
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  • Dippydog2
    Dippydog2 Posts: 291
    Perfect timing?

    viewtopic.php?f=40091&t=12983595
  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    I use a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine which uses the same resistance unit as the Rock n Roll but a rigid frame. It works very well with progressive power as you increase speed so no need for differnt resistance settings etc. Very comparable in terms of effort for a given wheel speed to a real ride. However I just don't like using a turbo trainer in general and as such haven't made as much use of it as I intended.
    I'd have no problem recommending the KK Road Machine and I suspect the Rock and Roll will give a more realistic motion so probably more comfortable. unfortunately the frame appears to need quite a bit of space!
  • Jules Winnfield
    Jules Winnfield Posts: 299
    I bought an Elite Chrono Fluid Elastogel turbo a couple of weeks back and that is fine. You haven't got any resistance setting via a turny handle thingy on the handlebars, it increases resistance when you throw it down a gear and pedal faster.
    Ribble Ultralite Racing 7005, Campagnolo Veloce groupset, Campagnolo Khamsin G3 wheel set
  • jameses
    jameses Posts: 653
    Rollers are also worth considering. They take a bit of getting used to, but I found that it feels much closer to proper riding. I haven't tried one of the higher-end turbos like those mentioned above, though.

    Another option - you could invest in some good quality winter gear for about the same price. With decent waterproofs, guards and warm layers, winter riding can be quite enjoyable!
  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    JamesEs wrote:
    Rollers are also worth considering. They take a bit of getting used to, but I found that it feels much closer to proper riding. I haven't tried one of the higher-end turbos like those mentioned above, though.

    Another option - you could invest in some good quality winter gear for about the same price. With decent waterproofs, guards and warm layers, winter riding can be quite enjoyable!
    The Kurt kinetic resistance unit is good but the biggest difference in feel between trainers and road riding is that the bike is fixed in place. There is no frame movement and that changes the way you interact with the pedals and saddle especially when pushing hard and getting out of the saddle in particular is completely non-representative. It also means you can have comfort issues with the saddle. I find the same bike comfortable on the road for 5 hours+ and uncomfortable on the trainer after 45mins. The KK Rock and Roll does allow frame movement and may address this but I've never tried it.
    I've never tried rollers either but I slightly fear losing concentration and coming off! I know I lose concentration on the trainer due to the monotany of static pedaling but at worst that just results in letting my HR drift for a few minutes.

    I agree that the right winter gear makes winter riding enjoyable (but still not as good as riding in daylight on a warm, sunny day!) I've generally done far more outdoor winter riding than turbo trainer time since the trainer just bores me!
    I usually enjoy the ride regardless of the conditions once I actually get going but it can be hard to get myself out the door when it's dark and really cold or raining!
  • littlerascal
    littlerascal Posts: 44
    I have an elite model, paid about £240 for it last year and its good but wish I had went with rollers to be honest
  • IShaggy
    IShaggy Posts: 301
    Lemond Revolution is about as good as it gets for road-feel. But only buy if you hate your neighbors!
  • The Mechanic
    The Mechanic Posts: 1,277
    I have a Tacx Flow which is over 10 years old now but I have found to be very good. It has HR and cadences readouts, power measurement (of sorts) and you can set a variety of resistance levels, all from the computer on the handlebars. I like it a lot.
    I have only two things to say to that; Bo***cks
  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    The Mechanic wrote:
    I have a Tacx Flow which is over 10 years old now but I have found to be very good. It has HR and cadences readouts, power measurement (of sorts) and you can set a variety of resistance levels, all from the computer on the handlebars. I like it a lot.
    I have all that too with the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine but without any duplication of existing equipment. If you want cadence and HR on the trainer then you'll certainly already have it for the road. No need for anything built into the ttrainer, your road computer still works for cadence and speed. Variable resistance on a fluid trainer like the KK is via speed, just as it would be on a flat road. Change gears and speed up or slow down to vary the resistance at the pedals. Variable resistance controls on a trainer are only required if the resistance unit doesn't give you the right correspondence between speed and resistance. For example magnetic units don't do this. I'd consider variable resistance a negative, not a positive.
    Power is not a direct measurement but can be checked for any given speed from a power/speed curve published for the resistance unit. I think they also sell a separate computer to display the power figure based on this but I don't really see the point.
  • northpole
    northpole Posts: 1,499
    I have a Cycleops Jet Fluid Pro however my main recommendation would be to pick up as cheap a turbo trainer as you can get, probably off ebay, and try it out. There are so many people who have splashed out significant chunks of cash on TTs and found them to be soul destroying, life sucking contraptions, manufactured by the devil himself (ok maybe not quite that bad)... Seriously, many people can't get on with them at all and chances are you may well fall into that category. Hence buy a cheap one and you'll know within a week or two whether you have the will power to regularly use one. If yes, sell the cheap one and buy a top quality one. If no, sell the cheap one and, my preference, get yourself decent technical winter clothing - there usually aren't that many days in winter when you can't get out.

    Incidentally, the Jet Fluid Pro is very good!

    Peter

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