I have a stationary trainer. Minoura MAG-850 indoor bicycle trainer. I would like some help. It did not come with an instruction manual since I purchased it used. I have a road bike with 700 x 23 tires. Can someone tell me how to adjust the roller? I do not know if a stationary trainer is only to work on your stroke or if it can also be used for resistance. I cannot adjust the trainer to make it difficult to pedal. Is the trainer supposed to make pedalling difficult? Thank you.

The roller should come into contact with your rear tyre to apply resistance to your pedalling. The resistance will be the same for the whole pedal cycle and will not vary with point in the stroke. I am not sure about the model you have but most magnetic trainers have variable resistance. Those with fixed resistance e.g fluid or fan trainers, can vary resistance by changing gear.

Most rollers are held against the wheel by a strong spring. There is often a clip that holds the roller out of the way of the wheel while the bike is mounted, perhaps thats why you can't make the roller contact the wheel.

__________________
www.cyclingforums.com

Try http://www.minoura.co.jp/Magturbo_Ergo.pdf

It looks a bit different to the MAG-850 pic shown at http://www.minoura.co.jp/index-et.html, but it might be close enough.

Thank you! I figured it out. There was an adjustment screw on the bottom that I had not tightened all the way. It works very good now.

Gigemaggs99,

Changing resistance is easy, just change the gears on your bike until you reach the desired level of resistance.

Regards,
Harrow.

Harrow, I see you live in Syd. Why a indoor trainer ? weather's great all year round. I had one for 6 months, when we had a big wet - the noise drove me crazy - sold it bought a spin cycle ( fixed wheel) for strength and base fitness work ( watch a movie and sweat a bit ) never looked back.

Edd,

I know - I'm a wimp. But I have a lot of trouble getting out of bed at 5am when it is dark and 5 degrees. Since I have young kids that are asleep by 8pm, that leaves the night free to spin in front of the TV. (This also scores bonus points with my wife - she can go out late night shopping while I baby sit the kids. )

I got a mag unit to avoid the noise. I know the resistance is a bit low, but that's fine for doing an hour or two endurance base while watching a movie.

But I get your point, it must be real bummer for those places that are snow bound and sub-zero all winter.

Regards,
Harrow.

Or just wet and cold as it is in the UK for a huge part of the year! Any room in your house for a visiter (long term)?

__________________
www.cyclingforums.com