turbo trainer v rollers

I am currently in the process of buying an indoor trainer, but was wondering which was the best to but. Would an idoor turbo trainer be more beneficial to me than rollers...in terms of power output, technique, etc

your views are extremely appreciated

Rollers are great for balance and skill, and for pedalling at high speed. Depending on your fitness they might not be able to provide enough resistance for training. however, as they require full concentration -- so you don't fall off -- they're quite good fun and not as boring as indoor turbo trainers.

Indoor turbo trainers are great for building fitness, and generate quite high resistances (most commercial ones can't generate enough resistance for sprint training however). they can be very boring -- so you'll need either a TV or lots of music to take your mind off it all! with practice long rides can be achieved on a turbo trainer.

As to which one (make/model) you should get, that'd be dependent upon how much you want to spend.

Ric

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which trainer has good reviews and is worth the bucks for it ? Minoura ? blackburn ? tacx ?

I decided to go for a tacx swing turbo trainer and after ten minutes or so I was up and running. After a few rides of around 45mins i was highly impressed by it. It has 7 levels of resistance or 'slopes' which represents different gradients. I would advise to have a computer with a cadence and rear wheel sensor to maintain the desired level. A heart rate monitor is also recommended.
Definitely worth while as it is snowing heavily outside and I can spin away at my own leisure!!!!

I have a Tacx Cycletrainer and I am very happy with it - same reasons as mattyd1500 above. I use it with my HRM, and cadence sensor but have not yet transferred my speed sensor to the rear wheel - which would help with motivation a great deal.

The tacx web site has got workouts that you can follow for endurance, hills, sprint, interval training. These have been great with motivation too, since an hour on a trainer when the rest of the house is asleep is VERY boring. But I know if I start an hour routine from the tacx web site, I will finish it.

One last comment re trainer vs. rollers: after last winter on my trainer I had difficulty cycling straight when I got on the road again!

Hi,

I've got a Taxc trainer as well (cycleforce one, not the swing) and I'm pretty happy with it. Although it's a little noisy, you can get a great workout on the trainer. With the resistance unit, you can make the training as hard as you want to.

I wouldn't advise you to sprint on the trainer though. As your bike is attached to the trainer, you might damage your frame when applying heavy force

Rollers are great for recovery and improving your balance - although it isn't that difficult to remain straight once you have started riding. Sprinting on the rollers is a real challenge, you should give it a try

Anyway, if you're looking for a hard workout, go for a trainer, if you just want to have fun indoors, try the rollers

Niek

Hi,

I really can't imagine you have to stay indoors while you're in SA

No problems doing multiple hours on the trainer, although I always take a 15 min break after 1,5-2 hrs and need to have a tv set in front of me otherwise I would be bored to death, for 1 hr sessions: no problem, they're usually intensive enough to be totally focused on your workout.

What I find strange is that although more and more people use these trainers it's still quite difficult to find rear wheel sensors (I had to 'manufacture' one myself) either they are not stocked (even inspecialised race bike shops) or you have to rder them directly from the manufacturer.

Greetz,

Niek

for real wheel sensor and cadence sensor, go for the cateye astrale. Only £24.99 (about 36euros/dollars) so it is excellent value for money

Same speed sensor problem here. Has anybody tried mounting a polar speed sensor on the rear wheel ?

Does it work or is it to far.

Leon

Don't know about the polar speed sensor, but on my Sigma BC1400 I just cut the wire, stripped some of the plastic away, put a simple fine copper electrical cable in between, attached both copper sides and wound them together, taped it with electical isolation tape and I was ready to go, no problem whatsoever

Greetz,

niek

I have not done it myself, but a very tall friend with a very big frame HAS done it, and it works.

the polar cadence sensor and the power kit are both mounted toward the rear of the bike so the speed sensor should work fine on the rear wheel.

at the moment i've got a cateye astrale which comes standard with both cadence and speed on the rear wheel