spin bike.... rollers.... trainer???

I would get rollers because they will give you a more overall workout. Trainers are good for keeping leg and cardio fitness only. The rollers will let you keep the same level of fitness as you are not being held up by anything other than your own balance like the way you normally ride. Your fitness may turn into fitMess if you happen to ride off the side of the rollers though.

so are rollers quite enough for a second story apartment?

My rollers are quieter than my trainer, but the trainer is a wind trainer and the rollers have a mag resistance unit on it. It is not loud though.

so what kind of rollers are good, any preferances?

I use Al Kreitler rollers. The quality is very good and he stands behind his work.

I'm just looking to stay in form a little bit when i drag them out of the closet when the snow is on the roads for more than a couple of days in a row. Otherwise I would rather be on the track bike and riding outdoors in winter.

Standard rollers will not generally give you the workout a mag/wind trainer will, but you can option those units to be driven off the rollers if you want. Standard rollers are easy on tire wear. Going to the small diameter rollers will provide an increased workload over the large drum models. Rollers are good for checking your form and position on the bike. Lastly, minus the computerized training programs available for entertaiment, rollers are just more fun for me than trainers.

As far as noise goes, I don't think the roller sets I've owned have been too bad. If used on a hard floor with a sheet of rubber (i used a cut up piece of old pickup truck bed mat) or carpet with rubber backing you might be ok.

Kurt Kinetic Road Machine

If you do a few searches, you'll see that this is probably the most highly recommended fluid trainer you'll find. I bought one last year, and I'm quite happy with it.

(Staying motivated to ride the damn thing in my basement throughout the winter months is another issue).

Rollers all the way. I have a trainer but its so boring compared with the rollers which are much more "lively".

I think mine are older Minoura(sp) which I bought secondhand but they're still excellent. 🙂

Yojimbo_ said:

Kurt Kinetic Road Machine

If you do a few searches, you'll see that this is probably the most highly recommended fluid trainer you'll find. I bought one last year, and I'm quite happy with it.

(Staying motivated to ride the damn thing in my basement throughout the winter months is another issue).

+1 for the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine. I'm really happy with mine. I have rollers and I like them, but am kind of a spazz and have been known to crash. They are great for developing a good spin but there is no way I could deliver a gut busting interval on rollers.

I have the Kurt Kinetic and Kreitler rollers. My vote is for the rollers. The 2.25 diameter rollers with the headwind fan is glorious.