Things to do on your trainer

I used to get bored on my trainer too. Then I got rollers and now I am too occupied trying to stay alive to be bored. Rollers do wonders for your concentration.

kdelong said:

I used to get bored on my trainer too. Then I got rollers and now I am too occupied trying to stay alive to be bored. Rollers do wonders for your concentration.

+1 on rollers

I usually do 3 x 20 min. intervals, first at high cadence, second on the drops and the third one on high gears (53-12)

If your tired of the rollers, then why not take your bike off the rollers and go for ride?

If you are going slow enough to read a book that is one of the reasons you are bored. When I rode my trainer at that pace my endurance was good but not improving I wasted a couple winters at that pace. Listen to music and concentrate to stay at SST pace.

Cycler6n said:

When i'm on my indoor trainer, I get bored stupid. So what are some ways you guys keep entertained on your trainers? I normally watch movies, listen to music or read something.

Sweat and then sweat!

wiredued said:

If you are going slow enough to read a book that is one of the reasons you are bored. When I rode my trainer at that pace my endurance was good but not improving I wasted a couple winters at that pace. Listen to music and concentrate to stay at SST pace.

yeah, i do 90-100 rpm for an hour, then every other day, I'm in a gear or two higher and push myself at the same rpm, not really goin that slow.

If you have a trainer with a predictable speed to power relationship and a rear wheel mounted computer shoot for 92% of max speed for a given duration usually twenty minutes. You will not be bored in the hurt box and reading a book will be impossible.

Cycler6n said:

yeah, i do 90-100 rpm for an hour, then every other day, I'm in a gear or two higher and push myself at the same rpm, not really goin that slow.

wiredued said:

If you have a trainer with a predictable speed to power relationship and a rear wheel mounted computer shoot for 92% of max speed for a given duration usually twenty minutes. You will not be bored in the hurt box and reading a book will be impossible.

on my off days when i'm just spinning at 90-100 rpms, training for long distance, i'm not in a ton of pain, theres a burn, but not bad, its not to hard to read while doing that.

I reckon I went insane on the trainer, so I sold it. :p I could rarely handle any more than 30 mins, despite having music, tv, dvds, magazines, telephone, and even a mirror to check out my quads!! :p

Anyway, I think TACX have a program that allows you to link up with other riders online, so a competitive situation would obviously add a lot to an indoor session

http://www.tacx.com/producten.php?language=EN&ttop=VR%20trainers&lvlMain=16&lvlSub=55&lvlSubSub=324

I just sold my trainer after owning it for over a year and using it ONCE... I'd rather cycle on the road.

Well, I just got my first trainer, $99 at [censored]'s Sporting Goods! It's basically a no-name mag trainer by CycleOps. Lacks all the nice design and whatnot but has a very similar mag resistance unit to their name-brand one.

I'd go for the comedy option of "play Wii!". It actually sounds like a fun idea, and it's almost like a workout on top of a workout. 😄 Problem: I just need a Wii. 🙄

On the subject of Tacx, I'd never touch it. First of all, that's too damn expensive. And second of all, I will never SUBSCRIBE to play an online game. Which is why I won't touch World of Warcraft or anything similar. (On top of that, I just can't get into those MMO things. I'm an FPS sort of guy - Half-Life, Battlefield, etc. :p )

::dom:: said:

I just sold my trainer after owning it for over a year and using it ONCE... I'd rather cycle on the road.

I do to, but with all the snow, can't ride outdoors😠

531Aussie said:

I reckon I went insane on the trainer, so I sold it. :p I could rarely handle any more than 30 mins, despite having music, tv, dvds, magazines, telephone, and even a mirror to check out my quads!! :p

Anyway, I think TACX have a program that allows you to link up with other riders online, so a competitive situation would obviously add a lot to an indoor session

http://www.tacx.com/producten.php?language=EN&ttop=VR%20trainers&lvlMain=16&lvlSub=55&lvlSubSub=324

Tacx is good and I actually have one. You have to have the steerer to compete online I think and the software is very unpredictable, it is fun to do the real life videos though. Hey can't actually go to France at 9 o'clock on a Tuesday but I can at least pretend and listen to my IPOD. If anyone does get a tacx make sure it is on xp, vista is very unstable for the program. Also make sure your brake has the new firmware update so it does not explode

Cycler6n said:

I do to, but with all the snow, can't ride outdoors😠

I'm lucky cos I live in the tropics... summer all year round.

::dom:: said:

I'm lucky cos I live in the tropics... summer all year round.

Yeah, its a lot easier there. Now I'm jealous😠.

::dom:: said:

I'm lucky cos I live in the tropics... summer all year round.

Summer all year round but at the moment it doesn't get light until 6.40am and it get's dark at 6ish so lots of time on the trainer for me...

I think I would buy a light if I were there.😉

I have the old turbo trainer - no fancy links to TV screens or suchlike.
Just a metal frame with a fitted roller for the backwheel.
Nothing else.

I rarely use the trainer - as i prefer cycling on the road.
Unless it is snowing (and that may happen once every couple of years) I cycle on the road.

For those who do use trainers - do they work?
What I mean is - do they work to the extent that you can gain race (competitive) fitness??

If I have to use a trainer then I just open up the garage door and watch it rain.

lw