Best Cycle trainer for a newbie?

[Filerman]

Hi folks, geting in shape for the London Brighton ride. Mid life crisis sufferer (46) NOT a serious cycle freak wants to do some training to supplement the odd trip around the Chilterns (about 10 - 20 miles a stint). I know the good weather is coming but wondered
a) Are Cycle trainers worth the dosh?
b) If (a) = "Yes" then which one?
To put things in perspective, I only spent £140 on my second hand racer... I hardly think I want to fork out £200+ on a trainer.
Any hints/tips please

 

[GIFF07]

I would get a cheap ($80-$90 USD) mag tainer so that you could see how much you will ride it. Riding indoors takes a very special and motivated personality (its real boring). If you feel you have the motivation after a season then look at the $200 USD and up trainers. You can always keep the mag tainer as a warmup device before races if you get into that.

 

[Filerman]

Re:

I would get a cheap ($80-$90 USD) mag tainer .........t. Riding indoors takes a very special and motivated personality (its real boring). .

Thanks Giff! I hadn;t thought about the boredom aspect but I guess two hours on a pedal wheel in a cold garage.. hmm how much fun can that be! I shall take note of your comments for sure, and I think you just saved me upwards of £60!

 

[GIFF07]

No problem,

Yeah it is real boring, but it helps if you change gears every couple of minutes or do intervals. One advantage that the trainer has over riding outside is that you don't have to worry about outside variables (wind, traffic, flats, ect.). This is important if you do any kind of testing to gauge your progress.

 

[Hazmat]

what about rollers though? Years ago I had a roller unit and loved it, but I saw something recently that was a "velo" roler with concave barrels to prevent roll off. I like the idea, but am wondering if I should move to the stand style trainer since that seems to be where all the developement is these days....

 

[mdplayer]

what about rollers though? Years ago I had a roller unit and loved it, but I saw something recently that was a "velo" roler with concave barrels to prevent roll off. I like the idea, but am wondering if I should move to the stand style trainer since that seems to be where all the developement is these days....

I use rolllers more than I use my trainer....the major reasoning for that is the boredom factor. Riding on the rollers takes a bit more concentration than riding on a trainer. Plus some of the new rollers have mag units on them for resistance. I'm not sure how well it would work for hard intervals, but it certainly works well for recovery rides and putting in the base miles.

 

[palewin]

OK, another two cents (or should I say two pence?). I think London-Brighton is a fairly long distance, so it is an endurance ride. To train for an endurance ride you need saddle time - so a trainer of some sort is probably worthwhile (it sounds as if you can't accumulate the ride time outdoors). I agree with the inexpensive mag trainer route. Fluid trainers have a more realistic resistance curve, but that is only important if you are doing intervals, i.e. what you call "cycling fanatic" stuff - not what you need for your goals. So the mag trainer is a fine way (and significantly less costly) to accumulate training time. My suggestion is that rather than the cold garage, you set it up in front of a tv set. The combination of changing gears, cadence, standing up every 5 minutes or so (anything for variety), plus some "outside stimulation" makes the time pass. Even with this, one hour at a time, or at most 1 1/2 hours, is about the max most of us can tolerate the trainer. If you are desperate to accumulate more time, break it into multiple sessions. Lastly, I've used both rollers and a trainer. I think for the average non-racer, the trainer is a better option - you get a better workout because of the resistance, and you don't need to develop the skill to ride rollers. Rollers are an excellent way for racers to develop better balance, leg speed, and smoothness, but again, those are not your goals.

 

[Bamberg]

what about rollers though? Years ago I had a roller unit and loved it, but I saw something recently that was a "velo" roler with concave barrels to prevent roll off. I like the idea, but am wondering if I should move to the stand style trainer since that seems to be where all the developement is these days....

My vote is for the rollers. They keep my interest when a spinning bike or stationery trainer would leave me dead bored. I am not a pro, rather an average non-racer (referring to palewin's message). I see an extra benefit to us non-elite racers in that I seldom get to ride in a large group. When I do, I want to ride straight and true and not mess up the other riders with weaving around etc.

So my take on it is: rollers are the way to learn to ride really well and are especially good for those of us not benefitting from frequent club rides and races.

 

[Jaguar27]

Yes, I deffinately think a Trainer is dosh well spent.....

First of all, there are 3 basic Types, a Wind, Magnetic and Fluid Trainers, the wind and magnetic are very noisy, the fluid ones are quiet and enables one to have a normal conversation (If you have any breath left) and also hear the Telly without turning it up to the max...

Secondly, they're great for fine tuning your Saddle height, cleat position etc etc.....

Thirdly, they are deffinately a good work-out, no doubt about it, but it's a waste of time, IMHO to just climb on a Trainer and Crank aimlessley (sp?), they're boring, well, kinda, so you need to maximize the benefit of time spent on them...you can also improve your Cadence and Peddling Circle...you can really get used to churning at 90-100.

I'd deffinately recommend one of the CTS DVD's (I have the TT and Climbing ones) if you're new to Trainers, for one, they structure your training and ensure you're not just cranking for the sake of it, plus they don't let you get bored...you can then take some of the stuff you learn from the DVD like warming up correctly etc onto the road with you....

I live half way up a steep hill, so I can warm up on the Trainer, take my Bike outside and ride straight up the hill....

You're asking for recommendations on which one to get, well, I have the Cycleops TT Fluid Trainer....It's more than you want to pay, it was $300....

I'm a bit older than you and ride because I really like to and also for fitness, so it's deffinately $300 well spent....in my case, that's less than the Saddle and Seat Post on my bike....

Also, you don't have to worry about the weather or whether it's light or dark outside....I normally get home from work, jump on the Trainer, then jump in the shower...they make you sweat a LOT...unless you have a big fan there's no airflow to keep you cool....

One more thing, make sure you use the rear skewer that comes with the Trainer...they are specially designed to carry the weight of you and the Bike...

Hope this helps mate!

Hi folks, geting in shape for the London Brighton ride. Mid life crisis sufferer (46) NOT a serious cycle freak wants to do some training to supplement the odd trip around the Chilterns (about 10 - 20 miles a stint). I know the good weather is coming but wondered
a) Are Cycle trainers worth the dosh?
b) If (a) = "Yes" then which one?
To put things in perspective, I only spent £140 on my second hand racer... I hardly think I want to fork out £200+ on a trainer.
Any hints/tips please

 

[temp3st]

I’m a recent convert to the ways of using a trainer. I found that living in the uk was doing serious damage to my winter fitness – I just refuse to go out in driving rain and ice.
I looked at quite a few but finally went for the Tacx Cycleforce Swing.

It’s a mag trainer and suits my needs perfectly.
I think it is money well spent – gives me a very intensive work out and has improved my pedalling and cadence no end - doesn’t half make you sweat a lot though so buy a big fan!

 

[fix]

As a recreational cyclist, I find my Cyclops Mag Trainer to meet my needs. I paid about US$200. It gives me the ability to stay fit when the weather is poor. Since I limit my rides to weekends, having the trainer keeps the weather from stopping my weekend rides.

One item that I added was a cycle computer to monitor my cadence. This gave me something to gauge my performance. Like others, I also vary the gears and the cadence for different intervals. I find that listening to the radio helps pass the time. If it is talk radio or the news, time moves quickly. When I listen to music, I change gears or cadence between songs. No real structure, but it definitely beats the boredom factor. Also, don't forget to hydrate.