Indoor Trainers

[chuy]

I also have a 1up trainer and no complains over here. Tires (michelin carbon) sqeak for about 30 sec. during use but stops soon after...very quiet all i hear is the drivetrain. Best money can b uy.

 

[gcheck2]

chuy, what works great for the noise is to rub the tire down with a damp terry towel cloth. If that doesn't work do the same on the roller. if that doesnt work...use a 3m scrubby on the roller.

the reason for the squeaking is the loose rumber.

if i'm in a hurry and don't want to do all that i'll just use some water on the tire with my hand while spinning slowly and that gets most of the compound off to get me through my ride

 

[Rod White]

Maybe a bit late guys but here is a thought.

I'm in the market for an indoor trainer and have been researching things hence me reading this post.

This morning I was talking to my local bike store owner who, being the founder of my local cycling club 15 years ago knows everything about cycling equipment.

He said to me that you have to let some pressure out of your tyres before using the trainer because the friction will increase the temperature of the tyre and hence the air pressure within the tyre. Putting 190 psi into a tyre ain't going to do it any good and maybe the reason your tyres are wearing out on your trainer. Perhaps you already knew to do this, perhaps not. I didn't and don't know if it is in the manual or not since I haven't got one yet.

I appreciate all the comments about buying a trainer is money well spent.

Rod

 

[tinajoy]

Originally posted by J-MAT
There are many trainers out there. All will work and all provide more than enough resistance for just about everyone. Sprinting might be an exception.

Resistance units vary considerably. They are:

1) Fan, or "turbo." A small fan or dual fan catches air and increases resistance exponentially, the same way the wind slows you on the road. Strengths: Exellent road feel, good resistance, inexpensive. O'Bree used a cheap turbo trainer that was several years old to do the majority of his hour-record training!!! Weaknesses: LOUD. What??? Fans are LOUD!!!

2) Magnetic: The "mag" trainers. Some have very high resistance (Tacx). Magnetic fields create the resistance, and moving them closer together creates more resistance. Strengths: Quiet, strong resistance, fairly cheap. Weaknesses: No exponential increase in resistance. Inaccurate road feel, mags are not very smooth.

3) Fluid: Fluids are newer than mags or fans. Fluid sealed in a chamber creates resistance against impellers inside the unit. Strengths: Great resistance and road feel, very quiet. Weaknesses: LEAKS!!! Cheap fluid trainers will leak almost guaranteed, spilling oil on your floor. The best is the Kurt Kinetic. Expensive, but worth the money.

4) Friction: There is a new entry, the 1UP trainer. Many claim it is fantastic, with excellent feel, quiet, and great resistance.

5) Electronic: The Computrainer, Tacx, and Cateye are most common. Strengths: Quiet, wattage data, good resistance. Weaknesses: Expensive, possible accuracy/calibration errors, same road feel as mag units (non-exponential).

Any of these will work. By far the most important variable in your fitness is how hard you train. Doing hard workouts on trainers is one of the absolute best ways to get fast on your bike. Whatever trainer you get, make sure that you will use it!!!

Also, it is very important to use very powerful fan(s) to cool you. You will generate tremendous body heat (unhealthy) and puddles of sweat without one.

The most important aspect of trainer work is knowing exactly what you are going to do and for how long. For example, a 20 minute warmup, progressively raising pedal cadence, then 6 x 4 -5 minute intervals at 92-95% of max heart rate, then 20 minutes of cooldown. Having a plan breaks up the workout so you only have to focus on a few minutes of a given activity at a time. Don't just jump on the trainer and ride for an hour. You will burn out mentally very quickly that way.

You can spend $100 on a fan unit to well over $1000 for a high-end electronic unit. Figure out what features are most important. $100 fan units work great but again, are very LOUD!!! With all the other trainers, you pretty much get what you pay for.

Racers absolutely need a trainer to warm up at races. I recomend a very cheap, used fan or mag unit for this. The more beat up and worn out (as long as it works), the better!!! Keep your high-dollar trainer at home. Thieves love to steal trick equipment, especially when you are in the middle of a 60 minute crit!!!

Don't be afraid to spend $300 or more on a good trainer, especially if you are serious and will be doing lots of hard workouts!!! With trainers, you really get what you pay for!!!

How can I make my trainer more difficult?

 

[canonball]

Originally posted by Ssushi
I'm thinking of buying an indoor trainer. Could anyone give me a quick rundown of the situation?

1) Are there different types?
2) What do you get when you spend more?
3) How quiet are they?
4) Any recomendations for make / model?

Cheers

Ssushi

I know other people have already posted in about different types of stationary trainers but I recommend getting a set of rollers to use as well. I picked up a used wind trainer for 40 bucks and I use it for hard efforts. I used my rollers during the winter doing 5 on and 5 off intervals and saw a great improvement in balance and spinning capabilities. The group I train with starts the winter training with a 1 hour roller time trial. At the beginning, I averaged 26mph in the time trial. After 3 months on the rollers, I averaged 30. I attribute the gain to the rollers making me more efficient and stronger. The only problem with rollers is that you have to survive the learning curve. I hit the ground about 5 times before my body decided not to let that happen again.
Good Luck!

 

[Red2000SS]

Originally posted by J-MAT

3) Fluid: Fluids are newer than mags or fans. Fluid sealed in a chamber creates resistance against impellers inside the unit. Strengths: Great resistance and road feel, very quiet. Weaknesses: LEAKS!!! Cheap fluid trainers will leak almost guaranteed, spilling oil on your floor. The best is the Kurt Kinetic. Expensive, but worth the money.

I have to agree with J-MAT. I have a Kurt Kinetic. The Kurt Kinetic has all the advantages of other fluid trainers but not the major disadvantage that other fluid trainers have - LEAKING. I did a lot of research before buying it. Fluid trainers are great, but most of them eventually leak because the seal wears out. The Kurt Kinetic fluid trainer will NEVER leak because there is no seal to wear out. The flywheel (turned by the bicycle rear tire) does not turn the impellor rotating in the fluid directly as in other fluid trainers (which would require a seal around a rotating shaft) Instead the flywheel and the impellor rotating in the fluid are only connected by a magnetic coupling. Basically both sides have EXTREMELY powerful rare earth magnets that make it seem as though there is a solid steel shaft connecting the two sides. You literally cannot tell the difference - the magnets are that strong. You will slip your tire against the roller before you can slip the magnetic coupling guaranteed. If the flywheel makes one revolution, the impellor will make one revolution - the magnetic couplig will not slip even under heavy loads.

I think Kurt has tested their trainer using a fairly powerful electric motor as the driving force up to about 2500 Watts of power - At which point the trainer was running at a speed of 50mph.

Try as I might, I have been unable to generate the 2500 watts of power on my bike necessary to get up to 50 mph on the trainer...

If you are going to spend the money on a fluid trainer, get the Kurt Kinetic (and spend the extra $50 or so for the bigger flywheel option - I did) If you don't want to spend as much money - get a wind trainer and some really good earplugs...

I have a low opinion of the mag trainers - most have some sort of adjustment to increase the resistance that has to be manually controlled. On a fluid trainer - just pedal faster and / or shift up a gear.

 

[sloan377]

Kurt Kinetic all the way. I have one and love it. Like they've already said, get the Road model with the bigger flywheel and never look back.