Newbie question: What are mag, fluid, & wind trainers, rollers?

[Plainsman]

I was following the previous post, because I'm tired of sitting around on rainy (or icy) weekends wishing that I was on by bike. I've seen trainers in catalogs and bike shops, but I don't really know the technical differences between each type. Can anyone out there educate me, or point me to a site that has a good glossary that would explain the equipment to me? I would like to make an educated desicion before I jump out and buy something.

 

[ganderctr]

Wind trainers have a fan of sorts which "pushes" against the wind to cause resistence. This type of trainer has a road-realistic curve (the harder you pedal the higher the resistence). Their main drawback is they're very noisy.

Fluid trainers solve the noise problem by encasing the fan inside a fluid unit. They, too, have realistic power curves. Their two main downsides are cost and the potential to leak fluid.

Mag trainers use magnetic resistence. While they're inexpensive, they're not as realistic to the road. CycleOps, however, makes a "Magneto" trainer which has progressive resistence. Many mag trainers do have adjustable resistence to make up for their power curves.

I'm not familiar with electronic trainers. Maybe someone else can fill you in on how they work.

Rollers are typically used for a different purpose: developing bicycle handling skills. Some roller systems do have resistence units on them though.

 

[Plainsman]

Wow, thanks for the primer. It sounds like if I want to get a realistic training session, then a fluid or wind trainer is the way to go. Do you know of any that offer a pretty good bang for the buck. Would you recommend purchasing a used trainer?

 

[ganderctr]

Wow, thanks for the primer. It sounds like if I want to get a realistic training session, then a fluid or wind trainer is the way to go. Do you know of any that offer a pretty good bang for the buck. Would you recommend purchasing a used trainer?

If you can find a good used trainer, go for it. For the most part, a trainer is a trainer is a trainer that respect. New wind and mag trainers start at around $160, new fluid trainers start around $240.

 

[closesupport]

I was following the previous post, because I'm tired of sitting around on rainy (or icy) weekends wishing that I was on by bike. I've seen trainers in catalogs and bike shops, but I don't really know the technical differences between each type. Can anyone out there educate me, or point me to a site that has a good glossary that would explain the equipment to me? I would like to make an educated desicion before I jump out and buy something.

I have a Tacx I-Magic Vr Trainer, it has a braking system on the roller that allows the computer to add the correct amount of force for the type of road surface and the incline of the road.

it also offers you the ability to monitor the power that your generating, your heart rate and the cadence that you are pedaling at, then gives you a nifty little graph that you can save and analyze at the end of your ride or compair with a ride of a previous day,

you can also add rides that you completed earlier in the day or week. you know! when you finish and you think i could have done that a little faster or harder, now you can, imput the rider from the day previous and beat yourself. so now you can ride gainst your personal best times all the time, hopefully always improving on the times that you have been completing.

its more appealing to me cause i like to see that i'm making progress and the computer attachement to the imagic, i find to be a very motivational part of sing this type of trainer.

www.wiggle.co.uk

£400 worth every penny if you enjoy pedaling and don't only want to concentrate on turning the pedals around.

 

[Doctor Morbius]

I picked up a Cycleops Fluid 2 for ~$223 shipped from Bikerman59 on ebay. It works like a champ. Seems like it takes about 10 minutes for the fluid to heat up and the resistance kicks in.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36141&item=7131031106&rd=1

 

[Trek1000]

I was following the previous post, because I'm tired of sitting around on rainy (or icy) weekends wishing that I was on by bike. I've seen trainers in catalogs and bike shops, but I don't really know the technical differences between each type. Can anyone out there educate me, or point me to a site that has a good glossary that would explain the equipment to me? I would like to make an educated desicion before I jump out and buy something.

wow I hope you really really plan on being dedicated to the sport because 30 minutes on the trainer can seem like an eternity. You'll need an industrial strength fan too by the way. You'll find out why. If you are not around a bunch of idiot drivers like I am in Atlanta, i would just ride in the rain. I had the mag trainer and the wind trainer. the mag trainer did not have as much resistance as the wind trainer but the wind trainer was loud as ****. the fluid however i hear is great except that it leaks. spin classes are fun

 

[Doctor Morbius]

wow I hope you really really plan on being dedicated to the sport because 30 minutes on the trainer can seem like an eternity. You'll need an industrial strength fan too by the way. You'll find out why. If you are not around a bunch of idiot drivers like I am in Atlanta, i would just ride in the rain. I had the mag trainer and the wind trainer. the mag trainer did not have as much resistance as the wind trainer but the wind trainer was loud as ****. the fluid however i hear is great except that it leaks. spin classes are fun

Trainers aren't so bad. I did a 2 hour session this evening. It wasn't bad at all. In a few more weeks I'll be up to 3 hours for my weekly long session. I think they're perfect for all of that 65% - 75% winter base training. It certainly beats going out in the cold. My asthma can't handle that. I think they've solved the problems with the fluid trainers leaking. I've read that was mainly the older models.

I used to live in Atlanta. You're right about the idiot drivers. I lived there for 5 years and maybe got in about 20 rides and decided it wasn't worth it. Every time I went out for a ride it was like battling the Huns. Just getting to work and home again in a car was bad enough. Everybody there is in a hurry and they just don't pay attention to what they are doing. I was in 3 car wrecks in a 10 month period and one of them was because some loser was looking at his mail instead of watching where he was going! That's pretty pathetic. My brother still lives there and can't wait until he can retire and move away. He's had enough.

 

[Trek1000]

Trainers aren't so bad. I did a 2 hour session this evening. It wasn't bad at all. In a few more weeks I'll be up to 3 hours for my weekly long session. I think they're perfect for all of that 65% - 75% winter base training. It certainly beats going out in the cold. My asthma can't handle that. I think they've solved the problems with the fluid trainers leaking. I've read that was mainly the older models.

I used to live in Atlanta. You're right about the idiot drivers. I lived there for 5 years and maybe got in about 20 rides and decided it wasn't worth it. Every time I went out for a ride it was like battling the Huns. Just getting to work and home again in a car was bad enough. Everybody there is in a hurry and they just don't pay attention to what they are doing. I was in 3 car wrecks in a 10 month period and one of them was because some loser was looking at his mail instead of watching where he was going! That's pretty pathetic. My brother still lives there and can't wait until he can retire and move away. He's had enough.

idiot drivers..rubber neckers, they all should be shot. I've also got into two accidents. Both of them where i was sitting at a red light. One guy was messing with his radio and the other girl, i don't know what the hell she was doing. and i don't ride on the road as much anymore because of these morons. They let anyone in atlanta drive. These people feel it's a right to drive. Personally, i make it a point to terrorize idiot drivers when i'm in my truck. Example when people cut into my FAST lane on I-75 doing about 55, i cut them off and slam on my brakes. GET OFF your damn cell. It's not road rage.....I'm just trying to fix the broken system. Oh and you should have seen the morons this past week when 75 was frozen over. they were flying past me in their 4x4's thinking their all terrain vehicles could handle ice. The next morning 75 looked like a scene out of Independance Day or some sort of movie about the rapture. SUV's all over the place. Darwinism at work i guess.