Trainer? Rollers? or just ride at night?

[campbellj]

Finally got my new (old) bike built up and I'm having a hard time finding time to ride because I have a new baby at home. My main reason for building the road bike was to help me get into shape, (some cardio) and lose my stomach, keep me motivated to quit smoking, and because I've been wanting a Litespeed for several years now.

Like I said with the new baby, finding time to do anything is hard, especially coming home from work after my wife has been with the baby all day and say I'll be back in a couple more hours, I'm gonna ride my bike. It's not that easy, So I have came up with a few options, what's your all's opinions?

Option #1 get a trainer, sounds great, I can get the 1up trainer, it's very quiet and get my ride in after the baby goes to sleep. I can listen to music, watch TV ect.. and not have to concentrate on that much but just moving the crank. Bad side is I am not going to ruin my tubular tires on my bike, so I would have to pick up another rear wheel, cassette, trainer tire ect.. ect.. So that adds up

Option #2 get a set of rollers, for a hundred or so more, than all the other stuff combined, I could pick up a set of emotion rollers. The ones that move forward and back with the bike and supposed to be easier to ride than the ones that sit in one spot. I like the idea of being on rollers, learning how to keep my bike steady, keep a good line, all that stuff, but that means (in early stages) no TV, radio ect.. I wouldn't want to have any distractions and make one little mistake and fall off the rollers. But I wouldn't need new wheels or anything like that. Just the rollers.

Option #3, get a light on my bike and ride at night, I do have the luxury of living in S. Florida and being able to practically ride all year long and that's why I hate the fact that I could have to ride inside, but I gotta get some miles on my bike. Only thing with this idea, is if something happens with the baby at night and I am gone, I can't just jump off and help. Also, some of the areas around here I wouldn't consider (all that safe) at night.

What do you all think? Got any more good or bad sides or more options? I'm sure some of you have already went through this same situation. Thanks in advance!

 

[vspa]

option #4

commute to work/home on your bike

 

[campbellj]

option #4

commute to work/home on your bike

Yes, I forgot to mention that I am already doing that 5 days a week rain or shine, but my ride is only 6 miles round trip. Not that far, I guess I could always find a new farther route to work as another possibility.

 

[vspa]

yeah that's a short distance... Do you have a lunch break at work ? maybe you can spin on a trainer or roller at work for 40 or so minutes ? Are you riding on week-ends ? Just do whatever feels right and whatever keeps you motivated, if you over do it then it will be hard on your mind to keep up ( having a full time job and a family )

 

[Bastiani]

Option #5

Ride in the morning... wake up 1-2 hours early and get your rid in then.... the first week might be bad as you will be tired during work, but its only one week or so...

I don't have kids so I do not know how the whole going to sleep with kids and waking up early routine works but its a through.


My issue with trainers or anything indoor is you get bored of it quick. and especially living in south Florida which as you said worst case scenario its 20mph windy and that is about as bad as it gets.

 

[campbellj]

Option #5

Ride in the morning... wake up 1-2 hours early and get your rid in then.... the first week might be bad as you will be tired during work, but its only one week or so...

I don't have kids so I do not know how the whole going to sleep with kids and waking up early routine works but its a through.


My issue with trainers or anything indoor is you get bored of it quick. and especially living in south Florida which as you said worst case scenario its 20mph windy and that is about as bad as it gets.

I keep looking over and over at trainers, rollers, ect.. and can't make up my mind which one I want to get if any. I am also thinking that it may be best to just get my ride in early in the morning before work. I'm sure I can find a nice little 15-20 mile route to work if I just map it out on google.

I am just not really a morning person at all, I hate waking up, but I always seem to be ready to ride at 10-11pm after the baby falls asleep. So that's why I was considering something indoors. I just still can't decide if it would be better to be able to zone out with music, tv, magazines on a trainer, or ride a set of rollers and have to keep 100% focused at all times while on it. I keep reading that the rollers will make me a better rider all together, so that's what is selling me on that.

As far as being in FL, yea the weather is nice most of the time year round, a 20+mph wind is not that unusual, but during hurricane season, aka rainy season, we get quite a bit of rain at odd times of the day, so those few months can cut out a little riding now and then.

 

[Mojo Johnson]

I have both rollers and a fluid trainer at home. I live in Rochester, NY though, so we have a very long "off-season" (unless you want to ride in a foot of snow and sub-zero temperatures).

I find that I actually use the fuid trainer a lot more than the rollers because I can adjust the resistance with my gears and I can watch TV without worrying about crashing.

The rollers are awesome though if you want to emulate riding condidtions and practice your balance, just start off with something nearby that you can hold on to!

 

["A"]

If you're a city dweller, have limited space for junk, get a stationary trainer, if you've got plenty of room to spare, get a set of rollers. both are going to be boring and tedeous, indoor riding can beat being outside riding a bike..

 

[teamgomez]

Working out hard late at night makes it pretty difficult to get to sleep but I'll confess I'm in the same boat (prefer to work late than rise early). The working late, tho, doesn't include a hard PT session and the early rise 'blues' are soon overwhelmed by a great feeling you get to carry around all day that 'I got my workout in' vice 'Man, still gotta get on two wheels b/f bed'...

 

[CdnRider]

I have rollers. have a young daughter as well.

As much as i love using the rollers, mine are quite loud. Make sure you demo first to give you an idea of what you might be in for. plus, i can only ride on it for about 30min...and that's with a fan at my 12o'clock. I just drip!

Understandble that you can't exactly take off for a long haul after work. So....what i've done over the past 2 months... NIGHT riding. Mostly close to home too...in case i get the phone call!! Some of my rides have even been as late as midnight. Family's sleeping....so I can't really get nailed?! Plus the roads are clear and peaceful. Most of my rides were well under 1hr. Try it..if possible.

 

[Sharkey]

I had the same decision to make about whether to choose rollers or a trainer to keep up my conditioning through the winter months in the Pacific Northwest since riding in the rain and cold is not really my idea of fun. Eventually I chose rollers and bought the Sportcrafter ZRO Aluminum model. And then, because of the inherent danger of running off the rollers and ending up crashed on the floor I built a platform around the rollers which made for a much more usable configuration. Especially when it comes to mounting and dismounting your bike while on the rollers. This is semi- permanently locate in an unused portion of my garage and at each corner of the platform I ran 2X4s to the rafters which allowed me to attach safety handrails. This virtually eliminates any chance of falling of the rollers and ending up on the floor. I am very pleased with the functionality of this setup and find I use it frequently when it’s not suitable to actually ride on the street. I am extremely pleased with the Sportcrafter rollers and @ about $270 a set they are significantly less expensive that either the Kreitler or the E-motion. And I believe just as high quality as either of those. And the additional safety of the E-motion is not needed with the addition of the platform and guard rails I built for under $50 in materials. As for the “floating” feature on the E-motion, well frankly, it’s hype. There is no question that rollers are harder to ride and take more concentration than a trainer. That is both their disadvantage and more importantly their ADVANTAGE. You will learn to ride more smoothly with less wasted motion. You will learn to balance better and maintaining a straight line or course will automatically become second nature. There are variable resistance units you can add to the rollers but you can also just gear up and/or let some air out of your tires. I haven’t noticed any unusual tire wire with the rollers which apparently there is when using a trainer so no special wheels or tires are needed. As for the noise, these rollers don't seem loud to me at all. They are not totally silent but one could easily have a normal conversation across the room while riding with no problem.

Here is a picture of my setup. And as you can see, I've also added a TV and a cooling fan. Admittedly, watching TV and riding adds another challenge to the equation, but in time you can do both and even that will make you a smoother rider in the end because your directional stability will be more dependent on the "feel" of the bike rather than relying solely on visual clues.

 

[vspa]

looks good and creative
has it got patent pending !

 

[Roche1]

You could buy a CatEye CS-1000 Trainer. I have been using one of those for twenty years. Works great. They stopped making them at the end of 2007 I believe so you would have to buy a used one.

 

[1stthings1st]

Like others in this tread I too had a problem getting rides in. Recently I purchased a Spin Desk. This is a cool device that lets you secure a laptop or play a video game while on a trainer. I use a 1 up trainer.

Time of day is not a problem. With the laptop and email, this forum, interesting reading, the power of internet, xbox, etc... I am easily motivated to get on bike and get started. Spin Desk makes it real comfortable to type, read, just be on bike. Then after I am on bike, ridden oh 20 mins, I then close the laptop do some sprints, or pop in a Spinerval cd.

My rides went from not at all to 2 hours +. Best thing is I don't even realize I am working out. Other then the sweat pouring off me.

For those who do not have one, or think they would not use it I say you can't argue with the power of internet and video games as a entertaining device. Put that with exercise and it is the ultimate motivational tool. Also gets you pc files all organized.

If anyone has a Spin Desk let us know if you have increased your consistency and duration.

 

[Mtnclimber1]

Ride the trainer.(KK, fluid2, 1Up). I like riding outside as much as everyone else but once a week I ride the trainer rain, shine, darkness or light. Whether watching a video or just doing a self prescribed interval workout the trainer is the best way to build mental toughness and power. 1 leg drills, steady state power intervals, and time constrained workouts are best done on a trainer IMO. When I'm doing a serious training ride I don't care what the air smells like or how green the leaves are, I'm in pain and it doesn't matter where I am. A trainer shouldn't be boring if you do it right. It's called a trainer, not a joyride; so use it to train. If you're "training" right it's not suppose to feel good, look good, smell good, taste good, or be comfortable.

I don't know about the 1Up but Kurt K and the Fluid2 have very accurate power curves according to my power meter too. If I'm holding a speed during a steady state power interval the watts and the speed always coincide given my tire pressure is correct(110psi). I always inflate it to that pressure before a trainer session. So you can download a power curve map from either of those companies, do a threshold test, and your avg. speed will be your avg. watts if you don't have a power meter.

Another plus, is that I'm home and even though I sweating up a storm in the corner it's one day my wife can't complain I'm gone on my bike. My wife seems not to care what I am doing as long as she can see me, specially when I am miserable
Good luck on your decision.

 

[64Paramount]

I had the same decision to make about whether to choose rollers or a trainer to keep up my conditioning through the winter months in the Pacific Northwest since riding in the rain and cold is not really my idea of fun. Eventually I chose rollers and bought the Sportcrafter ZRO Aluminum model. And then, because of the inherent danger of running off the rollers and ending up crashed on the floor I built a platform around the rollers which made for a much more usable configuration. Especially when it comes to mounting and dismounting your bike while on the rollers. This is semi- permanently locate in an unused portion of my garage and at each corner of the platform I ran 2X4s to the rafters which allowed me to attach safety handrails. This virtually eliminates any chance of falling of the rollers and ending up on the floor. I am very pleased with the functionality of this setup and find I use it frequently when it’s not suitable to actually ride on the street. I am extremely pleased with the Sportcrafter rollers and @ about $270 a set they are significantly less expensive that either the Kreitler or the E-motion. And I believe just as high quality as either of those. And the additional safety of the E-motion is not needed with the addition of the platform and guard rails I built for under $50 in materials. As for the “floating” feature on the E-motion, well frankly, it’s hype. There is no question that rollers are harder to ride and take more concentration than a trainer. That is both their disadvantage and more importantly their ADVANTAGE. You will learn to ride more smoothly with less wasted motion. You will learn to balance better and maintaining a straight line or course will automatically become second nature. There are variable resistance units you can add to the rollers but you can also just gear up and/or let some air out of your tires. I haven’t noticed any unusual tire wire with the rollers which apparently there is when using a trainer so no special wheels or tires are needed. As for the noise, these rollers don't seem loud to me at all. They are not totally silent but one could easily have a normal conversation across the room while riding with no problem.

Here is a picture of my setup. And as you can see, I've also added a TV and a cooling fan. Admittedly, watching TV and riding adds another challenge to the equation, but in time you can do both and even that will make you a smoother rider in the end because your directional stability will be more dependent on the "feel" of the bike rather than relying solely on visual clues.

Very impressive, Sharkey!

 

[campbellj]

I'm hoping to eventually go with a 1up trainer, based on all the reviews I have read about it, it seems to be a really solid piece. I am moving this weekend, so my plan after that is to try to wake up early enough to get about 10-12 miles in before work and hopefully be able to catch a group ride on the weekends. I'll be living in a condo/townhome, so I need to keep the noise down to a minimum with a trainer, so I guess that was my main reason for choosing the 1up.

Thanks for all the really good suggestions from everyone on this thread!