jonathandanger said:
I'd like to buy a trainer or roller to keep me in shape over the winter, but I'm a bit confused on options. I'm looking to spend $200 or less. For that price, what should I look for, and what is the difference between fluid, magnetic, or whatever other systems are availible for that price range?
With a trainer, all that you do is sit on the bike and pedal. It gets boring real quick so you will want to be in front of a TV or have a good book to read. Rollers take a lot more concentration. With rollers, you have to balance just like you would if you were actually riding outdoors. You also have to concentrate on riding a good line or you could ride off the rollers....and that is not a good thing
!!!
There are three basic types of resistance used on trainers. There is wind resistance, mag resistance, and fluid resistance. With wind resistance, you are driving a fan with your rear tire. As you pedal faster or upshift, the resistance increases. Wind trainers are very noisy. Mag resistance is resistance provided by a magnetic device. I don't really know how it works, but they are usually adjustable so that you can choose the amount of resistance that you want. The problem is that the resistance is the same, no matter if you are pedalling slowly or fast or just starting out. They are relatively quiet. A fluid resistance unit will let you pedal slowly rather easily, and then increase the resistance as you increase your cadence. They are also adjustable so that you can use the right amount of resistance for your level of conditioning. Nearly all mag units and fluid units have adjusters that can be mounted on the handlebars so that you can change the resistance while riding. Wind trainers are not adjustable.
A lot of rollers do not use a resitance device. Those that do usually use mag units or fluid units. I cannot remember ever seeing a set of rollers with a wind resistance unit on it.
Right now, Performance Bike
http://www.performancebike.com
and Nashbar
http://www.nashbar.com
have trainers and rollers on sale at good prices. Your $200 price range will get you a pretty good unit, but it won't be one of the upper echelon units like a CycleOps or a Kurt Kinetic. You can also check out eBay or Craigs List and see what they have available.
One thing to consider, trainers and rollers eat up tires more quickly than asphalt or cement for some odd reason. On a trainer, you are only killing one tire, on rollers you are killing two. You may want to buy a set of cheap tires to use with your trainer or roller. I think Continental makes a tire specifically for use with trainers, but they are around $40.00 each.