trainers, what are the benefits?

[ni78ck]

i have been ummming and arrring getting one for quite some time now, what i would like to know by people who have one, or know anything about them, what their true benefits are? is it just as good as going for a ride outside? is there anything else i should know about them? i have read in another thread that the kirt kinetic seam to be the ones to purchase at the moment.

[sogood]

One big benefit is the constant resistance. In other words, there's no slacking off from freewheeling, thereby achieving the aim of interval training where you are required to hold the same power output for the duration of the interval. You also learn to suffer and stay on suffering.

If you think about it, this is exactly the same scenario as riding hills where if you want to maintain the same pace, then there's no opportunity to back off. Adaptation follows...

[snedden9485]

A benefit is you can train anytime / any weather i guess. As sogood mentioned, they are good for intervals etc and for completing training plans. I had a cheap mag trainer and ididnt like it, so IMO get a decent one or dont bother. I browsed the new bicycling Australia mag today in newsagent and it had a review of 20 trainers on the market. The kurt got a really good review and seemed to be the pick. It said it was the most realistic trainer on the market. But the downside of trainaers is that they can become boring and require discipline.

[ni78ck]

A benefit is you can train anytime / any weather i guess. As sogood mentioned, they are good for intervals etc and for completing training plans. I had a cheap mag trainer and ididnt like it, so IMO get a decent one or dont bother. I browsed the new bicycling Australia mag today in newsagent and it had a review of 20 trainers on the market. The kurt got a really good review and seemed to be the pick. It said it was the most realistic trainer on the market. But the downside of trainaers is that they can become boring and require discipline.

i just picked up the magazine and will go through it thoroughly. i feel a trainer should fill in the gaps of the days i miss cycling due to bad weather. do they build leg strength, or concertrate more on cadence?

[Max]

For me, personally, I find an hour on the trainer is a lot tougher than an hour on the bike. As someone else mentioned, there's no opportunity to slack off. I've used a trainer with Spinervals DVDs in an effort to improve my hill-climbing and general endurance. It's been very good at helping me with both. It's also great for when I want a short workout but don't want to go out on the bike eg because it's too cold or rainy, or I just don't have time to get changed into bike clothes and get myself organised etc (which turns a 30 minute ride into 45 minutes because of all my stuffing around).

Max

[Alex Simmons/RST]

You use a trainer to ride when you otherwise may not have been able to (for whatever reason), and/or to provide a very specific type of training workout that may be difficult to do depending on the terrain/roads you have available to train on.

As well as making sure it's a good trainer (and in my view that is something with a good sized flywheel), then you'll need a few other things, otherwise you'll just need to make sure you have enough room in the back of the shed to store it since you won't use it. They are:
- a really strong industrial strength fan for cooling
- high levels of motivation to use it
- some ways to help you pass the time (vids, music etc) as well as a way to monitor what you are doing, e.g. wheel speed (usually won't relate to road speed), heart rate, power
- a sensible way to vary resistance (gears on a flywheel/fluid trainer should be enough)
- a plan. just getting on and riding is a bit mind numbing

[JV911]

not inclined to put the Hillbrick on a trainer - would i be better off getting a 2nd bike and a trainer or an exercise bike?

(in hindsight maybe i shouldnt have sold the avanti)

edit: now thinking rollers may be the way to go

[JV911]

just visited the LBS... now even more confused.

They reckon:
- rollers dont offer enough resistance;
- worries about stressing the frame on a trainer unwarranted;
- "magneto" traniner best value for money compared to mag and fluid trainers;
- they have a few 2008 models heaps cheaper than 2009 models.

[lemmiwinks]

just visited the LBS... now even more confused.

They reckon:
- rollers dont offer enough resistance;
- worries about stressing the frame on a trainer unwarranted;
- "magneto" traniner best value for money compared to mag and fluid trainers;
- they have a few 2008 models heaps cheaper than 2009 models.

In case you missed it, great thread here.

Sounds to me like your LBS is trying to shift what they've got on the floor (not that I blame them.)

[JV911]

Sounds to me like your LBS is trying to shift what they've got on the floor (not that I blame them.)

maybe but to their credit they had both 08 & 09 models on the floor and the dude said to go for the 08 as its the same thing only cheaper (although still almost 2 x the price i just saw at wiggle )

[ni78ck]

there are three trainers that im locking at, but still not certain about carbon and trainers
the models are cycleops jet fluid, kurt kinetic road machine and taxc Bushido, any suggestions?

[toolonglegs]

Kurt Kinetic...no question.
Yes on the big fan....very big fan is a must,not worth buying the trainer otherwise.
Personally I wouldn't run a top end frame on a trainer...only because I cracked my drop-outs on one...but I will run my training bike on the trainer (not that I have touched it for a while!...hey its spring!).

[brettjames]

I pretty sick of hearing issues about "voiding warranty" when using trainers.

Just ask your brand supplier. I emailed Colnago, and their response in writing is that "using the carbon bike on a trainer is perfectly fine and does not affect warranty conditions at all".

If your using a decent quality bike carbon fibre included, I think you have more chance of breaking the trainer than the bike itself.

[toolonglegs]

You might be sick of hearing it...fine...but I AM sick of breaking drop outs on trainers...and after having done it and not getting warranty and having to fork out for a new frame personally I will play it safe.

[Nobody]

just visited the LBS... now even more confused.

They reckon:
- rollers dont offer enough resistance;

Mikebytes says it depends on the model. Maybe ask him.

- worries about stressing the frame on a trainer unwarranted;

Depends who and which manufacturer you talk to. In the end, even if the supplier honours a warranty, you may still be without a frame for a while.

- "magneto" trainer best value for money compared to mag and fluid trainers;

I was interested in buying a Magneto at one time and so did some research. Have a look at the link below and click "Design Features". Now have a look at the graph. Notice how it tops out at about 430W? Now have a look at their other trainers and compare the curves...
http://www.saris.com/p-312-magneto.aspx

[Nobody]

I pretty sick of hearing issues about "voiding warranty" when using trainers.

Just ask your brand supplier. I emailed Colnago, and their response in writing is that "using the carbon bike on a trainer is perfectly fine and does not affect warranty conditions at all".

If your using a decent quality bike carbon fibre included, I think you have more chance of breaking the trainer than the bike itself.

I'd be amazed if you could break a KK Road Machine.

From http://www.kurtkinetic.com/history_fluid_machine.php

The Kurt Kinetic has a functional range from 20 watts(5MPH) to over 3,000 watts (50 MPH).

We continue to perform destructive testing on the Kinetic trainer.Running at average of 25MPH, one resistance unit has logged over40,000 miles at up to 50 MPH with no leaks or breakdowns.

See also http://www.kurtkinetic.com/testrobot.php

Oh, and the KK frame is made of steel.

[puffdaddy]

Hello troopers,As for strength training on a spin trainer I dial in top gear and 4-8 sets of 5 min hard ,2 min easy and drop cadence back to around 85 but spin up 90-100 for the 2min easy,,Another one I do is 90 sec very hard 3 1/2 min easy . repeat 10-15 times,if top gear gets a little easy drop a few psi out of the rear tyre,
Found it works for me,
Take care,
Mike from NZ

[sogood]

Talking about tyres. Trainers are well known for chewing up tyres due to heat build up. There are trainer specific tyres and it's certainly not economical to run your top end tyres on them.

[rob e]

i have an old "turbo" trainer, which is basically an old school wind trainer. This thing is a real b@stard, even turning over 42x19 (my old race bike is on it) isnt easy. I need to get a new trainer for the missus as the resistance is too high on the wind trainer.......i used to do 53x12 efforts at 50 rpm on that bloody thing, i need another 6 months to be back at that level though!

i'll be interested to hear which trainer you get nic78k

[JV911]

so after speaking to a number of knowledgeable guys (including one with 25 years experience owning an LBS) I’ve just pulled the trigger and bought a CycleOps Fluid 2 Trainer. Under $300 delivered from the UK. Also got a Conti Trainer tyre.

the consensus was that the KK Road Machine is the bees knees but the CycleOps is everything that a "mere mortal" needs, and then some! furthermore it appears that worrying about damaging the bike on a trainer is unwarranted. I have my eye out for a cheap wheelset (R550 or similar) and possibly a cheap 2nd hand roadie so I have a permanent set-up

I AM sick of breaking drop outs on trainers

you have a knack for breaking stuff though

[Nobody]

so after speaking to a number of knowledgeable guys (including one with 25 years experience owning an LBS) I’ve just pulled the trigger and bought a CycleOps Fluid 2 Trainer. Under $300 delivered from the UK. Also got a Conti Trainer tyre.

the consensus was that the KK Road Machine is the bees knees but the CycleOps is everything that a "mere mortal" needs, and then some!

Here is the formula to convert your average speed in mph to power for the CycleOps Fluid 2:
0.74715 x mph + (0.0466912 x mph)^3
http://www.kurtkinetic.com/calibration_chart.php
Last time I looked the conversion factor from mph to Km/h was 0.6214

...furthermore it appears that worrying about damaging the bike on a trainer is unwarranted. I have my eye out for a cheap wheelset (R550 or similar) and possibly a cheap 2nd hand roadie so I have a permanent set-up

Why are you getting a second bike for the trainer? Surely you have the confidence in the "knowledgeable guys" to use the 'brick on the trainer full time, don't you? Did Mr Hillbrick say it was OK to use your bike on the trainer full time?

[JV911]

Why are you getting a second bike for the trainer?

purely for convenience ...i.e. so I can have a permanent set-up

[snedden9485]

Why are you getting a second bike for the trainer?

purely for convenience ...i.e. so I can have a permanent set-up

######WARNING###### - You are becoming a bike ho

[ni78ck]

i went to clearance st cycles last night and tried the new jet fluid pro trainer! not bad, pretty quiet too.

[USM TOM]

how do you guys stay sane on trainers doing longer slower sessions???

i dont find intervals to bad as the workout is only around 40mins long but i cant do them everyday

sux working long days and getting home when its dark (i dont like riding on the road at night)