Bike trainers for the winter

It all depends.

Questions you need to ask yourself:
1.  What's the budget?
2.  Where will the trainer be used?  In the family room watching tv with others?  In the basement isolated from everyone else?  etc.  This will help determine acceptable noise levels from the trainer which in turn will branch you to different types.


That's all I can think of right now.

I've had a Kurt Kinetic for a couple of years now that works fine. There's a model that makes you have to balance, which might be good if it's in the budget.

I got a Cycleops fluid2 on ebay last year ($180ish).  It works great...no complaints.  I would tell you to get one that you will use.  It can get really boring pedaling along with no scenery going by.  I wouldn't make a huge investment in one until you are certain you will spend some time on it.

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/shop/product.php?productid=16371&cat=256&page=1

This is a KK trainer, I got it this winter and it's a great deal for a brand new Road Machine, I looked around and couldn't find anywhere that had a price even close to this one.  Plus, they have great customer service and a pretty extensive inventory. 

Any fluid trainer works, really, but KK and CycleOps are the two names that tend to stand out as the class of the bunch.  Unless you're looking to get something the like Rock and Roll, which is meant to mimic the road and allow you to stand up and sprint, then you're probably looking at getting something in the $240-$350 range

One thing: I'd make sure I have the trainer in an area where you have a tv set up, it's insanely grueling driving home through the snow only to sit on a trainer for two hours with nothing to look at.  I bought a tv/dvd player specifically for the winter months on the trainer.