Are all trainers equal?

I'd say that you get what you pay for with trainers... I purchased a Blackburn magnetic trainer a few years back. It worked ok but it was super loud and it did not feel smooth at all. My fried has a Cycleops fluid2 and it seems to work great a lot quieter and feels very smooth. I am planning on purchasing the Cycleops for this winter. If you look around you can find them for fairly cheap.

You definitely get what you pay for.  I previously owned a performance brand travel trac (?) that i purchased for $125.  It did its job for the first few years.  But as I progressed, it held me back.  I had a really hard time doing intervals or any high intensity stuff.  z2 easy rides?  no problem.  I recently switched to a cyclops and it is night and day.  I feel like i went from knobby tires to road tires.  Still kinda mad I spent years on the crappy trainer. 

Look in the classifieds, ebay, etc.  you should be able to find a nice used one for $200-250

Bought a $100 mag trainer when I was in college.  My roomates hated me because it sounded like the house was coming down.  I recently got a Kurt Kinetic Fluid trainer for Xmas and haven't looked back since....

I've always been of the mindset of, "if you are investing in a piece of equipment, get something good"  A trainer is a VERY useful tool.  Will a cheap mag trainer work, of course.  However, it may crap out after 2-3 seasons of heavy use.  I've heard of people who have had their KK trainers for MANY seasons.

You can sometimes find them on craigslist if you keep your eyes peeled 

Go to a bike shop and they'll probably let you ride a couple different ones.  You'll get a quick idea of how different they can feel, and how loud they can be.

There are 3 basic types of trainers: magnetic, air, and fluid.  (isn't air a fluid?)  Anyway, I think the fluid is a smoothest. A magenetic trainer can feel sort of jerky since you have to start the static magnets spinning past one another. The fluid and air provide resistance based on viscosity, so it's much more a continuum, especially at slower speeds. The air trainers can be loud, since it's powering a sort of fan.

Like the previous post said, go try them out.

I remember thinking that spending $300 on a trainer was ridiculous when I spent a little over $100 on my magnetic trainer several years ago.  When I sold it and upgraded to a Kurt Kinetic fluid trainer, I couldn't believe how much better it was.  The magnetic was okay when I wasn't really using it much and for short random training when I had a garage I could be super noisy in, but now that I spend a lot more time on the trainer in an apartment, it's worth every penny.  

Well put. An issue I've heard with fluid trainers is that the fluid can change viscosity with heat (created by using the trainer). I think this was an issue with the early CycleOps. Air trainers are very noisy. Mag ones can be noisy depending on the make.

I have a magnetic Rim-Drive by Minoura. It's a little noisy (nothing compared to air or many mag trainers). It doesn't tear up tires though, so that's a huge benefit. It's also good for mountain bikes.

Of course, I haven't unpacked it since moving to Sedona...

If you are even considering spending $3-400 on a trainer, consider buying rollers instead. I have both adn havn't used my $300 trainer since buying the rollers.

Get the Kurt Kinetic. The big difference is silicon vs oil.  Cheaper trainers us oil.  The prob with oil is, as it heats up the viscosity gets thinner.  Which means it is easier to peddle and will eventually lead to leaking.  Kurt uses silicon.  Silicon’s viscosity does not change as it heats up.  Kurt also comes with a life time warranty.  I just got the Kurt rock and roll trainer.  I love it, most realistic trainer I have ever been on, plus I am finally catching up on my DVR. 

I'll second this thinking as my Kurt Kinetic is also collecting dust after I got rollers.

Ok...I'll be the one to disagree.

I think that there's a difference between a $75 trainer, and a $150 trainer.  But honestly...once you get around the $150 mark, everything isn't terribly different for the next few hundred bucks.  Especially if you've never had any trainer before.

I've got a few different trainers:

$75 little red from peformance
$150 fluid one from performance
$1500 Computrainer

While the large challenge for me with the $75 one is that I can overpower it (it can only resist about 280-290w), the $150 works quite well.  I pull it to the track and the pool without issues and it's honestly got a better quick release than the $1500 CT.  Now, the CT has far more capabilities than anything else, but I often do workouts on the fluid one for a variety of reasons (harder to hold power numbers on the fluid, as it's more like outside, whereas the CT will set the power).

In my opinion (and I know some folks disagree) - I think folks spend too much on trainers in the $200-$500 range.  I recently got approached to look at some $700 non-electronic trainers (basically no different than the $150 one).  Seriously?  No thanks.  But...just my two cents.

you could ride in the rain....I promise you won't melt 

Yep, just let a little bit of air out of your tires and go.

I'm glad someone else said it!  For me the trainer is winter snowstorm only, though I agree with the rollers being nicer.

whats the diff between rollers and a fluid trainer??  How do rollers adjust resistance and whatnot??

Also, do u guys have a different wheel setup for your trainers?

BTW i will be training hard all through winter as i have my first ironman in may. So technically, there is no off season for me

Edited by funkyd04 2010-07-23 2:43 PM

Check out craigslist first. You may be able to find some good values.

As for me, I like my Kinetic Rock-n-Roll pro. smooth, quiet, and has some side to side ability to have some variety when pedaling standing up.

This user's post has been ignored.

so u can't really do intervals on the rollers??  

So your saying bike handling skills are pretty much the only reason to get rollers????  Cause i can already handle my bike well.  I'm not worried about being able to ride with no hands... i just wanna output more power.

Edited by funkyd04 2010-07-23 4:34 PM

Why can't you do intervals on the rollers? Just shift to a harder gear for the interval time, then switch to an easier one for the rest period. Same thing on the trainer.

I know a lot of people swear by rollers, but I'm not a big fan of them. I rode them a lot when I was younger and always thought about how great it would be to watch TV or something. Rollers take too much concentration. Now I can catch up on shows while doing intervals on the trainer. It makes the workout go so much faster. To each his own...

also, don't know if it makes a difference for rollers, but i'm riding a tri bike.  I dont have a road bike, and i'm in the aero position 90% of the time.


So in summary, i can only purchase 1.  Fluid trainer or rollers.  1 bike, 1 set of wheels, and i'm training through the off season to prepare for my first ironman in may. 

Edited by funkyd04 2010-07-23 5:12 PM

One word: CRAIGLIST.

You can find cheap good trainers on there for not a lot of cash.