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Bike Trainer Suggestions


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22 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

You might ask petite.  I'm not sure if her trainer is bike or just crossfit.  He can probably keep you fit during the winter however.

That trainer is expensive..but he will do virtual :nodhead: I think...a 1 hour personal session is $100...I am grandfathered in and pay less but still a lot.

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I have a Cyclops fluid trainer that works well. We want to upgrade to one of the virtual trainers but as of now we cannot get high speed internet at our house, so we will need to wait.😕

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I have looked into this a lot over the past year.  It depends on what her goal are really.  

There are tons of good fluid trainers available on facebook marketplace right now.  Everyone has upgraded to some sort of smart trainer.  You can get into a good cycleops fluid trainer for about 25-50 used.  They last forever.  They are smooth.  They will most likely do just fine for you.  We have one and love it.  This is a great option if she just wants to ride her bike inside and out of the elements.  

But is that enough?  The smart trainers allow you to train virtually with others.  You can use an app like Zwift and it will give you profiles, track you data, tell you how many watts you're putting out, etc.  You can join virtual classes, do virtual rides with others, race, ride virtual stages of the tour....  It can be fun.  You can get into one of these used for like 3-5 hundo.  A new one is gonna be about 7 hundo for an entry level one.  Then you get into the ones that you take the rear wheel off.  The bike just hooks to the skewer on the trainer and you use your chain and a cassette on the trainer.  Those are roughly a grand.  And you don't have to get and extra wheel/taar.  I think this is the best route, honestly.  And hear me out.....

If you just buy a fluid trainer it's cool for a week.  It is really hard to make yourself ride it.  The smart trainers make it fun.  They take the drudgery out of it to an extent.  Switching trainer taars is a pain in the ass.  Trainers tear up traditional road taars a bunch.  The answer is to get another wheel with a trainer taar.  But then you need another cassette, skewer, etc....  It adds up.  I thinks it's just better to get the kickr trainer that your bike mounts to and be done with it.

 

https://www.wahoofitness.com/devices/bike-trainers/kickr/buy?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7vv8nO-Q7AIVjNd3Ch15zgl2EAQYASABEgIoI_D_BwE

 

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Buy used - from the FB Parr8 mentions or eBay or Craigslist or wherever they are.

I sadly think folks are seeing the Peloton, Zwift, etc "hype" commercials and envisioning indoor cycling being anything like outdoor cycling which it isn't.  Not even close. That results in a lot of unused and eventually for sale trainers out there.  So, I''d recommend as low as cost entry into the indoor riding market to establish if there is any sustainable interest in it FIRST.  If it holds, then I'd go balls out the other direction and get a "proper" full set-up for Zwift (or go simple but different direction with Peloton). 

But, honestly, for about 1/2 (or even 2/3) of the US, the weather is nice enough year around to ride outdoors through the winter and simply supplement with other exercise (or recovery) on the days when it is not. 

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Just now, Razors Edge said:

Buy used - from the FB Parr8 mentions or eBay or Craigslist or wherever they are.

  So, I''d recommend as low as cost entry into the indoor riding market to establish if there is any sustainable interest in it FIRST. 

 

This based on what  @Forum Administrator said.  All I have is a simple magnetic trainer from the late 80s/early 90s time era. Still works flawlessly for what I need it for. Dumb as can be, but that's ok :) 

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Just now, bikeman564™ said:

This based on what  @Forum Administrator said.  All I have is a simple magnetic trainer from the late 80s/early 90s time era. Still works flawlessly for what I need it for. Dumb as can be, but that's ok :) 

I had a fluid trainer for a while (barely a step up from magnetic at the time) and eventually gave it to my BiL.  I got a Wahoo (like SWs) and did that for a short time and returned it to REI (no questions asked, but HEAVY as crap).  I appreciate the idea of indoor riding, but maybe my ADHD (self-diagnosed :) ) prevents any monotonous activity from doing it for me.  Maxx at least has the idea right to get on and off as quickly as possible, but FA's daughter might be of the new generation that can put on headphones and listen to music for hours on end.

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I have had a few.  I gave a few away.  I had a Cyclops fluid trainer I gave to Daughter#3 last year.  I replaced it with a Performance Bike house brand fluid trainer.  It works just fine.  I never had luck with the magnetic resistance trainers.  Daughter#2 had one for several years that worked well for her.  I think she paid $60 (on sale) for it.

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I had a regular trainer where you clamped the rear wheel in.  I didn't like it at all.  I have rollers - those are my favorite.  I also have the Wahoo Kickr and Wahoo Climb.  When connected to something like Zwift, it's semi-realistic.  The first option is the least expensive, and most boring.  The rollers were the second most expensive and most fun, the Wahoo stuff was the most expensive, but also fun.

I suspect this is how a lot of indoor equipment goes unused, it's not fun to the end user.  So cheap isn't always better.

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2 hours ago, smudge said:

I can shift gears too cuz I'm actually riding my bike. (Can you do that with a regular trainer? I honestly don't know.)

Yes.  It is typically how you change resistance.  Change gears to change the speed of the wheel which changes the resistance of the unit.  The resistance is a factor of speed. 

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