Single Speed or Road Bike for Trainer?

[lyslexic]

I'm trying to lose weight and get a bit fitter so I can finally hit the trails on my MTB again.

Decided to get a mag trainer and now I need a bike for it. I can't use the MTB (29er and I don't want to fork out for the trainer thru axel adapter).

Should I get a fixie or road bike for the trainer? Primary objective is to lose weight and get fitter. In that order. Would also like to use it with zwift / rouvy. I've purchased a speed sensor to make this possible. 

99% chance that the bike will be stuck to the trainer and never leave the house.  I've been looking at 2nd hand bikes. (old 3x9 road bike or a Rook One fixie)

[Gr3mlin131]

If you have a smart trainer, and using it with erg mode mostly, then either will work. Mag trainers are usually dumb, so you will need gears to change your effort, as they get harder the faster you ride.

 

 

[Frosty]

A road bike would be better than a single speed, and yes… a bike fit is important, even more so when you’re spending time on the indoor setup.

[MORNE]

Clearly the answer is a single speed road bike😅

[ChrisF]

44 minutes ago, Frosty said:

A road bike would be better than a single speed, and yes… a bike fit is important, even more so when you’re spending time on the indoor setup.

 

What @Frosty said 👍

[Me rida my bicycle]

10 minutes ago, MORNE said:

Clearly the answer is a single speed road bike😅

I think I have one of those, doesn't matter in which gear it is they all feal the same 😂

[ChrisF]

4 minutes ago, Me rida my bicycle said:

I think I have one of those, doesn't matter in which gear it is they all feal the same 😂

 

Thing is, if the bug bites he will get a smart trainer .... and then a roadie WILL be the way to go

[lyslexic]

Thanks everyone. Will start looking for a road bike. 🙂 

I’ve worked out the size (54-56) based on a bunch of online height to frame size calculators. 

[madmarc]

From someone who spent years on a cheap mag trainer then on an electro mag trainer then onto a smart trainer - Well the mag trainers were actually expensive in their day but nowdays they are cheapies.

Road Bike 2X8 or 2X9 - Getting the resistance right on a mag trainer is hit and miss at least with some gears you can get it dialed in. When I moved from heart rate based training to power based training on TR i used virtual power (Not sure if you can do this on ZWIFT) all I did was add the speed cadence sensor and with the gears you can get just as good experience as you would on a smart trainer. 

I use an old TREK 970 steel frame with 2 X 9 (Campy of course) on all my trainers and still going strong - well at least the bike is - me on the other hand, well that and entirely different topic. 

[lyslexic]

Thanks, that is very helpful. Ordered the saris basic trainer and the speed sensor which can also be used as a cadence sensor. If I end up using this daily then I would consider upgrading to a smart trainer. hopefully by then I will have shed some kg’s and be under the max weight limit for more smart trainers. Currently saris is the only trainer with a rated weight limit that will support me and a bike up to 12kg.