Indoor trainers - rollers/fluid/mag - what to get?

[Jedi]

Please can someone tell me a bit of info on indoor trainers.

I spin a lot at gym but would like to get myself at wind trainer for home.  Believe you can get wind/fluid/mag or rollers.

 

Do these type of trainers chew up you back tyre?  How do they compare to the "feel of the road".  Is it easy to get your bike set up quickly.

 

I am not to keen on rollers because of the "balancing act" but I believe it is a good work out and quick to set up and they don't chew up your tyres.

 

What can you recommend that won't scuttle the Xmas budget?  Something neat, effective, quiet and most importantly - something that won't stress out the frame of my race bike!

 

Oh, and where about in Jo'burg can I find them? Thx.

[Token]

My personal choice is rollers for a number of reasons.

 

1. Save your tires

 

2. When you ride them you ride as if you where racing you sit in the right  way so you train the right mussels.  If you use an indoor trainer you its very easy to just sit there and watch tv. 

 

3.  You can never damage your legs by ridding against too much resistance. 

 

They are very easy to balance on,  took me a day or so and had the hang of it.

 

 

 

 

[TNT1]

I agree, rollers give you a more realistic workout, teach you  better bike handling skills, and place far less stress on your frame than a trainer that holds it rigidly in place. A bonus for me using rollers is that the sound they make lulls my son back to sleep quite nicely in the early mornings.

[wonduhboy]

Jedi, I did a lot of research into this a while ago and found this:

Rollers are cool, but require balance and concetration all the time (not good for me - I would most probably purchase a rather large piece of my coffee table if I rode on these all the time)

 

Trainers work very well, but make sure you get magnetic resistance, not wind as this is quieter.

 

Also nicer than rollers because you can set the resistance level and combined with gears, gives you a decent workout.

 

Get a continental indoor trainer tyre (+-R250) will work for ages and save your other tyres.

 

As for brand/make - this is personal and limited by budget - good one's I can recommend are the cycleops fluid 2 (contact bikemax for pricing) and the tacx ones are also nice.

 

On the bottom end of the budget, the giant magnotron is R850+- and works well.

 

Do yourself a favour and get a sweat-catcher and floor block (raises your front wheel) as well - worth the extra cost (+- R150)

[pastapouch]

Jedi, if you're not going for rollers,  continental has this ugly yellow tyre for idts. Its a bit of a shlep to put on but its silent and does not slip on the trainer's wheel. Or what you can do it get another wheel specific for indoor training.

[AuctionLamb]

I have a Tacx FLOW. This thing is awesome and gives you HR, speed and tou can change your resistance/watts as you cycle. The resistance you get from this turbo trainer does not put ANY strain on your legs because you can adjust it to very low. Very smooth ride though!

[Velouria]

And there is nothing to match the suffering you can do on rollers.

 

Also - you get to improve your pedal stroke.

 

Just don't crash off the rollers - people look at you funny when you tell them you fell off your bike in the lounge!!

 

[Zaskar]

I also have a TacX Flow and i love it!! Just get yourself the orange conti training tire. It makes a huge difference.

 

As for rollers i think i actually prefer them to the trainer. They are quick to set up and fun to ride on. But there is no real resistance. The only problem i have is that you cannot stand on rollers. Well maybe some of you can, but i cant. Tried it once and came off, and went flying across the lounge -not pretty! It just gets a bit tiring sitting for the entire workout. But you can always stop for a few seconds to relax.

 

I think the Flow goes for about R2800, and a nice set of rollers will cost about R1000. Most cycle shops will have them. Im in Bedfordview, and i know Tony Impey stocks some of the TacX trainers (he has that cool VR trainer on permanent display) and Cajees at Park Meadows has quite a few to choose from (TacX, Elite, Giant, Raleigh....) Also they will prob give you the best price!