Trainer Recommendations

[amator]

Looking for something quiet, small footprint, STABLE- doesnt lean to one side or rock and wont fall apart!

Looking at the Cycleops Fluid2 or Fluid Pro range but have read mixed reviews.
Any other recommendations?

[Ozz]

I like my Kurt Kinetics (standard)

They also have a Pro (heavier flywheel) and a Rock & Roll that mimics side to side movement of bike when climbing and such.

Wait for a 20% off REI coupon and they are a pretty good source (free shipping to local store).

1upTrainer is also supposed to be good.

http://www.1upusa.com/bike_trainer.html

They also sell the Kurt stuff and is where I got mine.

[Bytesiz]

Looking for something quiet, small footprint, STABLE- doesnt lean to one side or rock and wont fall apart!

Looking at the Cycleops Fluid2 or Fluid Pro range but have read mixed reviews.
Any other recommendations?

That easy... the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine (http://www.kurtkinetic.com/road-machine-p-35-l-en.html)

[dekindy]

That easy... the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine (http://www.kurtkinetic.com/road-machine-p-35-l-en.html)

That is the one that I chose. I might consider the rock and roll version if I were purchasing a new one simply because I need to work on my climbing.

[duke]

Two Kurt Kinetics, I used one at work for the last six years and one at home for the last four. They work well.
duke

[Michael Maddox]

I have a Rock and Roll, a Computrainer, and the Inside Ride E-Motion Rollers. I'd wholeheartedly recommend any of these systems, if for different reasons.

[dwightskin]

Looking for something quiet, small footprint, STABLE- doesnt lean to one side or rock and wont fall apart!



I think none could be described as quiet, most of the noise is the tire against the flywheel.

Fluid2 is good. Kurt is good. If you buy it new you have a lifetime warrant on those, IIRC.


Dwight

[paulrad9]

1upTrainer is also supposed to be good.

I've had mine for three years and pull it out whenever we get clobbered with snow.

Noise: very quiet. My chain seems to make more noise than the 1UP
Stability: wide legs provide enough for my 150 lb frame
Ease of setup: my wife and I swap bikes and it takes about 3 minutes to change the 1UP from a bike with a 26" tires and 135mm width hub to one with 700c and 130mm hub
Resistance: seems to follow real life conditions, where resistance is somewhat exponentially related to speed. If default setting isn't enough, you can increase
Source: made entirely in US

[Ti Designs]

I kinda like the Cyclops Mag trainer...

[gianni]

I like my elite trainer that measures power even though I rather do almost anything else...

[pjmsj21]

That easy... the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine (http://www.kurtkinetic.com/road-machine-p-35-l-en.html)


Ditto for this recommendation....not that the others mentioned aren't good, but those that have owned the Kurt are almost universally happy with them.

I would also suggest you take a look at rollers (Kreitler are really good), which I found a bit less boring then a stationary trainer. They help smooth out your pedal stroke and improve bike handling.

Pat Mc

[Peter P.]

Another vote for the Kurt Kinetic. Small footprint, library quiet, plenty of resistance, lifetime reliability.

[bagochips3]

Yet another vote for Kurt Kinetic. I wouldn't describe it as quiet, though. It is rock solid and feels like the same resistance you feel on the road to me (I'm in the same gear for the same effort as I would be on a level road with no wind).

[StephenCL]

I LOVE my The Inside Ride Rollers. They are the bomb. Extremely well made. Much more stable than normal rollers. I can sprint, stand up, ride no handed..yet still feel like I am on the road. Don't get me wrong, you still have to concentrate like you are on rollers, but these are the bomb.

The secret sauce is the fore and aft slide that mimics the drag from the pavement, and the bumper guards that block you in. They are a little on the expensive side, but worth every penny.

If I had to own one trainer, it would be these.

Stephen

[deechee]

Long ago I had a cycleops fluid2, was pretty good, stable but not particularly quiet and it leaked a bit. I think certain year models had different rubber feet, but mine creeped a bit. But I was also riding a mtn bike on it.

Rode rollers for a few years, and switched to the 1upusa. Its quiet. MUCH quieter than the fluid trainers, BUT its not stable. You can easily make it creep on the floor, and I find adjustment a bit finicky if you ride different bikes. Still have it as its portable, but I much prefer my

Kurt Kinetic Road Machine now. VERY stable, and the feel is much better than the 1up. But its not as quiet, no comparison. Sure, around 100watts, its ok, but going past 200watts, or intervals at higher intensities is loud. It sounds like a turbine. The only thing I needed to replace was the bolt that you use to tighten the resistance unit to the wheel. I often left the unit loosened, and the threads on the bolt got stripped. Kurt sent me a new one as soon as I called. Now I always unscrew the unit completely.

In terms of reliability, the tri team I train with bought a few Blackburns (same design as the 1up) and after about a year, the plate that acts as a sort of resistance wore out. The 1up uses a felt-like surfaced pad, the blackburn, something else (don't remember). Anyway, the team switched to Kurts and there have been zero problems over the winter and they're used quite heavily.

[thwart]

I LOVE my The Inside Ride Rollers. They are the bomb. Extremely well made. Much more stable than normal rollers. I can sprint, stand up, ride no handed..yet still feel like I am on the road. Don't get me wrong, you still have to concentrate like you are on rollers, but these are the bomb.

I agree 100%.

I also have an old, beat-up Kurt Kinetic I picked up on CL ($50) for hill work.

Hate to see threads like this, as it means that winter is not too far away... :crap:

[Nil Else]

Perhaps The Inside Rollers are better... Compare how you get two entirely different first time roller experience results...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2tF0tK7P_s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtR_4B4lcsA

[93legendti]

I bought this last year.

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1063226_-1_57000_20000_57500
Much more than a bicycle trainer, the Real Axiom is a cycling simulator, bringing the feel and view of a road bike inside by pairing a state-of-the-art electromagnetic resistance trainer with your PC.

Your PC communicates with the trainer, varying the amount of resistance, reflecting real world conditions as you ride through different courses
New features include the ability to race against a human competitor on a LAN and multiple menu languages
Includes 14 preset courses, a four week training program and allows you to program your own custom courses
View personal ride stats, like speed, distance, ride-time, cadence, heart rate and power output and store them for your own training history
Not only does the resistance change based on the course and rider input, the Real Axiom features two DVD's of actual European road courses-the Limoges climb from the 2004 Tour de France and the 2004 Verona World Championship course - these courses are coordinated to the Real Axiom resistance unit so the rider will experience the ultimate in indoor training realism
The addition of the SofTrac roller improves traction, lowers tire wear and allows a much quieter, smoother ride
GPS/Google maps for Real Axiom/Real Power now available at RealAxiom.com
System requirements: Pentium III or better, Windows 2000 or XP, 10GB/7200 RPM Hard drive, 256MB RAM, USB port. DVD drive; Microsoft Vista download available at RealAxiom.com.

You can add additional courses via DVD's sold by Performance.
Wait for the 20% off sale.

[stephenmarklay]

Ditto on the inside ride rollers. Really a great all around trainer.

However, I would not mind a heavier flywheel for accelerations etc. I was doing some short high speed intervals and reached 50mph in short order. Never did that outside :)

To be fair it has additional mag resistance to keep you working but still a little light for accelerating hard. Going steady it is great.

[ty-ro]

Kurt Road Machine trainer and Inside Ride rollers here. Both are really nice. Rollers are WAY more real, but you can't space out and watch TV or whatever. The Kurt has more resistance, you can space out and not balance, but it's not as good for your form.

[Elefantino]

I've had mine for three years and pull it out whenever we get clobbered with snow.

Noise: very quiet. My chain seems to make more noise than the 1UP
Stability: wide legs provide enough for my 150 lb frame
Ease of setup: my wife and I swap bikes and it takes about 3 minutes to change the 1UP from a bike with a 26" tires and 135mm width hub to one with 700c and 130mm hub
Resistance: seems to follow real life conditions, where resistance is somewhat exponentially related to speed. If default setting isn't enough, you can increase
Source: made entirely in US
Have had a 1up for eight years with no fuss at all. Corky is a straight-up guy who answers his own phone and makes a great product.