Recommend me a bike trainer please :)

[xkrsupercharged]

As above really - are these indoor bike trainer things that turn your "neglected in winter" road bikes in to indoor cycling machines any good or a gimmick?

Yes I'm a whimp and I don't want to ride out there in this weather

Oh and one last thing - Do I absolutely have to change my rear tyre?? Or is there any that will allow me to use my bike as is. My Bike is a Hybrid Racer:

http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B4371.html?specs=1

Edited by xkrsupercharged on Monday 28th January 13:56

[anonymous-user]

i only have one road bike so ride it all year round although i do refer to it as the winter bike in winter...

basic Tacx trainers (£100-150) are pretty good for getting the miles in, some have a remote lever you clip on hte bars to change the resistance. you will get very hot very quickly so have a towel handy and keep your fluids topped up.

generally, you will need a trainer tyre because the trainers wear out regular tyres quite quickly but it does depend on miles.

[xkrsupercharged]

Thanks, is this one any good?

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

[JustNeil]

xkrsupercharged said:

As above really - are these indoor bike trainer things that turn your "neglected in winter" road bikes in to indoor cycling machines any good or a gimmick?

Yes I'm a whimp and I don't want to ride out there in this weather

Oh and one last thing - Do I absolutely have to change my rear tyre?? Or is there any that will allow me to use my bike as is. My Bike is a Hybrid Racer:

http://www.bikes2udirect.com/B4371.html?specs=1

Edited by xkrsupercharged on Monday 28th January 13:56

I'd say change your tyre. The amount you spend on a trainer tyre will easily be offset by the amount of money you spend replacing normal tyres. I saw a trainer in a shop a few weeks ago where the normal road tyre had left a line of rubber on the trainer wheel after just 5 minutes light work. If you're doing an hour, the heat build up will be massive and probably would wreck a road tyre. But I'm not too upset, because I got a decent discount on the trainer :-)

[craigthecoupe]

personally i think that's nonsense. I've had my tacx trainer since the summer, and have covered quite a few miles since then, on standard road tyres with no ill effect.

the tyre does wear quicker, but not so fast that it's lunched in a couple of sessions. if you don't ride out in the winter, why not spend a little extra on a tyre? you only need swap them over a couple of times a year.
i bought my turbo on eBay for £79 second hand. with that saving you can afford a tyre, and probably a spare wheel too if you look about.

[stuarthat]

you can buy a tacx trainer tyre from germany took 3 days under 16 pound

[Potatoes]

I've just spent a few days on eBay, spend £40 on a Tacx Speedmatic, £30 on a spare rear wheel & hub, £10 on a Shimano 105 10 speed rear cassette and will be picking up a tyre and tube tomorrow from the LBS.

I'll be setting up a dedicated turbo trainer rear wheel and just slotting it onto the bike when turbo training and putting my summer wheel back on when going outside - much easier than swapping tyres and ensuring my lovely outdoor tyres are not worn out.

[bakerstreet]

JustNeil said:

I'd say change your tyre. The amount you spend on a trainer tyre will easily be offset by the amount of money you spend replacing normal tyres. I saw a trainer in a shop a few weeks ago where the normal road tyre had left a line of rubber on the trainer wheel after just 5 minutes light work. If you're doing an hour, the heat build up will be massive and probably would wreck a road tyre. But I'm not too upset, because I got a decent discount on the trainer :-)

I've done just over 90 miles on my Turbo and the rear tyre looks fine. Heat build up isn't too bad either. My tyre is certainly not wrecked.

Long term I do plan to get a spare rear wheel, cassette and a trainer tyre, but at the moment, I don't want to pay out £70 for all that.

Do bare in mind that a turbo tyre is about £25 to £30 and you can buy road tyrres for £15 and I know other people do that instead of buying the pukka trainer tyre.

I have an Elite Crono. Bought from Wiggle for £155. The Crono has a gel wheel unit, which is slightly quieter than a magnetic unit, which is what the cheaper ones are.

Mine has been very easy to set up and is quiet enough for me to watch a film or TV with out the TV being turned up too loud.

I also recommend a turbo trainer thing which is a triangle shaped towel designed to catch the sweat and believe me, you will sweat alot!

You will also need a front wheel riser block. About £14 from wiggle. I'm currently using some wood, photoshop manual and a copy of Land Rover Monthly

[xkrsupercharged]

Cheers Chaps - some great PH advice as always

Will pop out and get one this weekend

[Chicken Chaser]

Ive got a Kurt Kinetic Road machine and its an excellent bit if kit. IMO well worth the extra outlay if you think that you will use it a lot. Never see any rubber on the roller and ive done hundreds of miles on it.

[Fastpedeller]

I got one last year from St John St Cycles, magnetic resistance adjustable £70 , same as many just badged from China.
Has exceeded all my expectation, REALLY GOOD piece of kit. Mate of mine got a similar (though IMHO not quite as good quality) from Machinemart (I kid you not), also good for the money c£60. I have no connection with either supplier, other than being a satisfied customer.

[GnuBee]

Chicken Chaser said:

Ive got a Kurt Kinetic Road machine and its an excellent bit if kit. IMO well worth the extra outlay if you think that you will use it a lot. Never see any rubber on the roller and ive done hundreds of miles on it.

I'll 2nd this recommendation - had mine since last October, done over 76 hours on it using my bog standard rear wheel/tyre combo. I've not died, the tyre has not exploded and the trainer has not disintegrated.

It's very sturdy, not particularly noisy and is the favourite of the people behind www.trainerroad.com which is the solution to the boredom of using a turbo.

[GnuBee]

Chicken Chaser said:

Ive got a Kurt Kinetic Road machine and its an excellent bit if kit. IMO well worth the extra outlay if you think that you will use it a lot. Never see any rubber on the roller and ive done hundreds of miles on it.

I'll 2nd this recommendation - had mine since last October, done over 76 hours on it using my bog standard rear wheel/tyre combo. I've not died, the tyre has not exploded and the trainer has not disintegrated.

It's very sturdy, not particularly noisy and is the favourite of the people behind www.trainerroad.com which is the solution to the boredom of using a turbo.

[GnuBee]

Chicken Chaser said:

Ive got a Kurt Kinetic Road machine and its an excellent bit if kit. IMO well worth the extra outlay if you think that you will use it a lot. Never see any rubber on the roller and ive done hundreds of miles on it.

I'll 2nd this recommendation - had mine since last October, done over 76 hours on it using my bog standard rear wheel/tyre combo. I've not died, the tyre has not exploded and the trainer has not disintegrated.

It's very sturdy, not particularly noisy and is the favourite of the people behind www.trainerroad.com which is the solution to the boredom of using a turbo.

[Chicken Chaser]

GnuBee said:

I'll 2nd this recommendation - had mine since last October, done over 76 hours on it using my bog standard rear wheel/tyre combo. I've not died, the tyre has not exploded and the trainer has not disintegrated.

It's very sturdy, not particularly noisy and is the favourite of the people behind www.trainerroad.com which is the solution to the boredom of using a turbo.

Yeah I'm tempted with TR myself, but still debating whether to try the pro area of Strava instead! Dont want all these subscriptions running!

[NitroNick]

I've put in 60 hours on the turbo so far this year: using standard road tyres & they are still fine.
If the contact between the tyre and roller is not set correctly then the tyre will over heat and start to delaminate, if they are adjusted correctly you should get a long life out of them.

[IroningMan]

60 hours in a month? Flip me.

I signed-up to Trainerroad when it was free, but didn't get round to getting an ANT+ bike computer until it was too late. Now I've got one I must get round to giving it a go.

[Potatoes]

Potatoes said:

I've just spent a few days on eBay, spend £40 on a Tacx Speedmatic, £30 on a spare rear wheel & hub, £10 on a Shimano 105 10 speed rear cassette and will be picking up a tyre and tube tomorrow from the LBS.

I'll be setting up a dedicated turbo trainer rear wheel and just slotting it onto the bike when turbo training and putting my summer wheel back on when going outside - much easier than swapping tyres and ensuring my lovely outdoor tyres are not worn out.

Did my first run on the TT run this afternoon, average 20 mph over the course of 1.25 hours watching the Italy France match. It was really smooth, quiet enough and a real range of resistances on offer. As said above, the tyre didn't get very hot at all so unsure if the TT tyre is absolutely necessary unless your planning on doing big miles on the trainer.

I've put together a dedicated TT wheel which I'll use over the rest of this winter. This set up cost me a total of ~£100 thanks to Ebay:

[Westy Pre-Lit]

Just bought these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130844730682

I know with a static trainer I would be bored within 5 minutes and it wouldn't get used, much more fun although I know they're not for everybody

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

[croyde]

I did wonder whether the roller type, where you actually have to balance as well, would be more realistic.