bike trainer

[crazylife99]

I want to focus on staying in shape this winter so that it's not painful getting started with my training come next spring. I have an exercise bike in my living room, which I hate to use. I'd much rather be out on the road. Does anyone here use a bike trainer? I was thinking of buying a used one, but wanted to hear your thoughts first

Comments

[noodle_nose]

i got a bike trainer earlier this year and i love it. it's great during the winter, when it's a) too dark in the morning, b) too cold, and/or c) raining. you also get used to riding your OWN bike, rather than a stationary bike. it takes some getting used to, but it's really neat to rely on the gears to provide resistance, rather than the trainer putting pressure on the tire. but yeah, i really recommend it to stay in shape.

[legalmoose]

There are gradations of quality with indoor trainers, generally going wind, magnetic, then fluid (with fluid the nicest). The main differences are noise (wind resistance is louder), and rolling resistance (fluid trainers keep rolling when you stop pedaling - not as much as if you were on the road, but more than the others, meaning you don't have to go quite as hard to catch back up if you stop pedaling for a moment).

By shifting gears on your bike, you can simulate hills (high resistance = hills). Definitely nicer to bike on your own bike than going to the gym or using an exercise bike.

There are videos you can get which will take you through various workouts on the trainer (Spinervals is the most ubiquitous of those). Alternately you can catch up on TV, provided you can hear it over the trainer. ;) I like to use the time for reading if I get too bored on it.