The £50 to £60 trainers on eBay. Any good?

[KneesUp]

Once schools are back I'll be working all week and will only really see my kid at the weekend, so I don't really want to be out on the long rides I'll need to get fit (she's too young to do long rides) and I don't fancy long rides in the dark and cold - so I've been looking at trainers.

There seem to be a few on eBay at under £60 new, which is way cheaper than I've seen them anywhere else.

I just wondered if anyone had tried one, and if so, what's the catch?

 

[Globalti]

Ah! Turbo trainers! I was going to take the mickey out of you for thinking a pair of trainers would make you fitter!

Yes turbo trainers, whether magnetic or fan, do keep you fit especially if you use them in conjunction with a heart rate monitor. But they are deadly boring and I only use mine as a last resort when the weather is too bad even to go out on the crosser or the mountain bike. You need somewhere very cool with a fan if possible and where drips of sweat won't mess up the floor. After a 45 minute session taking the heart rate to max a few times you will get off feeling beasted and sweating like a nutter.

Don't use them with a knobbly tyre as illustrated, the noise will be awful. TBH I would spend a little extra and get the turbo trainers from Machine Mart:

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/s...equipment/type/any/module/shopcategory/page/1

 

[KneesUp]

I've used them in the gym - well stationary bikes, anyway - so I know how hot you can get. I was thinking of solving the noise, heat, sweat and space issue by doing it outside the house by the bins - the glamour! I could then set my laptop up on the dining room table and watch iplayer or a DVD or something through the window while SWMBO watches Celebrity Reality Cake Making, or whatever.

Thanks for the link - they look cheap too

 

[Globalti]

Machine Mart is pretty good and I've always been impressed with their quality. The shop staff are friendly and helpful too.

 

[JoeyB]

Ah! Turbo trainers! I was going to take the mickey out of you for thinking a pair of trainers would make you fitter!

Yes turbo trainers, whether magnetic or fan, do keep you fit especially if you use them in conjunction with a heart rate monitor. But they are deadly boring and I only use mine as a last resort when the weather is too bad even to go out on the crosser or the mountain bike. You need somewhere very cool with a fan if possible and where drips of sweat won't mess up the floor. After a 45 minute session taking the heart rate to max a few times you will get off feeling beasted and sweating like a nutter.

Don't use them with a knobbly tyre as illustrated, the noise will be awful. TBH I would spend a little extra and get the turbo trainers from Machine Mart:

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/s...equipment/type/any/module/shopcategory/page/1

...and if you can time it with a VAT free day then that would make the MachineMart option a bargain!

 

[KneesUp]

...and if you can time it with a VAT free day then that would make the MachineMart option a bargain!

and if they can give me a hand-written receipt thay says something generic like 'Tools' that'd be even better

 

[JoeyB]

and if they can give me a hand-written receipt thay says something generic like 'Tools' that'd be even better

hehe indeed

 

[Broughtonblue]

Don't want to seem thick but, having never used one or even seen one in action, how does the rear wheel fix to it? Is it just a case of quickly clipping in somehow or is it more technical than that and takes time?

 

[Globalti]

You will be supplied a replacement rear wheel QR skewer, which has a straight cylindrical fitting on the drive side rather than the usual small plastic fitting. This locates inside sockets in the clamping system of the stand. So you have to replace the bike's skewer then place the bike in the stand and screw up the clamps on both sides, to the point where the camming lever in the RH clamp tightens everything up correctly, locking the QR and the bike in place. Next job is to adjust the position of the roller so that it's pressed snugly against the tyre, which needs to be smooth and pumped up to a reasonable pressure. Once you've got all that set up for your bike, a turbo session only needs a minute to fit the special QR and clamp the bike into the stand. It helps to support the front wheel at roughly the same height as the rear and you need to be somewhere cool where drips of sweat won't damage the floor. An old towel enables you to mop up the sweat and protects your bike. I had a pal who ruined his lovely steel Bianchi by sweating all over it then storing it in a damp shed.

 

[ColinJ]

I had a pal who ruined his lovely steel Bianchi by sweating all over it then storing it in a damp shed.

Take that warning seriously ... corrosive salty sweat rotted through my first turbo trainer in one winter! (I wiped the top surfaces down after each session, but I forgot to do the underside which is where a lot of sweat droplets ended up collecting.)

I always say that a turbo trainer is only boring if you are not trying hard enough, and if you are trying hard enough then you will not be able to watch TV!

Loud music with a fast beat is ideal to get you motivated, but start off with something more relaxing for your warm-up.

If I were pressed for time, I found a short session to the 1812 Overture to be ideal. The steady build-up of the music is great to warm up to, then there are some more intense sections to have a good go at. When the cannon start going off in the climax, it is time to sprint as hard as you can!

 

[e-rider]

Once schools are back I'll be working all week and will only really see my kid at the weekend, so I don't really want to be out on the long rides I'll need to get fit (she's too young to do long rides) and I don't fancy long rides in the dark and cold - so I've been looking at trainers.

There seem to be a few on eBay at under £60 new, which is way cheaper than I've seen them anywhere else.

I just wondered if anyone had tried one, and if so, what's the catch?

don't buy from ebay!
you can get good trainers for £80 from an online shop like Wiggle or Chainreactioncycles

 

[Venod]

don't buy from ebay!
you can get good trainers for £80 from an online shop like Wiggle or Chainreactioncycles

I don't agree with this advice ebay has been a source of some real bargains for me, just make sure you can't get the item cheaper elsewhere.

 

[Globalti]

Mind boggles at the image of ColinJ sprinting to the 1812 Overture!

 

[e-rider]

I don't agree with this advice ebay has been a source of some real bargains for me, just make sure you can't get the item cheaper elsewhere.

IME ebay is a terrible trading platform - however, this is just my opionion and anyone is free to buy/seller there if they wish!

 

[Globalti]

Ebay is fantastic for putting buyers and sellers in touch; I will never forget selling my old motorcycle jacket (scuffed and covered in dead flies) to a collector in Tokyo for exactly the same money I paid for it 28 years before!