Turbo trainer?

[mickwood]

Due to a knee injury which is keeping me off the bike....and it's killing me! I'm considering getting a turbo trainer but know absolutely NOTHING about them!? (I can then take it easy with little resistance and build the strength)

I know the resistance on some comes from magnetic resistance but are there others? which is best? I wouldn't spend a fortune but obviously don't want to get a piece of rubbish that doesn't do the job and means I won't use it!

I've also heard that using them can 'flatten' your tyre? square them off? if so is it worth investing in a cheap wheel/tyre JUST for the turbo trainer or is that only a problem with constant use?

Thanks peeps!

 

[Dave5N]

rollers.

 

[palinurus]

I've also heard that using them can 'flatten' your tyre? square them off? if so is it worth investing in a cheap wheel/tyre JUST for the turbo trainer or is that only a problem with constant use?

Thanks peeps!

They do tend to flatten off your tyres. You can get tyres designed for turbo use. I just use old tyres, finish them off that way (on a spare wheel).

 

[palinurus]

Apart from that I don't know much about turbos myself so I can't answer your other questions.

 

[gavintc]

I have an old Tacx one of the early magnetic models. It works fine and whiles away many an hour in front of the TV in the spare room. My wife now wants to improve here fitness so I have just bought a second one - Tacx Santori, mainly because it got some good reviews and my LBS was doing a good deal.

Comments - apparently the gel based ones are an improvement on the old magnetic only ones. I cannot comment as I have only ridden a magnetic one. Get a bike thong - it is a piece of towelling that hangs between saddle and bars to stop all the salty sweat ruining your bike. You do not really need a front wheel riser as a phone book works just as well. Get some training programmes together of what to do on the turbo. You need focus. You must have a HRM. Personally, I prefer the trainers with a variable resistance by remote (a little lever on the bars) rather than only adjustable when you are stopped.

I happened to have an old rear wheel in the attic. So, just fitted a cassette and a turbo tyre to it. But as some people have said an old tyre would probably work just as well. I have never ridden with just my road tyres so cannot really comment on 'squaring' off as my orange turbo tyre looks the same as it always has.

 

[RSV_Ecosse]

I just bought a Tacx Flow. JE James are doing some cracking deals on the Flow just now.

I had my first go on it today and although it was relatively straightforward to build and set up, I am not sure I've got it 100%. The manual is pretty rubbish and although it goes through all the functions of the computer display, there's no tips or advice on training. So I'm at present raking around online trying to find some training tips.

There's an interesting website that you can use on your laptop whilst on the turbo here :-

http://www.turbotraining.co.uk/

The bloke who designed that site posts over on the BikeRadar forums. I'm going to give one of the plans on there a shot tomorrow. I haven't got a trainer specific tyre but I intend to grab one soon as well as a spare wheel so I don't run the risk of knackering my tyre.

So first impressions, the Tacx Flow is excellent, not very noisy at all compared to how I imagined it to be and after I get used to all the ins and outs of it plus sort out some halfway decent training plans, I think I will enjoy it and be able to say it is money well spent!!.

 

[Mike Rudkin]

I bought a Cycleops Mag+ recently-30 mins from box arriving to me using it ! Block of wood under front wheel (wife went ballistic when I tried the phone book for size).
The variable resistance works a treat. It's less noisy than I was expecting and is very stable.
I have bought a CateyeV3 computer (at 71 I felt an HRM was even more essential).
Can't get out at moment cos wife just out of hosp.with new knee-so,am doing 30 mins every other day.Sunday I did 10 miles,kept cadence at 80-used highest resistance every now and then to simulate hills-averaged 18.6 mph and was sweating like a pig at end lol. My legs felt as if I'd done at least 30 miles.Hopefully it's doing what it said on the tin. Think I will invest in a wheel with Turbo Tyre on it.

 

[country joe]

Due to a knee injury which is keeping me off the bike....and it's killing me! I'm considering getting a turbo trainer but know absolutely NOTHING about them!? (I can then take it easy with little resistance and build the strength)

I know the resistance on some comes from magnetic resistance but are there others? which is best? I wouldn't spend a fortune but obviously don't want to get a piece of rubbish that doesn't do the job and means I won't use it!

I've also heard that using them can 'flatten' your tyre? square them off? if so is it worth investing in a cheap wheel/tyre JUST for the turbo trainer or is that only a problem with constant use?

Thanks peeps!

i purchased a decent turbo trainer, for using in wet or windy weather,
And even when listening to music i was bored stiff, so i sold it on.
On bad weather days i now go swimming far better not boring and good for you.

 

[Bollo]

I recently bought a Cycleops Fluid Pro for the same reason.

I've got a spannered knee and its pretty hilly around my gaff, making it difficult to control the forces that the knee is subjected to when its in one of its 'moods'. Also, its easy enough to spend a meaningful 30 minutes on between getting the nipper to bed, making the Doris her dinner and spending fruitless, soul-destroying hours on CC.

I chose the Cyclops because of its power curve. Its reasonably shallow at lower speeds to be kind to knees, but is capable for very high resistance at higher speeds if you want to push it. The blurb says it mimics a 'real-world' resistance curve, but I couldn't swear to that. There's no manual resistance adjustment, but its not really necessary as you can vary the resistance by choosing your gears. Stability is good, connecting and disconnecting the bike is fine. All works for me.

I also got a dedicated trainer tyre on a spare wheel. Using an old tyre would be fine, but make sure its free from road grit. I also bought a proper front wheel step thingy and this also helps a little with stability.