Turbo trainer

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Rich1390

New Member
Hello I was looking at getting a turbo trainer so I could so some cycling in the house as I dont have the fitness or confidence to go out in public yet I was wondering do they have weight limits ... could I as a 21 stone person*133kg) use one or is this asking way to much for the poor thing thank you in advance
 

si_c

Guru
Location
Wirral
Hello I was looking at getting a turbo trainer so I could so some cycling in the house as I dont have the fitness or confidence to go out in public yet I was wondering do they have weight limits ... could I as a 21 stone person*133kg) use one or is this asking way to much for the poor thing thank you in advance
The weight is generally held by a fairly substantial metal frame. You'll be fine.
 
I think the decent ones are rated to over 150 Kgs rider and bike, and that’s erring on the side of caution, you’ll be fine.
 
OP
OP
R

Rich1390

New Member
Thank you was scared incase I bought one and turned it into a flat pancake lol none that I had seen gave me the weight limit thank you all for getting back to me
 

nickAKA

Über Member
Location
Manchester
Thank you was scared incase I bought one and turned it into a flat pancake lol none that I had seen gave me the weight limit thank you all for getting back to me

I did a bit of research when my BiL was looking for a direct drive trainer: the Cyclops Hammer had the highest load rating IIRC. Not as much of an issue with wheel-on trainers as the wheel takes the brunt of the force.
 

AuroraSaab

Veteran
Welcome to the forum, Rich. I got a bike a few weeks ago - 30 years since I've been on a bike - so I know exactly what you mean about gaining your confidence. I am mostly scared of being hit by a car or scraping a parked car. I think a turbo trainer is a great way of getting your confidence. At the moment I am mostly riding on the canal path til I get more confident on the very busy main roads.

I am about 3st overweight. I am not expecting the cycling to help that much - 90% of weight loss is diet - but joining a gym has helped hugely with fitness. I am a member of The Gym group gyms and it is only £15 a month. Lots of heavy folk there, nobody cares, and weight training has really improved my fitness levels.
 

nickAKA

Über Member
Location
Manchester
Welcome to the forum, Rich. I got a bike a few weeks ago - 30 years since I've been on a bike - so I know exactly what you mean about gaining your confidence. I am mostly scared of being hit by a car or scraping a parked car. I think a turbo trainer is a great way of getting your confidence. At the moment I am mostly riding on the canal path til I get more confident on the very busy main roads.

I am about 3st overweight. I am not expecting the cycling to help that much - 90% of weight loss is diet - but joining a gym has helped hugely with fitness. I am a member of The Gym group gyms and it is only £15 a month. Lots of heavy folk there, nobody cares, and weight training has really improved my fitness levels.

Cycling will be a great benefit to weight loss if you're motivated enough to stick at it. Of course you need to think seriously about your diet, but look at the two thing as two sides of the same coin, they shouldn't be mutually exclusive. I'm speaking from experience as I've lost over 3 stone myself, and it doesn't happen overnight - it took me 7 years overall to get back down to my 'fighting weight', but I'm here now and I have no intention of letting it slide. I enjoy the excercise now, honest, and you will too!
The best piece of advice I can offer is to ride as often as you can, eat a bit less and cut back on the bad stuff. The key thing IMHO is not to go down the 'hair shirt' route because you run the risk of quickly demotivating yourself and falling back into bad habits. The trick is to form new, better habits over time that you can sustain for the long term.

Best of luck etc...
 
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nickAKA

Über Member
Location
Manchester
Surely with a wheel-on trainer the weight of the rider all goes down through the trainer's legs. The pressure on the wheel rim is governed by how tightly the trainer wheel presses on the tyre, and that's adjustable. Although with rollers the wheels do take all the weight.

Either way, I would imagine (completely unscientifically) that the legs of the trainer would be able to withstand more than a wheel. I'm probably totally wrong though. A quick google suggests various trainer manufacturers do give max rider weights.

Yeah, the wheel transfers to the roller, the 'legs' are there mainly for lateral support (is it the tacx trainers that you set the wheel pressure? Slightly different that, more on the legs there obviously) but at least the roller is supported both sides on a wheel-on trainer, the direct drive trainers are more susceptible to higher loads due to the one-sided axel support hence weight limits.
 

nickAKA

Über Member
Location
Manchester
Yup that's what I'm thinking of. Actually I'm completely ignorant of everything else so I have no right posting here really! :laugh:

It's a public forum hombre, knock yourself out ^_^
 

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
Surely with a wheel-on trainer the weight of the rider all goes down through the trainer's legs. The pressure on the wheel rim is governed by how tightly the trainer wheel presses on the tyre, and that's adjustable. Although with rollers the wheels do take all the weight.

Either way, I would imagine (completely unscientifically) that the legs of the trainer would be able to withstand more than a wheel. I'm probably totally wrong though. A quick google suggests various trainer manufacturers do give max rider weights.

Nope the front wheel rests on a block. So the weight goes through trainer legs plus front wheel.
 
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