Finding The Right Bike Trainer For You
By Ron Fritzke - Cycling-Review.com
The holidays have come and gone, and
it’s time to knuckle down and get regular with your exercise program
again. But if you’re not living in the Sunbelt states, getting out for a
run or bike ride may be quite a hurdle. The weather’s been unseasonably
cold in much of the country and running or biking on sheets of ice isn’t
doable. The right indoor bike trainer can provide a lot of advantages in your
quest to remain fit even when the seasons aren’t cooperating. Bicycle
trainers are broken down into three basic categories. Wind trainers are the
simplest, fluid trainers occupy the upper rungs of the
bicycle
trainer ladder, and magnetic (mag) trainers are somewhere in between.
Wind Trainers For Loud, Easy Workouts
There aren’t too many fitness machines
simpler than wind trainers. The rear tire of your bike turns a roller which is
on the same shaft as an impeller. The amount of air the impeller moves dictates
just how strenuous your ride’s going to be. That pretty much sums up the
advantages of a wind trainer; simple, fool-proof...and did I say least
expensive? The downside to a wind trainer is essentially twofold. 1). Wind
trainers are often too noisy for many cyclists, especially when the workout
really gets rolling. Some riders complain of near hurricane sound levels,
although their experience with hurricanes may be limited to their own
imaginations. 2). The other gripe with wind trainers is that they don’t
generate sufficient resistance to provide a decent workout for a seasoned
rider. This is especially relevant if the cyclist intends to do an
interval-style, rather than a steady state workout.
Mag Trainers No Longer Find Themselves In
The Junkyard
Most of the current mag trainers weathered
and triumphed over their predecessors…the majority of which produced high
frustration levels in their owners. Early generation mag trainers were known
for failure, but that’s no longer the case when the selection is limited
to some of the high end models, like the CycleOps Magneto. Mag trainers provide
resistance by spinning resisting magnets past each other. The level of
resistance can be changed by altering the position of the magnets. In the
simplest of trainers, the rider has to dismount and change the settings
manually. The next level of complexity involves a cable and lever from the
trainer unit to the handlebars of the bike. With this system the resistance
level can be changed ‘on the fly’. The system in the previously
mentioned
Cycleops
Magneto is the first and only unit to offer progressive resistance in a mag
trainer. Using centrifugal force, the configuration of the magnets is
determined by how fast the roller’s spinning and nothing’s required
of the rider to get stronger resistance.
Fluid Trainers Are Quiet And Strong
Top of the line bike trainers are usually
fluid trainers. The quietest of the three styles, they also provide a type of
resistance that’s conducive to even the hardest of workouts. The level of
resistance in fluid trainers increases exponentially. The harder these trainers
are pushed, the harder they push back. I don’t mean linearly, either. If
you look at a fluid bicycle trainer ‘speed’ versus
‘resistance’ graph, you’ll see an ever increasing slope. The
slope on the left side of the graph may be at a sane angle while the slope
corresponding to the highest speeds on the right can approach near vertical. In
layman’s terms, it’s a lot easier to increase your speed from ten
(10) mph to twelve (12) mph than it is to increase from twenty (20) mph to
twenty two (22) mph on a fluid bike trainer. The downside of fluid trainers is
that they’re the most costly, and they previously were plagued with
problems of leakage. But leaking problems are largely an issue of the past. One
of the most significant improvements regarding leaks was the proprietary design
by Kurt Kinetic, which is currently showcased in their
Kurt
Kinetic Road Machine. By separating the roller from the fluid filled
chamber and then linking them with a powerful magnetic bond the company was
able to eliminate any breach of the fluid containment chamber. The fluid’s
securely contained, with no O-rings to fail.
A Trainer For Everyone
With a whole boatload of good trainers on
the current market, you should be able to find a bike trainer that’ll keep
you fit through the dark months of winter. For casual bikers a relatively
inexpensive wind trainer may be sufficient. More intense riders will gravitate
toward $300.00 fluid trainers. Lastly, just as in the story of the Three Bears,
some cyclists will find mag trainers to be ‘just right’. About the
author: Ron Fritzke is a cycling product reviewer with a passion for 'all
things cycling'. A former 2:17 marathoner, he now directs his competitive
efforts toward racing his bike and looking for quality cycling gear.
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