Trainers

i'm thinking of complementing my kreitler rollers with a cyclops fluid 2 trainer sometime before the winter comes. the rollers are great but obviously you can't do certain interval training on them without some resistance. i'll check out the minoura, though...

Thanks cutty - I'd love to hear what someone knowledgeable thinks. As a rank amatuer I'm sure it'll do what I need and more. I'll be able to use it with my bike intact, I am hoping?

yeah i think you just screw in the rear axle

Minoura makes good Mags.

Rollers and a fluid trainer are the best case. Just fluid if you can have only one. In later years I only used a trainer at all for pre TT and pre crit warmups. Rather than ride a trainer I'd either ride outside (even at night) or find something else to do.

I remember the year that Hale Bopp comet was around I would ride for 2 or 3 hours around the reservoir in the 25 degree night. It was February and March, and I'd just be staring at it in the sky, listening to Perfect From Now On. Nowadays they'd kick you out of there.

i love you hunt3r

My trainer arrived today - not bad for free delivery (and the cheapest price available, too). I'm not in tonight so I'll probably wait till the weekend before assembling it.

minoura?

Yup, but I bought it from some place in the UK so the exchange rate alone would leave you paraplegic :(

Am putting this together tomorrow - will report back. Any last minute advice?

BEER WILL IMPROVE YR SPEED, CADENCE AND OVERALL GOOD LOOKS!

Yes. If someone else drinks it.

OTM!

When's the last time you had a beer, cutty?

shit i can't even remember. does o'douls count?

OKAY CLANKY METAL THING ON THE FLOOR. AM INTIMIDATED.

i ordered the cyclops fluid 2 ayoo

NICE!

So I put it together (it was basically in one piece already, which was good) and have had a 10 minute ride. It reminds me more of a rowing machine than a bike - although I was riding quite hard it didn't feel too energetic on the bike, but as soon as I got off I realised how much I'd been pushing it.

I've managed to find approx the right distance between tyre and flywheel, and the right inflation of the back tyre (an Armadillo), and it works pretty well. Slightly louder than I was hoping - the gf will have to be a bit more tolerant than I expected if I'm to cycle while she's watching telly, which was partly the point.

One other plus point - I'd automatically assumed it would require electricity but it doesn't. Does this mean the magnet will gradually weaken?

Oh, and I am sweating buckets. Always fun.

So, how to attach my laptop to the handlebars...

Just put in another 20 minutes. It's pretty smooth actually. I srsly need some kind of sweat-catcher though, cos I am dripping pretty much continuously from 10 minutes on.

Also... I had forgotten the sensations in your privates from consistent pedalling + higher riding position. Especially the sensation after you get off. Maybe this requires its own thread.

the sensation after you get off.

After you dismount, I mean.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/biondino/minoura.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v222/biondino/minouraclose.jpg

sweat net is essential.. also stop dismounting!

put on the lord of the rings trilogy

Maybe this requires its own thread.

IF I RIDE MY BIKE FOR TOO LONG I CAN'T FEEL MY PENIS

sweet

Slightly louder than I was hoping - the gf will have to be a bit more tolerant than I expected if I'm to cycle while she's watching telly, which was partly the point.

Your trainer is in the same room as the tv? I haven't ridden on a trainer for about seventeen years, but I remember it being very noisy. That's why it was in the garage. Which was cold. Which kind of defeated the object of it a bit.

Well, it is at the moment - it's worth adding my gf is in Massachusetts :) The one I bought claims to be the quietest trainer on the market and it's not too bad - but I can't imagine her putting up with it (or the panting, or the ENORMOUS amounts of sweat, or the fact that I've been opening all the windows to try and keep myself cool). Wde'll have to try and fine a compromise.

are you using a fan?

No, not so far. I have a stupid little fan which might work, I guess.

So, I notice when I'm using the trainer that the noise it makes oscillates up and down as I put weight on the pedals, making it clear that my energy input isn't consistent throughout each revolution. Is this bad? I noticed that if, instead of pushing down on the pedals, I pull upwards (thanks to clipless pedals) I can achieve a much more steady note, and if I can improve my efficiency somehow I'd be very keen to learn how.

that's the goal. circular pedaling with maximum efficiency. try to be as economical and even as possible with the pedal strokes. try putting one foot on a chair and focusing on your weak leg also.

tomorrow will be my first use of the cycleops, will report

wow i never noticed this board before

how much are trainers?

Mine was £116 but you can get them for half that - and since the US prices tend to be fairly close to the dollar equivalent, I'd have thought you could get something decent for a two-figure sum? Cutty will know better though.

thinking about one of these to raise the fitness levels some, without the dangers of riding at night (which is when i have the time to do it during the week). anyone able to rep for this minoura?