Skip to main content

All About Trainers

Indoor Cycling Trainer

Why do I need a trainer?

  • Eliminate wasted time preparing for poor weather
  • Eliminate time in getting out of town to start your ride
  • Can be set up and ready to ride in a few moments
  • A safe and convenient way to ride year around

What benefits can I receive by using my trainer?

  • General health and fitness
  • Prepare for that first early season event (group ride, century, triathlon, race)
  • Make big performance gains over the winter from highly focused training
  • Maintain the fitness gained over a summer of riding
  • Look to hit the ground running come the spring

 

Types of Trainers

Smart Trainer - The added benefit of a smart trainer is it allows the resistance to be controlled by cycling and training apps. This opens a world of options for indoor workouts and adventures. Popular Apps: Zwift, Trainer Road, Systm, Rouvy, Ful Gaz

Pros: Makes indoor workouts super fun and offers a ton of flexibility to fit the users needs.


Fluid - the unit uses fluid resistance for progressive resistance

Pros: Nearly silent - added progressive resistance - accelerates and decelerates like you are on the road

A fluid trainer is ideal for the cyclist who is going to use the trainer on a regular basis. It is certainly the trainer of choice for the staff. We stock both of the CycleOps fluid trainers: the Fluid2 and the JetFluid Pro.

 

Magneto - the unit is a magnetic trainer with progressive resistance

Pros: progressive resistance - quiet

Cons: limited max resistance - not as quiet or smooth as a fluid trainer

We prefer and stock the CycleOps Magneto or the CycleOps Super Magneto trainer. The latter has the option to choose between several resistance curves, giving it the capability to generate more resistance than a standard Magneto.

 

Magnetic - the unit uses a magnetic fly wheel to create resistance

Pros: quiet resistance - has multiple resistance settings - inexpensive

Cons: not progressive resistance - can't use gears to easily adjust resistance

We prefer and stock the Cycleops Mag Trainer and this is a good entry level trainer for the new cyclists who aren't sure how much they will be using the unit.

 

WIND - the unit uses wind as resistance when powered by the cyclists legpower.

Pros: progressive resistance (resistance increases with wheel speed) - inexpensive

Cons: limited max resistance - noise - can often stir up a lot of dust

As a general rule we don't stock these trainers due to the noise that they generate. Customers have also commented to us about the amount of dust the trainer can discover in your house. We can certainly order one for you, such as the CycleOps Wind.

CycleOps Trainers are Made in the U.S.A. CycleOps trainers are they are all calibrated to a certain power output, this allows you to do virtual training with any of their trainers.

Learn about training indoors.

We are here to help you get the most out of your indoor trainer. In the fall and winter we offer a pedaling efficiency and cycling endurance class. There also several articles on our web site to help you get started training with your indoor trainer. Please don't hesitate to stop by the store and ask the staff for some suggestions. We offer a great selection of indoor training videos and various books with workouts.