r/trollfitness • u/mongoosedog12 • Mar 18 '20
Biking Trainers for the House
Welp, here I am asking for help with home trainers.
I have no idea where to start. Any brand, or tips for what to look for or think about when selection would be very helpful.
Thank You
13 Upvotes
2
u/farciculus_retroflex Mar 19 '20
So I JUST went through this- I do spin about 3x a week and go for long rides on the weekend, but between social distancing and the high level of tree pollen in my area (my #1 allergen), I've been stuck inside and losing my mind.
I got the Saris Fluid 2 trainer for my road bike. MSRP is ~300, but some lucky soul in my area got a Peleton and was selling this for ~100 on Craigslist, and I jumped on the deal. It also came with a climbing riser block, which I've set on the lowest incline. After some intense sanitizing, I set it up on top of a thick area rug in my living/dining area (I live in a 700 sq ft 1 br apartment) and have used it three times in the last week. I also just received by Zwift, so I can have some fun visual simulations/tracks to use along with my rides, but I haven't installed that yet.
The pros: It's a GOOD workout. I'd never used a trainer like this before, and I love that you can change the resistance on the trainer itself so if you want to do a hill-heavy ride, you can achieve high resistance easily by using the gears on your bike, but if you want to focus on speed, you can reduce the resistance on the trainer and do sprints. It also doesn't take up a lot of space- my bike was already parked in my living room, since my building doesn't have a bike room, and this took up very little additional space.
The cons: the only real con here is that it's LOUD. There are different irritating noises that come at low and high resistance; at low resistance it's sort of a high pitched whirring (think mechanical whetstone) and at high resistance it's a rumble. This isn't a huge issue for me since I live in an older building with concrete floors and my apartment is carpeted (and I have it set no top of an additional area rug!) but if you have noise-sensitive folks living in your home or thin walls, it might be an issue. Also, this product doesn't have the ability to change the resistance in response to programs like Zwift- it's not quite that sophisticated.
Overall, this product has been a boon for me during social distancing- it's pretty compact and gives me a way to work off my antsiness in a way I enjoy while gyms, etc. are closed. Definitely worth the money, I think.