I want to buy a stationary trainer.
I've never used one and searching provided few results.
Here are my questions:

What's better: fluid or mag?
What's the quietest model out there (important!)?
What are your recommendations, those who have used them?

TIA.

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"Gimondi è un eroe umano, che viene sconfitto ma che continua la sua corsa fino a tornare a vincere." - Enrico Ruggeri

Get rollers if you want to keep your sanity.

The questions, sorry, were re: stationary trainers. OK?

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"Gimondi è un eroe umano, che viene sconfitto ma che continua la sua corsa fino a tornare a vincere." - Enrico Ruggeri

Ive got a magnetic trainer, Minoura rim drive, its good if you actually want to do intervals etc, things rollers have not enough resistance to do, but for warm ups etc get rollers, they make your leg pedalling action smoother, but with trainers it tends to be a two action thing (because of the resistance factor)

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i dont need some witty signature

Curlymcbird:

I happen to have the excact same trainer as you, and think it would be a good option not only for the resistance, but for the saved money on tires. Imagine get this trainer instead, and you will be able to afford new WW products sooner.!

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Cannondale is quite simply the best

I think fluid trainers are quieter. Don't buy elite elastogel, if you ruin the elastogel you're done.
I've used elite and tackx, both magnetic. If I where to buy a new one I'd buy kurt kinethic with the heavy flywheel, or the kreitler with the resitance

I have a One-Up and Cyclop, both are mag trainers and i like the one up more because it is smooth, quieter (it makes no noise itself, just your tire and gears from the bike itself makes the noise). i would buy a newer version of the one up because is has a bigger flywheel. i have one of the earliest version, it's about 5 years old and still as good as it was when new.

I have a minoura rim drive trainer, my lbs swears by them and sells them more than any other accessory. I've had no problems with mine.

if you are a more powerful rider, you may want a heavier flywheel, a heavier flywheel dampens the sudden bursts of power from the pedals

a good DVD player or MP3 player is a must as riding the trainer is very boring.

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Jack of all trades, master of none.

I've used a cycle ops mag trainer now for about a year. It works well, but offers too little resistance, and too little control over the resistance it does offer, to suit me. After researching this issue quite a bit, I agree with the earlier suggestion to purchase either the kinetic, large flywheel fluid trainer (wasn't that Bob Roll we saw riding one during the OLN Tour commercials?) or the Kreitler rollers with the killer headwind unit.

I 2nd the 1up! It is absolutely silent. The only noise you hear is your chain rolling against chaing rings...

If you want a SILENT stationary trainer, then get 1up.

Read up on it. You'll see www.1upusa.com

I just purchased a Cyclops Electronic Trainer. I had one of their fluid trainers but I never liked the feel. The electronic trainer is much smoother and very much approximates the feel of a bicycle on the road. While not as sophisticated as a Computrainer, the a Cyclops electronic trainer does have an interface that enables a selection of various course profiles. More important, it provides power data. I also have a Powertap hub and over the coming days I will do some reading comparisons. I intend to use the trainer for testing, high intensity intervals, and “2X20” workouts year-round. For longer duration riding in the winter, I intend to continue using spin classes as the basis of my winter workouts. The Cyclops 300 PT indoor training system, which is basically a spin bike with a built-in Powertap, was my first selection but I did not quite have the space for it.

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John979

Hi Cadence.. I have a cyclops fluid trainer and it works well. Fluids are quieter and I think they're less likey to break or lose their resistance profile. Once I burnt my ankle on it, that thing gets hot so be aware of that issue.

I have used the 1Up for two winters now and recommend it highly. The thing is solid, quiet and quite reliable.

Notwithstanding that, I have to admit that I am on my second 1Up now. The manufacturer replaced the first one due to some flaw that saw the wattage fluxuate significantly (over 100 watts at anything over 250 watts) once the unit got very hot. My new unit is fine, although I still LIGHTLY lubricate the tension adjustment ball bearings with a synthetic lubricant for dissimilar metals.

The power curve for the unit is different than the road (as you might imagine), but the wattage required for a given load is quite constant. The trainer is good for 110 watt recovery rides, 800 watt intervals and everything in between.