(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best bike trainers & accessories

You don't need specific tires, especially starting out. If you're committed to a training program and don't want to flatten out your good tire, a trainer tire like this is something to consider if you've got a spare rear wheel lying around but it's certainly not a necessity.

With a trainer, you lock the rear wheel into the trainer and make contact between your tire and some sort of cylinder that drives a flywheel which provides resistance. With rollers, you put your bike on top of three cylinders and keep it there through balance, patience, attention, and sheer force of will. If you're asking about the difference between rollers and trainers, you don't need rollers. Most training programs take for granted that you're using a trainer and not rollers - especially ones that focus on your power zones (rollers typically don't have any resistance on them - SportCrafters being a notable exception). Rollers are also harder to learn how to use properly and typically significantly more expensive than trainers of similar quality.

If you want a suggestion, go with the CycleOps Magneto trainer - it's about $250, pretty solid, easy to set up, provides progressive resistance (no knobs or levers to fiddle with) and is relatively quiet. If you can find one on Craigslist or something, so much the better. After a couple years you may want to upgrade and you'll probably have a better idea of what you're looking for based on your personal preferences.

Where I live no one is going to take it. I don't even need to lock my bike.

But for my own peace of mind I lock my bike and take my battery with me. For school/ work you just bring it to a locker if some room you have access to. For the supermarket I toss it in the trolley which I bring to my bike.

It's faster to remove the battery than lock the bike.

I wouldn't leave my battery outside for environmental reasons, too hot, too cold, too wet.

The battery itself isn't protected from theft or vandalism. You have to put the battery into something. You have you build your own on-bike security box.


No difference between 48 and 52 other than the 52 V will spin the motor 5-10% faster.

You can't be sure it fits. But dropout width for these hub motors are usually 135ish and 140-150 for the more powerful ebike motors.

Like I said the kit has nothing special and guarantees nothing, you can source all your own parts.

You have to do all your own wiring and everything in all cases.


Motor and battery is what costs a lot to ship (weight).

Controllers and other parts are cheap to source. You can grab a programmable controller and other accessories from EM3ev if order from there. Connectors, power wires, heat shrink, spare throttles...

200$ with free shipping is very hard to beat and we don't know anything specific about the motor like Kv or performance. When you order form QS you are pretty sure on what you get.

Cheaper:

https://www.amazon.com/Esright-Wheel-Electric-Bicycle-Conversion/dp/B06XDHLVDZ/ref=sr_1_6?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1504921519&sr=1-6&keywords=hub+motor

I'm sure you will be happy with the 160$ hub motor from Amazon, and worst case you slowly upgrade to a QS motor. We can get some Statorade (Gatorade for your motor stator) with the money saved. Automatically gives 50% more continuous power capability.

My only concern with the Amazon motor is it is slow (low Kv) and unknown stator width and copper fill. It would be nice to see inside the motor.

It's 160$, maybe we shouldn't worry too much.

He does mention the Travel Trac Comp Mag + Trainer as a sub $200 option:

>$100-$200 Trainers:

>This is a tough category, because there are so many entrants here and I’ve only used a few. And quite frankly, they’re all pretty similar.

>My general recommendation is to check out the Travel Trac Magnetic Trainers that Performance Bike offers (these are also branded under various other names worldwide – usually about $100-$120). The key thing is that you want to ensure it can handle an appropriate amount of watts. For that, I’d swag 300w for those just getting into the sport, but probably more like 400-500w if you’ve got a bit more strength. If you’re on the pointy end already, then you’ll already know your max wattage and already know you probably need more.

>The most important thing is ensuring that it meets some of the characteristics that I talked about earlier in the post on things to look at (materials, build, stability, lever for control, etc…).


Travel Trac Comp Mag + Trainer

I also used a variant of a Blackburn trainer for a while which might be what OP is looking for as well:

Blackburn Tech Mag Race Trainer - $119.99 for just the trainer.

The block is pretty standard size, but the bike itself is pretty big, 62cm. (I'm 6'3" and most of it is leg.) I also have the aerobars tilted just a few degrees upwards from perfectly level, so the end result is that the tips of them are 42" from the ground.

It may be possible for me to just rig up a little platform that attaches directly to the bars, but I feel like that might actually be too close. When I'm in aero position my hands are right at the end of the bar, and getting my hands over the keyboard in that position means the bulk of the laptop would be well off the front of the bars. My work lappy isn't very heavy, though, so maybe it'd work.

If you have a bike, you may want to consider just picking up a trainer to use with it. You can get a high-end trainer for $500, and a very good trainer for about $350.

You can also get magnetic and wind trainers for less than that, but fluid trainers are better.

And yes, these are very good for doing HIIT.

Yep, that's about the gist of it. You'll probably want to select a training program that has progression and periodization planned out in advance, which will give better improvement at lower risk of injury than just swimming/running/biking a ton with no particular plan in mind would. There are probably a number of "best triathlon training plan" threads if you search, eg this one came up for me in a search just now: https://www.reddit.com/r/triathlon/comments/9asx5l/the_training_plan_thread_to_end_all_training_plan/

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I like the triathlon plans on trainerroad.com, though I already own a smart trainer and cycling is my strongest of the three disciplines, so both of those factors weighed into my choice. At 17 you may not have the money to invest in a subscription service with a monthly fee and the upfront cost to buy indoor training equipment, in which case different plans might suit you better.

During the winter, I use this trainer with my bike: http://www.amazon.com/CycleOps-Mag-Indoor-Bicycle-Trainer/dp/B000BT577G

It works well enough. I've never tried riding while working, but I have played a fair amount of video games during the winter while on the trainer, so it is multi-tasking friendly.

I've been looking as well, this Bell trainer (80$) has been mentioned a few times as the best value. Looking for something used would probably be a good way to go too.

A couple others that are close in price:
Forza F2 Mag
Blackburn Trakstand Mag 3

I had to break out my rollers and was reminded of this thread. The rollers that I have are from Amazon at this link. Something that I purchased that really helps with training on the rollers is a Garmin Speed and Cadence Sensor. That said, if you already have a cycling computer it should track distance on rollers since both wheels are turning. Good luck.

aw man I came here because I have the exact same question you do.

my take on it: I'm considering getting this set from Amazon, seems to get pretty good reviews and the discount is tempting. As long as it's nice enough for me to be outside though, I can't justify the buy.

http://www.amazon.com/Minoura-Action-Advantage-Rollers-Trainer/dp/B001JBNAK6/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate you taking the time to measure.

I found one set of rollers that will fit my bike, but it looks like they're back-ordered on Amazon; won't ship until after Christmas.
I'm not willing to drop $300 on something that won't ship for a month.

https://www.amazon.com/Tacx-T1100-Galaxia-Roller/dp/B005YX5P4Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1479590084&sr=8-1&keywords=tacx+galaxia

Update: I found this Axiom Streamliner but a few of the reviews say it is pretty narrow for some trunk bags. Does anyone have experience with this rack or know of a good smallish trunk bag?

Yes, you'll benefit. I recommend rollers, instead:

http://www.amazon.com/Kreitler-Kompact-Challenger-Rollers-3-Inch/dp/B001COPZQC/ref=sr_1_52?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1418327767&sr=1-52&keywords=bike+rollers+indoor+trainer

But either one will allow you to get a killer cardio workout without going anywhere. I've used both, and am very happy with my rollers. I use them about 5 days a week.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NW882KM/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_3_w

+

https://www.amazon.com/Travel-Trac-Magnetic-Bicycle-Trainer/dp/B017KYFEKY/ref=lp_9272312011_1_1?srs=9272312011&ie=UTF8&qid=1483419214&sr=8-1


This can get you started for under $200 you can also get the fluid version of this trainer for an extra $40.

I personally went this route. I wanted to be sure I will make good use of zwift before I spend a lot more $$ on a smart trainer. Plus by the time next winter comes the barrier of entry on the smart trainers will obviously drop.

You should look into getting some bike trainer tape to protect your tire. Works great.
Bike Trainer Tape https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXO60KS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_JfzjzbBT7ACR9

I picked up this Graber model for only $140. Not sure why the price is so high now, but it's fit the bill nicely thus far:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B4WHGOG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's not the nicest trainer, but it's compact and quiet enough for my apartment.

Most trainers use something like this. Its just called a classic skewer. Since you got it used you're probably going to have to buy your own.

Kinetic by Kurt Rear Skewer for Trainer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001GSSDAY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_N16Wzb9H5T5X6

Don't mind the kurt kinetic brand in the name, these are all the same pretty much as long as they are silver/metal looking.

Nice setup - I suggest one of these https://www.amazon.com/Kinetic-Kurt-T-739-Trainer-Green/dp/B017EGDM70/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1520265472&sr=8-5&keywords=road+bike+trainer+tire makes your street tires last a lot longer.

anything like this should be good, don't need to spend more than $100. as always read reviews, but they should work for all kinds of bikes

A lot of good exercises for indoors involve using the body weight and no equipment. They also tend to be low intensity, and low impact, but have lasting results if you make a habit of them. As sad as I am linking to buzzfeed, a lot of these have been useful for me.

You could also consider buying something like a bike traner stand to turn an outdoor bike into an indoor exercise bike.

yup, they make trainer specific tires, looks like racing slicks:

https://www.amazon.com/Kinetic-Trainer-Tire-700-Green/dp/B017EGDM70/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1482262593&sr=8-4&keywords=trainer+tires

If I were to get this kit https://www.amazon.com/Esright-Wheel-Electric-Bicycle-Conversion/dp/B06XDHLVDZ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511922964&sr=8-3&keywords=electric+bike+26%22 could I just buy [this battery] (https://www.genstattu.com/tattu-14-8v-5200mah-4s-15c-30c-lipo-battery-pack-with-xt60-plug.html) to get it running? Would I need more than 1? And would I need some type of battery casing?

EDIT: now realize that is only 14V. If I could 2 of these https://www.genstattu.com/tattu-22-2v-5200mah-6s-15c-30c-lipo-battery-pack-with-xt60-plug.html would that be about enough power?

I'd Suggest this

http://www.amazon.com/Kinetic-Kurt-Rear-Skewer-Trainer/dp/B001GSSDAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422210489&sr=8-1&keywords=trainer+skewer