Stationary Bike Stand Buying Tips and Reviews
We previously spoke about the three considerations you need to look at when buying an indoor trainer (notably your goals, your time available, and your budget), but here are another three factors that are also critical: ride-ability, durability, and repeatability.
To cut a long story short, we’ll break it down into quick bite-sized morsels:
- Ride-ability is the replication of that on-road feel, that feel you get when you’re out on your bike. Not all trainers on the market have that, but if it’s really crucial for your indoor sessions, you’ll probably be very satisfied with the Rock n Roller or the Road Machine from Kurt Kinetic.
- Durability is the trainer’s ability to last for more than one intense winter…depending on your use, that might rule out the cheaper end of the market (these three are cheap and cheerful, but we can’t guarantee their durability). For example, if you’re intent on a fluid trainer, make sure you get one known NOT to leak, such as the impressive CycleOps Fluid 2.
- Repeatability is the ability for the trainer to replicate your training sessions, crucial if you want to measure any progress you might be making. This depends on the resistance curve; if your trainer has too many variations in resistance, it becomes difficult to replicate…
The video below gives a great analysis of all those factors. And the guy in the video is the Australian Cycling Coach, so the fella knows what he’s talking about…
