Winter for many cyclists and triathletes means indoor trainer time.

Trainers can be fitted with your own bike, and this is preferable, as it has been fitted for you, and you will be at your most efficient.

Find a local bike shop or a gym or recreation centre with spin or other bike training classes, as these are much more fun and informative than riding by yourself.

Trainer Tips:

*Indoor trainers cause you to sweat quite a bit. So people who sweat a lot should consider purchasing a sweat guard to protect their bicycle.
*If your bike has knobby tires, you may need to purchase a slick tire for the rear wheel.
*Best to buy a cheaper rear tire or a specific trainer tire, as most trainers will eat up expensive rear tires due to heat (when riding outside, tires are cooled by the wind).

If you do decide to train on your own, here are three main factors to consider when purchasing an indoor trainer:
1.    Type of resistance
2.    Budget
3.    Set-up time and storage

Below is a list of the seven main types of trainers for your bike and the pros and cons of each:

Fluid

Fluid trainers simulate the quiet ride and dynamic resistance of road conditions by using silicone or other fluids to create varying degrees of resistance. The resistance increases with your cadence and speed, making it a great tool for keeping fit during the winter months. It takes time for the fluid to warm up, but once it does the resistance really kicks in. The large flywheel gives the cyclist a realistic sensation of coasting or inertia. The faster you go, the harder the workout. More expensive than other trainers, fluid trainers are portable and easy to set up.

Magnetic

Magnetic (mag for short) trainers work much like fluid trainers but use magnetic resistance, which provides static (or linear) resistance. Mag trainers are usually quieter

Mechanical

This trainer uses a ball-bearing clutch-style design where the bearings slide in angled ramps against resistance plates. It uses centrifugal force to apply more pressure as you increase the speed of the unit.  Also, on some makes and models, bearing can be moved, added or subtracted, to change the resistance. About the same price or a bit less than magnetic trainers, mechanical trainers are also quite portable and easy to set up.

Rim Drive

Essentially, rim drive trainers operate with two wheels that run on the wheel rim that drives a belt attached to a magnetic resistance unit. These are great for mountain bikers especially, as the rear tire need not be changed from knobby to slick. However, they do not work as well on disk rims because the smaller rim surface is generally too small; they work better on rim brakes as there is a larger surface area for the rollers to run on. About the same price as magnetic trainers, rim drive trainers are also quite portable but a bit more challenging to set up.

Rollers

They do not support the bicycle. Balancing on your bike without flying off the rollers is the goal. They do offer some resistance but not as much as any of the other types or trainers and are better suited for practicing balance and smooth pedaling motion. A jerky riding style will cause the rider to move all over the rollers. With some units it is possible to attach a fan resistance unit. Rollers are easy to set up but not as portable as other trainers.

Wind Trainers

The least expensive of all trainers, wind trainers revolutionized the indoor bicycle trainer market back in the 1980s. They simulate wind resistance, but are so noisy (especially on wooden floors) that they are not very popular these days. (Note: Wind trainers will make you very unpopular if you live in a condo or apartment.) The resistance on most units is not as difficult as any of the other types of trainers (except rollers). Their main selling point these days is that they are inexpensive. Many are cheaply made and do not work as well as the other models, and most bicycle stores do not sell them anymore as they are inferior to similar products now available. Wind trainers are inexpensive, portable, and easy to set up, but very noisy.

Computerized trainers

Several manufacturers of fluid or magnetic resistance trainers offer computer software to analyze your ride or customize a specific riding course. These require a power source and a PC to run the software. On the plus side they offer lots of specific feedback like watts, speed, cadence, and much more, and you can even measure each leg’s power to see differences and understand varying training demands. Also, on some models it is possible to meet and race other cyclists online on a specific course and watch your progress. These are the most expensive indoor trainers and are not very portable and can be difficult to set up.

Riding indoors on any trainer is a great training tool that can be used to keep up a base level of fitness through the winter and to work on specific areas of training. Trainers should be used when possible with rides outside as well. Many think that riding indoors is much harder since there is no coasting, but indoor trainers cannot simulate hill climbing (with gravity) or wind and weather conditions (which can affect the workload). Generally, with the exception of rollers, trainers do not help sharpen a cyclist’s road-handling and reaction skills. So use indoor trainers to keep up your fitness over the winter, and build on that in the springtime to achieve your highest bicycle fitness ever. Get out the towels and fluids, set up your indoor trainer of choice, crank the tunes, keep fit, and have fun!

Here's What Western Canada's Top Cyclists and Triathletes Say:

“I was born in the Rock ’n’ Roll generation, so I favour the Kurt Kinetic Rock ’n’ Roll Road Machine. It is a fluid trainer where the frame rocks from side to side and thereby simulates a realistic ride. ‘Laissez les bons temps rouler! Let the good times roll.’” —Brian del Calstilho, co-owner, Tri It Multisport, Calgary

“I use a CycleOps Fluid 2 trainer. For the price and value, this is the same trainer that some Pro teams use. It uses a "Power Band" technology—no levers are required to change the resistance as it automatically adjusts to your cadence (i.e., the more you put into it, the harder you work). It is very smooth and quiet with an accurate road-like feel. If you want something that is durable, easy to use, and can improve your cadence, form, and strength, the CycleOps Fluid 2 is worth every penny. Be sure to save some budget dollars for a few key accessories like videos, a bike thong (used to catch your sweat), a training riser (to stabilize your bike and better simulate climbs), and the all-important fan to cool you down on your static rides.”—Tim Wakaruk, Level II Mountain Bike coach, Opus Bikes team rider

The lack of manually applied resistance establishes the fluid trainer as most comparable to actual road riding; your body weight creates the resistance. A major attraction is its simplicity of setup and the fact that there are fewer parts that require replacement or repair.”—Liane Angerman, former Synergy team member, currently training with TCR Sports Lab and Kronos Tri Club in Calgary and RideClean in Arizona

"When the weather’s gross out or I have a specific spin workout to do I prefer to hop on the rollers. Rollers are great since they force you to spin efficiently, if you aren't pedalling full circles you will feel your body start to bounce and you may fall off. And for the long indoor spins rollers keep you awake, since you have to balance similar to riding on the road. But on occasion I will use a wind trainer, when I have to do high-intensity workouts, or low-cadence strength training. I also use a wind trainer when I'm warming up before a race, since it’s easy to change resistance, get on and off, and it also acts as a bike stand.
“I don't have a specific favourite company or model. For rollers I use Minoura Action Roller Advance. They are great for travelling and storing as they fold up and are lightweight. For my wind trainer workouts I use the Taxc Satori, which is magnetic and provides great resistance.”—Tim Sherstobitoff, Total Restoration Cycling Team

"At TCR, we prefer Computrainers for our group spin workouts. We currently use sixteen Computrainers, and they have been very robust over the last two years.  
“Computrainers are intended for the novice to advanced participant who enjoy training with ‘numbers’ using an interactive display. Features such as Power, Speed, Place, Watts/kg are some of the features that make the program fun and a great workout. Our common quote is ‘you cannot cheat or hide with Computrainers.’”—Cory Fagan, TCR Sport Lab, Calgary

"Without a doubt, the Computrainer system is superior for Canadians who need to train indoors. Their tools in quantifying work, modifying technique, and maximizing motivation to train justifies the additional purchase cost. With their new real course video virtual riding and multi-rider system, athletes can specifically prepare for most of the popular triathlons or race head to head with others."—Calvin Zaryski, Coach, Critical Speed, Triathlon Canada Age Group and Junior Coach of the Year 2005 and 2007

“Computerized: At the top level this is the cat's meow. For wattage work my favourite was to double the information with a Computerized Unit and also use a computer or wattage metre on the bike, compare and see how accurate your information is. The true workhorse for the big bucks.
“Fluid: In my experience the best for hard intervals at the most reasonable price, also the noise is low—moot point these days as everybody uses music, but if you don't then this is the most versatile useful tool. Works well also with on bike computers for real world simulation. Once you have calibrated, your own bike wattage metre/computer on a computerized unit then doing accurate work on a fluid can be done.
“Rim: If you are warming up for a mountain bike race, changing wheels can upset your disc spacing and is a hassle. I haven't used a fluid one and find that I crushed the mechanical, but the rim trainer is ideal for warming up and meets a couple of functions in one unit.
“Mechanical: For lighter riders and people who perhaps are doing mileage or easy spins, this unit is easy on the pocket book. Usually they can't handle heavy loads and tend to be noisy, but the industry is moving forward; perhaps they are better now.
“Rollers: A necessary phase of any cyclists development, ‘getting smooth.’ Also works for warming up, but overall more specific to Track and Road, good for easy spins and cadence work as well. Difficult to do hard efforts on, but they do have bar stabilizers that allow for hard efforts.
“I think that the key to any trainer is making it real world, so use a computer to try to get your resistance correct and even consider, if you are doing hill work, prop the front end of your bike on a stool and get the body into the right position.
“Training is just a simulation of racing, or practice is just preparation for performance at any level.”—Andreas Hestler, TransRockies Challenge winner, 2004 and 2005

“Working with the serious recreational athlete who also have to balance work and family with their hobby, a trainer with power output is a no brainer. For indoor trainers Computrainer is the gold standard, but for twenty-five per cent of the cost the TACX Flows provide a rider with power (watts), which is essential for maximizing ones training time.”—Kevin Masters, Aerobic Power Training Systems

“I use computerized trainer for shorter, interval-type training rides to gauge power output while I prefer rollers for longer steady-state riding for a more interesting ride that also improves my balance and pedalling efficiency.”—Danelle Kabush, Luna Pro Team, 2008 World Xterra Championship silver medallist

About the Author

Dean Stanton is a triathlon coach, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, with over twenty-five years in the sport of triathlon and twelve years of coaching experience. He has been leading spin classes for over seven years and currently has classes in Vancouver and North Vancouver. For more info visit www.tri1.net.