Turbo Trainers

What is a turbo trainer?

For anyone who watched cycling at the Olympic Games you may have seen Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton or other team members using turbo trainers to warm-up inbetween track races.

They work by holding a bike stationery while it's rear wheel rests on, or is pressed onto rollers, which are subject to a turning resistance allowing you to warmup or work out on your own bike.

The reasons for buying a turbo trainer extend beyond simple exercise requirements, as they can be used at home for serious and repetitive planned training, particularly when it is inconvenient or difficult to go outside. This means that winter time doesn’t put an end to your fitness and being able to train on an actual bike is a great advantage over just using a cycling machine in a gym, particularly as you’ll still use your normal racing position and posture.

In addition if you are trying to train for cycling events, there may not be suitable roads, hills or challenges in your locality, even if the weather is perfect for cycling outdoors. A turbo trainer in your house or garage can allow you to set up suitable training programs for whatever events you are planning.

Specifications and functions

Turbo trainers come with a variety of functions ranging from simple load application by manual adjustment, through computer programmable models for cycle training routines to high-technology virtual reality trainers.

Many people start out with a budget or cheap turbo trainer, mainly to see if it suits them as there is a level of personal choice involved not just function.

In addition, although most turbo trainers will accept most bikes they are not all ideally suited to the different cycling disciplines. If you are serious about your training and are a competitive cyclist it's best to find out which models might best suit your needs. Reviews of turbo trainers are useful for this, especially if you can find a cyclist who owns one and does the same type of cycling as you.

Where will you use it and store it?

This may seem an obvious thought, but even the fluid turbo trainers create a fair bit of noise (and your bike will add to this indoors as well), so before you buy one give serious thought to where you will locate it. Consider neighbours as well and/or whether there is someone downstairs, as just the regular vibrations could drive family members mad !

Garages and sheds are an obvious answer; perhaps with a bit of heating for winter although you'll probably generate enough heat of your own!

Realism of cycling on a turbo trainer

One of the main issues that concern both cyclists and the technologists who design turbo trainers is the level of realism you can expect when using the machine. This is addressed in different ways by different manufacturers.

The majority of trainers fix the rear hubs of your bike to the frame and then bring up the roller to meet the tyre, so the pressure on the tyre is constant and depends on careful adjustment. However, there are a few turbo trainers where the riders natural weight is used to press onto the rollers, which is claimed to give a more reliable grip, often with less tyre wear.

The use of a flexible frame on some machines also allows for a somewhat more realistic feel while riding, as the bike moves around slightly, as it would on the road.