Hats off to Mark, Shim, and the other die-hards who are putting in some frosty outdoor miles. There was a time when I would be out there with the rest of the hard-core MTB troops. (Don’t start me talking, or will go into a bunch of war stories from my youth.) However, as I approach senior citizen status, I have noticed that I have become more fragile with age. This is a nice way of saying that I have become a winter weakling!
So, I have made my peace with training indoors on a trainer using different workout videos. For the past three years I have been using an inexpensive mag trainer. Despite regular maintenance I noticed that the unit was getting louder and louder. It would set off the doorbell, dogs howled, and the police were called on me. My wife said that the noise qualified as a form of spousal abuse. I also noticed that it was also starting to emit a funky electrical burning odor—ugh!
I decided that it was time for an upgrade to a CycleOps Fluid 2 trainer. I had always heard that there was a significant difference between mag and fluid trainers. This may well be an understatement. Mag trainers, I was told, tend to lessen in resistance as cadence increases. Fluid trainers are quite the opposite; resistance increases as pedal cadence increases. I set the tension on the new unit with the least amount of resistance. When I got on it for the first time I thought that I had not fully recovered from the ride from the day before. I just couldn’t push the same gears ratios on the fluid trainer as I did on the mag trainer. Indeed, the faster I pedaled the greater the resistance. I quickly discovered that my new fluid trainer more closely approximates a road ride. With my inexpensive mag trainer I did not always find my workouts strenuous even when the unit was set to the highest resistance and when I was in 53 x 12. At times I thought that the Carmichael Climbing video was too easy. However, with the fluid my workouts have become much more difficult. This is good!
All this to say, that if you are a winter wimp and/or you are considering getting a new trainer or trainer upgrade, go fluid. And if it fits in your budget, go for a unit like the CycleOps. And for the rest of you courageous outdoor winter riders, may you have the upper hand over old man winter until spring arrives!
2 comments:
I agree you're a winter weakling, Gary. ;) I guess when I get to be old and grey like you, I will sweat all over the floor again. But then again, Shim still rides outside in the cold.
I started with a Blackburn mag trainer and then went to a Kinetic Roadmaster fluid. It has a power meter accessory that calculates power based on wheel speed. This gives an approximation of the exponential power curve to increase speed. It also allows me to plot cadence, power, and heartrate; and removes environmental variables from performance tests.
Trainers have there place and I need to set mine up for training. But for now, I would rather ride outside in cold weather.
I have a multi setting mag trainer for sale if anyone on a budget needs one. $10.00 you pick it up or make it really easy for me to get it to you.
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