Buying a cycle trainer is a great way to maintain, or build your bike fitness whether you can ride outside or not. These work simply by converting any standard road bike, into a stationary exercise bike. This means you can get the workout you crave, on your regular bike, even when you can’t go outside. This is ideal for riding through the winter months, or just keeping dry when it’s rainy outside. With the right cycle trainer, you’ll still get a great workout, and you won’t have to worry about your fitness when you can’t be biking outside.
The main thing will be choosing the right cycle trainer for your preferences. There are a variety of different types, and the right one will be a combination of what you’re most comfortable with, and also the type of resistance that you’re looking for. The main types are magnetic, fluid and air resistance. The most basic is air, it’s usually the cheapest and is still relatively effective. With air resistance your pedaling moves a small fan around so that your degree of difficulty raises the harder you pedal. Although this only provides a limited amount of difficulty, so experienced riders aren’t likely to get a full workout.
When you want to ensure your muscles receive a proper run out, you’ll find magnetic is a better choice. This involves using adjustable magnetic fields to increase the amount of resistance on your tire. This way, you can control how difficult your ride is so that you can go easy for your warm up, and really amp up the difficulty when it comes time to switch into fifth gear. This way you provide a lot of resistance so that your muscles, as well as cardiovascular system get the utmost from your workout.
But perhaps the best type of cycle trainer, and the one that most of the pros choose, is fluid resistance. This is because, fluid recreates the feeling of riding on real road the best. It’s uneven, and extremely difficult the harder you pedal, making for the closest to reality ride that you can possibly get. Nothing will provide more resistance, or help you replicate the feeling of really riding, without having to be out on the road. However, fluid cycle trainer models also tend to be the most expensive, so they are probably best left to the most serious of bike riders. This way you can consider the cost an investment, more than anything else.
When you’re looking to buy a cycle trainer, the best place to go, is always going to be a sporting goods store. Here they will have the best variety of different types, so that you can find the model that perfectly conforms to your riding style and skill level. This way you get a cycle trainer that will have you working just as hard as if you were actually out on the road. Remember to always check and see if you’re able to try out the trainer before buying, just so that you can ensure you really find the right one for you.