On 1/10/2016 4:47 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Sun, 10 Jan 2016 08:18:11 -0600, mark cleary
wrote:
I have been riding a cycleops wind trainer for years and boring but
safer than ice. IT works fine and give good work out. I seem to go
along at about 21-22 mph but have no idea of the watts. Frankly it is
a great work out and I feel that for the given time a better cardio
workout than riding outside unless I am going to do a time trial. I am
thinking of upgrading to the Kurt Kinetic FLuid they get great reviews
and are a bit more quiet. I don't mind the noise but anyone here have
experience with comparisons? I can read them on the net but would be
nice to hear from someone in the newsgroup.

My wife bought one of those a few years ago. I had had a CycleOps fluid
which was replaced under warranty at least once of not twide because the
impeller failed. Maybe it was that the replacement eventually failed.
I think Kurt took over that product line so I would advise doing some
searching around to see about long-term durability. Whatever the
problem with the cycleOps ones was, maybe it's been solved.

The nice thing about the Kurt is that the unit is very stable and the
cradle in which the bike sits rocks slightly. With the CycleOps, which
was rigid, I found that I cracked two frames where the seatstay was
brazed onto the seat cluster. With the Kurt that ought to not be a
problem because the trainer is designed to absorb some of those forces.
The Kurt is very quiet and gives a good workout- it is quieter than I
remember my CycleOps being.

I also have a set of rollers which add the issue of dynamic balance and
as such are a little less boring- you can fall off the rollers if you
stop paying attention! Theres a section of an Eddy Merckx video which
shows him on rollers, spinning away at high RPM and so much smoother
than I will ever be. That's one of the things that riding rollers does-
makes you pedal stroke smooth.

Are others able to read books while riding trainers or rollers?

Many years ago I rode rollers in the winter but found it excruciatingly
boring. (I'm not much of a TV guy.) So I got a book rack that hooks on
handlebars, but I was unable to read. I don't know if it was having to
watch the rollers to stay centered, or just the exertion, but I'd find
myself reading the same paragraph over and over.

A friend has given us her wind trainer. I wonder if it will allow
reading.

--
- Frank Krygowski