Just got a magnetic trainer...gotta question

Hello...I'm new to the group and I've got a situation I was hoping you
folks could help with. I just got a Minoura MAG-500D Magnetic Bicycle
Trainer. So far so good. I'm using it with my Giant bike. I have a
bike computer on this bike and it gets the data from the front tire.
Well, as you know, with a trainer the front tire is not rolling. So I
moved the sensor to the back tire, and the spokes of the tire are not
close enough to the fork for the computer to pick up the sensor. Any
suggestions how to work this out?

Thanks!

Mike

"Mike" wrote: (clip) the spokes of the tire are not close enough to the
fork for the computer to pick up the sensor. Any suggestions how to work
this out?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Obviously, you need to mount the magnet closer to the sensor, or the sensor
closer to the magnet. Several ideas occur to me:
1.) Use hot glue to attach a piece of a pencil, or any straight short stick
to two spokes, and glue the magnet to the tip of the stick.
2.) If you have a beat-up helmet or handlebar mirror, you may be able to
improvise a sensor support that uses the ball-joints for fine tuning.
3.) You could hold the sensor close to the spokes taking support from part
of the Minoura framework. Maybe use a hose clamp or a C-clamp. Heavy
copper wire to hold the sensor would allow bending for adjustment.

Thanks for the response. Maybe these ideas were obvious, but I was at
a bit of a dead-end.

Mike wrote:
Hello...I'm new to the group and I've got a situation I was hoping
you
folks could help with. I just got a Minoura MAG-500D Magnetic
Bicycle
Trainer. So far so good. I'm using it with my Giant bike. I have a
bike computer on this bike and it gets the data from the front tire.
Well, as you know, with a trainer the front tire is not rolling. So
I
moved the sensor to the back tire, and the spokes of the tire are not
close enough to the fork for the computer to pick up the sensor. Any
suggestions how to work this out?

Why use a speedometer with a trainer? Mileage is meaningless, use your
watch.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

I see your point. But I've got this cool little bike computer and I
just want to use it. Maybe it makes no sense, but as my wife will tell
you, most of what I do makes no sense!

Thanks again!

Mike

It's not meaningless if you want to see improvement over time. More
mileage with the same effort (heart rate) in the same amount of time
shows improvement.

Or faster speed with the same effort...

Or same distance in a shorter time...

If it helps you motivate to train, then why not?

Tama

..
Tama wrote:
It's not meaningless if you want to see improvement over time. More
mileage with the same effort (heart rate) in the same amount of time
shows improvement.

Or faster speed with the same effort...

Or same distance in a shorter time...

If it helps you motivate to train, then why not?

Tama
Of course its meaningless because it is very unlikely that you can set
the pressure against the wheel exactly the same each session. Mileage
when you aren't moving is a difficult concept to take seriously.

Mike wrote:
I see your point. But I've got this cool little bike computer and I
just want to use it. Maybe it makes no sense, but as my wife will
tell
you, most of what I do makes no sense!


Ok, now I get it. I went into a full bathtub with my new scuba gear.

On 11 Apr 2005 12:46:20 -0700, "gds" wrote:

.
Tama wrote:
It's not meaningless if you want to see improvement over time. More
mileage with the same effort (heart rate) in the same amount of time
shows improvement.

Or faster speed with the same effort...

Or same distance in a shorter time...

If it helps you motivate to train, then why not?

Tama
Of course its meaningless because it is very unlikely that you can set
the pressure against the wheel exactly the same each session. Mileage
when you aren't moving is a difficult concept to take seriously.

Not necessarily, you are assuming that the bike is being removed
between sessions. I put my old road bike in the trainer, after the
first snowfall and usually don't remove it, until spring.
In absolute terms, mileage in a trainer does not compare to actual
mileage. But as others have mentioned, it can gauge your performance.
So, it has no meaning for you, or Peter, but as you can see, it can be
used as a training tool.


Life is Good!
Jeff