Indoor Trainer

What is the main difference b/t a Mag and a Fluid trainer? It looks
as though the fluid is more $$, is it worth the extra?
Also, is Blackburn a respectable brand? I know CycleOps is, what
others are?

Mags were reputed to be much noisier than fluids. You'll need to pre-
test to know if that is still true. Even in winter, the world is
probably saturated with trainers, maybe not with the latest
electronics and reasons to boost prices from $100 to $300, though. So,
if you care about $, find a piece of basement ware. When I looked
there in DC, I had my choice of 4 in a week, with prices from $20-$50.
As with most such stuff: too boring to have been used much by the
sellers.

For all we know, there may be just a few mfgs, which customize them
with different decals for different vendors.

What is the main difference b/t a Mag and a Fluid trainer? It looks
as though the fluid is more $$, is it worth the extra?
Also, is Blackburn a respectable brand? I know CycleOps is, what
others are?

tonyalt3 wrote:
What is the main difference b/t a Mag and a Fluid trainer? It looks
as though the fluid is more $$, is it worth the extra?
Also, is Blackburn a respectable brand? I know CycleOps is, what
others are?

I have a Blackburn, it works fine, wasn't very expensive and the company
is very good about support. I don't know why anyone would claim mag
units to be noisier than fluid, the resistance unit has no contact
points except tire to roller. The working mechanism is only an aluminum
disk spinning between stationary magnets, generating eddy current drag.
Very simple, very reliable and will never leak.

In article
,
Peter Cole wrote:

tonyalt3 wrote:
What is the main difference b/t a Mag and a Fluid trainer? It looks
as though the fluid is more $$, is it worth the extra?
Also, is Blackburn a respectable brand? I know CycleOps is, what
others are?

I have a Blackburn, it works fine, wasn't very expensive and the company
is very good about support. I don't know why anyone would claim mag
units to be noisier than fluid, the resistance unit has no contact
points except tire to roller. The working mechanism is only an aluminum
disk spinning between stationary magnets, generating eddy current drag.
Very simple, very reliable and will never leak.

Perhaps the fluid dash pot absorbs sound and mechanical vibration.
Just guessing, having used neither. Other possibilities include
* trainer design: bearings, drive train, feet, ...
* location acoustics: walls, floors, ceiling, ...
* floor to trainer coupling.

--
Michael Press