It snowed for the first time today and I realized that I won't be riding my bike outdoors anytime soon. I want to buy a trainer but I'm not sure what to get. Should I get a bike roller or trainer?

Either a roller trainer or bike trainer will give you a good workout. Both are effective in keeping you riding (key) while the weather is inclement for a day or two.. or the weather is lousy for a few months over the winter.

A bike trainer (wind trainer, magnetic trainer, fluid trainer, and rimdrive trainer) is similar to riding a stationary bike at the gym. Just pedal away to your hearts content. Watch TV, put your head down, close your eyes, change gears, and you'll be fine. With the bike trainer, your front tire is stationary while your rear tire spins on a roller. If you setup the trainer correctly, you won't have any issues with tipping over, falling, etc... again, just like a stationary bike.

When riding a roller trainer, your tires are spinning on spinning rollers. The issue here is that you need to fully concentrate on riding or you will fall off the trainer. Turn to look at something that caught your eye beside you, and you may fall off. So, many cyclists who use a roller trainer will get on and off the bike with the help of a wall. Yes, they setup the roller just a foot or so away from a wall. Try taking off really fast on a roller trainer and you'll most likely end up on the floor.

So, why would someone want a bike trainer? Because bike trainers in general have good resistance and will thus give you a good workout.

So, why would someone want a roller trainer? Because although roller trainers don't offer the same resistance, they give you the feel of being on the road.

There is a neat alternative. Although it is not what I consider inexpensive, it gives you the best of both worlds.
I'll let a video take care of the explanation for me.

Kinetic Rock & Roll Trainer w/ Road Resistance Unit (T-016)

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This entry was posted on December 2, 2010 at 9:43 AM and is filed under indoor bicycle trainer, indoor bike trainer, roller trainer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.