Bicycle Trainers

Bicycle trainers keep you on track

If the weather doesn't cooperate, or life gets in the way of your cycling schedule, it can be difficult to maintain a good training routine. Having a bicycle trainer means that you can get a training session in for the day, regardless of the conditions.

Trainers work by temporarily converting a road bike into a stationary bicycle, with a frame that holds the back wheel off the ground so that it spins freely. The tyre rests on a roller, providing resistance. You'll find a wide range of bike trainers for sale on eBay from brands including CycleOps, Drivo, and JetBlack. The main types are wind, magnetic, and fluid bike trainers.

This is one of the oldest styles of indoor bike trainer. The act of pedalling powers a fan, which provides resistance. This resistance increases when the back wheel spins faster, either because you're pedalling more quickly, or you're using a higher gear. Wind bicycle trainers are basic and durable and are more economical than other types. However, they do produce a lot of noise and their resistance level can't be adjusted.

Magnetic bike trainers use a magnetic flywheel to provide resistance. Some newer models are labelled as electronic, however, most of these are variations on traditional mag trainers with electromagnetic resistance units. These units can be controlled via a remote or a software app. The newer electromagnetic versions have a wide variety of features and are much quieter than wind trainers.

Fluid bike trainers are also based on a magnetic flywheel, however, this type of trainer works by adding viscous fluid to improve resistance options. The fluid becomes increasingly more difficult to push through when you increase the resistance. Fluid trainers are a very popular choice, possibly because they have a much more road-like feel than other styles of trainers.