I have a magnetic trainer I used to use during the winter season. I wish I knew you, I would give you mine!

If you are used to riding outside, I’d go with a rear wheel off smart trainer and Zwift. I personally love the kicker core. This set up lets the resistance adjust automatically and tries to simulate outdoor riding. You would also need a mat and a good fan.

Thanks for the horse stall met recommendation, 16:36!

I cannot imagine being on a bike for THAT long, though -- WOW! Amazing!

Seconding the Zwift, Wahoo Kickr recommendations!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Used Kickrs are about half price on craigslist and FB marketplace. If you don’t need fancy, cyclo Ops wheel on trainers show up on DC craigslist all the time 50-100 dollars. Sturdy, simple.

The room where the bike is has w-w carpeting. I'm a little concerned about falling. (Thus my leaning towards a smart trainer.)

In this situation, consider a horse stall mat. I have this in my basement on carpet: IncStores 3/8 Inch Thick Premium... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PB71FV0?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share.

I’m on my bike for long periods (like 3-4 hours at a time sometimes, which I realize sounds insane) and I am up out of the saddle about every 10-15 minutes because the trainer lacks the same movement as outside making riding more aggressive bikes not as comfortable. Never once have I felt I would have a tip over.

The more expensive trainers like a v6 / v5 kickr or a tacx will offer some movement side to side also which helps mimic outdoor to aid with overall comfort. That’s mostly only an issue if you are going to be on there for more than say 45 minutes.

Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:Used Kickrs are about half price on craigslist and FB marketplace. If you don’t need fancy, cyclo Ops wheel on trainers show up on DC craigslist all the time 50-100 dollars. Sturdy, simple.

The room where the bike is has w-w carpeting. I'm a little concerned about falling. (Thus my leaning towards a smart trainer.)

Used Kickrs are about half price on craigslist and FB marketplace. If you don’t need fancy, cyclo Ops wheel on trainers show up on DC craigslist all the time 50-100 dollars. Sturdy, simple.

Thank you so much! I am trying to shift to indoor bicycling as my primary form of exercise.

Anonymous wrote:A friend had a trainer in his apt. He had to remove his back wheel and put the axle on the trainer or something.

There are wheel on and wheel off trainers.

The prices on this guide are outdates, but it explains the differences well https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/11/smart-cycle-trainer-recommendations-guide-winter.html/

To add, if you get a wheel off trainer such as the Wahoo kickr, kickr core (a great trainer), or the zwift hub - all those models will measure power. So, if you are actually interested in actual calorie expenditure, that will be about as accurate a number as you would get for any exercise piece of equipment anywhere.

You may also want to get a HR monitor strap, as watch based heart rate monitoring using a watch is essentially useless because of the body positioning.

You can also find this stuff very easily on FB marketplace used.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What you are looking for is a bike trainer, or wind trainer. Depending on the bike, you wouldn't need anything additional to adapt it but you may need a different back tire and axle to attach it to the trainer.

For online classes, just run the peloton app on an iPad.

Thanks for replying to my post. Is there a brick & mortar store to look at various trainers? I have read about wahoo Kickr and Zwift which seems to be good smart trainers.

Pretty much only a big Trek store locally is even going to have the most expensive wahoo kickr on display. There are lots of options. Including the zwift hub you already mentioned.

I would suggest finding a local cycling club, find that clubs FB page, and ask for some help. Somebody will help you out. I would if I saw your message I would.

I use zwift (the virtual platform with cycling avatars and worlds) and structured workouts exclusively for indoor which is 80% of my training overall, and 100% from around now until March. I have a wahoo kickr V5 and all thru axle bikes. I use an open box tablet from Best Buy and a cycling desk from Amazon.

A friend had a trainer in his apt. He had to remove his back wheel and put the axle on the trainer or something.

Anonymous wrote:What you are looking for is a bike trainer, or wind trainer. Depending on the bike, you wouldn't need anything additional to adapt it but you may need a different back tire and axle to attach it to the trainer.

For online classes, just run the peloton app on an iPad.

Thanks for replying to my post. Is there a brick & mortar store to look at various trainers? I have read about wahoo Kickr and Zwift which seems to be good smart trainers.

What you are looking for is a bike trainer, or wind trainer. Depending on the bike, you wouldn't need anything additional to adapt it but you may need a different back tire and axle to attach it to the trainer.

For online classes, just run the peloton app on an iPad.

I have a road bike (Cannondale) that I would like to use in our carpeted basement with a bike stand for exercise.

What do I need to buy to repurpose my bike as an exercise bike, ideally with online classes?