Bike Trainer for a Mountain Bike

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lkokot
lkokot Posts: 80 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a Trek Marlin 5 Mountain Bike (29er) and was wondering what a good trainer attachment can I get for it so I can train at home in the winter months.

I heard good things about CycleOps, but I'm not sure if their products will work with my bike since its a 29er.

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  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    Cyclops and Kurt Kinetic are the best "dumb" trainers out there. I do believe they are compatible with MTBs. Especially 29ers since the size of a 700c road bike wheel is also about 29".
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    You might want to consider getting a slick tire for the rear though. Knobby MTB tires make a hell of a racket on trainer drums.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
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    glevinso wrote: »
    You might want to consider getting a slick tire for the rear though. Knobby MTB tires make a hell of a racket on trainer drums.

    And the friction won't let them last long!

    Most trainers will work, the cheap Performance one I have works with any tire between 24" and 700c.
    I don't think a wheel-off trainer will work though. Like a Wahoo KICKR. Maybe, maybe not. Wahoo says it'll fit 130mm, 135mm or 142mm hubs and 29ers though.
  • lkokot
    lkokot Posts: 80 Member
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    scorpio516 wrote: »
    glevinso wrote: »
    You might want to consider getting a slick tire for the rear though. Knobby MTB tires make a hell of a racket on trainer drums.

    And the friction won't let them last long!

    Most trainers will work, the cheap Performance one I have works with any tire between 24" and 700c.
    I don't think a wheel-off trainer will work though. Like a Wahoo KICKR. Maybe, maybe not. Wahoo says it'll fit 130mm, 135mm or 142mm hubs and 29ers though.

    Sounds good. Do you guys have any recommendation of places and brands for the slick tires?
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    Ar you really sure you want to buy a vomitron? I hate mine and don't use it. Thank goodness I got it for free from a friend.

    In winter I prefer to walk and run. I will happily wait till spring to ride.
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    I ride my trainer 4 days a week in the winter. Even in the nicer weather months I still ride the trainer at least once, if not twice a week. You can get a better workout on the trainer.
  • lkokot
    lkokot Posts: 80 Member
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    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Ar you really sure you want to buy a vomitron? I hate mine and don't use it. Thank goodness I got it for free from a friend.

    In winter I prefer to walk and run. I will happily wait till spring to ride.

    Could you elaborate as to why you hate it?
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    lkokot wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Ar you really sure you want to buy a vomitron? I hate mine and don't use it. Thank goodness I got it for free from a friend.

    In winter I prefer to walk and run. I will happily wait till spring to ride.

    Could you elaborate as to why you hate it?

    Boring and monotonous. I need stimulus as in something to look at, smell, and feel. I've tried it watching television or videos and it still didn't make it any more tolerable. Riding on roads and trails most all of your senses are constantly stimulated at every new turn or mile. Riding in one's basement, garage, or whatever is sensory deprivation.

    It also doesn't feel the same. There is no leaning, no bumps, no wind, I used a fan for some air movement. Your bike is bolted to a frame. Some friends ride rollers which at least allows some of the normal riding sensations.

    It takes a real commitment to sit in one place and stare at whatever for a half hour or more. I know people that do it regularly but not me.

    The majority of exercise equipment purchased in January is used to hang laundry on by March or April. I advise you to be sure before you make a significant outlay of cash. Maybe borrow one for a week.
  • L_Master
    L_Master Posts: 354 Member
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    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    lkokot wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    Ar you really sure you want to buy a vomitron? I hate mine and don't use it. Thank goodness I got it for free from a friend.

    In winter I prefer to walk and run. I will happily wait till spring to ride.

    Could you elaborate as to why you hate it?

    Boring. Riding in one's basement, garage, or whatever is sensory deprivation.

    I can totally understand where you are coming from on much of the post, but this part I don't follow.

    If you're riding hard, there is too much pain to be worried about any 'sensory deprivation', the intensity of the ride takes full command of your focus and mental attention.

    If you haven't tried it, Zwift can work very well for many people. No, you won't get smells and you can't lean into turns but you do get riding with others, needing to change gears for hills, great visuals, etc. It makes endurance sessions the trainer palatable for some.

    Beyond that, the best solution is just to do short sessions of 30-60 mins with some hard repeats. Not really possible to be bored when you're gasping for air or desperately recovering before the start of the next repeat.

  • L_Master
    L_Master Posts: 354 Member
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    If you KNOW you will ride the trainer and want the best experience, Wahoo Kickr hands down. By far the best trainer out there. Otherwise, just get a cheap 100-300 USD turbo, switch out the tire to a trainer tire, and see how it goes.
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    I use a Kurt Kinetic Rock-n-Roll. The Wahoo would be a nice upgrade but honestly I like the KK enough to stick with it. I find that when I ride the trainer I prefer doing specific power work so as much fun as Zwift can be it tends not to work with my style of indoor riding. I am more of a Sufferfest guy :)
  • L_Master
    L_Master Posts: 354 Member
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    glevinso wrote: »
    I use a Kurt Kinetic Rock-n-Roll. The Wahoo would be a nice upgrade but honestly I like the KK enough to stick with it. I find that when I ride the trainer I prefer doing specific power work so as much fun as Zwift can be it tends not to work with my style of indoor riding. I am more of a Sufferfest guy :)

    Even though I train structured, I still use Zwift. Depending on the workout I'll just create the file in zwift and let it use Kickr ERG mode to change the resistance, or I'll do it myself from the phone.

    Even doing that, I personally enjoy the visuals more than just starting at the clock on my Garmin/Wahoo phone app
  • lkokot
    lkokot Posts: 80 Member
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    L_Master wrote: »
    If you KNOW you will ride the trainer and want the best experience, Wahoo Kickr hands down. By far the best trainer out there. Otherwise, just get a cheap 100-300 USD turbo, switch out the tire to a trainer tire, and see how it goes.

    Those look so nice, but sooooo expensive!

    I was looking at CycleOps which are not that cheap, but seem to be pretty good. Any places online you would recommend for equipment and trainer tires?
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
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    lkokot wrote: »
    L_Master wrote: »
    If you KNOW you will ride the trainer and want the best experience, Wahoo Kickr hands down. By far the best trainer out there. Otherwise, just get a cheap 100-300 USD turbo, switch out the tire to a trainer tire, and see how it goes.

    Those look so nice, but sooooo expensive!

    I was looking at CycleOps which are not that cheap, but seem to be pretty good. Any places online you would recommend for equipment and trainer tires?

    Honestly, Amazon has everything you could need.

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