Cycleops Fluid2 bicycle trainer

[D'z Nutz]

I went and bought a bike trainer at the Bow Cycle sale a few weekends back. I was just gonna go pick up their cheapest one but when I got there it was gone, so the salesman talked me into getting the Cycleops Fluid 2 trainer. It was a bit more than I wanted to spend, but I figured I'd give it a shot.

I finally got around to setting up the trainer this weekend. (Skip the next two paragraphs if you want the meat without the potatoes.)

It was a bit of a pain in the ass though. Not so much that it was hard to set up, but because everything I read suggested I get a road wheel to keep the noise and vibration down as well as to prevent uneven wear between the front and rear tire. I tried looking for a used rear wheel with a road tire, but they're surprisingly hard to find! Maybe cause people haven't pulled their bikes out of winter storage? I dunno. I went back to Bow Cycle to see what I could get and the guy recommended getting a tire specifically for trainers. Fuck, that was gonna cost me $70 plus a new tube and if I wanted a spare rim for easy switching between my regular tire, that'd be another $80+ on top of it. Fawk! I was about to pony up the cash, but then I remembered hampstor was giving away a road bike for free so I went and got it from him.

I was all ready to set up the free bike for the trainer until I realized the replacement axle that came with the trainer for its quick release mount was smaller than the one on the freecycle. FFFFFFFFFUUUUU!! Back to drawing board.

I did some Googling and found others had a cheap, but effective solution for trainers without needing to get a new tire...

http://www.typicalfish.com/images/beyond/cycleops_0005.jpg

DUCT TAPE! :rofl:

Close up after adding a couple layers:
http://www.typicalfish.com/images/beyond/cycleops_0006.jpg

On the trainer:
http://www.typicalfish.com/images/beyond/cycleops_0007.jpg

Anyways, probably not the ideal solution, but from what I read people have successfully used duct tape to cut down on the vibration and noise without needing to get a dedicated tire. Works for me. I gave it a test ride and checked every few kilometers to see if there was anything that could've gone wrong (overheating, wear, etc...) and everything seemed to be holding up. And if necessary, I'll put down a hefty $5 to replace more tape as needed! Haha! I put on my first 10km of the year tonight and even hit a top speed of 40km/h:

http://www.typicalfish.com/images/beyond/cycleops_0004.jpg

I fell short of my goal of hitting 1000km last summer mostly due to unfavorable weather, so this year I'm gonna try make it up by hitting 1500km by September (this year's only my second year of biking) and with the trainer, I think I can pull it off.

Overall, I'd have to say I'm really pleased with the trainer. I think it's a keeper! :thumbsup:

Anyways, here's some pics of my bike on the trainer:
http://www.typicalfish.com/images/beyond/cycleops_0002.jpg

http://www.typicalfish.com/images/beyond/cycleops_0003.jpg


Cole's Notes: D'z Nutz is a cheap Chinaman.

[swak]

ahahaha... Awesome.
.. never knew about the duct tape trick before though!! ahahah.. thats sweet... But i have the trainer tire, and its basically just a wax tire (more complex that that obviously, but you get the idea!)..

I got the same trainer, and IMO, its well worth the extra few dollars..

Never had a problem with it, i bagged on it all winter and its still holding strong.

Good Luck with the goals man!

[scary_perry]

I bought the first gen cyclops in 1992.

Doing a 45min interval workout 3-4 times per week, I lost 30 lbs (down to 145 - I am 175cm- 5'9"). Developed a 40bpm resting heatrate, max 214bpm. I used to put the fear of god into my riding mates when I would sprint up to the top of Nose Hill from John Lauire... in my 42 ring.

Those were good times.

The original Cyclorobx workout is rare - I digitized mine from VHS. I could give you a copy if you like.

I stopped doing this workout 10 years ago. Now I am fat and very slow.