First Glance: CycleOps Mag Indoor Bike Trainer
I purchased the CycleOps Mag Indoor Bike Trainer a few days ago. Once the snow started to fall here in Salt Lake City, I sadly locked up my bike, thinking I wouldn’t see it again for at least four months. I resigned myself to ill-fitting exercise bikes at the gym. I just wished I could ride my own bike instead. This trainer gave me the chance. Read more to find out whether it’s a pain in the butt or not…
At the store, the salesmen said that I needed to change my back tire to a slick. The first salesman said that the trainer wouldn’t work with a mountain bike tire. The second salesman said that it would work, it would just make a horrible noise and vibrate my house to pieces. I even had a man who had purchased a trainer who was in the store buying a tire to put on his bike to make the vibration stop. I must have really strange mountain bike tires because mine works fine. There is some vibration and a little noise, but it’s quieter than the exercise bike I used to have and it’s quiet enough for Mike to sleep through my workout this morning.
Attaching the bike to it was pretty easy, especially since I didn’t need to change my back tire. I didn’t change the quick release lever because the one on my bike was the same style. All I had to do was adjust it a little and attach my bike. I was able to ride it within 30 minutes of opening the box.
Working out with the trainer is actually harder than riding my bike around town. I rode my bike to work every day for months and the only time it was really difficult was when I had to ride up the huge hill that goes over I-15 and the train tracks. Now, with the tension settings on the trainer and my gears, I can make it hard enough that I can barely move the pedals. Hopefully, I’ll work up to that level, but for now, I can keep my heart rate above 70% of Max with the gears at a much lower level. Even the lowest gear possible is high enough to almost put me in the 60% of Max zone. I’m so glad I have a heart rate monitor. I would be tempted to push myself a little too hard with this gadget.
The trainer comes with a workout DVD. I did a review of the DVD for Starling Fitness and you can see it here:
The front of the bike would be kind of loose and tilty if I didn’t get a riser. I got the Kinetic Riser Block. It has four heights, so you’re pretty likely to find one that feels good and works with your trainer. This one seemed a lot more stable than the CycleOps Riser Block.
On the whole, I’ve been very pleased with the CycleOps Bike Trainer. Being able to workout in my home on my own bike is so much better than going to the gym and trying to get comfortable on the one-size-fits-all exercise bikes.