Essential for some, an instrument of torture for others, a turbo trainer can be preferable to heading outdoors when it's thundering down with rain or the roads are covered in ice.
Granted, there's nothing quite like getting out there on the open road, but sometimes it can be too treacherous and a turbo trainer allows you to focus on your training through the winter months so you don't miss a ride. And if you're racing or planning to race, a turbo is a perfect way to do really high effort interval sets.
Many people swear by turbo trainers. If you're serious about your training and do a lot of competitive cycling, or are planning to, a turbo trainer is an excellent way of doing very specific and targeted training sessions. With heart rate monitors and power measuring devices to help you, it's possible to train very effectively on a turbo .
Turbo trainers aren't just for winter. Many use them for warming up before races and they can be used throughout the year to brush up on your top-end with sprint and high intensity training, without traffic or junctions getting in the way.
Resistance unit
A turbo trainer is a relatively simple device. The rear wheel is suspended in an A-frame and the tyre butts up against a roller connected to a resistance unit. This is the heart of the turbo trainer and is really where your money is going – the more expensive trainers have more advanced resistance units. If you're planning to use a turbo a lot of the coming winter, it can be worth paying a little more but, that said, we've found simple trainers fine for occasional use.
Resistance units come in three main varieties; air, fluid and magnetic. Air resistance turbos are usually more affordable due to their simplicity while fluid types offer a smoother and more realistic feel. Here's a brief explanation of each.
Air resistance:A fan generates wind resistance. These aren't the quietest option, however, and don't offer the best ride experience, but they are cheap. They're not adjustable, so the only way to change the resistance is to change gear on your bike.
Magnetic resistance:These are very popular at low to mid price points. A metal plate spins inside a magnetic field so they're simple to produce. You can buy magnetic trainers with adjustable resistance so you can tailor your workout. Spend a bit more and electro-magnetic units offer more control.
Fluid resistance: Usually more expensive because of the complex internals, these offer a quieter and much smoother ride. Inside the resistance unit an impeller revolves in oil and they can offer plenty of adjustment via handlebar mounted levers.
Adjusting the resistance
The cheapest trainers won't offer any resistance adjustment, leaving you to use the gears on your bike to make any adjustments. Often this can be more than enough, but if you want a turbo with adjustable resistance you're going to have to pay a bit more.
Basic turbos have a lever on the resistance unit but that makes it hard to adjust during a session, so look for one with a handlebar mounted remote lever to make on-the-fly changes.
More expensive turbos have complex electronic control units that mount to the handlebar and can deliver all sorts of information. Many of the expensive trainers will provide you with power measurement. Some will even plug into your computer as well.
We're starting to see a lot of trainers that will hook up to your computer or television and display 3D or real world video so you can ride your favourite Alpine mountain or Belgian pavé. They will automatically adjust the resistance based on the virtual terrain and can make time spent on a turbo trainer a lot more fun.
Frame
A turbo trainer needs to have a sturdy frame that won't flex or bend under your riding. A larger footprint and heavier frame will ensure it's more stable, which you do want if you're doing maximum-effort intervals in your kitchen.
Space can be a premium in many households and many turbos fold flat, but how much space they take up when folded down differs greatly from brand to brand.
Most trainers have adjustable legs or feet, so you can ensure you get the trainer perfectly level on uneven floors.
Wheel mount
A turbo fixes to the quick release of the rear wheel, and often a quick release is be supplied with the turbo that is specifically compatible with the model. A cam locking system adjusts two cones that clamp around the skewer.
The better models get ergonomic levers that make setting up a breeze. Most trainers also accommodate various sizes of wheels, and some feature a latch to bring the roller up against the wheel, saving you from having to set the roller each time you begin a session.
Noise
Perhaps the least attractive aspect of a turbo trainer is the noise they make. It can sound like a plane taking off and that can pose problems if you live in close proximity to your neighbours.
Live in a first or second floor flat? Don't expect your neighbours to be happy with the racket as you hit the first of your interval sets. Special turbo trainer tyres use a harder rubber compound that can decrease the noise (and wear out more slowly), and you can get mats to go under the turbo to stifle the noise.
Accessories
As well as a turbo trainer, there are a couple of other accessories that you might want to consider, but they're not essential. One is a stand for the front wheel. As the frame of the trainer holds the back wheel a couple of inches in the air, it's worth propping the front wheel up. An appropriately sized book does the trick, but you can buy a purpose-made block that lifts the front wheel in the air.
A turbo trainer mat is designed to protect the floor from all the dripping sweat, which is useful if you're planning to set-up your trainer in the house and are worried about the floors, and can be wiped clean afterwards. They can be useful in flats as well as they can deaden some of the noise. Of course you could use a strip of old carpet which will do a similar job.
A turbo's roller is usually made of metal, and the heat generated by its friction with the tyre can accelerate the tyre's wear and eventually flatten the profile of the once round tyre. For that reason you don't want to be using your best tyres if you do plan to do a lot of time on a trainer. A good idea is to fit an old tyre or dedicated training tyre to your wheel, or even better a spare wheel. A specific turbo trainer wheel and tyre might seem an unnecessary expense, but turbo training tyres are made from a harder compound rubber so they don't wear out as quickly, and should keep the noise down a bit too.
The turbo trainer choice
So what can you expect for your money? How much you should spend on an indoor trainer is a difficult question to answer; you need to be honest with yourself about how much you think you might actually use the trainer. There are lots of dusty trainers hidden away at the backs of garages or stashed in lofts.
If it's just for occasional use then one of the cheaper trainers will be just fine, but if you plan to log many weekly hours on a trainer that you will appreciate the better ride quality, stability and resistance levels of a more expensive trainer. Generally the more expensive trainers with fluid resistance units are quieter, and so better suited to using in the house or a flat, if you're concerned about annoying the neighbours.
The choices
There are far too many good turbos to recommend them all here, but we've tested a broad selection over the years, and used many others, so here is our selection of 12 of the best across a range of prices.
You can also read all our turbo trainer reviews.
Clarke CCTI Bike Trainer — £67.99
Showing you don't have to spends hundreds of pounds on a trainer, the Clarke CCTI Bike Trainer is a well priced magnetic trainer at £77.99. It's simple, and sturdy, has a handlebar mounted control for the resistance unit, and is ideal for occasional use, or for anyone looking to buy their first trainer.
Read our review of the Clarke 7-level bike trainer
Brand-X TT-01 Magnetic Turbo Trainer incl Riser — £69.99
The Brand-X TT-01 trainer (catchy name there) is a well built and functional budget trainer that's just the ticket for warming up at races or lighter use at home. At its £99.99 RRP it would be well worth considering; at the moment it's £69.99, which is a bargain.
Read our review of the Brand-X TT-01 Magnetic Turbo Trainer incl Riser
Find a Brand-X dealer
Minoura B60-R Trainer — £104.99
Minoura's affordable B60-R turbo is well designed with a sturdy frame. The resistance unit is magnetic and uses a 0.6kg dual steel disc flywheel with seven levels of resistance to allow you to tailor the intensity of your session. The remote adjustment lever can be clamped to the handlebars so you can make adjustments without having to get off the bike.
Elite Novo Force — £109.95
The Elite Novo Force is a magnetic trainer and has a remote lever, which you mount to the handlebar, offering a choice of five resistance levels, so you can tailor your workout. The resistance unit is mounted so the rear wheel sits lower in the frame creating a more stable ride. The ElastoGel roller is intended to keep the noise down to a decent level, as well as decrease tyre wear.
CycleOps Fluid2 — £188.49
If you plan to be a regular turbo trainer user, then the fluid resistance of the CycleOps Fluid2 offers a very realistic road-like feel, with infinitely adjustable resistance that increases the faster you pedal.
Read our review of the CycleOps Fluid2
Find a CycleOps dealer
BKool Turbo Trainer — £329.99
Staring at the garage wall can seriously dent your motivation. There is an increasing choice of trainers that are packaged with virtual reality or, in the case of the Bkool, real-world video training rides. Hook the trainer up to a computer, fire up the software, and you can be cycling on a sun-drenched Alpine pass. All in the comfort of your own living room.
Read our review of the BKool Turbo Trainer
Find a BKool dealer
JetBlack WhisperDrive trainer —£359.99
The JetBlack WhisperDrive is a direct drive trainer with magnetic resistance, and it's very quiet. Direct drive means your bike connects directly to the trainer, rather than your rear wheel turning a roller. The initial setup is relatively straightforward, although the WhisperDrive doesn't come with a cassette fitted so you'll need to install one yourself.
The WhisperDrive comes with a 5.9kg flywheel and the resistance is provided by magnetism. You get seven different levels of resistance that you can control via a handlebar adjuster and, of course, you can shift through the gears on your bike exactly as you would out on the road.
CycleOps Silencer direct drive magnetic trainer — £340.35
Not to be confused with this Cyclops silencer,the CycleOps Silencer is a direct drive magnetic trainer that provides a realistic ride feel and, as its name suggests, it's very quiet. You alter the magnetically controlled resistance via a handlebar mounted lever, so you can simulate hills. CycleOps don't give a measure of resistance provided by the Silencer, but our tester struggled to maintain a cadence of 40rpm for a minute in the hardest setting with a standard chainset. There's enough resistance here for all but the very strongest of sprinters doing the shortest of sprints.
Read our review of the CycleOps Silencer
Find a CycleOps dealer
Elite Turbo Muin trainer — £368.75
If you're really serious about indoor training, another option you might want to consider is something like the Elite Turbo Muin trainer. The main difference to regular trainers is that you remove the rear wheel and bolt the frame into the trainer, which has its own cassette mounted to the unit. The advantage this system offers is the increased flywheel size that results in potentially much less noise, and higher levels of maximum resistance, up to a claimed 2,000 Watts.
Read more about the Elite Turbo Muin trainer Find an Elite dealer
Elite RealAxiom ANT+ Trainer — £727.29
Seems a lot of money to spend on an indoor trainer, but if you plan to do a lot of indoor training and want all the bells and whistles, this is a serious investment. The resistance unit itself is mains-powered, and Elite claim it can replicate gradients of up to 10%. It's controllable by ANT+, and the Real Axiom comes with an ANT+ USB stick to connect to your PC. With it hooked up to a computer, you can benefit from the big library of RealDVD courses, which will allow you to slog up Alpe d'Huez or your favourite climb.
Wahoo Kickr trainer — £948.99
Wahoo's Kickr power trainer offers a very smooth and realistic road feel, is simple to use and is compatible with an increasing number of apps that give you access to a huge virtual training world. But at £999 it's scarily expensive, an investment of serious proportions.
Read our review of the Wahoo Kickr
Fund a Wahoo dealer
Wattbike Pro/Trainer — £2,250
Famously designed with input from Sir Chris Hoy, the Wattbike is a staggeringly good bit of kit but its price limits it to those most seriously interested in home trainer. If you're interested in the Wattbike you'll want to know that it's one of the most advanced home trainers currently available. Smooth resistance with stacks of adjustment from the huge fan up front, and it spits out more data than you'll know what to do with. It can be plugged into your computer to thoroughly analyse each session.
Read our review of the Wattbike
The alternative: Rollers
If you watch track cycling, you'll have seen the athletes using rollers to warm up and cool down on. Rollers are simple metal frames with three rollers, or drums. Two of the drums are attached with a band so that when you're cycling, both wheels rotate.
It takes a lot of skill to ride rollers comfortably though and you need a good deal of patience as there's nothing clamping the bike in place. Most rollers don't offer any resistance adjustment, but there are now rollers with integrated resistance adjustment, such as the Elite Real E-Motion rollers above. People like rollers because they can feel a lot closer to actually riding a bike on the road.
They can be a lot more fun too. A major benefit of using rollers is they hone your balance and bike handling skills, and many say they improve the smoothness of your pedalling style. They're much easier to set up than a turbo.
Minoura LR700 Rollers — £179.35
The LR700 rollers have a simple design that doesn't falter on usability. With a standard three roller design, they manage to be small enough to store away at 554mm width and 766mm when compacted. They can be kept down the side of the tumble dryer, under a table or just tucked into a corner.
Read our review of the Minoura LR700 Rollers
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Kinetic Z-Rollers — £132.99
Kinetic's Z-Rollers are very good, especially if you need to pack your pain cave away after every session, or you want to sling them in the car for a race warm-up.They are a simple enough design: the standard three rollers are bolted into a frame that articulates at two points so you can fold it back on itself, in the shape of a Z. See? It's not just a clever name. That makes these Kinetic rollers the most compact we've seen when it comes to putting them away. They'll fit in a blue Ikea bag.
Read our review of the Kinetic Z-Rollers
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Elite Real E-Motion B+ Rollers — £1,079.99
The luxury option in rollers, Elite's E-Motion model works with the company's RealAxiom software to simulate famous climbs and routes that you watch unfold on your PC. Unlike most rollers there's a resistance unit built into this one, and the rollers are mounted on a sprung frame that sits in a static chassis, so it's capable of moving fore and aft underneath you. This is a bit disconcerting at first but feels quite natural once you get used to it.
Read our review of the Elite Real E-Motion Rollers
Find an Elite dealer