bbbean 

I'm going to add an indoor trainer to my daily routine for the winter. Any suggestions for specific models? I'm looking at a budget of under $500, but could be persuaded to spend more if the features justified it. I'd like to keep things as quiet as possible so I can watch the news while I ride and not annoy my only-so-tolerant wife.

BB

WonderMonkey

I have the CycleOps Fluid 2. I only received it last weeks but I did get on it twice just to play around. I'm happy with it. I have not had another trainer so I don't know how quiet it is compared to others but I felt the noise was more than acceptable. I have it in the garage and wear headphones while watching netflix, ball game, etc.

snidely

Kurt Kinetic. I hear there are great deals to be had on them right now.

Like here: https://www.competitivecyclist.com/ki...EJyYW5kOjoxOjk

bbbean 

Why Kurt kinetic?

snidely

They are regarded as a quality piece of equipment. I've been using mine regularly since March of this year. It's quiet, I LOVE the mounting hardware, the resistance is great, the base is really stable, and it rolls really smooth. I wear headphones while on it, so not sure about watching TV during use.

JoeMan

I have been using this trainer:

https://www.1upusa.com/product-trainer.html

I bought it used off of Craigslist.

DoubleTap

Wahoo Kickr

Twice your budget, but I love mine and think it's well worth the price.

RideNoCO

Anyone use any of the Nashbar-branded fluid trainers? They seem to get mixed (but mostly ok) reviews and the price is certainly reasonable (sub-200 for a few models).

caloso

I have a 15-year old Nashbar trainer. It's loud at the start, rusty, the adjustment knob is long gone so I use a vise-grip. Oh, and it's ugly as hell. But it holds the rear wheel in place and provides resistance, which is all a trainer needs to do. I have no plans to "upgrade" or replace it.

achoo

Yep, I got one of the Nashbar trainers, too.

Great product for the money.

Although if I had a $500 budget, I'd get the Kurt Kinetic. A lot of my teammates have them, and every time I've heard about a problem with their trainer (and it's not that often considering how many there are...), the problem was fixed fast. Even guys you bought old used ones have gotten them fixed for free.

Fat Boy

This is the one to get if you want a stationary trainer. Otherwise, I'd buy a set of 3" rollers. I think rollers are a much better option, personally. Get them used and buy both for your $500.

bbbean 

Thanks for the recs, folks. After reading tese recommendations, talking to a few buddies, and looking at revews online, I narrowed it down to the Kurt Kinetic and the Cycleops Fluid. The LBS offered me a deal on a Trek-branded Cycleops, so I'll be picking that up next week.

BB

oespinoza83

I've used Cycleops fluid 2 the past couple of seasons and really love it. Never had any problems either. Others think the Kurt Kinetic Rock & Roll is the best, but the footprint on that thing is massive.