raeberry

Hello all,

I hope you'll pardon my lack of general bike knowledge - a friend suggested a bike forum might be the best place to find the answer to my question.
I have a seldom used Raleigh Detour 3.5 in my apartment and am wondering if there's any way/device I might use to convert it into a stationary bike so that I might use it indoors. I've looked at different stands and such online, but my understanding is minimal and I'm hesitant of purchasing the wrong thing, especially right now when dealing with returns would be a hassle.

Would anyone be able to point me in the right direction? If there any additional info about the bike itself needed, please ask (though you also might need to tell me where to look).

Thank you all so much in advance!
Rae

caloso

It's basically a device that holds your bike in place, and provides some resistance.. Here is an example: it clamps your bike by the rear skewer, and the wheel sits on a steel drum attached to a flywheel and hydraulic turbo to provide the resistance. https://www.amaincycling.com/ascent-...s-fl13/p900874

This is a superbasic one, but you could easily spend several thousands on a smart trainer that will talk to an app and respond accordingly to replicate the experience of riding up and downhills, etc.

raeberry

Thank you! I understand what a trainer is, I'm looking more specifically for what kind I need in order to hold the bike I have. A friend recommended a very high-end one to me, but based on (how I am reading) the tire measurements, I do not believe it is compatible.

I do not know what kind of bike the Raleigh Detour 3.5 is, or how to determine what kind of trainer I should be looking for in order to make sure whatever I wind up with will actually work with my bike.

Apologies for not being more specific in my initial question.

caloso

Sorry. Your Raleigh looks like a pretty typical hybrid with 700c wheels. It will fit any wheel-on trainer that I've ever seen. Maybe your friend was recommending a direct-drive trainer where the trainer acts as the wheel itself. See this article for the differences: https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear...-bike-trainer/

raeberry

Thank you! I'll have a look now.

Tourist in MSN

If you get one, you will also need to raise the front tire off the floor so that the bike does not lean forward. You can get a small plastic stand for the front tire, or in my case I found that in addition to the plastic stand I needed a few phone books under that stand too to get the right height.

You will need to pump up the rear tire regularly for the trainer to work well.

Some people put a mat on the floor under the bike, i use a beach towel. If you are seriously trying to exercise on it, you will get warm, a fan that is on a floor stand can come in handy too.