I was looking at buying one of these for training a few weeks ago off the back of a deal listed here for £59.99 at CRC.... in the end I didn't bother but this trainer looks the same to me and it's cheaper so I may go for it.
Looking back over previous similar deals this looks to be a fair bit cheaper with most being between £60-80.
Details:
Easy to set up, fold and store, this Indoor Bike Turbo Trainer is ideal for keeping up your fitness over winter.
Brand: Bikemate
Colour: Silver/Black
Dimensions: Assembled: 55 x 50 x 41cm (approx)
Material: Steel, PA, Aluminium 6061, PC, ABS, PE
Product Type: Cycling Accessories
Weight: 7.1kg
Contents
1 x Indoor Bike Trainer1 x Front wheel riser block
Features
6 Magnetic resistance levelsEasy assembly, no tools requiredQuick release bracket for speedy fold-away and storageSteel frame for durability and strengthMinimum requirement to fit 26-29" wheel sizesHandlebar gear controls
Needs to be a smart trainer to work with zwift, definitely not in this price range
oNOVAo to Limee
26 Sep 17#19
No it doesn't can use any with speed and cadence sensors and ant + usb dongle
xstrio to oNOVAo
26 Sep 17#21
That would work with zwift, but the smart trainer will automatically change the resistance when climbing etc. Makes it just a bit more interesting.
oNOVAo to xstrio
26 Sep 17#33
Depends what smart trainer you get there are some that do but are bit pricey compared to basic ones
whatyadoinsucka
25 Sep 17#4
I got the elite fluid from wiggle £99 it's quality, don't waste your money on a magnetic
lmulli to whatyadoinsucka
26 Sep 17#32
I have an elite smart trainer that uses an electromagnetic system and there is hardly any noise whatsoever as the magnets don't actually make contact with anything, they merely move nearer to the flywheel to create the resistance.
I'd avoid this in any case, especially if you can get a decent deal like you appear to have done with the fluid.
chaffordred
26 Sep 17#23
If you're going to buy one of these for over the winter and you're serious about cycling it's also worth investing in a good fan, a hand towel (for sweat), a secondhand wheel (eBay) a trainer tyre and a floor mat (both from decathlon)
whatyadoinsucka to chaffordred
26 Sep 17#24
:stuck_out_tongue:
Yep agree about a spare wheel with a blu or red trainer tyre , just got a spare set of wheels myself, was planning to buy a cheap one on eBay but bagged an identical set so can run summer and off-road tyres on mine , was thinking of a fan but the garage door open on a night should keep it cool
spongebob1913 to chaffordred
26 Sep 17#25
is it totally essential to use different tyres? Is it just because the turbos wear the tyres out rapidly? have a road bike I hardly use in the winter, now looking at the elite to use in my conservatory. towel and fan are self explanatory!
bike74 to spongebob1913
26 Sep 17#26
They wear tyres more quickly due to resistance coming from friction against the trainer wheel.
So, yeah you want turbo specific tyre or just an army of a cheap tyres . Although I think turbo specific one might be more quiet too.
Bossworld to spongebob1913
26 Sep 17#27
Also interested in this one - presume if you buy another wheel you'll need another cassette and all the rest
manc80 to Bossworld
26 Sep 17#30
If you want to use the bike outdoors and indoors, best to buy a new wheel and cassette so you can quickly switch. I wouldn't want to have to keep taking off the turbo trainer tyre and refitting -they are a lot stiffer and can be a pain in the arse to fit.
I would also recommend if you are serious about using one of these that you invest in a 'smart' trainer. Others do work on zwift and the like, but are nowhere near as engaging. Having the software increase the resistance to give the feeling of climbing is great, and allows you to use the gears as you would normally. Using a 'non-smart' trainer requires dongles/cadence sensors etc and the software estimates your power output. Using this more basic method you change up gear on climbs to create a greater power output which can feel a bit odd.
If you do go for a basic trainer, check out the GCN training videos on Youtube. Use something like keepvid to put them on a hard drive and avoid the adverts / internet requirement.
whatyadoinsucka to Bossworld
26 Sep 17#31
yeah you'll need the same size wheel, a trainer tyre (tacx blue or victoria Red are around £15-18 wiggle.co.uk/vit…oad
and a cheap cassette no point going for the lightest one, a tiagra will set you back £20. but far less hassle if you fancy riding the bike.and not having to switch the tyres
i'm actually running a tyre that has a 2mm cut that i plucked a piece of glass out of, no good for the road so will run it down, done about 200km in the past month and its definately more worn than when i got the trainer.
roof30
25 Sep 17#6
The last time Aldi sold these a huge swathe were returned as they would shred the rear tyre (and I do mean shred). Scores of complaints from people. Avoid if you can.
AnimalMagic81 to roof30
26 Sep 17#29
Mine did the same, even with an indoor trainer tyre on. Even managed to melt a good chunk out of the roller itself.
bike74
26 Sep 17#28
If you want a turbo to show your mates that you have one this is fo you. If you want one to spend endless nights riding it... Well this is definitely NOT for you.
You would be crazy to buy this £50 unit over the Eliite, you are literally going form the worst possible solutions to one of the best. If you really can't afford £100 then go for it, if not definitley avoid.
andrewp
26 Sep 17#18
I bought a tacx magnetic trainer a few months back and used it twice. Found it a lot of hassle to set up and didn't really enjoying the experience using it
Just for info, from an old thread this is similar to the one Aldi were selling before....apparently.... it is similar but not the same.... it also costs more and only has a 2 year warranty...
Ordered and heat added. Seems to be different to the ones with melting reviews
JmeH
25 Sep 17#5
They're all the same mostly, just re-branded and slight variations.
This one can be had for about £35-£40 on eBay.
doe
25 Sep 17#3
If it’s magnetic best avoid as very noisy
richard_ha
25 Sep 17#2
Reading the reviews on these, they seem to be terrible quality and event melt when in use.
Meandialone
25 Sep 17#1
Its a reasonable price but not fantastic. When looking at these bike trainers beware that there are two types (mainly), Fluid and Magnetic. The fluid ones are more expensive, these magnetic ones are much cheaper. The fluid ones are very quiet, these magnetic ones are quite noisey. The Magnetic ones spin with resistance of the magnetic friction, the fluid ones spin in oil and the resistance is more natural, the harder you pedal, the more resistance. Lidl (or Aldi maybe) did a fluid one about a year ago that was around £50 and that was a fantastic price.
Opening post
Looking back over previous similar deals this looks to be a fair bit cheaper with most being between £60-80.
Details:
Easy to set up, fold and store, this Indoor Bike Turbo Trainer is ideal for keeping up your fitness over winter.
Latest comments (34)
cyclerepublic.com/cat…BwE
I'd avoid this in any case, especially if you can get a decent deal like you appear to have done with the fluid.
Yep agree about a spare wheel with a blu or red trainer tyre ,
just got a spare set of wheels myself, was planning to buy a cheap one on eBay but bagged an identical set so can run summer and off-road tyres on mine ,
was thinking of a fan but the garage door open on a night should keep it cool
So, yeah you want turbo specific tyre or just an army of a cheap tyres . Although I think turbo specific one might be more quiet too.
I would also recommend if you are serious about using one of these that you invest in a 'smart' trainer. Others do work on zwift and the like, but are nowhere near as engaging. Having the software increase the resistance to give the feeling of climbing is great, and allows you to use the gears as you would normally. Using a 'non-smart' trainer requires dongles/cadence sensors etc and the software estimates your power output. Using this more basic method you change up gear on climbs to create a greater power output which can feel a bit odd.
If you do go for a basic trainer, check out the GCN training videos on Youtube. Use something like keepvid to put them on a hard drive and avoid the adverts / internet requirement.
wiggle.co.uk/vit…oad
and a cheap cassette no point going for the lightest one, a tiagra will set you back £20.
but far less hassle if you fancy riding the bike.and not having to switch the tyres
i'm actually running a tyre that has a 2mm cut that i plucked a piece of glass out of, no good for the road so will run it down,
done about 200km in the past month and its definately more worn than when i got the trainer.
£99, buy once and save time, hassle and money
aka buy cheap buy twic
decathlon.co.uk/inr…tml
This one can be had for about £35-£40 on eBay.
When looking at these bike trainers beware that there are two types (mainly), Fluid and Magnetic. The fluid ones are more expensive, these magnetic ones are much cheaper. The fluid ones are very quiet, these magnetic ones are quite noisey. The Magnetic ones spin with resistance of the magnetic friction, the fluid ones spin in oil and the resistance is more natural, the harder you pedal, the more resistance. Lidl (or Aldi maybe) did a fluid one about a year ago that was around £50 and that was a fantastic price.