CycleOps Fluid 2 Indoor Bicycle Trainer

I have been going back and forth debating if I wanted to get a trainer for my bike.  I wanted to try to ride the Boston Marathon course out and back on Marathon day which made me think, “Oh…I better get biking!”  I also realized that I often find that I don’t want to bother biking in the bad weather or dealing with pedestrians or cars while riding outside sometimes.  Sometimes I want my workout to be mindless.

Well…I’m sure that I’ll realize once I actually get on my trainer that I don’t want my workout to be THAT mindless but for now, I’m pretty darn pumped about my CycleOps Fluid 2 Indoor Bicycle Trainer that just arrived yesterday!

The CycleOps website says that this trainer has a larger flywheel to have an improved road-like feel, infinite resistance curve, self-cooling mechanisms to keep the unit performing better and longer, and a cam-lever that tightens resistance unit with one movement.  With all these features, it is pricey but I heard amazing reviews from friends.  I wiped out my credit card points for it (so it doesn’t feel like I really paid for it).  I figure what else am I going to really use these points on?  Why not for a bike trainer?!  One twitter friend out there said that her and her husband have had theirs for years and it still works great so I know it was a good investment (if I use it).

I was so hungry but so excited to get started so I devoured my dinner while Dave barely made it through half of his.  Once I finished, I sat nearby trying to put this thing together. Ta da!

Just to be safe, I had Dave stand near me in case I really proved my mechanical engineering degree wrong and the thing completely fell apart.  I guess it wouldn’t be that bad if I did because I have fallen twice in one ride when I first got my clips!  But thankfully, I hopped on and it worked!  The only bummer was that I heard the chain was scraping a piece of the bike.  I had this problem before and it seemed to be an easy fix when I stopped by the bike shop.  I am going to do some Google-ing later to see if I can fix it myself.  I need a tune up anyways so if all else fails, I’ll mention it then.

For now, I can stay in one gear and it seems to work fine.  I think this will keep me entertained for a little bit and once I fix my bike I’m going to check out Frayed Laces Trainer Tuesdays Workouts!  My friend Emma has tried a few workouts and enjoyed them.  I also was thinking that I might create an indoor cycling station like Frayed Laces did!  Why not multitask?!

Do you have a bike trainer?  How do you stay entertained?

I have a feeling that I will probably catch up on trashy TV or watch a movie!