Indoor Bicycle Trainers | Everything You Need to Know

Hi, it's Alanna from Sixthreezero. And today I'm going to talk about everything you need to know before buying a bicycle trainer, how to set it up and how to use it. So, stay tuned.

So why should you use a bicycle trainer? Well, a bicycle trainer is a great option when you already have a bike that you love, but you don't want to bike outdoors, you could bike indoors.

Whether that's because it's dark outside and you don't feel comfortable biking. Or it's raining and you don't want to get wet or any reason you have. Maybe you're not comfortable on a bike yet, and you just want to get used to biking somewhere where you feel safe first.

A bicycle trainer is a great option. It doesn't take up too much space. It can even function as a bicycle stand when you're not using your bike. And it has different... Most of them come with different resistance levels, so you can really use it for a workout, pairing it with a YouTube video or a fitness app. And there are plenty of options out there.

So it's great for getting a good workout, staying indoors when that's what you need, and still getting a lot of use out of your bicycle.

So there are a few things you should consider or might want to know before getting a bicycle trainer. And if you just want to get straight to the setup, we'll add the timestamp in the description, so you can just skip ahead.

But first, let's talk about what you need to know before purchasing a bicycle trainer. So the first thing is cost. Bicycle trainers range from about a $100 to 250 and even a little more than that. And if you just search on Amazon, you'll see plenty of options.

We ordered one from Amazon and we just went with the most popular option. I think it was around a $100. So we'll see how that works.

Another thing that you want to consider is noise. So if you live in an apartment building or somewhere with thin walls, noise might be something that you're conscious of, and that is really going to come down to your tire tread.

So from what I've read, if you have smooth tires, like something you would find on a road bike, then you're not going to have to worry too much about noise. But if you have something like a mountain bike with a thicker tire tread than it is going to be a little noisier.

I'm on the Pavan trail today, which I chose because it's a pretty light bike and it has very low tire treads. So we'll see how the noise level is with the bike trainer that we got.

Another thing to consider is resistance levels. The bike trainer that we purchased comes with several different resistance levels. So that's great, especially if you want to use it for exercising. You can tailor your resistance level to whatever your exercise is. It's going to be especially good for inner walls or high-intensity training.

And another thing to consider is weight capacity. Now, the Pavan trail is a really light bike, so it's definitely going to work with pretty much any bike trainer. But if you have something like an electric bike, you might want to double-check on the specs of the bike trainer that you get. I know the weight limit is usually around 300 pounds, so you're pretty much safe. But it's just something to check before you make the purchase.

And another thing to check for is how the bike mounts to the particular trainer, some of them have quick-release skewers. So that's going to make it really easy to mount and dismount and the easier it is, the more you're going to use it.

So this is actually my first time using a bicycle trainer. So we're in it together. Let's see how easy or difficult it is to set up.

So, like I said, we just picked pretty much one of the most popular options on Amazon. And it came in this one box. Here it is. And it looks like it's pretty much assembled. So hopefully it doesn't require too much work. Here are the instructions. I'm guessing this has to do with the resistance levels. Let's see. Okay.

Okay. So everything is out of the box. Here's the trainer and some other parts. The instructions are a little confusing because the first few steps have already been done. So a lot of the stuff was already attached and some things are not attached that were attached in the pictures. So I guess... There aren't too many pieces, so I'm just going to try to figure it out.

Okay. This is where... Locking mechanism that locks your bike onto the trainer. It seems pretty simple. The instructions were actually not very helpful because the first five steps were already assembled. So it was this component that provides the resistance was already assembled.

Pretty much all you had to do was put on these two handles, which lock the bike in place. And one screw here that you use for resistance. So, I mean, if you do end up getting this particular bike trainer, it's pretty easy to put together. There are only a few parts that are not attached. But the manual won't be very helpful.

So there's just one screw left, which is for this resistance knob that goes on the handlebars. And we have this piece, which is for the front tire. Okay. So let's get the bike on. I'm just going to lower it back.

Okay. So first, you want to open up this mount. So it's wide enough to slide your bike in and the instructions say to start with the right side. So I had the locknut here inside the trainer, and I'm going to start tightening here on the right until I get to the left. And now, just going to do them both simultaneously so that the bike stays in the center.

Well, that's pretty even on both sides. There's this ring here that you push down to lock it in place and we should be good to go.

Okay. So next we're going to adjust the resistance device here in the back. There's this knob here, which was one of the pieces that I had to screw in and the instructions say that it should be resting against the wheel, which it already is. I'm just going to tighten a little. Yeah. Just to make sure I do get resistance.

Okay. So the last thing to do is attach this knob to the handlebars. It's pretty simple, just one screw involved. And this is what you use to adjust resistance. So you don't have to get off your bike to adjust. Okay.

So it's not that tight, but it'll work. So let's try it out. It's a little harder to get on, but it's because I'm short, I guess. So it feels really sturdy. Yeah. I feel safe and comfortable. Right now, it's on two, so let's see. Oh yeah, that's easy.

I think that's too easy. I think I need to adjust the resistance device. So let me try again. So it's on six. Oh yeah, there's more resistance. Cool. It's pretty fun, but it is noisy. I like it. I just wish it wasn't so noisy. I don't know if there are other options that are less noisy. But it's cool.

So what are my thoughts? Well, my first impression is that I really like it. It feels really sturdy. I definitely don't think I would fall off of this. It's a little hard to get on because everything's a little higher and I'm short, but that might not be an issue for you.

And then my only complaints are that it is noisier than I thought it would be. I don't know what I expected. I think I thought it would just be completely silent. But it's pretty noisy. So yeah.

But I think that's something I could deal with, especially if I was doing like a virtual spin class or if I had a great playlist. I would definitely use this to work out with some fun YouTube videos.

Another thing that bothers me and it might just be how I set it up, but the resistance levels just don't hold very well. So it just snaps back to six. But that could be because I just didn't do something right back there. Or maybe it's not perfectly aligned. So I'll mess around with that a little bit and see if that changes.

But overall, I really like using this. It's fun. I'm already breaking a sweat just from the few seconds of cycling I've done. And I'm looking... I enjoy spin class. If that's something that you like too, this is a good addition to your bike, if you already have one.

And we'll definitely do a workout video in the future, probably in the coming weeks, because I'm really stoked to use it and it's been rainy in LA. So, it's the perfect timing.

But I hope you liked our video. Let me, if you would try a bike trainer or if you have used one, what brand do you use? If you have any recommendations, we'd love to see those.

And yeah, don't forget to like and subscribe, especially if you want to see more videos, let us know. And it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the ride.