VIVE LA RESISTANCE

Elite’s Peter Lago explains all the ways turbos can make it tough

WIND

‘Wind trainers use a fan to create resistance. The faster you spin the more resistance you generate. They can feel very realistic compared to road riding, and their simple design makes them cheap, but they can be very noisy. They also lack features, tending to be simple tools without added connectivity.’

MAGNETIC

‘A magnetic trainer’s resistance is created by the “eddy currents” generated by your effort spinning a metal disc relative to magnets. Unlike wind trainers, whose power output follows an exponential curve, magnetic resistance is linear, and increased by moving magnets closer to the spinning disc via a handlebar remote. They’re cheap and quiet so are the most popular design at the low end of the market but aren’t particularly realistic.’

FLUID

‘Fundamentally they’re similar to wind trainers, but the fan is submerged in fluid. This preserves the design’s realistic road feel but makes them much quieter. While generally being more expensive than wind and magnetic trainers, again they are simple and not interactive, although more expensive models combine magnetic technologies with fluid to offer more extensive features.’

ELECTROMAGNETIC

‘These trainers currently occupy the most space at the top end of the market – they’re expensive but offer lots of features. Powerful electromagnets control the resistance, which can be varied far more delicately than regular magnetic trainers using algorithms, often by native or third-party interactive software such as Zwift and Trainerroad, which can automatically create structured workouts or replicate courses.’