
  • Free Shipping on orders over $50*
  • 100% Guaranteed Returns

Gear Question

So I have been looking for a well priced,...

Posted on

So I have been looking for a well priced, versatile trainer and I have narrowed it down to either the Blackburn Tech Fluid or the Blackburn Trakstand Ultra. My primary use will be to continue to bike indoors throughout the winter. What makes the Tech Fluid so much better that it costs almost $100 more than the Trakstand Ultra?

Responded on

The term "Better" is a subjective term. The fluid trainers use different technology to generate the resistance that is much more expensive to manufacturer therefore is costs more.

The question to ask is should I be looking for a magnetic or fluid resistance trainer.

There are a bunch of factors here but the fact is if your focus is building high-end power for competitive riding and anaerobic training you will want a fluid resistance trainer. The fluid resistance offers a progressive resistance curve that help the trainer respond better when doing power intervals without manual adjustments. You can't really ride any faster using fluid resistance that you can on the road. With a fluid trainer you can't just sit up and spin the pedals at low resistance, the higher the speed the higher the resistance.

Now if you are using the trainer for general fitness or for long steady tempo training with various cadence levels the magnetic trainer is probably right for your needs. As magnetic trainers become more expensive they generally include more manual resistance options to simulate climbs and power efforts. Fluid resistance does this automatically.