What kind of turbo trainer should I get?

A turbo trainer allows you to hook up your regular bike to a machine that provides resistance. There are four main types: fluid, magnetic, fan and direct drive.

Fan trainers – where a fan creates wind resistance as you pedal – are the older, noisier option. They are the cheapest but are increasingly hard to find.

Magnetic trainers are quieter than the old fan turbos. They use magnets to create resistance, which you can vary using a handlebar-mounted trigger-switch. These are the cheapest type of trainer commonly on sale at cycle retailers.

Fluid trainers create resistance by spinning a propeller in a thick, oil-like liquid. The harder you pedal – or the tougher the gear – the greater the effort. They are are quiet and smoother than magnetic trainers, but more expensive.

With a direct drive trainer you remove the rear wheel and mount the rear cassette directly on to the resistance unit. They are stable, offer a more realistic road feel and can be quieter. They are often much more expensive than other types, though.

Other options include rollers and Wattbikes.

What else do I need?

You can make your turbo session more comfortable with …

• A bottle or two of water. You will sweat – a lot! – and you need to replace that lost fluid.
• You don’t realise how much the breeze when riding outdoors helps until it’s not there. A fan will cut down on the sweat.
• A small towel to mop your face during the session. Sweat in the eyes hurts.
• A riser block raises your front wheel to make it level with the rear wheel, which will be a few inches off the ground when mounted on the trainer. A brick would do.
• Turbo trainers are noisy and if you don’t want to upset the neighbours, a floor mat under the bike can help.

Music makes you work harder

Music can help you push harder and certainly helps to pass the time. Try to match your pedal strokes to the beat so, if you’re aiming for a cadence of 90 revolutions per minute, try a 90 bpm song, or 180 if you prefer. This list was put together for runners, but the tracks work just as well on a bike.

It’s all about the intervals

Keep it short. It’s not about copying your performance on the road with a four-hour ride – a long, steady session on the turbo will achieve very little apart from intense boredom and saddle rash. Instead, aim for 60 or 90 minutes at a higher intensity. Break the time down: try a 10-minute warmup, followed by 10 sets of hard three-minute efforts, with one-minute recoveries. Then cool down for 10 minutes. If you’re trying to improve your sprint do shorter 30-second hard efforts; if you’re targeting endurance, make the hard efforts longer.

Know thyself

Whatever workout you’re doing, you need a way to measure your efforts so that you have something to aim at and improve on. Power meters are expensive but you can also measure how hard you’re working with a speed meter, cadence meter, heart-rate monitor or just a plain old stopwatch.

Watch videos of races

A search on YouTube will unearth hundreds of hours of TV footage of professional bikes races such as the Tour de France. Simply watch and match your hard efforts to theirs. When Chris Froome attacks on Mont Ventoux it’s time to shift into a harder gear and go “full gas”.

Sufferfest videos take this a stage further – using footage of pro races including the Tour and Giro d’Italia, combined with high-intensity interval workouts designed by top coaches, clear instructions and storylines to motivate you to push harder. “Our enterPAINment will get the most out of you – sucking you in and then spitting you out a sobbing, wretched glorious mess,” reads the promotional blurb.

Welcome to the virtual world

Zwift is a game that links your turbo trainer up to your computer, letting you ride with other cyclists in a 3D virtual world. You can spend thousands on power meters and the latest smart trainer – but at a minimum you can join in with a basic turbo trainer, a decent computer (64-bit PC or Mac), an ANT+ dongle (which you can pick up for under £10) and a speed or cadence sensor. Subscription is £8/$10 a month. James Gill’s unofficial guide will give you all the details.

There’s no better motivation than trying to chase a faster wheel, or beat someone over a climb. The game’s only been out of beta for around six months but has now reached critical mass, with upwards of 1,000 riders online some evenings and organised group rides and races every day. You can also opt for a structured interval session.

I’m completely addicted. That old trainer which was gathering dust in the shed now gets used a few times a week – and with an extra 1,100 miles in my legs over the winter I’m feeling fitter than ever before at this time of year.