“The CycleOps Mag bicycle trainer may be your best pathway to getting into the world of indoor cycling on a trainer built by one of the best companies in the business.”
 | About the reviewer: Ron Fritzke is a cycling product reviewer with a passion for ‘all things cycling’. A former 2:17 marathoner, he now directs his competitive efforts toward racing his bike…and looking for good cycling products. |
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When the days get shorter and the temperatures drop enough to make outdoor cycling brutal, you’d better find a good bicycle trainer if you don’t want to start over in the spring…trying to regain the fitness you worked so hard to achieve.
There are cheaper bicycle trainers than the CycleOps Mag trainer, but you won’t be getting the quality and customer service that I’ve been absolutely thrilled with. When my Powertap’s needed to be maintained, the Saris group has bent over backward to keep me on the road. My Powertap’s made by the same folks who make the Cycleops trainers. I’ve been very impressed by their customer service group.
How Solid’s The CycleOps Mag Trainer?
First off…the CycleOps Mag trainer is sold with a lifetime warranty, if anything were to go wrong, you’d be dealing with the same chaps who’ve helped me when I’ve put too many miles on my Powertap bearings.
The frame is the same two inch 16 gauge steel tubing that all of the CycleOps trainers sit on. If you want to be assured of years of riding without any annoying creaks and groans, you’d better start with a frame that’s solid. The adjustable foot pads enable your ride to be stable even on an uneven surface.
The CycleOps Mag trainer comes with the Quick Cam Lever Resistance Unit which makes tightening the roller against your rear tire a lot less of a hassle than having to crank it down the prescribed two and a half turns every time you put your bike into the trainer. Once you have the tension set, the Quick Cam will ‘remember’ it for you.
Where’s The CycleOps Mag Resistance Come From?
The CycleOps mag trainer achieves it’s resistance with magnetic brakes, incorporating what the company terms a ‘unique internal flywheel’ to smooth out the ride. The flywheel’s a critical part of any trainer if you’re looking for a realistic ride because it provides the inertia that has to be overcome when you accelerate. When you 
accelerate outside, you have to overcome the inertia of your weight and the weight of your bike. If a trainer doesn’t come with a flywheel, you’d be able to ‘spin up’ too easily and the trainer experience wouldn’t be anything like what you feel when you’re out on the road.
As you can see from the graph, the power curve on the CycleOps Mag trainer is linear… instead of the exponential increase in resistance that you feel outside when you’re pushing against the air.
When you increase air resistance, it’s exponentially harder to go from 16 mph to 19 mph than it is to increase your speed from 8 mph to 11 mph. That’s just the way it is…and a fluid trainer does a better job of simulating this annoying law of physics. However, you’ll still be crying ‘Momma’ on the CycleOps Mag trainer if you’ve set it on the ‘hard’ setting and you’re trying to sustain 20 mph.
The CycleOps Mag trainer has a resistance lever that you can set at one of five different levels so that you can vary your workout. Couple the resistance lever settings with the gears on your bike and you can get a good variety of efforts. If you spring for the CycleOps Mag trainer with the handlebar mounted remote shifter, you’ll be able to switch the resistance between the five levels without getting off of your bike. It costs about $18.00 more.
The company touts the CycleOps mag trainer as being quiet…which I suppose is relative. Mag trainers aren’t as quiet as high quality fluid trainers, but they certainly aren’t as noisy as wind trainers.
How about some CycleOps Mag trainer features…
- The Cycleops Mag Trainer achieves a smoother, quieter ride by using an internal flywheel.
- Five different resistance settings are achieved through the use of a magnetic brake.
- Stores easily when the legs are folded up.
- Made of steel, for good durability…with adjustable foot pads for uneven surfaces.
- Made by one of the ‘quality’ companies in the bike trainer business.
- Comes with a lifetime warranty.
- A training DVD is included to give you some training ideas…making your time on the trainer more productive.
This Short Video Covers The Different Trainers In The CycleOps Lineup
===>You can buy the CycleOps Mag Trainer on Amazon here.<===
You’ll be hard pressed to beat their price and service.
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The Cycleops mag trainer is for:
- Cyclists wanting a quality trainer from a reputable company that stands behind its products.
- Cyclists not wanting to pay twice as much for a fluid trainer.
- Cyclists wanting the smoother, quieter ride provided by the CycleOps internal flywheel.
Here’s What Others Are Saying About The Cycleops Mag Trainer…
I’m glad I got this trainer! It’s allowed me to workout within sight of my newborn son, and being a former collegiate athlete I can push my body to the limit without biking long distances. I got this model because it was the least expensive of the most reliable company…
theresa {review re-written for brevity. Read the original review here}
I sold my old CycleOps Mag trainer that I’d had for 12 years and got this new model. The new one has more resistance when put on the highest setting. The price is also significantly less. The price was right and the trainer works well…
Louis {review re-written for brevity. Read the original review here}
===>Cycleops Mag Trainer Available On Amazon At Discounted Pricing<===
 | Cycleops Mag Trainer The Mag is our bread-and-butter trainer. An integrated flywheel within an enclosed unit gives you a quiet, smooth ride. You get variable external resistance to make the ride easy for rest days, and tough for the hard ones. |  $170.99 Save: $19.00 (10%) |
| Bicycle trainer Wiki article |
| Bicycle trainer About.com article |
| CycleOps Mag bike trainer to homepage |
| CycleOps Mag Bike trainer |
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