Sitting watching the tv at midnight I looked down on my 15 stone 10lb 62 year old body[average height]and thought time to shift the lard.
I looked at a wide variety of trainers the Cycleops looked well made "will it fit my 20 inch wheel bike"-"yes of course the roller just rotates nearer the wheel".
The prices ranged from ?230 new to ?90 on e-bay s-hand.
I got mine from cyclestore.co.uk for ?168-assembled it was 2 inches lower and 2 inches further away from my 20 inch Schwalbe Marathon plus tyre -oh bother-or words to that effect-back on the internet-I need a 20-24 inch wheel kit--none to be had anywhere.
I ordered one from Wiggles ?32 and set about fabricating a bracket from fibreglass.
Some hours later with the front wheels mounted on 4 inch high wood blocks I was off for a gentle cycle looking out the window at -12C and 18 inches of snow-yes I live in Scotland.
The only flaw was a slight skip on the roller at higher speeds.
Noise wise the trainer was certainly quieter than my triple front chain ring 2 rollers- tyre-Sachs 7x3 and 3 chains.
Noise of course is not important when you listen to your ipod to zz-tops smart dressed man etc.
In the fullness of time the kit arrived -including new legs.
Unfortunately it does not fit the newer model F2-the adjusting rod is to short!!!!!!!.
So I made a new rod from a bit of 1/4 inch UNC threaded bar.
The difference was instantaneous no skip on the roller-lovely smooth action.
I have now put in about 30 hours on the trainer and it is going well although I realise its early days-however I have lost 14lbs in a fortnight-only 44 lbs to go!!.
The trainer is the latest Fluid 2-heavier flywheel-it can be identified by its yellow locking handle-the earlier version was knurled.

Well done at taking the first steps and 14lbs in 2 weeks is brilliant.

I am also a midnight TV watcher and have seen the pounds creep on over winter, I am 52.

Like youself I have decided it is time to do something about it.

I am reading a book by Anne Mustoe a retired teacher who rode round the world twice after she had retired, a massive achievement for a non cyclist. In the book the question is asked.

"If you did not know how old you were, how old would you think you were?"

For the first I think I am older than I am.

My ICE Aventure Fs2 is now on order and should be here in April, my first trike. I am not overweight but I would like to lose 5kg, tone up and get fitter. I would take before and after photos but I am sure I would get blacklisted.

I look forward to hearing about your progress and the best of luck to you.

Steve

Hi Steve
Until I was 45 I was a super fit sail boat racer and badminton fanatic then neuron disease struck.
I t killed off the other 16 punters that got it the same time as me quite quickly fortunately-to date-my years of investment in fitness paid off.
Thanks to many dedicated NHS staff I am still around but unable to safely ride a two wheeler.
I built my trike thanks to help from Nick Andrews and Allan Beaumont and have done 20000 miles in umpteen countries on it-but-I was hit by a bus in Berlin recently and that has led to slothfull ways-but-I am constructing a carbon trike just now as my broken thumb[massively painfull] has almost healed.
Looking forward to hitting the Berlin streets late spring.
We Brits can only dream of european cycling provisions.
Personally I like the automatic 24 hours in jail if you touch a cyclist/pedestrian with your vehicle--it will never happen here

I was interested to read about your purchase of a trainer for your 20 inch wheel "recumbent"? I've been looking for a suitable device to use with my Grasshopper which also has 20" wheels- and the only reputable one I have come up with is the Kinetic Road Machine which needs to be used in conjunction with their "small wheel adaptor". All the reviews are good-- the only negative is the price ?250 plus another ?20 for the adaptor and possibly another ?15 for their "riser ring" to raise the front wheel! I'm watching for one on eBay but no luck so far!!

Hi Ancell,

Are you an ex pat living in Berlin?

Living in Denmark, I live in cycling heaven. Having been back to England last summer, I must admit I would not fancy riding around with all that traffic.

Your carbon trike sounds interesting. How far down the line are you with it?

Steve

as I said earlier saw a Cyclops F2 on E-bay for ?90 so you can pick them up.
Sadly from my very limited experience of buying cycle components the good bits like the F2 trainer are far to expensive!!.
I would say the important criteria are----------.
Reliable
Smooth roller action
Rather quiet
Automatic in operation ie no fiddling with controls while riding

I am sure readers are much more experienced than my use of only one type.

PS You must get all the bits for any 20 inch conversion or it just will not work properly although you could do a D-I-Y lash up like me but its difficult to arrange enough pressure on the roller using a D-I-Y 20 inch conversion bracket.

I spend a few weeks on Gomera in winter riding down the Valle Gran Rey on my ancient Brompton one tunnel is 1/2 mile long so with no lights and rim brakes the 6-8 mile descent from a mile and a half up is a real gas.
In summer I go to Holland Crete Spain-Sierra Madre or The Swiss lakes etc depending on the weather free time etc.
I always manage 3 weeks in summer in my favourite cycling place Berlin.
I love the street cycling life the parks museums film cafes all based on unlocking my bike cranking up the ipod and hitting the street.
I must cycle in the UK but do not enjoy it all my agro encounters have sadly been within 10 miles of my home near Edinburgh-a city I personally would not cycle in.

My Trice QNT has spent the winter sitting (and being ridden!) on a Elite Crono Elastogel Fluid trainer. It's worked extremely well without any modifications from stock. Elite do not advertise this as a 20" wheel trainer, they quote wheel sizes down to 26" - but it is the kind where it's the rider's weight that presses the rear wheel on the roller, so the trainer is built with a swing arm that near enough will bring any size wheel down on the roller. That said, 20" (ETRO 406) might be the lower limit as there is a cowling round the roller which gets closer to the tyre the smaller the wheel used. 16" or 17" might be too small. Was available on Wiggle, but I think this model might have been superseded so get your skates on if you want one!

I did wonder if the relatively lower loading of a trike would lead to a some wheel skip, but it's not been a problem. I have been able to ignore the instruction manual's advice not to use the rear brake as I have none! I've locked up the front drum brakes but this probably isn't necessary. There is a bit of "pulse" through the suspension elastomer but this helps you to develop a more fluid pedalling style.

A rear wheel sensor for your bike computer is a helpful addition to deal with monotony and motivation!

carbon trike progress is coming along.
I inherited the king pins so that will save a lot of fiddling.
Based on hundreds of hours triking I know exactly the critical dimensions for my trike ie relationship of the seat to the crank centre-everything else will be built around that geometric relationship.
It will not be adjustable-saving weight and strength.
It will be as short as possible-about 5 feet 6 inches-width about 30 inches-I want it to fit easily in the sbhann and ubhann.
rear suspension rubber or air
transmission- my present set up-- Sachs 7x3- front derailer- Shimano one piece crank and triple chain ring--its a middle price foolproof set up capable of thousands of trouble free miles.
I would love to build air front suspension but I spent several days fabricating and testing it on my existing fabric suspended GNAT--no improvement!!!!!!---I was gutted.
got most of the bits-carbon---?200 worth-epoxy resin-transmission etc.
having built one before I know what a massive task it is thankfully I am retired so I can work on it 7 days a week.
it must be ready for Ryannaire {?60 return Edinburgh to Berlin} in early June.