Have lots of fat to burn, and some evans vouchers for my 40th. Are turbo trainers worth having or is it like a gym membership…only used in January?

as a training tool= excellent, an alternative to riding outside= useless

surely I can do better cardio on a trainer, as I~ can keep in the 'zone far batter than out in the real world?

Road bike has been un used since last winter got really cold and all my mates kept falling off ans I didn't fancy the road rash

Great things for when you only have 30 minutes to spare and don't want to be looking out all your winter kit. I make a point of only bringing it down from the attic for about 3 months a year though to get the season kick-started. Any more and it would end up getting binned.

Agree with Ed2001.

Very good to do specific training.

I can only manage 1 hr ish max each time and at the moment I'm doing this 2-3 times a week depending on what the weather is like.

Had mine for 4 weeks and done 12 interval sessions on it and it has massively improved my running and sprinting in a short space of time.

I have also been given some spin class routines to help mix things up as it can get boring.

As previously said, if you only plan to do an hour, by the time you have got all your winter kit, filled up you camel back and got out there, it is time to turn around and clean the bike.

I bought one about 3 weeks ago and it is great. As said above if you only have a short time where you wouldn't normaly go out you can blast 30 mins off no problem. Get it in front of the TV with a drink and a towel!

Have recently purchased one to use in the evenings during the winter when I can't go out on the trails, so far so good.

No different from a gym though in that if you're not motivated to use it you won't!

Mine's in the garage under a layer of dust. I hand cleaning rags on it to dry out.

which trainers do you have?

Do you reckon Tacx over Cycleops?

I have always used Tacx, currently have the Swing, would like the Flow next as it shows Power.

I'd buy one second hand or ebay if possible as you can pick up as new ones cheap.

Cycleops fluid 2. Smooth and quiet.