My wife will be going in for a partial knee replacement in 2 weeks time .So in order to help with movement and rotation of said joint post op she is looking for either of the above .As it's only needed for a short period of time she doesn't want to spend loads of money .So any ideas / advice would be very welcome .
Had a similar issue with the missus. We picked up an exercise bike out of the free ads for £30. Planned to sell it once she was fixed but she still likes it. I'd say an exercise bike is a much better option than a turbo trainer.
getting on / off is important - had knee op last year and getting onto a mens road bike on turbo was very challenging, a lot more so than the riding - used an empty beer crate but hard to balance ( no hadn't just downed the content)
some exercise bikes you just step through?
If it is for a short period of time, would the gym be an alternative (assuming you can get in somewhere PAYG without a big joining fee - e.g. council gym)?. That would get you access to exercise bikes and a range of other equipment that could provide variety and help rehabilitation.
Turbo trainers or exercise bikes at home can be effective, but they are very dull, and you need to be very motivated to make use of them.