lemond revolution the bike trainer

Watch cycling coach Matt Hill talk about what sets the new Revolution Bike Trainer apart of the current bike trainers on the market. http://www.lemondfitness.com/product_listing/19/revolution-bike-trainer




The new 2011 Lemond Revolution trainer has an ultra-realistic road feel for your road bike, mountain bike, triathlon bike, or commuter.



Review: LeMond Revolution Bike Trainer – Mountain Bike Edition
February 28, 2011

Winter and spring can be a rough time for mountain bikers. Just when we think we are out of the freeze and cold, spring rains hit and once again we are looking out our windows wishing we were on the trail. When the weather does finally start cooperating, our legs have seen nothing but TV time (maybe some time in the gym if you are really dedicated), so the first couple of trips out on dirt are brutal. For those of you that do not own a road bike, choosing a trainer is a difficult process. While there are some tire drive trainers that work for mountain bikes, you are still left with switching out tires to slicks and high volume that does roll all that well on those designs.

LeMond Fitness released their Revolution Bike trainer this year that uses a different design than you might be used to. You actually mount your bike in the trainer without the rear wheel at all.

Turner 5.Spot and LeMond Revolution

As you can see with the Turner 5.Spot mounted up in the Revolution, you can use anything that has a standard quick release dropout in the Revolution (sorry 142mm guys…no thru axles).
The LeMond Revolution Trainer Specs

The Lemond Revolution indoor bike trainer uses a resistance fan to simulate on road (or off in this case) feel.

The Revolution is a Direct Drive, progressive resistance trainer that integrates with your bike’s drive train. It features High-inertia technology (HIT) designed with a large, weighted flywheel that mimics the inertia of a rolling bicycle. The Revolution spins freely when the pedals aren’t engaged, and delivers progressive wind resistance similar to real-world conditions. The design creates a smooth, natural feel while pedaling with no lag when the rider slows down or changes gears. For riders who are seeking to recreate the feeling of real cycling while indoors, the LeMond Revolution is the next generation of bike trainer.

LeMond Revolution Bike Trainer

As you shift through the gears, you increase and decrease resistance to simulate real world conditions as much as possible.

X.9 Derailleur On LeMond Revolution Trainer

The cassette body will accept all SRAM and Shimano cassettes and there is a Campagnolo adapter available. A Shimano Dura-Ace 11-23 was used in both the road (Specialized Tarmac Pro DA) and mountain bike tests as we had the SRAM 10 speed X.9 groupo installed on the 5.Spot. If you are running a 9 speed drivetrain, just install any SRAM or Shimano 9 speed cassette. Some minor tweaking of the barrel adjusters might be necessary after mounting the bike in the trainer, but in our tests…everything shifted pretty smoothly when switching bikes.

LeMond Revolution Bike Trainer

Once you have the feet adjusted on the unit so it is stable and even with the ground, you are done. There is no wheel block or anything else to adjust…you are ready to spin.
Review: LeMond Revolution Indoor Bike Trainer

This winter was brutal in the southeast US, so the LeMond Revolution got a lot of indoor use. This trainer has been…by far…the easiest to setup and use out of any of the trainer I have used in the past. It really is as easy as it looks…mount the bike and ride. The base, while heavy, is very stable which makes out of the saddle hammering a breeze. Ideally, you would want to mount up a hard tail to train, but the 5.Spot did ok as long as you put on the ProPedal and locked out the fork.

The Revolution’s Direct Drive really does simulate on road feel. Shifting through the gears is incredibly smooth and going from pedaling to freewheeling is seamless. There is no other trainer on the market (that we have tried) that makes this transition feel like real world riding like the Revolution. At first, we wondered how the shifting process with resistance would work without an external resistance setting, but the harder you spin and ramp up the gears, the harder of a workout you get much like when you are actually riding your bike. If you want to train harder, spin faster.

This wind resistance style setup does not come without a few short comings. First, the trainer is insanely noisy. If you are used to watching videos or listening to music in your house while spinning, be prepared to move to earphones or cranking up your surround sound to overcome the noise. When you really start to crank it up, the trainer sounds like a jet that is ready to take off at any moment. Second…since you do not have a rear wheel spinning, you can not record your training rides or tell how far you have ridden without using the Power Pilot Meter from LeMond (not available when review unit was shipped but is now).

Cassette on LeMond Revolution Trainer
Overall: LeMond Revolution Indoor Bike Trainer

For mountain bikers, I do not think there is a better option for indoor bike training than the LeMond Revolution. It has the most fluid action we have tried out of any other trainer and you do not have to worry about switching tires or wheels…just mount up and go. You pay for this in noise and out of your wallet, but if you are serious about staying in shape during the bad weather months and you do not have a road bike, this is your best option for keeping the legs spinning outside of going to a gym. Now you just have to convince your other half that bringing a dirty mountain bike into the house is actually a good idea.
Positive: LeMond Revolution Bike Trainer

Works perfectly with any mountain bike.
Smoothest action out of any trainer we have tried to date.
Incredibly stable base that allows for out of the saddle hammering.
You don’t have to worry about getting extra tires.

Negative: LeMond Revolution Bike Trainer

Noisy enough to rival jet engines.
Pricey.
Lack of a rear wheel prevents data tracking and recording without LeMond accessory.

LeMond has produced the perfect trainer for mountain bikers. You can check out more info about the LeMond Revolution on http://www.LeMondFitness.com.

http://bike198.com/review-lemond-revolution-bike/