Winter is looming. The cold, snowy weather is great for my backcountry skiing adventures, but it puts the hurt on my cycling fitness. I’ve been mulling my options for the offseason and hadn’t really considered bike trainers because most are wonky and awkward at best.
The new LeMond Revolution Bike Trainer, however, looks different and may provide that real road or MTB-like feel that other trainers lack. While it’s not cheap at $499, this bike trainer looks to be different enough and better in so many ways that it could quickly pay for itself in reduced tire wear and improved workout performance. Plus, this one looks to be truly versatile enough for both road or mountain bike use. A quick cassette swap and you’re golden.
Available next month, the new Revolution Bike Trainer just might become the gold-standard in the bike trainer market. Read on for the official press release on this new trainer.
WOODINVILLE, WASH. (September 10, 2010) – LeMond Fitness today announced its groundbreaking LeMond Revolution™ indoor bike trainer, technology that solves the “connection and feel” problems associated with traditional bike trainers. A direct drive, progressive resistance trainer that integrates with a bike’s drive train, the LeMond Revolution creates a real-road experience and eliminates inconsistent and difficult tire-to-roller connections with a design that requires a user to simply remove a bike’s rear wheel and slip the bike onto the trainer.
“This is a gigantic leap forward for indoor trainers,” said LeMond Fitness founder Greg LeMond and three-time Tour de France champion. “The LeMond Revolution’s direct drive technology gives the experience that riders have on the road, only now you can get it in the convenience of your living room. Our new trainer features a highly-engineered, weighted flywheel that is designed to replicate the inertia of a rolling bicycle, something we call High-Inertia Technology (HIT). Just like when riding on the road, the LeMond Revolution permits you to coast or freewheel, while its HIT delivers progressive wind resistance just like in real-world outdoor conditions. The design creates a smooth, natural feel while pedaling and eliminates inertia lag when the rider slows down or changes gears.”
For people who are serious about cycling or who want to recreate the unique feeling of outdoor cycling indoors, the LeMond Revolution’s High-Inertia Technology provides the solution to better, more realistic, more enjoyable indoor training and riding, making traditional roller-based trainers obsolete.
“Compared to traditional roller-based trainers, the Revolution represents the difference between riding on the road, on a great bike, on a great day and riding your bike with a flat tire, uphill, in sand. Who wants to ride in those conditions?” said LeMond.
The initial concept for the Revolution dates back to 1978. Intrigued by LeMond winning the Junior National Road Race Championship that year at the age of 16, one of Greg’s neighbors, Larry Brown, a physicist and inventor, collaborated with Greg to build a trainer that would contribute to Greg’s training. In 1981, when Greg turned professional at the age of 19, he moved to Belgium and took the garage-built trainer with him. Living in Belgium, with its cold and rainy weather, Greg was able to train as effectively indoors as outdoors and as a result never missed out on training ride. Greg capitalized on that ability and his aggressive training schedule to become in 1986 the first American to win the Tour de France, and Greg remains today one of the few riders to win the Tour de France three times.
Features and Benefits — Why Choose the LeMond Revolution?
Direct-Drive Technology – Direct-drive technology permits a user simply to remove the back wheel and attach the rear dropouts to the trainer, eliminating inconsistent and difficult tire-to-roller connections.
High-Inertia Technology – A highly-engineered, weighted flywheel replicates the inertia of a rolling bicycle by letting the bike to coast or freewheel naturally with a wider range of resistance, creating a smoother, more natural feel.
Versatility – The LeMond Revolution works with all road, mountain or cyclecross bikes using Shimano or SRAM 8, 9 or 10 speed dérailleurs (Campagnolo adaptor also available).
Equipment and Rider Friendly – By eliminating the need for a rear wheel, the LeMond Revolution saves wear and tear on the user’s bike, including waste associated with blown inner tubes and worn tires. The Revolution’s stable platform reduces bike flex and allows cyclists to ride out of the saddle without fear of unduly stressing their bike frame.
Validation – The LeMond Revolution is the official trainer for the Garmin-Transitions Professional Men’s Racing Team.
Performance Data – Beginning in late Fall 2010, cyclists will be able to purchase a Power Pilot for the LeMond Revolution and record, upload and download watts, cadence, heart rate, calories, speed and distance, creating the most advanced trainer available today.
Starting at $499, the LeMond Revolution™ will be exclusively available through LeMond Fitness beginning in late September 2010. For more information, visit www.lemondfitness.com.
About LeMond Fitness
Greg LeMond founded LeMond Fitness in 2002 with a mission to help individuals achieve their fitness goals and train more productively. LeMond Fitness reflects Greg’s passion for cycling products that break the mold. Tired of indoor training and exercise bikes that provided nothing close to the real experience of cycling, Greg designed products that reinvented the category, making LeMond Fitness the industry gold standard for high quality and exceptional performance in stationary cycles. Designed like great road bikes, all LeMond Fitness exercise and training bikes offer user-friendly adjustments and innovative cycling programs to make workout and training programs more effective.
More Info: Visit LeMondFitness.com
15 Comments
I saw some of the teams at the TOU using these to warm up before the TT. They look really cool and it makes sense that they would work really well too. I bet they could give you some good wattage data too.
Jonnie… for sure. I’m impressed with it and see it as a real improvement over the old standard bike trainer designs.
It’s different, but it’s no CompuTrainer. As for the “gigantic leap” statement, well I’ll just pass.
Can we connect it up to a 3D television to show us going up a nice road?
@Andy… not sure if it can be connected to a TV for a virtual training experience yet. I’m sure that’s something they may be working on or 3rd party solutions may exist.
@cctrekker… A CompuTrainer costs $2k and looks like a regular old trainer to me, so yes, I’d call the Revolution well, revolutionary.
Cool. Its basically an erg (rowing machine) adapted for bikes.
http://www.concept2.com/us/service/indoorrowers/default.asp
Kinda surprised it took so long for a cross-over to happen seeing as lots of rowers (this one included) also love to bike.
I hadn’t made that connection, but there are a number of similarities there. Good point.
Intriguing, but how do you brake/slow down other than coasting?
True… there is no quick stopping of the freewheel. That’s definitely one downside. I’m not sure how fast/slow it would be for it to stop.
Cool feature! The bike trainer looks cool and great performing one. I love bicycling more than any other sports I could think of. But,I can’t let this tool pass out. This is a perfect fitness and schedule solution. I am a bit interested and intrigued by one of its features such as creating a real-road experience and eliminates inconsistent and difficult tire-to-roller connections. This is great! I don’t think I could find one kind of bike trainers where you can do a lot of things from it. A real-road bike in a bike trainer? Great innovation!
I tried one of these in a local store and it has a great feel. What is really cool is it provides enough inertia that you can stand on the pedals and really crank. Very stable too.
The fan blades provide the progressive resistance increasing the workout in a very natural way. I have to spring for one of these.
Great smooth road like feel.
Now the bad news, it is the LOUDEST thing on the planet. Yes, it is not too loud when just at a cruising cadence, but as soon as you lay down some power you might as well have a jet engine in your living room. Way too heavy and awkward. You would have to be crazy / insane to want to bring this thing into your home.
Granted if you live alone, train alone, don’t want to carry it anywhere this is the trainer for you. Yes fluid and mag trainers all have their pros/cons, but this thing is only good for making noice, blow drying your hair, or keeping your kiddies blow up gym inflated.
I must agree with Road Rider. The ride feels like being on the road for sure. The noise is just ridiculous if you want to watch tv and ride forget it. Saying all that I’d still buy it again, but I’d ride it in the garage and invest in ear plugs.
Well… I’ll just have to use one to hear how loud it is. Does it sound like one of those old Schwinn Aerodyne bikes?