My review of one of the classic magnetic resistance trainers: the CycleOps Magneto

When the cold weather hits, many cyclists decide that it’s time to hang up their cycling gear for a while; this can obviously be a big blow to maintaining your fitness goals if you’re just slightly serious about fitness and cycling.

However, you can still achieve your daily cycling goals and remain in great shape all year round by simply investing in an indoor bike stand – and with an awesome magnetic resistance trainer like the CycleOps Magneto Trainer, you can’t really go wrong. This indoor trainer can turn your off-road mountain bike into a stationary bike within minutes, and yes, it will save you trekking down to the gym or suffering out on the road during the winter season (it also makes our best 3 magnetic trainer list).

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Adding the CycleOps Magneto trainer to your cycling arsenal (but don’t get confused with its superior sibling, the SuperMagneto Pro) allows you to take advantage of its very decent features, as described below…

In one word – Durability!

When it comes to durability, very few magnetic trainers can compete with the CycleOps Magneto Trainer. The body of the trainer is made of quality aluminum while the frame features the same two-inch 16-gauge steel tubing that all of the CycleOps trainers sit on. Therefore, with this indoor trainer, you’re guaranteed years of usage without annoying creaks and groans. In addition, should anything go wrong with your Magneto stand, you have the lifetime manufacturer’s warranty to fall back on.

Five Different Resistance Settings

Featuring 5 different resistance settings, the CycleOps Magneto indoor trainer enables you to vary your workouts in order to make them more effective. Getting to any of these 5 settings is also very easy; you simply set the trainer’s resistance lever to one of the five levels and the Magneto will provide you with the chosen resistance.

Progressive Resistance

The resistance you get from this baby is actually a progressive resistance unit that is the first of its kind. Basically, the faster you ride, the more the resistance increases. This is because increased cycling momentum causes the magnets to spin further away from the flywheel, thus adding to the resistance.

This progressive resistance feature comes in handy when you want to challenge yourself with a fast-paced riding session. To make your riding experience even better, the CycleOps Magneto trainer increases resistance exponentially and smoothly just like a real outdoor bike would against the wind outside.

Provides a Realistic Ride 

When riding your bike out in the open, you have to overcome the inertia of your own weight as well as that of the weight of the bike whenever you accelerate. The effort you put in to overcome this inertia is what makes riding a bike fun and also helps you to improve on your cycling skills. This side of riding an actual bicycle is not lost on the CycleOps Magneto Trainer thanks to the ‘unique internal flywheel’, which this trainer incorporates.

Considered to be one of the standout features of this trainer, the flywheel provides the inertia that needs to be overcome whenever you increase your pedaling speed. This works to give you a realistic ride feel that’s similar to riding your bicycle in the outdoors; without the flywheel, there would not be much resistance to overcome.

Dimensions

When packaged, the CycleOps Magneto Trainer measures 7.4 x 20.9 x 23.4 inches. It also weighs just 19 pounds, pretty decent for a trainer of this quality.

The Pros and Cons of the CycleOps Magneto trainer

The Pros…

• Folds up easily for easy storage
• Durable and sturdy construction
• Comes with a lifetime warranty
• Decently quiet during rides (noise level at 20 mph is quiet 66-68 decibels)
• Easy to set-up and use
• Progressive resistance unit
• Features adjustable foot pads that ensure stable rides even when you are riding on an uneven surface
• Fits both common road and mountain bike frames (roller allows for 650b, 700c, 26″, 27″ and 29″ wheel sizes)
• Features a Quick Cam Lever Resistance Unit which makes tightening the roller against your rear bicycle tire very easy
• Comes with a training DVD and instruction sheet

The Cons…

• The frame construction is perhaps a bit bulky

What are buyers saying about the CycleOps Magneto?

With a bunch of very positive reviews on sites like Amazon, you can be rest assured that this is one decent trainer that will put in some decent training sessions.

Buyers seem to love its hassle-free assembly, ease of use, and quietness during rides. Also, the solid build and resistance of the trainer have received positive comments from users. Some have complained about the noise a bit, but in fairness, any magnetic trainer is going to be out-quietened by a fluid trainer. For example, the two superior models from the CycleOps family, the SuperMagneto Pro (which is, of course, a magnetic resistance trainer) and the Fluid 2, will be a guaranteed quieter ride. One trick we’ve learned over the years, especially if you are riding a mountain bike, is to change the rear tire to a training slick – this reduces the noise levels quite considerably, whatever the trainer.

Why buy the CycleOps Magneto trainer?

When looking for an all-round magnetic trainer, the CycleOps Magneto trainer makes an excellent choice.

This indoor trainer offers you a ton of benefits including efficiency, durability, cost-effectiveness, sustainability, safety, and high performance. And in addition to that, the versatility of the CycleOps Magneto trainer makes it ideal for all sorts of uses ranging from improving speed, to building stamina, to warming up prior to a race.

All in all, the CycleOps Magneto trainer is a great training tool if you’re looking for a very decent mag trainer and aren’t quite ready to splash out another $100 or so on a decent fluid trainer – it really does do the job, and of course, has the legendary CycleOps name behind it too.