Sunlite F-2 Magnetic Indoor Bicycle Trainer

I'm writing this review after 2 weeks of using this bike trainer. I purchased it along with the 8 dollar Sunlite Forza bike riser to keep the front tires straight and level with the raised rear, it's just a piece of plastic but it serves its purpose. Color received was exactly as pictured, the cheerful white and yellow-orange color with SUNLITE lettering on the trainer frame. The bike trainer was easy to setup even with the generic manual. No tools needed. You basically unfold the frame (folds flat for storage), grab your bike and swap out the rear tire quick-release lever/rod with the silver one that is provided with the trainer (it fit over my bikes regular quick-release knobs, but I swapped it out anyways to test with the same result). If your rear tire doesn't have a quick-release lever there's a converter you can purchase separately. You then line up both sides of the bikes quick-release knobs with the trainers axle knobs and hand twist-tighten until secure. You do the same with a rear knob on the resistance roller, tightening it until it's snug against your tire. It took about 15 minutes to setup, and the bike felt very secure and was ready to ride. IMPORTANT: Knobby tires causes additional noise and vibration on all bike trainers. If you have a nice slick road tire this unit will be quiet. I have a mountain bike with knobby tires, so it is currently not quiet. It makes a constant whirrr whirrrr whirrrrr noise against the roller, you learn to tune out the noise after a while but it's enough to wake somebody up if they are within 50 feet. If you use a headset or watch t.v. while riding you'll block out the noise, if I had to compare the noise level to something I'd say a hand mixer on a low setting. If you want a quiet trainer grab a spare bike tire that is smooth. Giving this 5 stars because it was easy to setup and gives a great workout for winter fat. I won't deduct a star for noise since it can be corrected with a tire change. I would buy this stationary trainer again, and recommend it to other friends who are casual riders of 2-25 miles a day. If you are a hardcore biker that requires a more intense workout you might want to consider bike rollers instead where you also have to practice balance (and practice falling off a bike in your house). :)

My brother was a serious triathlete until he was sidelined with shinsplints. He turned to endurance biking - Paris-Brest-Paris, Adirondack 500 (or 750, I forget). He qualified and completed the Race Across America (RAAM) in 2011. He would not buy one of these. One of his bikes cost more than my car! I, on the other hand, am a couch potato and sometimes tennis player. I had to have surgery on my foot and part of my physical therapy includes a stationary bike. All I had was my mountain bike, which I put street tires on for commuting. This trainer comes ready to use out of the box; all you need do is change out the axle of the rear tire. I tensioned the unit tight with my bike in first gear. This gives me plenty of range through the remaining 17 gears for a good workout. A ride simulating hills it is not. But it's a smooth, relatively quiet workout for us weekend warriors. You get a decent cardio and leg workout. Great buy!

I have used this trainer for about 3 months in a third floor apartment. I utilized it on my carpeted floor for about a week before getting complaints from my downstairs neighbors that the vibrations were bothering them. Since then I got 4 foam mats that are used in gyms. I got mine from Dicks Sporting Goods for around 15 dollars. I place 2 under the front and 2 under the rear. This has aided in dampening the vibrations to a point that my neighbors are no longer bothered. The trainer is exactly as pictured with the good looking white/orange color scheme. I was worried I would damage my quick change lever I had on my frame before I installed the bike to the mount so I changed to the included lever. I have found that the included lever gives a bit more support for the bike since it pairs up with the trainer mounts a bit better. While tightening the mounts down I noticed that it begins to push the trainer frame out of its normal shape and bends the mount points outwards if overtightening. I find that once there is a little resistance its best to loosen about a 1/4 turn and then secure it. This method has given me the best results for both my mountain and road bike. I purchased the Forza bike riser, without this I find that being on the slight decline and having to hold yourself up is very annoying and detracts from the workout. When I utilized my mountain bike the trainer was much louder then with my road bike. The tires make a big difference between noise heard. Also, ensuring proper tire pressure on slick tires is essential for a good ride and resistance. Even with knobby tires I can hear my tv on medium volume. It is a good trainer with little noise and is perfect for apartments if something is used between the trainer and the floor that can soak up the vibrations.

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The Forza F-2 is a magnetic resistance bike trainer. Unboxing and Setting Up: 1) The frame is solid with nicely formed welds. 2) Installation requires the removal of your quick release bicycle wheel skewer and replacing it with the skewer that comes with the Forza. The skewer is silver plated, so it could stay on during road days. 3) Adjusting of the magnetic wheel is easy - there is one bolt with a hand adjust knob. Pro Tip - Thoroughly wash your bike before mounting it into the trainer. Your roommate or spouse will thank you... Pros VERY easy to set up. Once I replaced the skewer on my rear tire, I was ready to go. Shifting the bicycle - like you do on the road - is how you adjust the intensity of the workout. Cons This bicycle trainer works well for someone like me who is 175 lbs. If you weigh more, the base may not be wide enough to handle the extra torque for riders over 200 lbs. The resistance does not adjust. However, shifting to higher gears seems to work as well as the resistance adjuster worked on another trainer I used. Noise. The faster the rear wheel spins the louder the magnetic resistor becomes. When I train at speed, the magnet makes a rather loud hum. Good to know if you plan to set up in front of a TV in a room where others will be sitting. It isn't nearly as quiet as a fluid trainer.

I bike, run, etc. and was looking for a trainer just to keep up my cycling fitness in the winter. This is a really basic trainer that is fairly quiet and works well. It is NOT a good trainer if you want lots of tension to do hill training because the tension does not get that high. I work up a good sweat if I ride high rpm's for 30-45 minutes, but the tension never gets high enough to simulate hills. Still, for the money, it is a good maintenance fitness trainer. I would buy this again.

So, I am not an avid road biker or have no aspirations to train for any sort of Iron Man-like competitions. I simply live in the CO Rockies and find that during our almost 8 months of Winter, I tend to curl up on the couch and pack on the pounds. Not much of a cold winter sport person either. I also dislike driving in the winter and a gym membership ends up being a huge waste of money despite all good intentions. A few months ago, my car died on me and I was forced to find alternative ways to get around. A friend was kind enough to give me the Huffy Verona, a hybrid bike from their comfort series. Hated it at first, but found over time that riding it wasn't so bad. So, as Winter rears her ugly head once again, I thought it would be great to keep it going and began to look into my options. Purchasing an exercise bike for thousands of dollars was just not an option. So, after doing some research, I found myself looking at a stationary trainer. I read a lot of reviews and landed on the Forza Trainer as the best magnetic trainer for those on a budget. After reading a few reviews, I was skeptical that this would work for the Huffy, but bought the axle adapters as recommended in a review and crossed my fingers. And, guess what, it worked against all logic and expectations. So, now, I would like to save you a couple hours of heartache if you too do not own one of those fancy, modern bikes. Don't hesitate to by this trainer if you own a comfort bike like me. You don't need a fancy work horse to use this. Buy the adapters as recommended if you have bolt on rear axle. The ones that come with the trainer are for those modern bikes in which the rear axle is easy to switch out. And, save yourself some brain damage by learning from our mistakes. We tried to switch out the rear axle per the instructions and found that ball bearings went flying everywhere. Obviously, the Huffy was not meant to be opened up and there was no use trying. And, the instructions are not very intuitive and basic pictures at best. So, we buttoned everything back up and put the original axle back together. And, did what we should have done in the first place-removed the silver hub clamps that came with the trainer and switched them with the other ones I ordered. In less than 5 minutes, we had the Huffy clamped into the trainer and it worked! We were worried that is wouldn't hold, but it sure did. Even held my 6'3", 216 lb manfriend. You will need an allen wrench for switching out those parts. The resistance is great and you can control it even more by shifting through gears if you have them. You don't need them. I rode my bike while watching Netflix in the comfort of my living room right after we got it set-up. It was awesome. And, it's really easy to remove the bike from the trainer. The trainer folds up nice and small in 2 seconds. I love the idea that once spring hits next June, I will be able to store the trainer away and take the bike out in minutes. And, the trainer is really no louder than riding an exercise bike at the gym. Put your music or TV on and tune it out. I hope this review helps you make an educated decision about buying a trainer.

Purchased this trainer because I wanted an indoor trainer to keep in shape over the winter months. The trainer is great, comes with a quick release skewer which makes it nice if you don't have an extra skewer. The instructions are easy to follow, and everything sets up in minutes. The roller is smooth and makes a slight bit of noise as you pedal, although not very loud. Offers good resistance through the shifting of your gears, just as the road would. Overall it's a great product for a great price. I was able to pick one up for $92.