No matter how burly we think we are, sometimes it’s just impossible to get outdoors to ride during the winter. It’s either so cold that the water freezes inside the bottle, or snowing so hard that we can’t see our handlebars, let alone the road. On those occasions, save yourself the trouble and just fess up that riding outside would suck. Then set up your trainers in front of the fireplace, fill your water bottle with hot cider electrolyte drink, pop in a Braveheart DVD, and start pedaling. Think of it as your own epic indoor adventure.

Don’t have trainers or in need of an upgrade? Don’t sweat it; you’ve got some time before old man winter starts howling. In the meantime, here’s what you need to know about the evolution of the trainer.

In the beginning there were wind trainers. Like all trainers since then, the wind trainer works by attaching to your frame and providing resistance against the back wheel to simulate riding. The beauty of trainers is that your front wheel stays still, turning your steed into a stationary bike. The resistance from a wind trainer comes from a small fan – as you pedal, you turn the fan. You can still find wind trainers today. The upside is that they are inexpensive, since there have been technological advances since then. The downside is that they are loud. We’re talking really loud.

Next came magnetic trainers, which solved the noise problem by creating resistance via a series of magnets instead of a fan. It worked. The problem with mag trainers is that magnets produce a constant resistance, which means your resistance becomes proportionately less as you pedal harder. The solution was to add adjustment settings via a handlebar-mounted control. Now you can set the amount of resistance according to your workout plan. This works, so long as you aren’t planning an indoor ride with varying intensity, which isn’t realistic. Especially during Braveheart’s battle scenes when you really want to crank.

The best (and most expensive) mag trainers solve this by using movable magnets that automatically increase resistance as you pedal faster. Some uber high-tech versions also come with electronic equipment that allow you to program ride intensity or select from pre-programmed versions, kind of like using a treadmill. They also clock cadence, heart rate, speed, time, and even calories.

Fluid trainers came along to solve the problem of constant resistance that occurs when using magnets. A fluid trainer uses a wind design, but think of it as having the fan immersed in oil. This serves two purposes: for one, it’s much quieter than the wind trainer, and two, silicone gets thicker when heated, so as you pedal faster, you create friction that heats the fluid, creating more resistance. This provides a progressive resistance lacked by magnet trainers, as well as the most authentic indoor ride possible. Opponents of fluid trainers warn that the seals will eventually leak due to the constant heating and cooling, leaving a pile of oil on your floor. Despite that, most cyclists prefer fluid trainers. Personally, I’ve never had a leak happen, and I ride the hell out of my fluid trainers. But I always put on old yoga mat down under my bike, just in case!

Then there are rollers – which always have been and always will be. They are not trainers, per se, but still are worth mentioning because so many professional cyclists use them. Taylor Phinney, the winner of this year’s U23 Paris Roubaix is known for riding his rollers while playing Guitar Hero. If you know anything about rollers, you know that this is no easy feat.

Unlike trainers, a roller does not attach to your frame. Most are constructed of three drums, two for the back wheel and one for the front. Your bike balances on top. You’re responsible for that balancing – adding an additional challenge to your indoor training. Rollers can be dangerous, if you don’t have the core strength to maintain balance while riding them, or if you’re prone to spacing out while riding indoors and losing focus, and therefore balance. If you’re a roller rookie, we respectfully suggest that you set your roller up in the hallway until you’re confident you’re not going to injure yourself or your television. William Wallace would not be pleased.

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