While Tyler already got the scoop on the amazing new Lemond Fitness Revolution trainer, Interbike was my first opportunity to ride one and see it in the flesh – er, metal.
There are clearly many reasons aside from ride quality that this trainer is superior, due to the fact that it won’t wear down your tires, you no longer need a “trainer wheel”, and it seems like it would be better for carbon frames considering there aren’t huge cups clamping around the dropouts. But what about the ride?
Obviously I only spent a brief moment on the Revolution at Dirt Demo, but my first impressions were that it felt very similar to riding a bike which, after all, is the end goal. The trainer is very stable, which also means there is no need for a front wheel block as you can see from the pictures. Keep an eye out for a complete review from Tyler over the winter months!
Final retail prices were also announced at the show, with the base trainer without a cassette coming in at $499. If you would like a “Shimano compatible” 12-25 cassette (adapters are available for Campy) included, that bumps the price up to $549. At the show, all the trainers were equipped with Shimano 105 cassettes but due to the wording of “Shimano compatible,” I wouldn’t guarantee the final trainers to ship with a 105.
Pricing on the Power Pilot was also released, with the ANT+ Power computer adding $349 to the total bill. The wireless power meter displays watts, cadence, distance, speed, heart rate, and calories with USB and ANT+ upload and download capability.
Trainers are shipping now, while the Power Pilots will be available in one month.
