The Saris Fluid 2 trainer is useful when the weather makes outdoor riding difficult or impossible. Some parts of the country are presently buried under several feet of snow; and others have problems with icy surfaces.

We just had a cold snap, with temperatures dropping well below freezing; and chill factors in the teens. For New Orleans, that’s phenomenal. It rarely gets that cold at all; much less stays that way for several days.

As a result, I don’t have polar riding gear. If I want to ride outside during such a cold spell, I need to wear two pairs of pants over leg warmers and cycling shorts. That makes my legs feel too bound up; getting on and off the road bike is awkward.

I need three or four layers on my chest; and with a wind, even that isn’t enough! Thanks to our humidity, a cold wind cuts through any number of layers.

Keeping hands and feet warm? So far I haven’t found a way to do that when it gets so cold. Warming packs help keep my hands warm; but my poor fingers still freeze. Double socks — including thermal socks — don’t keep my feet warm.

Even with a helmet liner, my head quickly gets too cold. So, going out on a bicycle in such conditions is risking hypothermia. I’ve got enough problems without that.

It’s been so cold in here, anyway, that all I want to do is park in front of the electric heater. Getting “kitted up”
 to do a stint in the trainer took a lot of  willpower!

So, tedious as it is, I did some stints in the trainer. I don’t actually have a Saris Fluid 2; but my old Cycle Ops is close enough. I didn’t worry about speed, cadence, and so on; I just pedaled half an hour to try to keep my leg muscles from atrophying! This trainer is Zwift compatible.

$179.97 Fluid 2 trainer

$239.95 Smart version

Expert assembly $89 per unit