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TECH NEWS

LeMond launch innovative new indoor trainer

US brand gets UK distribution

The new LeMond Revolution wheel-less indoor trainer will be available in the UK from early December following the announcement that Saddleback, distributors of Felt, Zipp, Vredestein and SRAM road products, will be taking on the US brand for 2011.

Unlike a traditional trainer where a roller creates resistance against your back wheel, the LeMond Revolution integrates with the drivetrain on your bike. You take your back wheel out and mount the rear dropouts directly onto the trainer, changing up and down through your gears in the normal way thanks to a cassette that’s fitted to the unit. The Revolution works on progressive wind resistance so we’re guessing it’s not the quietest trainer out there – but we’ve not used one yet so we can’t say for sure.

"Compared to traditional roller-based trainers, the Revolution represents the difference between riding on the road, on a great bike, on a great day and riding your bike with a flat tyre, uphill, in sand,” said LeMond Fitness founder and three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond. “Who wants to ride in those conditions? The design creates a smooth, natural feel while pedaling and eliminates inertia lag when the rider slows down or changes gears."

Clearly, you’re not going to get any tyre slippage or wear with this design, and we’re told that the frame won’t flex so you can easily ride out of the saddle.

"The Revolution has an incredibly solid feeling to it, something that is often missing from rear wheel trainers," said Team Garmin-Transitions’ David Millar. “I own about four home training devices at home, the Revolution has instantly become the favourite.”

The Revolution fits all road bikes although you’ll need an adaptor to fit a Campagnolo cassette. It’ll retail for £425 without a cassette fitted and £470 with a Shimano/SRAM compatible cassette.

For more info go to www.saddleback.co.uk or www.lemondfitness.com.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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3 comments

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otleyrich | 13 years ago
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Looks like it would be great for 'cross pre race warm up - no need to carry a road wheel to use the turbo  1

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antonio | 13 years ago
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It may smooth the ride but the pain will still be the same.

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Jon Burrage | 13 years ago
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I tried one of these last week at saddleback and the smoothness in comparison to the bushido Ive got at home is impressive, it does feel like you are riding properly. Not the quietest thing in the world but it has fan resistance so it helps blow a bit of air around to keep you cool.

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