Alpcour Fluid Bike Trainer Stand

I haven’t tried it yet, cus the quick release toooo short on my Pinarello

I needed an indoor trainer to keep me riding in the Midwest winters. I picked the Alpcour after reading reviews, cost and ease of assembly. I’ve used the Alpcour for around 2 years. The unit is well constructed, easily assembled and meets my needs for wintertime riding when it’s way too cold outside. Best of all, I found a new life for my 42 year old Gios that had been resigned to second-bike status. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a solid well-built trainer at a reasonable price.

Easy to assemble

this is day one and all the parts were received, extremely easy and simple assembly… Assembled in 10 minutes without issues. My first test ride was smooth with a nice low hum. Compact and fit into my space just right. I will update with further information in a few months. So far I would recommend this trainer stand. It was worth the wait…

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I have a stump jumper alloy, with a 29” tire and a thru axle, so I had to come up with a work-around solution to mount the bike on the trainer. The noise is bearable, but this trainer works better as a speed trainer than an endurance one. Choose it if you have a road bike with a regular axle and you want to improve your speed. For a mountain bike with rough terrain tires, I’m not quite so sure.

BACKGROUNDI ride my bicycle to work for most of the year (when the weather is decent and I have enough daylight), and I was looking for a way to maintain my fitness through the winter months after my exercise bike died of old age. A number of fellow cyclists recommended that I look into getting a trainer. Since I am not a competitive cyclist (FTP 250-300 depending on how/when I measure), I wanted something that would have mimic the experience of riding on the road fairly well without breaking the bank, so I decided to try this fluid trainer.THE PRODUCTThe trainer arrived securely packaged in a double thickness cardboard box with molded styrofoam to hold the pieces in place. Despite this, I noticed that the main bolt and nut (for attaching the fluid brake/flywheel assembly to the frame) were miss when I laid out all the parts and tools. There was a card in the box suggesting that I e-mail Alpcour’s customer service department if there were parts missing rather than returning the item. The card indicated that they would respond within 24 hours, so I decided to give it a try before attempting a return over the holidays. Customer service did indeed reply within 24 hours, notifying me that replacement parts had been shipped and would arrive in 3-6 business days. I received no further communication and the parts arrived 17 business days later (shipped domestically from about 200 miles away). I realize that no manufacturing process is perfect, but the presence of the card and the poor communication about the shipping and arrival of parts makes me wonder if they have a QC problem. One star removed due to this negative experience.ASSEMBLYI have seen complaints about how difficult this product is to assemble, so I wanted to add my perspective. I found the product assembly to be quick and painless, with the exception of the above-mentioned missing parts. I am a mechanical engineer, which may have helped, but the instructions (complete with photographs of each step) seemed pretty straight forward.NOISESince reports also seemed to vary on the noise this trainer generates, I took some measurements. I bought a new tire for my rear wheel that was designed to minimize noise when using a trainer, so bear in mind that your results may vary if you are using a road tire. For my test setup I used an iPhone 12 to measure the sound levels and placed it about 6 inches to the right side of the saddle (the side where the drive train is located on my bike). For both pedaling tests, I put the bike into its highest gear ratio to maximize the rotation speed of the rear wheel.Background room noise: 40 dB (average)Bike suspended off of the trainer and pedaling as fast as possible: 65 dB (average)Maximum pedaling speed with the bike on the trainer: 70 dB (average), peak 72.1 dBAccording to the Center for Hearing and Communication, 60 dB is similar to the nose from a sewing machine and 70 dB is similar to TV audio. I listen to music with in-ear headphones without active noise cancellation while I ride and found that I could not hear the trainer while listening to music at a modest (half) volume. However, if you intend to use this in a living space, it is not subtle. Sleeping would likely be difficult and I could see it getting annoying for anyone without a wall between them and the trainer.PERFORMANCEAs someone else commented, the resistance feels very low initially but ramps up over 10-15 seconds. The variability in resistance cited in the product description was noticeable, but reminded me more of wind resistance at various speeds than the difference between going up or down hill. If you want to use this trainer to stay active and get some exercise, it should work great. If (like me) you want to train for road rides, I recommend using a bike with multiple speeds to allow some resistance control without getting off the bike. I would say even this is more similar to the experience of shifting gears on a constant grade, but it is better than constantly stopping to adjust the tension knob.CONCLUSIONCustomer service was good, and the trainer does everything I wanted, so 5 stars from me. If noise is a significant concern you may want to look at magnetic trainers, and if you are an athlete trying to get a competitive edge you may want something with a bit more features and flexibility. But if you’re looking for a modestly priced trainer to keep those muscles in practice until you can hit the road again, this device should do the job nicely.

Came with assembly instructions (contrary to what others may have posted) and all tools required for assembly (two small flat wrenches). No modifications to your bike are needed unless the rear axle is not a quick-release style (mine is). Includes a quick-release bolt to replace your non-quick-release bolt, if necessary. Good, solid stand and far quieter than the magnetic resistance types.

Bought this for winter "riding", sturdy, not too noisy and easy to put together. Have had it for about a week, so far so good.

Easy setup, great way to train when it's too cold outside.

Easy to ride. Good exercise. Nice to use your own bike. Nice to get my heart rate up inside in the winter. I'm over 65 and I love it.

I have used this trainer twice now and I am pleased with how smooth the resistance feels. The noise level is fair, but much better than a magnetic or wind resistance trainer. If you are riding in front of a TV, be prepared to turn up the volume a bit. The instructions are fair, but it isn’t too complex to assemble. My road bike is over 10 years old, so after swapping out the axle with the one supplied, it fit securely. I wanted to use my Trek FX sport 6, but Trek has a custom axle, so it wouldn’t fit in the cradle and wasn’t compatible with the one supplied. I had the same issue with my wife’s Specialized hybrid, so check to see if your bike is compatible before ordering.

The instructions (and instructional video) are worthless as far as how to properly assemble and attach the flywheel so hoping the closeup pics are helpful for those who may encounter challenges.Am pleased with the sturdiness and the noise level. I had a fluid bike trainer years ago and this is much quieter.

I’m very happy with this product. Setting it up was a little confusing, but several other reviewers gave excellent detailed notes that I used. I did not need to swap out the spindle; just popped my bike into place and locked it down.Keep in mind that the bike will be about 3 inches higher then normal, so be careful getting on and off. I use an exercise stepper (pictured) as a step stool.

The bike trainer seems to be ok, but I wish it had come with instructions. Even following the ones written on Amazon by purchasers were difficult to follow. I took 3 pics from different angles which should show how it all comes together. The L-bolt is slides the short end into the frame then a washer, then the spring, then the half moon washer. Next, you set the resistance unit on the long end of the L-bolt through the oval-shaped hole and add a washer and finally the black tightening knob. Next take the long bolt, add a washer, then slide it through the frame, through both the holes on the resistance unit, then another washer and finally the nut. Tighten the nut. Now you’ll see the reason for the spring and tension knob, so adjust as needed with your bike. It’s easy once you know which parts go where.

Nice and quiet 👍. Hooking up retention motor could have more detailed instructions need to put the spring tention on before you attach the motor. Takes up no room. folds up with a nice carry bag.

This trainer works great. It is very sturdy and stable. Assembly was just adding a bolt, and a wrench was provided. I have a Motobecane Champion road bike, and the installation was easy. It only takes a couple of minutes to remove the bike for an outdoor ride. It’s great for rainy days, and lately the Texas heat has driven me inside as well. It is pretty quiet, so it is easy to listen to music. I leave mine set up, but it comes with a heavy canvas bag for those who want to get it out of the way when not in use. I expect it will fit under most beds or in the bottom of the closet.

Bought this to use during the "indoor" months with my beach cruiser. Works perfectly. Only downside is you can't adjust tension while riding, but I live in a pretty "flat" area so the tension is very similar to what I get for most of my ride anyway. I use this with my Oculus headset and VZFit and the time riding flies by. Definitely worth the $$$.

Solid construction, but one leg is higher than the other, so I need to put a spacer under the leg. Better ones out there for the money.

Great Bike Trainer! Has a smooth and quiet ride. My husband loves working out with it when the weather keeps him from riding outside. Excellent quality