Looking to get a trainer for the winter. What is the difference between a mag trainer and a fluid trainer? I am kinda on a budget; any suggestions?

I have not tried the magnetic but I have a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine and put 50 hours on it. From reading various posts (you should do a search on trainers) it seems most people favor the fluid over magnetic. You can pick them up used on eBay like I did:thumbsup: or probably get a better deal on Craig's list. Good luck.

Cheap, durable, effective trainer
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=20982&subcategory_ID=4120
I have this one and rode it all last winter and it worked great. Plenty of resistance, fairly quiet, and it has a nice feel. If you wait until the right time with coupons and discounts you can get it much cheaper. I paid $145 for mine shipped with a couple of coupon deals last year around Christmas. Some people with knock performance for durability but their 100% satisfaction return policy can't be beat. Overall this is a very good low budget trainer.

Looking to get a trainer for the winter. What is the difference between a mag trainer and a fluid trainer? I am kinda on a budget; any suggestions?

Unless you have the need to be doing out of the saddle sprint training during the winter, you should consider rollers, which will give you just as good a workout with significant improvements in bike handling skills.

how do those work?

how do those work?

Rollers are best thought of as a treadmill for a bike. One front roller, and a pair of rollers for the back wheel. One of the rear rollers is connected to the front with a drive belt. When riding the rollers, you learn to spin smoothly, to keep a light touch on the bars, to ride a straight line, to be steady on the bike, and to pay attention. After enough experience on the rollers, you can ride on the fog line for a long ways without ever straying off. It's hard to stand up when on the rollers, but you can get a great workout, do intervals, etc. PLUS develop a lot of smooth riding skills. IME and IMO, most cyclists will gain a lot more from riding the rollers than from riding a trainer.

It takes a few days to learn to ride the rollers, and the common recommendation is to start out with them set up in a doorway so that you can catch yourself when you start to fall. After that, most people keep their rollers next to the wall or a couch/chair that they can rest against when starting and stopping. Do a search on this topic. Google will probably get you some pictures of people riding rollers.