Build Yourself A Wind-load Trainer

(Page 2 of 3)

September/October 1986
By the Mother Earth News editors 
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Consequently, you should build the trainer to suit the dimensions of the bicycle you'll be using on it. To do so, mount the bottom bracket clamp last, and position it so that the rear tire of the bicycle bears down on the drive shaft enough to deflect the tire 1/16" to 1/2". At the same time, mount the bicycle as far forward as possible, so that the rear tire clears the wooden base by about 1/2". This keeps the cycle's frame as close to level as possible to maintain a comfortable riding position.

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Unless you keep your own collection of automotive organ donors, you'll have to take a junket to the junkyard to find a squirrel cage fan from the heater of just about any U.S.-built vehicle. Every one we encountered fit on a 5/16" shaft, but the lengths and outside diameters did vary. To adapt, use a different length of bolt to secure the fan to the 5/8" drive shaft, and size the fan housing accordingly. Depending on the fan's configuration, you may have to trim off the threaded portion of the flange side of the brass fitting, and bore it out for the bolt.

VO 2 WHAT?

Bicycle racers (among others) refer to their aerobic capacity as "vee oh two max": a measure of the amount of oxygen that an athlete can consume in a given period of time. At once, VO 2 MAX incorporates lung capacity, muscle tone, and cardiovascular fitness.

Sports doctors generally consider VO 2 MAX to be the best determiner of peak athletic potential, and the ultimate level for each person is limited by his or her physiology. Even so, it may take as much as two years for someone in intense aerobic training to reach peak VO 2 MAX.

Though we ran our prototype trainer for quite some time without a fixed connection between fan and drive shaft, it's probably a good idea to solder the copper fitting to the 5/8" shaft. (Get the shaft good and hot before applying heat to the copper fitting.) There are several bearing setups you could use. Pillow blocks would be simplest, but roller bearings in wood cost about $20 less. The standard manufacturer number for a caged, sealed, 5/8" bore X 1 3/8" O.D. roller bearing is R10. You can ask your hardware store to order W.W. Grainger number R10-LL, 1L040. Each will be about $5.

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