A bike trainer is the stand that your rear tire gets mounted to. It has a friction mount to the tire surface. I decided I wanted to change the bike from a mountain bike into a comfort bike so I went back to Bikes Unlimited and bought a comfortable padded seat plus cruiser handlebars. Here is the result.
Got a real workout just setting it up. Linking the videos I used to get past the rough parts below.
When I bought the trainer, I purchased a new smooth tire to replace the knobby tire that was on the bike. Getting the old tire off was tough but getting the new one on was even tougher.
I bought a new inner tube to match the tire size and once I got the new tire mounted I had a problem with my pump and the tire valve. My pump, like all cheapo pumps has a Schrader valves and my new tubes were Presta valves. Went to Bikes Unlimited and they had an adapter for $2.
Bought new handlebars there ($20) and a new seat ($40+). Took a break then did a short six minute ride. I forgot how the shifter works (there is a second button behind the bars. Had to adjust the breaks.
I like it! Now I just need to ride it.
P.S. 2018-06-29: December was a lousy time to take up riding a bike outside in Western PA. I rode it a few times indoors over the winter but not much. My last ride indoors was 1 hour just to see what my endurance is on the bike. It was pretty boring.
To improve I will probably set it up again this winter and ride for heart rate training during the cold months.
The regret is that I didn’t spend more and get something that I could monitor power output with. Then I could do metrics to see if I improved my power output.