# setting up a cycleops fulid 2... question.



## eddiecut (Jul 21, 2013)

so I went and bought a nice new trainer for this off season, I was borrowing a blackburn trainer, the adjust on the back you could make it pretty tight on the tire, most of the time I would not be able to be in my big ring with the largest gear... it was pretty tough. 

I set up the new cycleops trainer and I am in the biggest gear the entire time, it seems like its way to easy? 

anybody else have this issue? or am I missing something?


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## eddiecut (Jul 21, 2013)

I also have the clutched knob for setting up the resistance... if that makes more sense..


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## Srode (Aug 19, 2012)

How fast are you going - it shouldn't be easy around 22 mph or so, should ramp up pretty hard from there


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## Peter P. (Dec 30, 2006)

If you're sure the wheel is not slipping, then the resistance unit is failed. If you can test the Cyclops with another bike, that would eliminate the bike as the cause. If you can connect your bike to the Blackburn again and it works, I'd say you have a bum fluid unit.

You only need to adjust the contact pressure between the roller and the tire until the tire no longer slips. Increasing the pressure will hardly result in a more difficult workout.


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## eddiecut (Jul 21, 2013)

I do not think its slipping, it just seems the pedal stroke is a lot easier with the cycleops than the blackburn I had... I have not hooked my computer up to it, I have no idea how fast I am going. should be somewhere around the 20 mph mark.


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## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

What do you mean by "clutched knob for resisitance"?
My Fluid2 only has one knob which pushes the roller tighter against the tire, is that what you mean?


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

eddiecut said:


> I also have the clutched knob for setting up the resistance... if that makes more sense..


If you're tightening the crap out of the one, single adjustment knob on a Fluid 2, then it may have no resistance because you've already killed it. You're supposed to adjust it until it is *just* tight enough to prevent tire slippage. Much more than that, and you risk taking out the bearings and/or causing a fluid leak, which will result in little-to-no resistance (and a puddle on the floor). That adjustment is to accommodate different wheel/tire sizes, NOT to "increase resistance"... It's a FLUID unit. That's the point of a fluid unit. No adjustment. It adjusts itself via hydraulic resistance.


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## eddiecut (Jul 21, 2013)

with the clutch knob, it doesnt let you "tighten the crap out of it" ... it acts like a gas cap... tighten it and then it clicks and doesnt tighten anymore. I am guessing that this is how its suppose to be, I might have been using the blackburn incorrectly. 

thanks for the responses.


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## 3DKiwi (Dec 1, 2012)

I've got a the same trainer. The resistance in top gear is huge and I don't recall ever being able to use it. Have you watched the setting up the Cycleops trainer video kicking around the net? The yellow resistance lever when closed only needs enough pressure to stop slippage and the tyre should only be slightly deformed when it's applied. Your tyre pressure should be maximum psi for your tyre to prevent wear.


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## goodboyr (Apr 19, 2006)

He may not have the fluid model. It may be the magneto with the adjustable resistance.


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## 3DKiwi (Dec 1, 2012)

goodboyr said:


> He may not have the fluid model. It may be the magneto with the adjustable resistance.


The thread title says setting up a Fluid 2


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## eddiecut (Jul 21, 2013)

3DKiwi said:


> I've got a the same trainer. The resistance in top gear is huge and I don't recall ever being able to use it. Have you watched the setting up the Cycleops trainer video kicking around the net? The yellow resistance lever when closed only needs enough pressure to stop slippage and the tyre should only be slightly deformed when it's applied. Your tyre pressure should be maximum psi for your tyre to prevent wear.


there is no resistance lever.... its the clutch knob on the fluid 2. 

http://www.cycleops.com/products/tr...d=3&flypage=flypage_images.tpl&product_id=168


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## 3DKiwi (Dec 1, 2012)

It's a lever on mine as per the video on the same page. The lever tightens on a thread (that's the adjustment for wheel size) and then you close it bringing it into contact with the wheel


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

eddiecut said:


> with the clutch knob, it doesnt let you "tighten the crap out of it" ... it acts like a gas cap... tighten it and then it clicks and doesnt tighten anymore. I am guessing that this is how its suppose to be, I might have been using the blackburn incorrectly.
> 
> thanks for the responses.


Looks like they've added an idiot-proof knob to prevent the kind of failures I described. The number one cause of failure for any trainer is people cranking the crap out of the adjustment knob and grenading the bearings. Used to happen on cars, too. People would tighten the crap out of the belts and cause the alternator, AC, power steering pump, and/or water pump to die. Tighter is gooder, right? So they installed spring-loaded belt tensioners to protect idiots from themselves.


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## eddiecut (Jul 21, 2013)

Yeah, the lever is an option. Mine came with the knob show in the picture... so it doesnt tighten down very much because it stops.


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## swerv512 (Aug 26, 2007)

Bringing this thread back to life with a (hopefully) relevant question/comment...

I have a fluid 2 with the clutch knob and i use my trainer exclusively on ZWIFT. Following cycleops instructions to 2.5 turns past tire contact is dramatically less load on the tire versus waiting until the clutch knob "clicks" - almost 4 turns. I wish i had a power meter to compare zift zpower to actual output but i'm curious if anyone else has compared their actual numbers to zwift's using different settings on the clutch knob....


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## jetdog9 (Jul 12, 2007)

Pardon the psuedo-dredge... but anybody currently using the Fluid 2 with the clutch knob able to give some insight to your resistance?

On mine if I give it 2 turns, not even 2.5, and certainly not as many turns as it takes to make the clutch click... it is significantly tougher than the real road. I understand there are ways this is a good thing, but seriously it feels like constantly going up a 4-5% grade or something.


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