As we search for those misplaced arm warmers and shake the dust off of our rain gear we are reminded of the words of the Starks from House Winterfell, ‘Winter is coming’. As much as we love riding outside and are willing to suffer cold and rain to do it, there are times when the weather and short days require us to train inside and put our bikes upon the dreaded trainer.

Minoura’s latest mag trainer, has us dreading this much less than usual and for a few reasons. The Magteqs Twin was Minoura’s answer to the pros, who needed more resistance out of their trainers than us mortals. Where previously Minoura’s V270 mag trainers could offer 460 watts of resistance, the Magteqs Twin takes this to 640 watts, a significant increase.



While I’d love to tell you I can spin away at 640 watts for hours the reality is I don’t reside at those power numbers for more than a minute or two. So why would I need the Magteqs? At my talent level, even at most intervals, I am far from maxing the trainer’s resistance out, this seems to result in a quieter trainer overall and a silky, smooth progressive resistance as the power is laid down.

Much of this is due to the Magteqs’ dual magnet AMT design. AMT stands for ‘advanced magnetic technology’. Those magnets are Neodymium and much stronger than the magnets previously used. The flywheel weighs only 4.4 pounds, but acts as a much heavier 6 pound fly wheel thanks to a stepped design. With more of the weight distributed to the outside of the flywheel, it spins up easily, then creates more and more resistance as you accelerate, kind of like wind. It's easier to get in the back of your car for race day warm up as well.

The resistance dial Minoura has created or the Magteqs is all new. Connected by cable, it easily mounts to your bars and gives you 13 different levels of resistance. Yes, 13. While that may be a bit of an odd number to have settled on the real revelation is every one of those 13 levels is distinctly different, from an easy spin to a 640 watt hammer.



To control all of this power Minoura has created a new stand with wider, micro adjustable legs. The rest of the unit, from the foot release pedal to the quick release clamp system functions admirably. Nothing revolutionary there, just solid functionality.

The most important test the trainer passed at my house was the late night training session. I have been able to train late into the evening, while my kids sleep, and watch 'The Office' without having the TV volume set to ‘Wall Shaking’. That alone may have me fitter when Spring rolls around than ever before.

Minoura will also be releasing a, iPhone ap called LiveTraining in the near future. With an ANT+ dongle the ap can guide your trainer session, from heart rate to wattage, with settings for free run, intervals or even pre-set courses. The pre-set courses can be of your own making or one of the preloaded courses, like every major climb in the Tour. As the weather gets worse and we get experience with the ap look for a follow up soon.

Magteqs Twin
MSRP: $460.00
www.minourausa.com