The Lemond Revolution is a high-quality indoor trainer with a great ride feel and it's built to cope with long hours of training. It isn't light or quiet, but I'll trade those two for the ride sensation and enough stability to cope with everything up to a full-on sprint.

First things first: this trainer is different in that you remove your rear wheel. Your chain runs on a cassette that fits directly on to the trainer, and you snap your frame in place using the quick release just as you would your wheel. The trainer uses a belt drive to send your effort from the axle to a big fan that doubles as a flywheel. There's the possibility that you'll need to twiddle with your gears a touch to get the shifts just so, but I didn't have to touch the barrel adjusters on either of the bikes I tried.

What does this mean in practice? Well, a few things. For a start, it means it's wheel-size independent, as you're not relying on a friction interface. You'll need to get a spare cassette and Lemond assume you're on Shimano/SRAM gear; if you want to fit a Campag cassette you'll need either to swap the freehub out, or get a crossover cassette (Campag spacing and Shimano splines) like the Ambrosio ones - that's the cheaper option by far.

It also means that you won't put any miles into your rear tyre, or need to fit one of those super-tough training tyres. And thirdly, it means that there's a very efficient mechanical interface between the drivetrain and the trainer, as opposed to a friction-based one. This is good because it means that the resistance for a given input is always repeatable and measurable (with the right equipment); more on that later.

The Revolution is a heavy beast at over 14kg. Plenty of that weight is in the frame, and there's lots more in the enormous turbofan that's both flywheel and resistance unit. This is a turbo trainer in the strictest sense, using a fan to generate progressively more drag as the speed increases. That's always been a simple way to get effective resistance, but it isn't the quietest option out there. The Lemond isn't noisy at cruising speeds, but put the hammer down and you will be generating quite a racket, so if you're restricted in where you can put the turbo, that might be an issue. I'm relegated to the draughty lean-to out the back, so no problems for me... Anyway, I usually have the earphones in, so it's someone else's problem.

Talking of draughts, that fan pushes a lot of air about. Judicious positioning of the trainer in relation to the walls and furniture can direct that airflow onto you, doing away with the need for a fan. Or you could attach a big bit of ducting to it and point that at your face for a proper headwind.

The ride feel of the Lemond is among the best I've found. The big flywheel means that it's very smooth and the base is rock solid; plenty stable enough for full-on out-of-the-saddle sprinting. Three legs and adjustable feet on all of them mean you can compensate for any unevenness in the floor, too. The design means there's no need for a front wheel riser (at least not with a 700c bike) so the front of the bike is more stable too. It's not the best for stood-up climbing as the resistance isn't high enough and the flywheel holds too much energy, but pretty much everything else feels great.

You can easily do repeatable tests on the Lemond. A Power Pilot display is available (separate review coming on that) which will give you speed, distance, power, cadence and heart rate data. It's not cheap at £300, but you can improvise with a rear-wheel mounted computer.

Okay, I know. There is no rear wheel. There is, however, a big belt sprocket driving the fan that rotates at exactly the same rate as a wheel, and it has a built-in magnet to trigger the sensor for the Power Pilot, which screws into the frame. A bit of faffing and a few zip ties got this firing the sensor from a standard computer, giving speed readout (and cadence, since the computer did both). Depending on the polarity your computer uses, it might not trigger, but you could always stick the magnet on the sprocket.

Once you've some kind of readout sorted, you can use a heart rate monitor to test your (relative) fitness. For a simple ramp test you can warm up, then do three-minute intervals at 2mph increments and take your heart rate at the end of each one. Since the power you're outputting at any given speed is pretty constant thanks to the mechanical interface, these tests should be repeatable over time, giving you a good idea of which way your fitness is heading. You won't be able to assign absolute power readings to them, but they'll still show you trends.

That's if you're a number cruncher, and if you are you'll probably be tempted by the big Power Pilot display. If you want a machine to put the hours in over the winter, or when it's dismal out, the Lemond is definitely one to look at. It's not cheap, but the ride quality and build quality mean you'll get your money's worth over time.

Verdict

Very good indoor trainer for riders looking to invest in a long-term static solution

Cycling experts will tell you there’s no substitute for actual time in the saddle in the great outdoors to prepare you for the season ahead.

But if long work hours, short winter days or inclement weather drive you inside, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more suitable stand-in for the asphalt of the open road than the LeMond Fitness Revolution.

The Revolution is manufactured by the company founded by three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond. But even if your skill level is more lanterne rouge than maillot jaune, you’ll still get a massive workout. You can spin on it. You can hammer on it. You can grind huge gears and do awesome spin-ups. You can work up a gigantic pool of sweat on the garage floor.

To use the Revolution, you take off your back wheel and clamp your bike down onto it. It’s more complicated to set up than a mag roller, but even I — someone who lacks the mechanical intuition required to assemble a proper burrito — was able to manage it with ease. I did have to go through directions a few times to get the trainer in line with the bike’s rear dropouts, but I still made it from box cutter to the first turn of the pedals in less than 20 minutes.

One note here: our Revolution came with a Shimano 10-speed cassette installed. If you are using multiple bicycles or running something other than SRAM or a Shimano 10-speed, you may have to buy the appropriate cassette body to make it work for you.

There are only two caveats stopping this from being the world champion of trainers. First, it’s heavy and awkward. Moving the Revolution is a two-handed job, making it less than perfect for throwing it in the back of the car and running off to the races. Second, it’s a noisy beast. After a few minutes in the guest room, I felt compelled to dismount and head for the garage. It doesn’t produce a clanging racket or anything, but more of whirring whip-up. Still, the flywheel is noisy enough that I can’t recommend this for apartment dwellers.

Those issues aside — and the garage is the better place to blast my appropriately angry music, anyway — it appears Mr. LeMond has a product here to match his winning ways.

The trainer employs something LeMond Fitness calls High-Inertia Technology (HIT), which closely mimics the feel of being on the road. I have to give the company props for getting the “road feel” closer to the real thing than any other trainer I’ve ever ridden. Unlike most magnetic trainers, there’s a pleasing simulation of coasting as the flywheel keeps rotating when you ease up on the pedals. This also allows you to vary your cadence, and thus mimic at-speed sprints or do repeated spin-ups.

The interface between bike and trainer is solid, and it breeds confidence for whatever punishment you might have planned for your workout. I could stand and sprint. I could sit and spin. I could shift up to the big ring and hammer. And with the flywheel, the process was easier on my knees than a spin cycle or a magnetic trainer. Throughout my whole workout, I kept thinking how nice it was to be on my own bicycle as opposed to a piece of gym equipment. And I love the fact I’m not wearing through my rear tire, as I would on a magnetic trainer.

Some of you may still prefer spinning out your legs and working on your bicycle handling skills on a set of rollers, or attending the occasional spin class for the motivation and camaraderie in these cold, dark days of winter. Having already spent too many hours in November and December in spin class, it was a nice change. Here in California, our winters are mild enough for me to hit the road most days, but for those of you stuck in the snow, this trainer is a real revelation.

LeMond’s company is also working on something called the Power Pilot Meter which attaches to the Revolution trainer and measures all the important stuff like speed, distance, heart rate, watts, calories burned, and pedal cadence. LeMond Fitness’ vice president of sales Bernie Boglioli tells Wired.com the highly-anticipated companion gadget has finally passed muster after a grueling testing phase and is shipping at the end of this month. The meter wasn’t available for us to test, unfortunately. In the meantime, we will be hanging onto our LeMond for a few more revolutions.

WIRED Solid build is sturdy enough for any regimen. Great road-like feel. Fills your head with thoughts of crushing Fignon on the Champs-Elysees.

TIRED Loud, heavy. You might need to buy a second cassette. No magic pills, so hard work is still required.

LeMond Fitness's Revolution indoor trainer ditches the conventional tire-on-roller layout – and in fact replaces the rear wheel entirely – in favor of its own cassette and toothed belt driving an enormous resistance fan. One might think that eliminating that standard contact point wouldn’t yield that big of a difference but the Revolution's Direct Drive setup eliminates a surprisingly substantial source of power transmission loss and produces what is far and away the most 'connected', positive and lifelike feel of any trainer we've used.

In comparison, conventional trainers feel like you're running your rear wheel in ankle deep mud. Don't believe us? Try it for yourself at a local shop and we've no doubt you'll agree. In addition to the direct feel, tire wear is completely taken out of the equation so you can continue to keep your favorite rubber installed –which, coincidentally, also makes it ideal for pre-race warm-ups during 'cross season.

And since there's no spinning wheel to worry about, the back end of the bike can be set lower to the ground than usual – thus eliminating the need for a front wheel riser block – and it's safer around curious pets and children. An included spacer on the quick-release skewer makes for quick mounting of most road and mountain bikes, and four rubber feet easily adjust for uneven floors and hold tight even on hard surfaces.

The resistance fan measures roughly 30cm (12in) in diameter, but Lemond say the inflated dimensions were necessary to produce the desired effect. The weighty fan's circumferentially concentrated mass does lend an uncannily realistic inertia with minute-plus coast-down times even at relatively leisurely speeds. The giant blades churn a healthy volume of air, too, with a realistically progressive resistance curve that requires only a change of gears for a harder or easier workout.

That curve will vary slightly from reality based on altitude and humidity, though, and we noticed slightly easier resistance levels in our particularly dry and thin test environment, especially at the upper end of the range. Still, even stronger riders should have few issues producing a nice, deep quad burn. Especially violent efforts will highlight the somewhat narrow footprint, though. Measuring 60cm (24in) at its widest point, the Lemond frame is a full 10cm narrower than CycleOps' Pro-series frame and noticeably less stable as a result. While not necessarily tippy, it's not as rock-solid as we'd like, especially for taller riders with higher centers of gravity.

The combination of that giant fan, multiple bearings and a resonant cast aluminum main mast produce an inordinate amount of noise, to the point where watching television is impossible without the benefit of noise-isolating or noise-cancelling headphones. Users in shared dwellings will want to make sure everyone else is gone, and conversations with training partners sitting just inches away require you to yell. Whether you describe it as a vacuum cleaner, a jet engine, a heavy metal concert, whatever – it's loud with a capital 'L' and despite the long list of benefits to the Lemond Revolution, potential buyers will have to keep that in mind before plunking down the credit card.

Much as we love the Direct Drive design (and are happy to see the admittedly old concept finally reach mass production), there are still some inherent drawbacks. For one, modern drivetrains' often-finicky personalities will likely require some slight cable tension adjustments for proper shifting and while Lemond Fitness do offer a Campagnolo conversion kit (a Shimano/SRAM-compatible body is standard), multiple user households that use both will find the swap to be prohibitively inconvenient.

At the very least, we'd like to see an extra-long cassette body included with a set of thin shims so that the cassette position can be perfectly matched to your actual wheel during initial setup. The wheel-free design also precludes the use of a hub-based power meter, or any speed sensor whatsoever lest you get a little creative or spring for Lemond's pricy power and speed-measuring computer console. Lastly, the giant fan casing makes for a non-folding frame design and an awkward shape so it's tough to store and transport.