UKC

I've been road biking for a few years ( and mountain biking before that). I find I don't get out enough in winter to build/ maintain fitness and I work from home.

Did consider a turbo trainer but I only have one road bike so it might be better to get something indoor specific. Was wondering about having a spin bike, seems to fit the bill, I want this to be a bargain basement solution.

Was considering something cheap new or second hand. I have no idea of what brands or features to look for. Looking for under 250 pounds. I can see loads of bikes on marketplace for less than that. Any ideas what to go for?

Not the answer you are looking for but if you decide to go down the trainer route I have a Decathlon Triban 3 in excellent condition looking for a home.

It would make an excellent indoor bike. 

I think it depends on how many hours a week you might ride, motivation, will you watch  screen at same time, if virtual journeys or events appeal.

You've steered yourself away from that route already but I wouldn't use a good summer road bike for indoor training. 

I think you'll soon get tired of any system where you have to turn a physical dial to adjust workload. A used indoor trainer and battered used bike gives you far more flexibility. 

The next challenge is where to put it, you only realise how much the breeze you create cycling outdoors is cooling you when you start cycling stationary indoors. Cool garages etc.. are far better than spare rooms indoors, unless you turn the heating off. 

Probably 2-4hrs per week. Don't really want/ need journeys etc at this price. Would listen to podcasts or music. Expected location is near a back door which i could open, I don't tend to get that got anyway and i could lift the whole thing outside onto the patio if it was really hot! 

Indoor cycle training is boring and uncomfortable. I would suggest either or both of these options:

A second hand exercise bike from a charity shop, there are loads around (there is a message here).

Spend the budget on lights, mudguards and some winter clothing. The weather has to be really bad not to cycle once you get used to riding through the winter.

I've got a 30 year old Peugeot road bike on a 2nd hand TACX wheel on smart trainer - total cost <250 quid.  If you were OK with a dumb trainer that'd be even less.  The advantage over say an old gym exercise bike is that you can connect this to Zwift, or one of the other options (Mywoosh is free, for example), so you can ease the boredom. 

Ennerdaleblonde is quite correct, this can be quite boring and uncomfortable after about an hour.  But I find it more tolerable than the other Hamster Wheel cardio options such as a dreadmill.  Each to their own though. 

Rouvy is really good on the turbo trainer, really routes, plenty of riders, I only have one bike too but when it's icy out I'm not going anywhere

I think buying an exercise bike would be madness.  Instead, go for a smart trainer and stick your existing road bike on it.  You might need to go second hand, to stay in budget but what you can get nowadays is amazing.

i have a Tacx Neo2T, with Motion Plates and I’m running Rouvy and it’s a great combo.  It’ll be way over you budget but I’ve gone from hating indoor training and turbo training to really enjoying it.

you'd be absolutely amazed by how much easier it is to motivate yourself to use a smart trainer connected to zwift/training peaks virtual/rouvy 

the screen doing something helps more than you'd think and training plans/online racing are great fun

I would suggest buying a cheap secondhand bike for use on a trainer, the cheaper the better so long as the back wheel spins. Put on a saddle you find comfortable, perhaps some bar tape and away you go.

No worries about wear and tear on your proper bike, trainers can be hard on rear tyres. And despite my best efforts to avoid it i always managed to soak my headset in sweat which wasn't good for the bearings.

That's what I did, it has less gear options, but who cares it's only training. 

I bought a spinning bike and converted the front end to drop bars with brake hoods. It's set up exactly the same as my road bike.

I only use it for short 20/30m HIIT sessions which I do in the morning before coffee and brecky. The HIIT sessions on the GCN Youtube channel are great.  youtube.com/watch?v=QuKEyPhRrMM&

I'm lucky enough to live in part of the world where I don't need an indoor trainer though.

E

I dunno - Zwift is pretty addictive. But it's not cheap, especially if one ends up deciding the offing of wheels is tiresome and buys a frame specifically for the smart trainer. Or gets a Kickr.

This is undoubtedly the correct application of Rules #5 & #9, but on the other hand I do find getting ready takes a lot longer in winter, not to mention the offputting prospect of washing the bike after every ride. 
Jumping on a trainer is much less of a mental battle, and a better option if the battle to ride outside is going to be regularly lost. 

Yeah, zwift, peleton etc have passed me by. My training regime was/ is a turbo, an old text book and a Ramones LP. Great for 2 minutes intervals.

1,2,3,4!