Rollers for sure. 15 minutes on rollers is worth 30+ on a stationary trainer. The benefit is huge for your riding and really smoothes out your pedaling. Put them in a doorway if you need to. I can now watch movies while on the rollers. They are fun too. You can play a game with how close you can get to the edges. Practice drinking from your water bottle, one handed, no handed, etc...I had a heck of a time getting into full aero on my tt bike. Makes those winter rides easier and safer too as your bike handling skills will improve greatly.
+1 otherwise see if there is a deal like this near you. I've been doing it all off season and it is the way to go and gets rid of the bordem of riding a trainer; http://thefixstudio.com/index.html
I just picked up a fluid trainer for dirt cheap (and free shipping). Pretty excited. Does anyone use training blocks and shoes or just their regular kicks and books and blocks?
I really hate solid trainers (way way prefer rollers). Glad you got your Nashbar/PB New Year's sale price I use a block under the front wheel, but it could just as easily been a half-block cinderblock. I do get geeked up with the pants and shoes (the shoes make a hell of a difference pulling your feet through the entire pedal motion, should feel kindof like you're trying to pull the loops out of carpet with golf shoes/cleats, IMO). The bike shorts with some real padding work well - I've got some PIs I've had for a while now that I really like if I'm on the torture device (rollers/trainer) for over 20 min (usually an hour).
It seemed too good to pass up. Just got a different tire. Was thinking of a block and shoes, but I can use my cross training shoes and shorts. The local bike shop has a Wednesday night BYOB trainer night and they pedal for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. What I want to see is WERA jersey image.
My bike has the old school strap-in pedals. My old mag trainer came with a block for the front tire, I just kept it.
Kurt Kinetic. I have the hydraulic one. Just spend the money on it, it's worth it. You can find decent ones used on eBay. I got mine about $60 off because it'd been used as a demo in a mall for a couple hours.
I always ride with cycling shoes, so I always use my cycling shoes with the trainer. I use a trainer block, they're like $20 and worth the price, it holds the front tire better and has variable height adjustment.
I had a Kurt and it was a good peice of equipment, but I ended up trading it for a set of cranks. I can't stand to do anything in one place. Get me outside, I need movement, scenery, falling down and shit. Good Luck to the OP though.