Cycling on Television (TV)

The money in this case is for the fancy electronics and software. The turbo is actually a motor which imitates inclines (adds resistance) and descents (pushes the rear wheel). I don't think your wooden one will be able to do that (let alone have the USB ports for hooking it up to the computer).

No, but who needs all of that bollocks if they just want to be able to do a little exercise/training whilst indoors and on your computer/watching tv? The other way you can simulate a climb or some other resistance is to use something like a towel againsts the rollers/wheel or whatever:

I was merely suggesting you don't need loads of money, just a little ingenuity, plenty of spare time and a workshop!