It’s touched on in some other threads but I can’t see anything definitive. From the “do I need a smart trainer if I have a power meter” thread, @Nate_Pearson says
Well, that’s what I’m looking for. I have a good power meter and a wheel on dumb trainer. The trainer is very loud at high power, and struggles when I get towards 600w. I’m not interested in ERG mode etc. I would like a quiet, direct drive trainer with good resistance and a big ol’ flywheel. Even if it’s only £100 less than a smart trainer, that’s £100 saved to me.
What are the options? The Elite Turno and Jetblack Whisper Drive seem like they have potential?
I was also going to recommend the Kurt Kinetic, but it’s wheel on, and they asked about wheel off. Still, with a trainer tire, I really like it. Only shortcoming is that it’s tough to accelerate really hard (stomps, >1000W sprints).
I know the horse is already dead but I’m going to beat it anyways;
The Kurt Kinetic road Machine. I bought mine directly from Kurtkietic.com and got the “smart model” with in-Ride because it was on sale.
Like @mcneese.chad mentioned though, I wouldn’t pay extra for the in-Ride module because it doesn’t work all that well. I opted for a seperate cadence sensor to use along with the in-Ride (which is just a speed sensor) and that is what I have been using ever since.
I have been using the same tire (Bontreger R2) on there for several months and I have not had a single issue with it.
I’m not anti-wheel-on because of tire wear etc… the main reason is the noise. I’ve heard a good few (not the road machine to be fair) and they’re noticeably louder than direct drive. Noise reduction is very important as I have elderly neighbours I don’t want to disturb.
Is the road machine quiet compared to direct drive? If it’s any use for reference I’m using a Cyclops Jet Fluid Pro.
I used the traditional kinetic resistance unit for many years, first with a kinetic road machine and then with a rock and roll, and would not call it silent. Only when I updated my rock and roll with the smart control resistance unit I noticed how noisy the original unit really is. I think it is still not the noisiest of the traditional wheel-on trainers.
The kinetic smart control unit is pretty nice and silent. I have not tried any direct drive models, but I believe they are even more silent.
The Kinetic 2.0 Fluid is quiet. The noise it produces ranges from 69 to 70 decibels.
Hard to say for sure, but in general, I think the magnetic trainers are actually the most quite.
If you are willing to go wheel-on and want quiet, you can’t beat the Stac Zero.
It uses only magnets close to your aluminum rim. They are a bit more expensive for the small production they do, but you can’t get a quieter wheel-on trainer.
There are no moving parts other than your own drivetrain.
They have everything from a simple unit, one with a power meter, and their new smart controlled version.
I have actually gone the other way, smart to dumb trainer, mainly because I have a power meter and simply not bothered about Zwift, Sufferfest or anything else that complicates my indoor training.
I’m using a Cycleops Jet Fluid Pro, i think it’s great. It feels really nice and although I train in an outhouse it doesn’t seem noisy at all. I’m super impressed with it having swapped it for a Tacx Flow Smart which is admittedly a low end smart trainer. Certainly worth a look if you’re on a budget and looking for a dumb trainer. The biggest gain was for high power intervals, it handles them brilliantly.
It won’t surprise you to know I came into this thread to say this.
Honestly I agree somewhat with the criticisms I’ve seen of the STAC Zero Halcyon being a bit fiddly, having questionable industrial design compared to the nice direct drive smart trainers, etc. I am happy to have mine, but I’ll only recommend the Halcyon model with some reservations and conditions these days.
But the basic STAC Zero? I think it’s an amazing trainer. Contributes no noise, no parts that wear down, straight forward to get your bike on it and get consistent resistance levels.
There are good reasons to prefer the Kinetic trainers instead, but if noise is the problem, STAC Zero is the solution.
I realize you said you’re not interested in ERG and I hate to be the guy that immediately says “don’t you want ERG?”. Just checking that you’ve tried it and aren’t dismissing it based on assumptions. I personally think ERG is the best. I didn’t really understand it at first, but then when it clicked on how it worked. Total.Game.Changer. I would compare it to a dishwasher, once you have it you can’t go back. Sure, I can wash dishes by hand but I don’t want to anymore. If you you’ve gotten to a place where you know what it’s all about and don’t like it, then sure. But otherwise I would give it a second look before you dismiss it entirely.
My issue with fluid trainers like KK is that they need high speed to produce 300-350 W of resistance. That means a lot of noise. With a cheap magnetic trainer I can max out the resistance of the magnets and achieve 300-350 W of resistance with a low speed and low noise.
Let’s maybe say that it’s low down on my list then. I haven’t tried it but it’s not something I feel I need right now.
Money isn’t the defining factor, I’d be happy to spend say £600, I just don’t want to waste money on what feels like superfluous things (e.g. a power meter on the trainer when I already have one on the bike)
Is that still the case pushing to higher watts? If so I could be tempted, but the trainer I have at the moment is in the same price range as the KK and is way too loud once you get above 300w.
Appreciate there’s a lot of love for the KK but I would still like to hear about direct drive trainers if anyone has any experience?
I love my rock and roll. Although the resistance unit is the same in both trainers, the ability to rock your bike makes the difference. The riding comfort is much better.
I like the RR so much that instead of getting a brand new smart trainer I just purchased the smart control unit for it. Now I have the possibility for erg training in addition to the comfortable ride.
Just to echo @julianoliver. I appreciate you don’t consider it a priority but ERG mode was a game changer for me and massively aids my ability to complete harder workouts effectively. If you can get a loan of a device to try it out I would recommend it.
