I am new to the community and I am writing asking for help.
I will prepare for my Ironman thorugh the winter and I need to purchase a smart indoor trainer.
Where I live is usually very rainy and cold and it is very likely I will spend a lot of ours on the indoor trainer.
I’ve been cycling for many years in the past but never seriously considered indoor trainers.
With the technology advancing fast and the many options on the market I am seeking some guidance to decide what’s the best product to buy.
I was devided between:
Tacx Neo 2T (though the downside is that it has been on the market for very long time)
Wahoo Kickr Move
Elite Justo 2
Do any of you can help me choosing the best indorr trainer for my usecase?
Thisngs to keep into account are:
a) I’ll spend a lot of hours there
b) I’ll using a Time Trial bike on the trainer
c) I’d like to get something not too noisy
d) I’d like to find an indoor trainer whose construction limits the torsion of the bike so that I ‘damage’ as least as possible.
Thank you averyone for the help and consideration in advance
I think the current consensus of the “best” trainer, especially for the value, is the new JetBlack Victory. Both @GPLama and @dcrainmaker have given it excellent reviews and it has features that you would normally find at 2x the price ($1K vs. $399).
The only downside to it is limited availability right now. You need to get in on a pre-sale and them wait ~2 months for delivery.
I would avoid any Tacx trainers as, as you note, they are quite long in the tooth (especially given the price tag).
For immediate gratification, the Saris H3 is currently available for $349. It is a fantastic trainer, but also an generation old. But at that price, and immediate ability to purchase, it is something to consider. Excellent accuracy, “road feel” and works fantastic in ERG mode.
Power13 hit the nail on the head.
I have use an H3 for the last 2 years - nothing but good things to say about it.
Just bought the wife a Jetblack victory hopefully coming in time for the holidays
Then I’d recommend a Wahoo Kickr Core and add the InsideRide E-Flex Plus motion system. Will be on par with the price of those above and give legit motion well above those you listed.
As others have already said, if you are going to be spending a significant amount of time on the trainer, then you will really, really benefit from a rocker plate / similar.
I’d be surprised if any of the trainers will damage a frame, even without the rocker plate. I assume that idea is still just fear-mongering about carbon frames on stationary trainers.
Not that rocker plates don’t have their other benefits.
I never made that claim despite quoting that section. I agree that trainers don’t break frames, but freedom is cheap “insurance”.
Motion systems take away any minor doubt and have a pure comfort benefit above and beyond that, so I think it’s an easy recommendation that covers those bases and then some.
Its not broken my frame, but the rear dropouts on the Argon 18 E117 are extremely worn and I have to put an extra spacer on the non drive side of the axle to stop the wheel twisting into the frame. A rocker plate probably would have helped but I wouldn’t have had space for it in my last place anyway. I don’t know if my heavier Elite Muin was the problem, as its not really got worse with the Elite Suito, which seems to flex or if I’m just weaker these days
Kickr V6 plus rocker plate.
Quiet and dependable.
Note:
Since the rocker rails were cut from plywood and glued in, my solution to make them last, instead of replacing them, was to coat them with some rubberized paint. I put some finishing touches on the top so it would not look so plain.
I am recent convert from long time user of Kickr Bike v1 + Saris MP1 rocker plate → Kickr Move + road bike + tri-bars. I really don’t feel that I have given up anything in comfort, even for long low-intensity workouts (this is worst kind indoors).
I also like that this trainer can broadcast power+cadence over Bluetooth from bike powermeter with ANT+ to TR app instead own measurement i.e. I can be sure that there is no discrepancy between indoor/outdoor wattages
Just to throw another wrinkle into the mix, I thought I loved my rocker until I went to the Tacx motion plates, and the fore/aft movement (for me) is much more relief than the side-to-side was. If I was going to buy a full sized rocker today, it would have to include fore/aft in its function.
On noise, while I absolutely understand the desire to have a quiet trainer, it gets complicated quickly because the fan is often louder than the trainer itself. It’s a different kind of volume though, and I’m not sure if chainline noise goes through walls louder than fan noise.
Personally, I think the best package you can get right now is an Inside Ride e-flex system plus a Kickr Core or Jetblack. I think this combo crushes the rocker abilities of the Move. Once you have the e-Flex it doesn’t make sense to buy the Move or even the regular higher end Kicker as you don’t need adjustable Axis feet. The higher end Kickr probably has a slightly heavier flywheel but I don’t think that’s worth an extra $500.
As someone that previously bought a kickr core and then upgraded to the v5 I probably wouldn’t buy a kickf again. I am very happy with my Elite Nero rollers but rollers aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. If I were to buy another direct drive trainer, I’d go for either the Tacx neo 3m or elite justo 2. The neo 2t is difficult order but with many features which can make riding indoors more fun (snd let’s face riding indoors needs all the fun it can get)…
Chad’s post got me wondering if you could use an E-Flex system with the new JetBlack Victory (since it is so similar in design to a KICKR Core).
I checked with them and they said that a Victory option would be available “shortly”. No more definitive timeframe that that, but encouraging nonetheless.
I am on the second pre-order for Victory trainers, so I’ll be giving the E-Flex system a hard look once it is available.
IDK about the best, but a really solid. accurate, and reliable trainer is the Saris H3, which they’re selling for $349 right now. I’m still riding its predecessor, the Hammer, that I got 7 years ago.
I am not too pleased with the treatment of us v5 owners, who don’t get virtual shifting whereas the v4 generation but less premium core owners do… And just looking at features vs price wahoo just lags behind. I don’t believe a slight bit of wobbling/forward/aft movement of the move adds any real comfort (I find rollers to be almost as uncomfortable as fixed direct drive trainers), which turns the move into an expensive v6. I see no feature the v6 does better than the Justo2 which leaves the tacx neo 3m and justo 2
(If I were to buy a new trainer my choice would be between inside ride emotion rollers, trutrainers or nero again but since the first 2 aren’t available in Europe I didn’t look into the difference too much)
Quick follow-up…I responded and asked for confirmation that the JB Victory is not compatible. It seems the answer is they just don’t know yet. They are waiting to get a trainer and that any subsequent design revisions would be “minor, if at all.”
So it is possible that the current E-Flex units will work with a Victory trainer…but not even Inside Ride has had the chance to evaluate the fit / compatibility yet.
The e-flex works with the Zwift Hub trainer. Isn’t that just a rebadged Jetblack? In any case, the trainer just clamps on. I can’t imagine some improvisation would be difficult but if one wanted to go this route, they should probably contact InsideRide first.
I have InsideRide rollers and an older Kickr. I use both for different types of workouts.
off.
