I use my kickr for sprint workouts and if I’d race on Zwift I’d probably do that on the kickr to, for everything else I use my nero
I don’t think the first two, especially the Tacx are worth their money.
I would suggest different trainers: right now there is little to be gained from a top-of-the-line trainer in my opinion. Here are the ones I’d look at instead:
- Wahoo Kickr Core: At < 500 € this is a steal.
- Elite Avanti: packs essentially all of the features of the Justo 2, including an optical torque sensor.
Some people point to the new JetBlack trainer. I’d hesitate since I don’t know how well this trainer will hold up and how good their service is. I’d just spend 100 € more and get the Kickr Core instead.
If you really want to spend money on top of that, I’d think about getting an Elite Square instead of a fancier trainer.
How is that? Wahoo offers the Kickr Core for 500 € (and you can save 10 € by looking elsewhere). Only Elite has a comparably priced trainer with the Suito (550 € MSRP, 470 € on bike24.de). Tacx Flux S cost around the same, but its reviews (by the usual suspects) are not good.
At least in the realm of trainers, Wahoo is very price competitive at the moment, especially if you include their top-notch service (something JetBlack has yet to establish).
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If I was in the market for a new trainer I’d get another Tacx, without a 2nd thought.
Currently have a mk1 Neo and despite it being 7/8 years old, it just works and works and works.
In the modern world, that’s not common considerign the throw away culture we now have.
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Thats the same way i feel about my kickr.
My worry with tacx is that they seem to have lost their way a little after the Garmin buyout.
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I get that is annoying (i also have a v5); but ditching wahoo because of that and moving to another company that hasn’t updated their trainers to incorporate Zwift virtual gears either seems like the definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Seems like Wahoo would update v5 if they could - their excuse of not having the memory onboard the v5 to fit the Zwift code on rings true to me - it is 4 years old.
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I used to have a Kickr Core. It was a good trainer when it worked but not very reliable. My original Kickr Core suffered with the ESD issue and I ended up getting a replacement under warranty. The warranty replacement had some loose parts moving around in the flywheel so again needed replacing immediately which Wahoo did.
The second replacement Kickr Core lasted about a year before it went faulty. It started intermittently losing resistance which eventually got so bad that it became unusable. The warranty replacements are refurbished units so I could no longer claim a replacement from Wahoo.
So about 18 months ago I replaced the Kickr Core with an Elite Justo 1. So far its been reliable and offers a noticeable comfort increase compared to the Kickr Core. The padded feet offer a decent amount of flex which does make a difference on longer sessions. I’m not convinced the Justo’s power accuracy is as good as the Kickr’s however. Mine seems to consistently read ~3-5% higher compared to my Assioma pedals. The Kickr Core was generally closer to the Assiomas.
So based on my experience I’d recommend Elite over Wahoo due to the reliability issues I had with Wahoo.
If I compare the kickr v6 with the neo 2t it seems that the neo just has many more features which make virtual riding less boring… (movement, descent and road surface simulation)
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With descending, I assume you are referring to the feature that keeps the flywheel spinning, right? That and road surface simulation only seem relevant if you are using Zwift, no? You can address movement either with rocker plates or getting the Kickr Move. But I wouldn’t be sure whether this was worth it either.
I am not very impressed by the features of top-end trainers compared to the mid-range, e. g.
- 10 Hz measurement frequency,
- Wifi and wired networking,
- road simulation,
- descent mode,
- degrees of motion, etc.
The features that spoke to me were
- the drawer in the base of Elite’s new Avanti trainer where you can keep all the bits and bobs,
- an odometer to schedule maintenance,
- wifi connectivity,
- virtual gears.
All the others, I’m more like nah, thanks, but no thanks!
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I agree with this, I have had the same experience with a Neo 2. I might be missing out on new features but it still meets my needs after 5 years.
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at $350 I would buy another Saris H3 without a second thought. At almost 400 hours usage in 1.5 years I have not had a single problem. Yes it’s a gen or two behind - but really what features besides a good erg/road feel/reliability do we need in a trainer?
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Having a Neo, I can say I’ve never really used those features.
The “movement” isn’t massive and tbh doesn’t do a whole lot.
Hill descent isn’t that noticable and if you’re racing on Zwift or doing intervals makes no difference to the ride
The road surface sim I turned off within an hour of getting on the Neo on that first ride.
I can’t imagine anything more annoying…and honestly, the whole “different surfaces” nonsense in Zwift is just as dumb. It isn’t like you have replicated a gravel or MTB ride just because you made a particular section “slower” due to changing the algorithm for that section.
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And it is super quiet. At least mine was.
I’m on my third year of my H3 after three years on an H1. Picked up the H3 during the first set of blowout details only because the original Hammer sounded like a freaking jet taking off once the flywheel spun up. My H3 is super quiet and totally reliable after 3+ years of heavy use. Despite my gadget lust, I can’t quite find a reason to get a new one. Maybe the JetBlack Victory for some of the fancy new stuff like 10Hz reporting in case I start deciding to race on Zwift? Wifi Direct, even though my connection is always rock solid anyway?
The only quirk I’d mention is that I used to have some issues with periodic power dropouts when I connected to the Saris PWR Ant+ signal, but those all went away once I started connecting the Ant+ FEC for power.
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Neo 2T user here for the last 3+ years. It’s been Rock Solid. Would have no problem buying another.
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I think that probably is due to the app implementation but if I really wouldn’t like these features I would probably pick the justo 2 if I were to pick a direct drive trainer which I probably wouldn’t either. I am waiting for smart rollers that can change angle and simulate a 12+% slope and have a safety for all out sprint efforts…
Anyway I wouldn’t buy a kickr vX or move again, core maybe but I would really look into the other offerings too
The core is 6 ! years old
We are getting off topic, but the Core doesn’t have Dircon network connectivity so according to Wahoo had more storage available than the Kickr v5 for the virtual shifting update. This makes sense to me (a v5 owner). But Wahoo probably wishes they fully tested the v5 before they announced the planned update!
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My favorite of all those is the Wahoo KICKR Move.
But whatever the trainer, some sort of motion is really important. I have an SB20 StagesBike too, which I love, and my life became infinitely better when I put that on rocker plates too.
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I’ve been riding my Kickr V6 since February and it’s been flawless in every way. I have it just on the fixed feet, but reading these posts it looks like I’d really benefit from some sort of rocker. After 1.5-2 hrs, my butt gets pretty sore - much more so than outdoor rides.
Seems that the added motions might help with overall saddle comfort, or is it more just the realistic feel?
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