I am thinking of replacing my old turbo trainer in the upcoming indoor season. It is the 2014 Elite wheel-on dumb trainer, there is nothing wrong with it (nothing to break). My only concerns are: a) Having to change wheels every time I am using it; b) some amount of blue rubber dust. Erg mode and quiet operation are nice-to-haves and not necessary. I really want to have the easiest installation of the bike on the trainer possible. Rollers are not considered as my balancing skills are poor, and I don’t see myself riding 2 hours like that. Thank you for all your advice.
Fwiw, I have a cycleops fluid2 and just use my road tyre. My road tyre isn’t overly worn and having to buy a new tyre slightly earlier than usual is worth it for me to not bother swapping stuff in and out.
1 Like
You are making a good point. I have swapped from worn corsas to a cheap pair of tyres and can try that.
I upgraded from a wheel-on trainer to a direct drive trainer.
No regrets.
1 Like
I trained on a CycleOps fluid2 for over 2 years, using a vector3s as the power source. I recently got a Kickr Core as I wanted to take on Zwift for racing/events and I don’t really like changing tires (I don;t have a spare wheel). I do not miss messing around with the trainer tire, tubeless fluid, inner tubes, etc…
It makes a real difference on Zwift but I don’t see as a major upgrade on TrainerRoad. ERG mode is nice but if you have a power meter it creates the issue with 2 different measurements (very different in my case). Then you switch to powermatch, it’s ok but sometimes I miss the old dumb trainer and shifting gears, maybe because I’m still getting used to it. Resistance mode is not the same as the Fluid2.
I’m happy with the upgrade but if you are not considering Zwift and can use the same tire I would say spend the money elsewhere, maybe a power meter if you don’t have one already.
2 Likes
I just switched from a Tacx Vortex (wheel on) to a used 2016 Kickr (wheel off). The kickr is so much more comfortable to ride with the big flywheel. It coasts! I’m also not getting hot spots on my butt and hands like I used to with the Vortex (not sure why).
You wouldn’t think that coasting on a trainer would be a benefit but it’s really nice when you need to pause for a second that the trainer doesn’t grind to a halt. With my Vortex, I’d have to wait for it to fully stop and then pedal it again to get back up to speed.
Anyway, taking off the wheel and mounting the bike to the trainer takes around 1 minute. It’s not a big deal at all.
The power on the Kickr seem accurate and matches up with Stages power meter almost perfectly. My Tacx Vortex was way off at times.
My biggest pause with these trainers is the $1200 price tag, lack of replacement parts, or repair service unless you are under warranty. If I didn’t buy used I’d figure out a way to buy one with an extended warranty (credit card option?).
@AgingCannon, We appreciate the question, but we are not doing “For Sale / Wanted to Buy” posts on the site, per Nate.
We do have a “Pay it forward” thread that is meant for not actual sales, just giving items to others with some shipping charges behind it at most.
So, I’d suggest removing your sales listing, thanks. 
1 Like
Done. Sorry about that. 
1 Like
Nothing to apologize for.
You asked and adjusted quickly.
That’s the best I could ask for, so thanks again.
1 Like
I didn’t see myself riding on rollers before…I don’t think I want to go back now lol.
I would recommend ditch wheel-on trainer all together and get direct drive instead. I know an Elite Directo and it has been serving me well. I bought the direct drive to because the thought of putting on trainer wheels adds too much to mental stress.
Now I ride rollers because I don’t even want to take the wheels off…It makes it easy if I want to ride outside too!
Edit: I just started riding rollers this weekend. Just did my third workout on the roller. It makes time passes super fast.
How long are you able to ride rollers for in one session? Do you experience mental fatigue of having to keep balance all the time? Are 2-3 hours on the rollers feasible? Thank you.
It took me about 10 min to be comfortable riding on rollers. It helps to have something you can step on like a stool and something you can hold onto while you find your balance.
I stepped on the stool to get on the bike. Then held on another chair to clip in both legs. Then I started pedaling while holding onto the chair. I was twitchy and scared at first, but I’d read enough about riding on rollers at that point - if you are out of balance, ride faster instead of stop pedaling. Then slowly, I raised my hand that held onto the chair and rode on the tops. Don’t look down at your front wheel but ahead instead. In that 10min, I went from scared to feeling comfortable to ride and drink water front my front water bottle cage. Also I practiced shifting on the rollers too. Great sense of accomplishment.
Do I think I can ride rollers for 2-3 hours? Yes. After the first 10min, I did a ramp test (to see how much power I could get on this roller) + 1.5 hour of prescribed Saturday workout while watching Tour de Lombardia. On Sunday, I rode with my buddy up Mt Ventoux in Zwift and the ride was 2 hours. Yesterday, I did my Tuesday workout for another 1.5 hours. Although I’m not comfortable riding with no hands to change Youtube videos yet, I put on a podcast while looking at the TrainerRoad screen. It’s a fun challenge to keep pedaling at the target power and it makes time pass super fast!
There is another thread about rollers I was in where I shared more info. There’s a lot of good information in there too. For me, it’s hard to go back to trainer: I don’t want to remove the wheels, set up my bike on the trainer - then put the wheel back on to ride outdoor. I can keep the same setup for both.
That being said, I will still keep my trainer (since I share it with my gf) for Zwift racing.
2 Likes