Pretty much the same here, except I have a Kickr Core instead. Too many punctures and slipping on the Vortex Smart, too many software issues with Fulgaz with the Direto, hence the Core, which works great. Recently switched to Rouvy instead of Fulgaz.
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I converted a small unused bedroom into the indoor cycling cave, with 2 trainers so my partner could ride with me, which she does 1/3 - 1/2 of the time. We’ve stuck with Rouvy since 2020, although I’ve used TrainerRoad, Zwift, SufferFest, RGT, and FulGaz. I vastly prefer riding simulated real-world courses over intervals.
For the main trainer, Rouvy runs on a laptop connected to an old 60” LCD TV (originally I wanted to use an old 75” LCD, but was overruled), and I was bored last winter and put in a 3.1 speaker system. The laptop is on a custom hardwood desk that a friend made for me many years ago that is at the perfect height, although it was originally meant to put a humidifer on (hilariously, it’s probably the finest piece of furniture I have). For the secondary trainer, which I’m relegated to when my partner also rides, I run Rouvy on an old Android tablet propped on a KOM Cycling trainer desk.
Trainers I’ve used, in order of most favored to least:
- Wahoo Kickr Bike (most recent trainer, purchased 5 years ago): when my partner rides, she uses it and I use a regular Kickr. It takes less than a minute to switch between our fits. Virtual shifting is terrific, the bike is the most comfortable of all the trainers I’ve used. Downside was the poor manufacturing tolerances that led to creaking and snapped headtube and seatpost collars, resolved finally with Silca carbon paste.
- Wahoo Kickr v4 (refurb) w/ Kickr Climb: my first smart trainer, bought refurb directly from Wahoo and have never had any hardware issues. The Climb (and the Kickr Bike tilt, which is even better) makes virtual riding much more compelling. I vEverested Alpe du Zwift on it and my body held up nicely, although it is noticeably less comfortable than the Kickr Bike. I bought the Axis feet on clearance for fun and don’t notice whether they help either.
- Kurt Kinetic dumb fluid trainer with InRide power: very cheap (fluid trainers are often available used for a song), but most virtual platforms discontinued support for the InRide version I bought (the app’s also disappeared), and the newer one that theoretically does have support is basically unobtainium.
- CycleOps Rollers with fork stand, PM pedals: least favorite because it simply didn’t provide enough resistance even when I bought the magnetic resistance unit add-on, zero feedback, plus “backwards” shifting to simulate slope resistance (shift up to simulate climbing) was weird. Impossible to do proper intervals since the resistance changes over time.
I use trainer mats. I use a Rockbros sweat catcher and my alloy handlebars are in great shape when I change the tape every couple years. Wearing gloves because my hands are always sweaty doesn’t hurt, either. I do zero maintenance on my trainers besides the occasional wipe of visible sweat.
When I ride the Kickr Bike I have a pedestal fan behind me at 7 o’clock, a Vornado Fly 01 fan with remote at 1 o’clock. I also have backup fans in case it gets really hot, a Lasko air blower (not remote-controlled, so much less useful) and a portable air conditioner (came in clutch when I vEverested back in August 2020, but have hardly needed it since). When I’m riding the Kickr, JRA with my partner and doing Z1/Z2, a Lasko floor fan on low or occasionally medium is enough.
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I am running a couple of options. We are 4 people (wife + 2 kids) doing indoor training on a regular basis, hence we need a compact setup which is easy to adjust.
- The primary trainer at home is a Tacx Neo Plus bike, with 2 cycplus fans. It is easy to adjust, even for a 10 year old. The fans are easy to adjust in height so tablet or bike does not get in the way to the wind from the fan. Compared to traditional trainers the (Taxc) bike is good step forward, if you have more than one person cycling at home.
- At our cycling club we have 9 Kickr Shift bikes (sponsored through various grants), which we use at least once a week for an indoor training during the winter season. This is both for actual training, but for social activities, e.g. for new rider who does not have a winter bike or the stamina to ride outside during winter.
- Occasionally at home, we (at least myself and my youngest son who race) we ride rollers. Either Elite Quick Motion or Feed Back Sports. The latter is typically also used for warmup for races due to its compact size. Typically rollers would be used for recovery or zone 2, as it adds a bit more to an otherwise potentially boring ride.
Overall compared to traditional trainers the stationary bikes has advantage, as it does not exposure your outdoor bike to sweat. When I used traditional trainers, there would be quite a build up of salt under the handlebar tape, even if one tried to put a towel on the handle bars and other precautionary measures.
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I’ve got a kickr core with my old commuter bike permanently attached, now that I take public transport to work. I’ve added tennis balls that attach to the kickr for a more natural feeling.
One big gap I see is setting up the bike geometry: I can’t get the bike to be as comfortable as my road bike - for the commuter I didn’t care too much for short rides and a lot of time in front of a traffic light, but now that I know how a well fitting bike feels, this is a real pain.
I’d love to have a dedicated indoor frame like the one from Zwift or elite, but with real shifting and with the ability to easily set up for multiple users to match their outdoor bike setup easily, eg if an app could tell which adjustments to make to match a given bike’s geometry.
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Tacx neo gen 1. Working perfectly since 2017. I see several generations of newer versions since but the original is proving fantastic for my needs.
I just use older 10sp bikes on the trainer. Mechanical gearing is fine no idea what Zwift cog is!
Elite Sterzo smart can be fun at times but not essential. If you’re in an event or workout that function is locked out but I prefer to know the headset can move slightly, possiblY being kinder to frame, fork and bearings
Elite Nero smart: fun but don’t try the rolling Zwift hills with a big screen directly in front of you as your sense of balance is thrown off and that’s not a good thing on rollers!
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I enjoy these articles and I enjoy my kreitler rollers. Im pretty sure I’ll stop working before they do.
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One thing I feel is worth drawing attention to is Elite’s repairability compared with other brands (at least in my UK-based experience, perhaps this varies based on where you are in the world). In my shop days, I would often recommend Elite over anything else, not because I thought it was an especially superior product, but because you stood some chance of repairing if it failed outside of the warranty period.
There’s something incredibly demoralising about telling your customer “yeah, I know your £1,000 trainer is only 3 years old, but… it’s broken. They’ve offered you 10% off a new one though”. Meanwhile, I’ve replaced belts, circuit boards and cases for Elite customers and got them back on the virtual road. +1 for European manufacturing.
I would also recommend Elite for their ability to build trainer legs which are simultaneously sturdy, but also easily foldable. My experience of other brands has been that they’re either sturdy but hard to stow away (Tacx Neos always seemed to try to take my fingers off when folding the legs) or they’re just a bit flexy and flimsy (wonky Wahoos spring to mind).
I never thought I would be recommending Italian electronics to anyone, but here we are.
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Well, people have long recommended the Favero Assiomas, which I agree I wouldn’t consider typical of my stereotype concept of Italian engineering. But there’s always exceptions?
One of other maintenance issues is replacing bearings or the drive belt. I think the drive belt is typically a long-wearing one but it can fray. Those are typically something that can be replaced with a bit of fiddling, but you may need some help finding the matching belt if the manufacturer doesn’t offer it. A matching belt is something you should be able to buy, but it seems the belt model numbers aren’t quite as standardized as bearing numbers, or something. For bearings, the issue may be that it’s not easy to extract the bearings.
Either way, whatever trainer you choose, if you Zwift I really like the cog. I have bikes with dissimilar drivetrains going.
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I was scared by my uncle’s Alfa Romeo, which only ever let you open one door, but not always the same one, and would refuse to start if it was raining.
I supposed I don’t mean the possibility of repair as a blanket thing – I’m aware most trainer brands can be repaired to some extent using diligently sourced parts, if you have a bit of electronics know-how. I mean moreso the fact that Elite actually encourages users to repair the trainers, offers spare parts for sale and will give advice on how to install them, rather than just going “nah, that’s out of warranty now” and letting people figure out if the belt from a 2002 Ford Fiesta will also drive a Tacx Flux.
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- Wahoo Kickr Core
- 11 Speed Cassette
- Old Crossbike
- 2 Fans
- Mat
- Dedicated Mac Mini and 27” Screen
- and maybe the only interesting extra: an Elgato Stream Deck to control Zwift. There is a special Plugin for the Stream Deck Software for Zwift. Reliable and very handy.
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We have an old travel trac wheel-on dumb trainer my wife mostly uses, and an old pair of rollers (I think Kreitler, any logo long since worn off) I mostly use — picked up used ten or so years ago from a neighbor when I was living in Detroit, so older even than that. I just can’t with the esports thing, so I ride the rollers a couple times a week most Winters to get the heart rate up and keep the core attuned to bike balance. I have found any of the trainer interfaces for attaching and
*detaching bicycles drive me nuts (especially with a thru axle), but rollers being a plop on, plop off situation suits my needs well. I recognize they are not suited to a variety of modern training methods, but since I don’t care about that, I value the simplicity (and the podcast window).
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I started Zwift with a spin bike and realized how poorly that works so sold that and ended up with a Zwift Ride and Kickr Core. With the sizeable caveat that I wish I could more easily switch between different apps and feeling like I fell for Zwift’s Ride trap, it is truly a great setup. In terms of the broader setup, I have the Ride and trainer connected via Bluetooth to my Microsoft Surface tablet computer and three floor fans (two in front, one in back). It looks fairly silly but it keeps me feeling very comfortable with air flow coming in different directions and was much cheaper than some more trainer-specific options. I also have a basic stand for a cheap TV and an Apple TV to keep myself entertained. Certainly not the most elegant set up but I don’t feel like I’m lacking anything when I’m using it and that is all that matters!
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Don’t get me started. The electrical system on the Ducati 888 that I used to have was a nightmare.
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I decommissioned my Kurt Kinetic (dumb) fluid trainer for a Feedback Sports Omnium Zero in 2019. I use if for both Jan-Apr winter training (New England, USA) and CX warm-ups Sep-Dec. Bike is a Kona Jake the Snake that doubles as an as-yet unneeded C bike.
On the software side, I use TrainerRoad. Initially, virtual power, then Garmin Rally XC pedals starting several years ago. My Jan-Apr workouts consist of two-a-week (typically Tue-Thu) 80 minute “hour of power” sessions: 10 mins of warm-up, 60 mins of structured intervals, 10 mins of cool-down.
Tablet on a music stand for entertainment, computer on the side running TrainerRoad. All in an unfinished basement that’s perfect for the task.
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I was thinking the exact same thing. It’s also not something that changes meaningfully year over year. Let alone the price and the fact a lot of people (including me) mostly only use it half a year.
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KICKRcore 11speed cassette with my Allez Sprint DSW, iPad for Rouvy, iMac 27” at my desk for entertainment and a mini desk fan with my window open if I do a more intens route (only use it in winter so heat isn’t a big problem), Wahoo Kickr mat (mainly for the underneath neighbors) in a way too small bedroom.
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As mentioned in this thread, I don’t have experience of any other trainers, and so the notion of a favourite is problematic.
BUT, I have had great success with my Gen 1 Elite Directo.
Purchased before covid, sat in the garage, subjected to the cold and the heat, covered in dust and sweat (plus I managed to drop and smash a bottle of red wine on it), not a single bit of TLC and used 2-3 times a week for years.
Still going strong. Makes a funny noise occasionally. Probably not the best in terms of ride feel, but I just ride erg on TrainerRoad and it has not missed a beat.
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I got a Zwift Ride and Core2 setup via the Black Friday sales last year. Was very, very pleased with it….until the last few weeks. I was finishing rides pretty spent and been struggling on virtual group rides I normally cruised with ease.
Found a way to do a manual calibration of the Core2 (not easy to find) and things improved a bit. But I was still down in power significantly and it was painfully apparent during the TdZ last month.
Mounted my Assiamos and did a comparison test which showed the Core2 was down 15-20w vs. the Assiamos. Sent the data to Wahoo and they asked me to run another test using their app. Still showed a 10-15w difference (increasing as power went up). They said their evaluation of the data showed the trainer was performing “as expected”. For reference, when I previously tested the pedals against my old H3 trainer, they matched.
So now I am going to have to re-test the pedals against the H3 and also mount my gravel bike on the Core2 so I can test the trainer against my Quarq.
So a few weeks ago, I would have whole-heartedly endorsed a Core2 trainer. Today, not so much. Anecdotally, a buddy has been experiencing similar power discrepancies on his Core2.
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I’m a rollers fan (so to speak). Had Kreisler Challengers with 2 flywheels and “Killer” headwind unit for ~12 years. Went to a rear wheel drive fan trainer (I’ve forgotten the name) that was really loud for ~10 years. Went back to rollers with InsideRide rollers with load generator for the past 6 or so years and love them. I just program a workout in my Garmin and pedal away. Have a dedicated “cycling studio” with 2 fans, TV, trainer desk, more.
One thing most folks don’t talk about when discussing “road-like feel” for trainers is the ability for the saddle to move around. I’ve found this to have greater influence on “feel” than flywheel weight.
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I have a Tacx Neo 2, with the add-on Motion Plates. The thing has been completely reliable for 6 years, and I’ve never had concerns about its calibration or resistance being off. It has a bunch of party tricks, almost all of which I’ve disabled: road feel, downhill simulation, self-powering. It looks cool. But it’s so unwieldy to move, there’s a YouTube video from Tacx that explains how to carry it. I’d recommend it if on sale.
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