There are so many options to choose from, it can be challenging to sort through them all to find . Hopefully this will help you sort through them to find the best one for your needs.
Here in Alberta, we spend a lot of time on our indoor trainers out of necessity. Snow covered roads, colder than ice and short winter days push us indoors for the winter but there are more and more of us choosing to ride inside even in nicer climates and on warmer days. Indoor training can be done on your schedule, without traffic lights or stops, and, often more importantly, for safety. If you live in a larger urban environment, often traffic makes riding from your front door either unsafe or impossible. In that case, the safe option is to pack up your bike and your gear for a road trip out of the busy city just to find a safe road to ride. An indoor training session can be the most efficient option. So, we know the 'why' of indoor trainers. Now, let's figure out what trainer works for you.
Smart trainers are those trainers that provide numeric feedback on multiple data fields (power, cadence, speed, distance & more) to help keep you engaged & on track. New generation Smart Trainers have built-in BlueTooth & will help you connect & engage with others online utilizing online programs such as Zwift, TrainerRoad, or BKool.
Smart Trainers - Two Options: Direct Drive or Wheel On
Direct Drive Smart Trainers
Most of us know from first hand experience that riding the road to nowhere gets both physically & mentally taxing. But when you have a Smart trainer, you have multiple virtual ride options that allow you to race & ride with other cyclists, whether they are somewhere else in the world, just down the street or in the same room with you. You can ride structured programs with your trainer & the trainer will automatically adjust resistance per the preset program. Or you can go online & ride actual courses worldwide. Online programs like Zwift, Trainer Road, Sufferfest, & BKool could become your best training partners. And a lot of the trainers in this category come with access to their own training platform which can be a good way to get started in the virtual training world.
There are lots of different brands in the Smart trainer categor fut the three that often come to mind first are Wahoo, Elite & Tacx with the Wahoo Kickr, the Elite Drivo & the Tacx Neo Smart trainers respectively. All of these trainers are at the top end of the price range but they have the advantage of being extremely smooth and quiet and offer the most accurate power measurement in their lineup and in the direct drive group of trainers. With these direct drive trainers, your bike is directly mounted to the trainer, taking the place of your rear wheel. This set up eliminates tire wear and the need for a dedicated trainer tire.
Wahoo Kickr 2018 model $1,699 (1)
Elite Drivo II - $1,749 (2)
Tacx Neo Smart $1899 (includes cassette)
(1) Software included: the Kickr comes with 60 days free on Strava, Trainer Road or Sufferfest.
(2) Software included: My E-Training Mobile & Desktop apps, 12 months.
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New (2nd) Direct Drive Smart Trainers - Lower Price Point (Best Value)
For a lot of us, this will be the best value option in Direct Drive trainers and all three brands mentioned above have one. Typically, with the lower price, you also get a little less in terms of top end power and accuracy but all of these trainers will still deliver everything you need. For example, while the top end power on the Elite Direto is only 1400 watts as compared to the potential 2200 watts on the top end Elite Drivo. As a masters age group triathlete, the 1400 top end power is more than enough for my training needs. That's about double my top end, all out sprint power and that's a training goal I'm not really aiming for anyway. Now, the accuracy level can be a bit lower than the more expensive units but the measurements will be consistently accurate between workouts so I can still gauge the success of each workouts and my progress over time.
Elite Direto $1,149
Tacx Flux $1199
The Elite Directo is the new entry in this category while Tacx introduced the Flux last fall. The Flux didn't start shipping until Spring of this year so their initial production issues appear to be resolved but the Elite is in stock and shipping already. These two are both substantially lower cost than the Kickr and the New Smart but they are equally functional. The Elite Directo promises power reading accuracy levels comparable to the Kickr and the New Smart while the Flux gives up a little performance in that respect.
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"Wheel-On" Smart Trainer Options
Wahoo, Kurt Kinetic,& Tacx offer a more traditional wheel-on version of the above Smart trainers which will give you the control, accuracy & connectivity of the Kickr & the Neo Smart power units. These trainers offer notable savings from their direct mount counterparts, but offer many of the features of their big brothers, as well as the connectivity to Online programs
Wahoo Kickr Snap $949
Kurt Kinetic Road Machine Smart Control $999
Kurt Kinetic Rock & Roll Smart Control $1199
Tacx Bushido, Vortex or Flow $999, $649, $499
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Traditional Trainers - Two Options: Fluid & Magnetic ('Mag')
Fluid Trainers
When it comes to fluid trainers, you're safe to focus on the Kurt Kinetic brand. With a lifetime warranty, rugged construction and the ability to upgrade to Smart versions, it's just about unbeatable. Their best known trainer is arguably the Road Machine. It's a stand alone trainer with a fluid resistance unit that offers an real road feel & exponential power curve. Kurt Kinetic also offer a "Rock & Roll" version of all their Fluid & Smart trainers...easily the most road real feeling trainer stand on the market. Kurt Kinetic has now added their "InRide" pod pre-installed on what they called the "Smart" version of the fluid trainers, this allows for real time data (power, speed, & distance) via their smart phone app. Consistent, quiet & smooth, a lifetime warranty and the ability to add upgrade without completely replacing your trainer makes this a great option to start with if you're not sure how much you'll be committed to trainer riding.
Kurt Kinetic Road Machine Smart $499
Kurt Kinetic Rock & Roll Smart $729
Kurt Kinetic Road Machine 2.0 $439
Kurt Kinetic Rock & Roll 2.0 $629
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Mag Trainers - Cyclops Mag Trainer
Mag trainers are the most affordable trainers in the market and they can definitely get the job done without a lot of bells & whistles. These stand alone trainers are wheel-on mount trainers with magnetic resistance units that offer variable resistance at the click of a switch to provide most of us with enough resistance for a workout that will keep you in shape over the winter season. While the more expensive trainers are often described as very quiet, the Cyclops Mag trainer is less than 74 decibels at 20 mph so it's not too loud to drown out a conversation or a movie. The Cyclops Mag is an affordable training option for a solid trainer that will get the job done for you.
Cyclops Mag Trainer $279
There you have it - a quick summary of your main trainer options. I hope I haven't confused you more but, if I have, please ask any and all questions you have in the comments section. What I don't know, I can certainly find out for you. Happy Training!!
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