It’s often praised for a very solid platform that prevents it from moving around. It’s a quiet trainer with a very realistic ride experience thanks to a huge 9-kg flywheel. Saris H3 The best trainer for stability in sprints It is often referred to as the gold standard of smart trainers. Overall, it doesn’t stand out in any single feature but it does everything you need brilliantly. The Kickr is able to automatically calibrate itself without the traditional spin down. It’s able to simulate up to 20% gradient and 2,200 watts of power while claiming an amazing +/- 1% accuracy. It offers a fantastic ride feel thanks to its large 7,25-kg flywheel, and it’s very quiet. This is Wahoo’s top model and falls in the ‘over 1,000 EUR’ category. Wahoo Kickr The best trainer for all-round performance The only downsides, except for the price, are that the cassette is not included and it weighs 21,5 kg, which is a lot if you want to transport it. It can be used without a power source, which makes it useful for pre-race warm-ups and it’s also one of the quietest trainers available. It’s able to simulate up to 25% gradient and 2,200 watts of power while claiming an astonishing +/- 1% accuracy. The Neo 2T uses an arrangement of magnets to create a virtual flywheel and this offers fantastic ride feel, along with the ability to change the level of inertia depending on the virtual terrain. We are getting to the highest range with this trainer but the price tag of 1,200 EUR is certainly warranted. Tacx Neo 2T The best trainer for realistic road feel
This trainer is quick to setup and thanks to the telescopic legs, it offers greater stability during training. This is also much better than the standard in this price range. It’s able to simulate a 15% gradient and 1,200 watts of power while claiming an excellent +/- 3% accuracy. Their wheel-on trainer uses magnetic resistance and ventilation system that makes it much quieter compared to other trainers in this category. So, this seemingly new brand has a solid background in the industry. When Bkool decided to focus on software, they sold their hardware side of business to Zycle. Zycle might sound like a new name in the turbo trainer world next to brands such as Wahoo, Elite, Tacx or Saris. Zycle ZPro The most accurate wheel-on smart trainer Each of them has a different set of unique benefits but they all fit in the ‘under 500 EUR’ category. These are generally higher-end, quieter, and more accurate.įirst, let’s take a look at the three best wheel-on trainers we would recommend. Direct-drive trainers – You remove your rear wheel and mount your bike onto the trainer, which includes a cassette.These trainers are generally less expensive but louder and less accurate. Wheel-on trainers – Your bike is fixed to an A-shaped frame and the rear wheel sits on a roller.There are two main categories of smart turbo trainers based on how your bike attaches to them. Turbo trainers (or simply turbos) clamp around the quick release skewer of a bike’s rear wheel, suspending it in an A-frame. These can be hooked up to Zwift, Rouvy, Sufferfest, Trainer Road, Bkool, and other virtual training platforms that turn boring home training into an exciting part of cycling.
This article will focus more on the category of smart turbo trainers.
Tacx trainer neo spindown how to#
It explains the basics about turbo trainers and how to get started with them. If you’re new to home trainers, it could help to check out our previous article.