Trainer

[cookietom]

Who makes best trainer below $500?

[MagicHour]

Good place to start
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/11/trainer-buyers-recommendations-guide.html

[Peter P.]

Kurt Kinetic Road Machine. Realistic resistance curve, quiet, will never leak fluid.

[trener1]

You can get the Cycleops Magnus smart trainer at Performance on sale now for $385, thats a crazy deal.

[ergott]

You can find sales on the Tacx Bushido for $495. I've had the Kinetic and the Bushido. There is no comparison to training with a smart trainer. I sold the Bushido to a friend after a few thousand miles on it. Doesn't even need to be plugged in to work.

[false_Aest]

Never used a smart trainer. Been using a Kurt Road Machine for about 10 years. Had 1 problem with vibration Kurt overnighted me a replacement fluid unit.

Kurt + inRide works well.

Kurt + TrainerRoad seems to be working well too.

Spindown is a bit faster than what I feel on the road but it's close.

[Luwabra]

Lemond revolution. Not smart but awesome realistic road feel.

[kramnnim]

Kickr Snap with a coupon

[Alaska Mike]

I have two LeMond Revolutions, and have yet to find another trainer that matches their road feel. Unfortunately, the company is pretty much defunct. They do pop up on the used market often enough. There is a 10 speed version and an 11 speed version.

I gave the STAC Zero a chance based on DCRainmaker's review, and it just wasn't as good for me. Silent, yes, but nowhere near as smooth throughout the pedal stroke (varying cadences, power levels, "speeds"...) as the LeMond.

I bought the STAC for a travel trainer, but now I'm going to lug around one of my LeMonds in a Pelican case. It's actually a bit lighter than most smart trainers today, and since I don't really care about the "smart" functions (I have several power meters) I will probably stick with them as long as possible. My original LeMond is going on 9 years (?) of use (6 days a week, 6 months out of the year), and after I cleaned it up a bit it was as good as the day I bought it. Just a rock solid design.

It is jet engine loud when you wind it up, but I'm usually too busy sweating to notice. If noise is a concern for you, look elsewhere.

Wahoo is pushing the price point down on wheel-off trainers a bit (just like Quarq and later Stages did in the power meter world), and I expect most of the competition to follow suit. For me, wheel-off trainers are the way to go.

[R3awak3n]

You can find sales on the Tacx Bushido for $495. I've had the Kinetic and the Bushido. There is no comparison to training with a smart trainer. I sold the Bushido to a friend after a few thousand miles on it. Doesn't even need to be plugged in to work.

+1. I Had a kurt and was great but I much orefer my kickr, smart trainers are great.

[KonaSS]

Echoing others, look for Kickr Snap with coupon if Smart is important. Or Kurt Kinetic with Inride if not. 20% off at Kinetic right now.

My favorite non-smart trainer is the Kinetic Rock and Roll with Inride. The extra motion with Rock and Roll doesn't make it feel more like outside really, but does allow slight movement which is WAAAY more comfortable to me and allows me to enjoy time on the trainer more. Every time I switch back to a true stationary trainer, it feels like a torture device.

[oldpotatoe]

Who makes best trainer below $500?

Do you want just something that 'moves yer legs' when you can't ride outside or some kind of smart, interactive trainer?

If number one, get a set of Kreitler rollers..passes the time, makes yu a better pedal-er.

[cookietom]

What do you think of Tacx Satori Smart, on sale for $279?

[Alaska Mike]

As others have mentioned, I would start with DCRainmaker's reviews. He's pretty thorough and generally pulls no punches when he thinks a product could be better.

A lot depends on how much you'll be using it and what features you want. If you're riding it a lot, spending a little extra up-front for a quality product will make it a much more pleasurable experience and help keep you going. I went through a lot of trainers from just about every manufacturer before I got to the LeMond, and I still try out new ones to see if they might be better.

Some people swear a smart trainer makes Zwift and other virtual training programs better. Some people like to have a "power meter" built in to the trainer (they can vary widely in their accuracy- some good, some horrible). Some people love having the resistance change for virtual hills.

I don't really get much more out of the experience with a smart trainer than I do with my LeMond and a crank-based power meter, but I can't say that other people are wrong. Whatever it takes for them to keep cranking the pedals when the weather isn't ideal or time constraints prevent them from riding outside, I'm all for.

I prefer wheel-off, but I do a lot of abrupt, higher-wattage sprint efforts that would usually lead to tire slippage on wheel-on trainers. I realize they're more expensive, but it again comes down to how much you're going to use it and your intended purpose.

As for the Tacx Satori Smart, it's not really a "smart" trainer, because the resistance can't be remotely controlled (via Zwift or whatever). Rather, it's a trainer that sends "power" and other metrics via Bluetooth/ANT+. DC Rainmaker recommended it in his Winter 2017/2018 reviews, but left it off his 2018 recommendations. My guess is it's being discontinued and was replaced by the TACX Flow Smart and the Bushido Smart, which may affect support down the road if you ever have an issue with the unit.

[oldguy00]

You can get the Cycleops Magnus smart trainer at Performance on sale now for $385, thats a crazy deal.

I have a kickr and its great. But I've been looking for a second trainer now, and gotta agree, that deal on the magnus from performance is probably one of the best.

[JAGI410]

I picked up the Tacx Vortex Smart for $350ish shipped from Clever Training. Used it with Zwift last night, the "controlled" environment is pretty neat! It'll certainly take some getting used to though. I'm looking forward to the next ride with it.

[R3awak3n]

I just got off my kickr on zwift. About an hour, was actually kind of fun. Get a smart trainer!