TruTrainer SmartLoad

[deechee]

Has anyone tried the TruTrainer with the SmartLoad (or upgraded)? I got back into indoor riding this spring after a few years of not doing it, but dreading this coming winter.

My smart trainer is a Stac Halcyon I had a picked up a while back, and it *is* quiet, but setup is such a pain(I don't have a permanent spot), the software is finicky, and I never liked the "feel" of riding it. I have the wheel weights too. This spring I could not ride anything other than the TruTrainer, but to get higher wattages, I had to ride really fast and it felt crazy doing more than 45km/h inside with my son and cat walking by all the time.

I guess my questions comes down to

How does the smartload feel? Does it keep the nice road-like feel of the regular rollers?
How is the TruTrainer app? Is it responsive and reliable?
Has anyone tried the fork stand? I figure it might give me a break on lazier days/early mornings.
Is it better to just get a Kickr/Neo for power workouts? I'll be honest, chances of me hooking up a laptop to zwift is low. I'm fine with putting my head down and doing old fashioned intervals.

[cyan]

Also interested in learning real-world experience about this. How does TruTrainer (w/. SmartLoad Power) compare to Kickr or Neo 2T when it comes to response to resistance change and power measurement/output?

[professerr]

I've got one of these with Smart Load. I've never used another smart trainer so I can't compare others, but I've used rollers (Kreitlers) with various fan set ups for many years. Not much to say about their power measurement, since I don't have a power meter on my bike to compare. Seems accurate enough, and you can calibrate it now and then with an easy spin down test.

These are vastly superior to regular rollers (and many other trainers) because they use internal bits to simulate quite accurately the mass of the rider, rolling resistance and wind resistance. This, combined with the balancing required for riding rollers, makes them feel very much like actual riding. Indeed, if you ride at say, 200 watts and set the app to simulate a 150 pound rider going up a 6% grade with no headwind, the type of resistance will you feel pedaling will be different than if you set it up a 1% grade with a 5 mph headwind, even though you are producing the same watts.

They also are super smooth and quiet, which matters to me more than I thought it would.

I use them with the inhouse Smart Load app (which is simple and works flawlessly to allow you to simulate different slopes and windspeeds and performance targets) as well as with Sufferfest.

The integration with Sufferfest is not perfect, and I've had to fiddle with things a bit. So for example, there's sometimes a short (several seconds) lag between when the Sufferfest video indicates a resistance increase in the video and when you feel it in the pedals (if you're not using "level" mode where you just pedal faster or switch gears to increase power). And, of course, you've got to work out the right gears to use -- the Tru Trainers generate a minimum amount of load that is greater than ordinary rollers, so you're not going to be able to do a 110 watt rest interval at 90 RPM in a 53X13. There were some other minor connectivity/integration issues I had, but the True Trainer guys were quite helpful, (as were the Sufferfest guys).

They are rather spendy, but compared to the price of bikes I think they are a bargain. Guys spend more on a new set of wheels alone.

Build quality is absolutely first rate at any price -- totally superior to the (albeit much cheaper) Kreitlers.

[deechee]

Indeed, if you ride at say, 200 watts and set the app to simulate a 150 pound rider going up a 6% grade with no headwind, the type of resistance will you feel pedaling will be different than if you set it up a 1% grade with a 5 mph headwind, even though you are producing the same watts.

Thanks for all the feedback! By the time I decided I might try the SmartLoad upgrade, they were sold out. I ended up getting a refurbished Kickr V4 and am relatively happy. I guess the Sufferfest is throwing you all these variables (wind & incline) but I'm curious how they feel different; not sure if you can explain :)

Looking at the few pictures on the play store, I guess the wind & % grade just lets you set a "resistance" and you ride like an old school resistance exercise bike?

[redir]

Like professor I never had a smart trainer so I cannot compare it to that but it works pretty well with Zwift. I use a PowerTap hub for power and the ANT+ connection from the smart roller to Zwift via USB dongle and into a PC running Win 10.

I can see for example a section of rollers (hills) coming up on the terrain map in Zwift and I can detect a very slight delay in when the rider avatar is at the base of the hill. It takes maybe a couple of seconds. THe avatar is already on the climb before the resistance kicks in. But it's pretty close. Not sure how that would compare to a smart trainer.

I have never used the app for the rollers except to calibrate them, which reminds me I should do that again.

As far as road feel though nothing beats the TruTrainer. You can stand, sprint, ride no handed with practice, coast and so on. Being able to rock the bike back and forth just like real world riding. You are not 100% on the road of course but it's pretty impressive how they ride.

The fork stand would be a good idea for doing hard intervals and things like that but otherwise seems to me to ruin the point of using good rollers.

If you get the TruTrainer then definitely get the step platform. I made one out of wood but either way you want something to step on and off for sure, trust me on that one.