IMonstrosity

I'm new at this cycling thing.

I really don't feel like riding out in freezing weather so I'm interested in a trainer.

I have a carbon synapse 105 road bike. I'm wondering what are some good trainers, like I said I'm a beginner, I was looking at the wahoo kickr, which I can afford however if it's not necessary I don't want to spend a grand.

Recommendations?

Xherion

I have a Kickr and love it. But it depends.

1. Do you have a power meter on your bike now? If not, I'd recommend a PM and a dumb trainer (get a CycleOps or Kurt Kinetic on Craigslist for $150).
2. If you already have a PM, then by all means get the Kickr if you can afford one. There's other cheaper smart trainers (Tacx, Kickr Snap) out there, but they seem to have more QC issues. Or the current top trainer is a Tacx Neo, but I heard/read some anecdotal teething issues.

IMonstrosity

Wait, you have to buy a power meter to use with kikr? Power meters are apparently like 700+ in itself

Xherion

No, I'm just saying that if you buy a PM, then you can use it both indoors and outdoors. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me to drop $1200 on a trainer, but not have a PM for outside. Once you start riding with power, I can pretty much guarantee you'll seldom want to ride without it.

igosolo

Wahoo Kickr is a great trainer. I have one and though don't use it much as I live in California, when I do have to ride indoors i really like it. Had a Kurt Kinetic Fluid trainer before and really just hated using it. Not that it was a bad piece of equipment it just did not do it for me.

TCR Rider

If I was in the market for a trainer now I would definitely get a smart trainer. I have a Kurt Kinetic Fluid Rock and Roll Trainer which I have been perfectly happy with. As far as trainers go it has more of a road feel with the lateral motion that it allows.
If you plan on getting into Zwift a Smart Trainer will make a huge difference.

IMonstrosity

I was thinking about the kinetic however 1 it doesn't work with android, 2, I was thinking the wear of tire would equally surpass the extra expense of the trainer itself compared to the kickr. But I'm not sure

MagicHour

Not necessarily - I have 2,600 mi on my rear tire most of which was on a Kk kinetic road machine. Still got some life left it in it, did a real outdoor ride today for once! So basically normal tire wear for me. Using vittoria Rubino pro III/100psi/3.5 turns kk trainer tension.

thin_concrete

I'm new to cycling as well and don't want to be outside in a New England winter riding, so I became interested in trainers as well. I initially purchased a Travel Trac Comp Fluid trainer from Performance Bikes (they are usually on sale for $99 - if not this week, then in a couple of weeks) as it seemed like it was a cheap way to get familiar with riding my bike indoors. I hated it - sitting there trying to ride with a progressive resistance machine was awful in that it really didn't mimic road feel whatsoever, and just sitting there while watching TV was not that fun either.

I did, however, like the concept of riding indoors at my house (have been taking spin classes at my gym for some time, but don't always have the time to drive into town and go), so I looked into Swift and decided to purchase speed and cadence sensors, along with an ANT+ dongle and extension cord from Amazon. When they arrived, I signed up for Zwift and really enjoyed the experience, but once again the cheap trainer was just not much fun. I ended up purchasing a Tacx Vortex Smart trainer and it has totally changed the experience for the positive. Having the trainer change resistance as the course changes makes such a difference and makes training indoors much more enjoyable.

In short, purchase a smart trainer if you're able to. I realize they are more expensive, but in my experience, worth the difference as I know I won't be off my bike for much of this winter. To not lose that momentum that I gained during the fall is worth it.

Also, please see link below to a recent DC Rainmaker article on trainers:

My Winter 2015-2016 Bike Trainer Recommendations | DC Rainmaker

Sy Reene

I'm interested in the Tacx Smart models (either the Vortex or Bushido). Best pricing seems to be out of Germany... but I see this mention in the product descriptions about also having to purchase separate software.. eg. from bike-discount.de website: "The Bushido is extremely user-friendly. Instead of training with a handlebar computer you can connect the trainer to the Tacx Cycling apps quickly and easily. If you also want to train with a PC or laptop, you can purchase the Upgrade Smart."

A visit to the TACX website shows this product as well. Is this only required if you're interested in Tacx's training software, or a required purchase to use with any PC? eg. necessary with Zwift running on a PC laptop?
https://www.tacx.com/en/products/software/upgrade-smart

thin_concrete

I did not purchase the Tacx software and have been using it with Zwift. Their software allows you to control the resistance and other parameters, as well as having access to their training programs. Remember, that if it's not hooked up to a tablet/cpu/phone, it defaults to a fluid trainer. I chose the Vortex over the Bushido because I didn't think being cordless was worth the difference in price considering there's an outlet right next to where I have it set up.

I bought mine from Amazon from a seller in Germany. It was here in about a week via FedEx.

IMonstrosity

I live in a small apartment, I'm in the middle of 3 floors however below me is just someone's garage. Whigh of these trainers would make acceptable levels of noise? I know the neo but that's 1600. What about the kickr? Or some of the cheaper ones

thin_concrete

My Vortex is pretty quiet. Much quieter than my Travel Trac Fluid Comp.

TCR Rider

Read the DC Rainmaker review that was referenced earlier in this thread. The noise issue is addressed there.

I'll re-post it here.

Also, please see link below to a recent DC Rainmaker article on trainers:

My Winter 2015-2016 Bike Trainer Recommendations | DC Rainmaker

dagray

BKool Pro smart trainer. I have used one since Oct 2014 and not killed it yet (and I weigh in at 360 pounds now). They also can be used with Zwift or the BKool app.

jaxgtr

I've been looking at the Wahoo Kicker Snap....about half the cost of the Kicker but wheel on. So far leading the pack in my trainer research. I live in Florida and would not use it much, but with the smart trainers, I might use them more since I can use routes to give me some mountain type training.

bigdo13

i have a Cyclops Jet fluid Pro... that's pretty cool... but honestly I dont' like putting my carbon bike in it much.... on the other had those new Tacx bike trainers are so sooooo, cool... one can dream! They're ridiculously expensive...

kostyap

I ride with power indoors as I test trainers/software in for living. When I go outside I do not even want to know what powermeter is

IMonstrosity

Isn't the while carbon bike on a trainer being bad for the bike just a myth? I also have a carbon bike