That happens every time I order from Ribble.

I paid $36 for my latest set on eBay.

any recommendation on an aero road handlebar? do their thinner profile have a noticeable effect on their stiffness? is there wind tunnel data on which profile is better?

Best trainer, go!

Ideally, I want something that will let me put out however many watts I want (>1300), but I'll settle with something that can at least handle 700-800w. I'd like suggestions both for something portable to races, but I'll also consider direct drive trainers.

"dumb" trainer or something like a computrainer or kickr that can be programmed with Workouts and courses and change resistance on its own?

I'm fine with a 'dumb' one, but I'll entertain all recommendations. I think a computrainer might be too expensive. I have a stages powermeter.

I would not want to carry around a Kickr or Computrainer to races. Wattage isn't a factor. You're not going to be warming up over 1kw, it's pointless. The lightest most compact one I know of is the 1-up. I only have one trainer so I have a KK. Works fine at home and on the road.

For smart trainers that stay in one place, there's a few but the main players are CT and Kickr. The CT is a bit long in the tooth these days but they are built like tanks. I train plenty indoors over the winter and one of these is a luxury I don't really need.

I'm fine with a cheaper, portable one for races, and a beefier one for home training. How about Elite's line, or Tacx?

I've had a 1-up trainer for over ten years and it's still going strong. 1000+ watts are no problem. It's also more portable than most.

I was interested in a Kickr until I discovered that they tend to report more power than you really make.

I like the idea of the Kinetic Rock-n-Roll. Anyone tried it?

Also, the Elite Turbo Muin looks like a nice balance between direct drive and 'smart.'

I've been running a Cycleops Fluid 2 for about 8 years now. I'm probably going to need to replace it soon - it's getting quite worn out. It's big and heavy, and I rarely bring it to races, but that is mostly because I prefer to warm up by riding around. My wife has a KK. It's also very nice. Again, big and heavy, but a solid trainer.

We had a Performance Travel Trac for carrying to races. It sucked. The engagement was not steady. I ended up returning it under Performance's 100 percent satisfaction guarantee policy.

you can set them to your other powermeter now... for instance I can use my vectors pedals to report the output.

I've been happy with my Kurt-Kinetic Road Machine. Not tried the Rock-and-Roll but I assume it is just as good.
It should easily be able to handle 1300 watts.

I have a Fluid2. Good to 1100w or so.

Rock n Road should be better for actual sprints and climbing out of saddle. On a nonrocking trainer you end u up pulling the wrong side with your arms. Rocking trainer reverses that.

breaks violently at 1101, spraying boiling oil and fire everywhere.

Fluid2 is maybe 8? years old. 100+ hours a year, seems like. I have 131 hours this year, rose outside maybe 9? times. 143064 in Strava, at work I can't look at this stuff much.

+ 1 on the 1 up, for transporting to races for warmup, it's spot on and indestructible.

for actual indoor training, I do lots (just ask [MENTION=165838]echappist[/MENTION] he stalked me on strava all winter then made fun of me for riding outside in like May). I have a computrainer that i've fallen out of love with except for ftp testing and e-motion rollers that are my go to's.

I have a Rock n' Road. Have had it for 2 seasons and I can say that I love it for anything that is 2+ hours. The ability to sway the bike really makes it significantly more comfortable than a fixed trainer. Sprints are awesome on it, resistance curve is wonderful. All around I feel that it is easily one of the best 'dumb' trainers out there.

The issue is portability. You really can't pack it up easily, you need to find a dedicated spot and just be okay with leaving it set-up.

For dumb trainers the regular road machine is really nice (Same resistance unit as a Rock n' Road) but I just got to use my girlfriends Cycle Ops Pro magnetic trainer and I have to say that thing is WONDERFUL. It has a good resistance curve that is adjustable, it locks the bike tightly and quickly and has an adjustable leg so that you can make it stable on an uneven surface.

There are my $.05

As far as stay-at-home trainer, I have the Kickr and really like it. I keep my old backup bike permanently installed on the Kickr so I'm not putting any wear and tear on my main bike and don't have to worry about swapping wheels/tires. There's were reports about the reported power output being off in some units, but supposedly this has been improved with the latest firmware.

I like that it's direct drive, so no wheel slippage. The erg mode is really nice for interval workouts, I use it with VirtualTraining app on my android tablet. Also the erg mode means at higher power output it's not nearly as loud as a dumb trainer where hitting those power levels means using a big gear. And I can do a full interval workout including warmup/cooldown without ever having to change gears.

I have a $50 craigslist trainer that's gotta be at least 10 years old and can handle more watts than you need. Just make sure whatever you get can be screwed down super tight on the rear wheel, and you clean it and the rear tire from time to time. I never understood people saying their trainers couldn't handle over a certain wattage but maybe I just got lucky.

If you have anyone else in your house, for a stay at home trainer I would also recommend a dedicated trainer wheel/tire. No burning rubber smell and gritty black stuff.

#thingscyclistsdontnoticebuttheirsignificantothershate

Yeah. I have a super-craptastic Nashbar trainer from 2000. It's rusty, loud, and the tightening handle broke off years ago so I just leave a small vise-grip attached to it. It holds the bike and provides resistance for as many watts as I can put into it. Not sure there's anything more I need it to do.

I'll be setting up my training area in the garage, which is basically *all mine* for cycling stuff. So noise isn't so much an issue for the household. Ideally, I'd like to pay <$800. I want to play with Zwift.

Is it *really* that much of a difference to have a 'smart' trainer if one already has a powermeter?

While I do not have a smart trainer (but I do have a powermeter) there is a certain beauty to being able to just make yourself ride at a specific wattage. Now there is also something to be said for training yourself to ride at certain wattages but there were certainly times over the winter that it would have been wonderful to have just been able to program in the exact tempo number I wanted and be forced to do that.

But as to the question of "worth it" I would say no, in general the premium for a smart trainer is probably not worth it. But I can't say that from the experience of having both smart and dumb trainers.

I have almost 4000 miles on Zwift. I have very little desire for a smart trainer. I don't think it would change my motivation.