Tried posting in General but didn't get much response so I figured I would try here....

Its summer here atm, and cycling outdoors is still fine but during the day it can reach 34C with +90% humidity so I tend only to cycle early morning if I can wake up or late afternoon/evening.

I'm thinking of an indoor trainer, that is Zwift compatible, maybe the Cycleops Fluid 2.....

A few questions to those of you who do train indoors:

1) Buy a cheap Smart trainer vs 'standard' or Fluid 2 trainer?......the obvious for a Smart trainer is the resistance changes according to Zwift terrain, anyone use a 'cheaper' smart before?

2) Do I need a trainer tire? if so, how do you guys go about it? buy cheap 2nd wheel/rim and install with trainer tire?
or you change tires each time you use the trainer?
Also, my bike has disc brakes, is it possible to use a standard rim-brake wheel on it since I don't need a rear brake on a trainer.

3) What other recommendation for trainer? Tacx Neo is out of the question, its more expensive than my bike

thanks a lot

Good questions. In this day and age, I think it highly prudent to spend a little extra to get a smart trainer. I just picked up an Elite Rampa smart trainer that I use with Zwift, and I couldn't be happier. Worth every penny, especially for the power meter functionality.

No, you do not need a separate trainer tire. I've seen some folks say the noise is actually worse with one, and they wear just like a regular tire. YMMV.

My #1 recommendation for you is to peruse the DC Rainmaker website. Outstanding information on all things trainers on that site. Google it. Good luck!

Spinning Classes will be less Boring, than just doing it alone..

Totally agree with this. However, it is nice to not have to deal with logistics by having a setup in your own home. Also, having Zwift mitigates the loneliness factor, not totally, but quite a bit.

I agree the go to site for bike trainer reviews and power meters is D C Rainmaker. I use TrainerRoad for structured plans. For the past 10 months I've done 90% of my riding on the trainer (Wahoo Kickr) using TR. I am getting some very good results. Most riders would prefer the social interaction of Zwift. I like the highly structured plans of TR. As to your original question as to which trainer, I would put great trust in Ray's (Rainmaker's) comments. I bought the Kick'r from Performance Bikes. Check into the return/refund feature for the first year and life time warranty. I had to pay state sales tax but it was worth it.

i use a vortex smart. not expensive and has full connectivity and is "smart".

at the beginning i had tons of problems getting traction when it simulated 5%+ gradients. i.e. with high resistance, the tires kept slipping. i did everything - trust me EVERYTHING. and nothing worked until i bought actual tacx trainer tire.

now, even with standard tires, pumped to the right pressure, everything works as normal.

in fact, i say it works better with normal tires, because i get almost zero tire shed. conversely, with the trainer tire, it deposits a whole lot of gunk onto the rollers. which is the opposite of whats supposed to happen. weird, but whatever.

unless you have delicate tubulars or supple race clinchers you want to reserve, i would say just ride your wheel on the trainer as-is. if you put a lot of mileage in it, or see accelerated wear, or want to preserve your tire... i say buy a dedicated wheel because the convenience is worth it.

get a powerful fan because it gets HOT cycling indoors.

if you have a garage or backyard, these turbo trainers are fine. i do it in a spare bedroom and its kinda loud. IF i used the trainer more than occasionally, id probably go upmarket for a direct drive due to the noise factor.

Sidenote: What say you folks with Smart trainers - do you generally leave it set up all the time? or does anyone like myself, have one bike and limited space(city apt) that you break down each time? Wondering about spin downs, or calibration etc. in this scenario - does it take extra time to calibrate? specifically talking about wheel on trainers. Which may help the OP.

I Zwift with a KK Road Machine + PM, so Zero offset is performed regularly whenever I use my bike, so it's always calibrated when I set up. Just wondering about extra setup time. That Elite Rampa looks pretty nice, among others, a lot of people like the Vortex too.

OP - as far as trainer tires, I have 2 wheel sets, one of which has nice tires for outdoor use only. My trainer wheel I use a Vittoria trainer-specific tire in the winter when there is no chance I'll ride outdoors; and an inexpensive but quality Rubino pro III I don't mind putting on trainer, but can also take it outside if I'm feeling lazy about changing rear wheel.

i use it in my spare activity room....but the room is used for other projects so i put it up and take it down. the unit folds into a compact size so its really easy. no spin down. dont really need calibration... the band of correct resistance is really wide so its not really necessary at all. i dont care about the power reading because i have my own power meter - its way optimistic compared to a "real" power meter anyway

I have the Elite Rampa (on wheel trainer). Since getting it about a month ago, I have not taken it down despite good weather. Only thing I do is release the wheel from the trainer which takes about 5 seconds. I leave the bike secured in the trainer. Takes literally nothing to calibrate it as calibration is automatic. Even if I did take it down each time, setup is extremely easy. There is a sticker on the trainer prohibiting braking, but spin down does not take long.

I'd say definitely go with a fluid trainer and pay a little extra for the rubber-coated wheel and invest in a floor pump if you don't have one --e.g., Lezyne is the best I've had so far...

Good to know, thanks. Eventually my KK will need to be replaced will probably go Smart then.

Resistance rollers like Sportscrafters f.i. Less boring, more realistic. I hate trainers, love rollers. Only drawback is that it's hard to sprint on rollers, but one has to do that on the road anyway to get the right training effect. Just throw your regular road bike on them and pedal.

Buy a kicker, neo, elite, or cyclops hammer..big screen tv and a nice fan...

If you don't you will eventually and be kicking yourself in till you upgrade whatever you settle on...trust me. Smart trainer + Zwift has doubled my yearly kms to almost 25k and turned my ftp vo2 max and stamina though the roof, with structured work outs and not being bored outta my mind like I was using trainer road.

yea, I know but my nearest decent gym/yoga/spin centre is at least 90mins away. I would do it for about 2 months then I just wouldn't go.

Yea, I guess. I always end up replacing the initial purchase, like...
Fizik Aliante, now antares....
shimano dual side pedals ....now clip less only...
cheap bib shorts.....uncomfortable....now Castelli...fits great

....as you and others have said, just bite the bullet and get a smart trainer.

Anyhow Tacx of NL is another source of a computer interlinked trainer stand.

And there's rollers.. the threat of crashing by not paying attention to staying in the middle of the drums, will get your focus.