rms13

I've never owned a trainer and never wanted to own one but right now I'm not able to put in the time I want on the bike. But I usually have some time around 10pm where I could do an hour on a trainer so I am interested in getting one to supplement.

I have been researching but it's a huge rabbit hole. I want something simple and cheap. I have always heard that fluid is much better then mag trainer. I have seen some cheap fluid ones for about $120-150 online that have a lot of good reviews. But then I start reading more and more about smart trainers. I don't want to spend $1000 but $300-500 might be ok if it's a smarter investment then the cheaper ones. But I also don't have a viable computer or iOS device so anything I get would have to work with a mid range Android phone. Zwift is the popular virtual cycling app but it seems like that would require me spending a few hundred more on a computer on top of an expensive trainer so that is out. I think I'm fine zoning out on a trainer and listening to some music.

What I think I want is the most road like feel that's possible and something that lets me get out of the saddle and sprint without toppling over AND ability to broadcast speed/cadence/distance to an Android app on my phone and record that data along with heart rate from my chest strap. The Wahoo Kickr Snap seems like a good option but that's at the absolute top of my budget and truthfully more then I want to spend.

There is this:

https://www.performancebike.com/shop...rainer-40-5708

$230 and seems to meet the minimum of what I want. But it also seems like there are some cadence/speed sensors that I could buy separately and use with any trainer to get speed/cadence/distance data to my phone.

ksryder

I've been happy with my Kickr Snap since last December. It transmits in both ANT+ and Bluetooth so it will work with your android. $600 but sometimes Wahoo sells refurbished units or you can score a discount at REI if you're a member.

datlas 

If you want a basic trainer and you don't plan to Zwift, you may wish to check Craigslist and get a gently used one.

rms13

I've been watching like a hawk for 2 weeks. I have seen the same 10 or so listed for two weeks. The ones that are close enough to me are asking $175 and up. The ones that are "deals" would involve 3+ hours in LA traffic to go pick them up. The other problem is I live in the LA area where weather isn't an issue for outdoor riding at any time during the year so I think there are just less trainers on the used market here

Wilmingtech

I bought a fluid trainer with the cadence, speed, power meter built in from amazon for about 330.00. After buying it I realized I could have just gotten a non-smart fluid trainer for a hundred or so less and even cheaper used. It would have done the same thing as I have a cadence/speed sensor already on my bike and I just use the Kinetic app to track my time, speed and cadence in the trainer.

GPS based phone apps like Strava and Urban Biker wont track distance if you are not moving or if they do, I have not figured out how to use them yet but the Kinetic app works well (I am sure there are others) and you don't have to buy their trainer although that is the trainer that I have.

-Sean

roadwarrior

I have a Cycleops Super Magneto. Four magnetic power bands that if you stayed in the same gear and retained the same cadence adding more resistance takes about 10mph off your speed (You have to work harder in the more difficult bands). Goes from rollers to climbing. The interval band and the road bands are the two I use the most.
I'm not a training geek combing through pages of personal data, which some enjoy. There is no electronics hooked up to it, not virtual Alpe d'Huez. I have a heart rate monitor where I can go from zone to zone. Also a computer on the bike for mileage and time.
For people that like spreadsheets, this is not probably something you'd go with. But my racing life was more in the Merckx era where you "rode lots". It's pretty inexpensive for what you get.

As Eddy Merckx said..."Don't buy upgrades. Ride up grades."

rms13

Thanks. I'm only training for fitness not racing. Becoming more of an overall data geek for health but mostly want metrics into my strava and Fitbit to track overall fitness. I do want miles to have an idea how far I've ridden compared to on road and want speed,cadence and hr to gauge how I'm riding in the moment. I'm guessing a good fluid trainer or even mag and adding something like wahoo cadence and speed sensor that will work on trainer is all I need. I have a hr monitor already. I can get all of that for $200 new or less if I find a used trainer.

Virtual training and controlled resistance sounds nice but I'm not serious enough to spend $600+ on trainer plus a computer to run zwift plus subscriptions . I figured in next couple of years there will be a lot more smart options and competition will drive price down more and tech will be cheaper and maybe I'll upgrade then

Jack Tone 

After having a smart trainer, I'll never buy anything else, assuming mine ever wears out. A $300 ipad works great for Zwift. A phone might work, too. And you can output to a computer monitor or your TV.

firebird854

First, you don't need a smart trainer for Zwift, Trainerroad, or any of the other popular apps. These devices normally have a method to calculate power from speed sensor + the type of trainer you purchase, you just won't feel the hills or be guided through intervals. That being said, I have a Cycleops Magnus trainer, I got it on sale for around $480. I love the thing, and have even purchased a second wheel with a trainer tire so I can switch to it with ease. In retrospect, I would go back and get a direct mount smart trainer, something like the wahoo kickr core because it would be soooo much more convenient, but it is considerably more expensive.

Also, you can get an Apple TV, which is a device to connect to your TV for $150 that lets you play Zwift perfectly on your TV without having to buy an actual computer.

Now, my recommendations, if you want to burn fat and be entertained, I'd get the cheapest possible on wheel smart trainer and an Apple TV, then have fun with Zwift.

If you want to get faster, I'd recommend a Watt Team Powerbeat single side powermeter for $250 and a fluid non-smart trainer. You can hook up to Zwift, trainerroad, Today's Plan, Training Peaks, etc. and have access to power based training when you want to go outside!

Just my thoughts and opinions.

rms13

Thanks, great info. REI has a good deal on the Magnus right now and I get bonus rewards as a member for the next couple of days so even though this wasn't one I was initially looking at , I might just pick one up today haha. Just curious, does the trainer record miles, speed and cadence through apps or do you still need external sensors? From reading up it seems like resistance is controlled/adjusted from apps but it seems like I still need cadence meter at least ?

base2 

+1 on what has already been said. I have a Qubo Elite fluid trainer. Well, 2 actually...(wife & I side by side) I think fluid is harder than road but that's because there is no coasting and no room for dead spots in your pedal stroke. The resistance is determined by what gear you are in & how hard you want to pedal. Just like on the road. On the Qubo Elite the pressure on the tire from the drum is set by the riders weight. So there is no adjusting, no set-up, nada. Just click the bike in and go. I used to use it with a speed/cadence sensor paired to my Garmin with the GPS turned off so the Garmin never knows it's not actually going anywhere. After a while, I got smart and put the "trainer-use-only" tire on the Powertap G3 wheel.

The system works great, it's simple. It's also quiet. I watch old movies or cycle training videos on Youtube. I think the Garmin will pair with Zwift, but I've never downloaded the app to find out.

Craigslist is your friend. People like to buy trainers but they don't like to use them. That's a win type situation for you.

firebird854

Actually that is one AMAZING thing about the Magnus, with a recent firmware update (if you bought now it'd probably already have the update, but it's really easy to update in any case), it actually transmits power, speed, AND cadence on Ant+ and BLE bluetooth.

I have a Powertap G3 hub too, and a similar firmware update caused this hub based powermeter to transmit all of these as well. Apparently, Powertap/Saris/Cycleops has a patent on figuring out what your cadence is from spikes in power, and they used it on their powermeter lines as well as their trainer lines, making it so their whole smart lineup transmits power, speed, and cadence.

firebird854

FYI, you will only get accurate miles if you're using some type of simulation software, so Zwift Rouvy, Bkool, etc. otherwise you could knock the resistance down to nothing, roll a big gear, and hold 40mph with zero effort. This holds true for any trainer.

99Klein 

Direct drive smart trainer of your choice. Can't go wrong.

rms13

Can't go wrong unless my wife found out how much I spent on one. I'm sure direct drive is the best experience but I can't justify the cost right now.

I ended up buying the Magnus today because REI had it on sale right now. $450 out the door including sales tax and I got a $20 gift card with the purchase so $430 at the end of the day. Haven't tried it yet but read and watched several reviews after the recommendation here. Maybe not quite as good as Kickr Snap according to reviews but I also don't think the Kickr is worth $170 more right now. If I bought I nicer dumb trainer and speed/cadence/power sensors that I don't already have I think I would be close to $400 anyway and wouldn't have the controlled resistance

zacster

For the money that sounds like a good choice.

I went from using a Fluid 2 trainer in "virtual power" mode, to buying a pair of Assioma Pedals so I had real power readings, to buying a Kickr Core as soon as they were released. Somewhere in that transition I also bought an Elemnt Bolt.

Riding with virtual power as a start got me into the whole power training thing, except that I was able to determine that the virtual curve was not at all accurate and the perceived feel got harder during the ride even in the same gear. Using a power meter with the Fluid trainer at least kept me honest as the Assioma pedals are pretty accurate, so even if the trainer would start getting harder as it warmed up, the effort was still being measured elsewhere. I rode really hard, got some really good training in but still felt I was missing something. When I got the Kickr a few weeks ago I found out what it was. With a smart trainer there is no cheating. In ERG mode you are forced to ride at the power setting that the app is showing. Slow down and it gets harder, speed up and it will get easier, but the net result is you still need the same power. Then in simulation mode I finally got to see what Zwift is really about. During a ride a hill feels like a hill. I would always follow the cadence and power on the dumb trainer, except of course when I didn't, and when there was a hill, there was no feedback that it was a hill, you just shifted to make it seem harder because it told you to. With the Kickr Core or Magnus you shift into your natural hill climbing gears and you climb. When the grade changes you feel the grade change. I know that after a long real climb I'll use the leveling off period to take it easy to catch my breath a bit, and you can do the same here. The one thing that isn't realistic is downhill, but only because I never go that fast out on the roads in the eastern US, wherever I happen to be. It is just too dangerous.

Enjoy it.

firebird854

Quick things, I highly recommend a trainer tire as I burned through 2 tires till I got one, it's a great investment. Also, make sure you CALIBRATE before every ride. When I initially bought mine I went months before realizing I actually had to calibrate the darn thing lol! For calibration, I recommend Cycleop's own app Rouvy, it does have paid features, but it will let you free ride to warm up and calibrate for free.

rms13

Thanks. I have been testing it with Rouvy and Zwift so far. Also downloaded Trainer Road but haven't got into that yet. I think Rouvy has forced me to calibrate each time but did my first Zwift ride today and I don't think I had to calibrate but next time I'll use Rouvy to calibrate before using Zwift. I'm borrowing my wife's ipad Mini for Zwift and it seems to run great but I've only done one short ride with Zwift and I'm still figuring it out. I like the idea of Rouvy using real route video because I like the idea of virtually riding real routes around the world instead of a fake video game world but after one ride I do see the beauty of Zwift in that your competing against real riders and when I uploaded it to Strava it shows all the people I was riding with so it is a cool social app. I signed up for Rouvy Augmented Reality beta so hoping to test that too. Ultimately that social aspect only matters if other people use the app and I know the Zwift user base is much more then Rouvy right now.

As for trainer tires. I have new cheap tires that came with my bike that I'm just going to ride down for now and maybe get trainer tire after that

So far I do like the trainer more then I thought I would. I tried out an older Cycleops Fluid dumb trainer a few years ago but didn't spend any real time on trainers until now. I mostly want to get some riding in before work when it's cold and dark out but I can already see where following a controlled training program and having access to power readings (I've never owned a power meter) should make me a stronger rider too.

jackb

I just bought a trainer on Amazon for $89 and it works fine. It is magnetic, has six levels of resistance, and a quick release when positioning the bike in the frame. I mounted my single sped bike with bolt on axles and they fit perfectly into the sockets on the trainer. Never heard of the brand, Sportneer, but it works fine so far. Made in China, of course, but appears to be well enough made.

roadwarrior

I have a Cateye computer on the bike for mileage, but honestly, trainer work should be really focused. I have a bunch of DVD's that I use for different workouts that range from 45 minutes to two hours. Just flip one in the laptop and my HR monitor is fine.
I'm one that thinks some of this stuff is overkill, but am happy to sell it.
I have four of Robbie Ventura's DVD's all different from intervals, to power up climb, to sprinting and they can range from 45 minutes to allowing you to customize your own workout from his scene section.
The Spinervals are OK,,,lower impact stuff, but his I have a couple of his longer ones.

Anyway, whatever floats your boat.

My racing days are looooooong over. But don't lose sight of two of your three muscle groups are designed for quick movement and sprinting stuff will help you with cadence. You actually get more out of a short hard session than spinning for an hour. Max intervals and full recovery.

Have fun.

rms13

Thanks. I did actually buy the Cycleops Magnus and have been testing it with free trials of Zwift and Rouvy for the past week. My initial thoughts is trainer miles are much harder then I thought they would be. I've never owned a power meter and it's humbling to see how low my power output is compared to say friends and club members I follow on Strava. Not sure if I end up paying for Zwift but I'll probably pay for Rouvy, Trainer Road or something cheaper for a few months that just has training work outs without the immersion. I want some app that makes use of the interactiveness of this trainer but I think some short focused interval training is what I need. One of the main reasons I got the trainer is I'm strapped for time so just getting 45 minute completely optimized minutes on the bike is what I want right now. I also believe that short, hard sprint type work outs are better then long easier paced work ( I believe in that exercise model for everything not just cycling)

Psimet2001 

roadwarrior

A friend of mine by the name of Phil Campbell wrote a book on the science of sprint work. Sprint 8 Protocol. It will give the researched reasons why that exercise method is superior.
It's funny now because you see all these exercise equipment companies now advocating short hard sprints with full recovery.
Phil has been doing speedcamps for years for runners...and he has coached a boatload of NFL speed demons. Training fast twitch muscles is how you get faster. But you can't do it every day. Phil advocates 3 days a week. Phil is also a multi time national senior track champion.

zacster

I find sprinting outdoors to be very helpful, but indoors I just can't quite do it, but maybe that's because I haven't tried it on my smart trainer yet. There was something about a fluid trainer that made it unrealistic. I'll have to try a sprint session on my new trainer, so far I've done hills and an open road session on Zwift, and a hill session on The Sufferfest. As much as I want to put the trainer through its paces, I'm trying to ride outdoors as much as I can before the weather gets too miserable for it. We still have a long winter ahead.

MagicHour

Thanks zacster- this is a good assessment. I'm still on a Kinetic fluid trainer + Power meter, and have been going back and forth between whether I really need a Smart trainer or not. I also have particular storage/space considerations that a Smart trainer will slightly complicate, whereas my current rig just works, but I'm missing the immersive dimension.

I've been enjoying the big climbs lately on Zwift so I think I'll get there eventually-your post may have helped nudge me in the Smart direction! Looking at the Core or maybe Kickr18 too.

Oh yeah OP- enjoy the Magnus and indoor training! sorry to go off on a tangent.