Turbo Trainer Advice - £500-600

[GeordieSPG]

I have a cyclocross bike (Cannondale 2016 CAADX Tiagra) that I've ridden a handful of times.

I've decided that I'm just not one for riding outdoors. Maybe that'll change. But for now, I'd like to be able to use it at home with a turbo trainer. Happy for it to be a permanent thing in the house.

Budget around £500-600 ideally. I know this is PH so I'll be advised to double this.

Kickr V5 would be the "best", but it's out of budget.
Kickr Core is an option. Anything else?

Do I NEED a cassette? Can I just plug my current bike in?

Thanks in advance

[Correvor]

For cassette - depends what you buy, some come supplied, some don't.

I'd keep an eye out locally secondhand, lots of people purchased home keep fit equipment during lockdowns and some of it is now being sold off. That's how I got mine and it was less than £300.

[Freakuk]

I've got a v5 Kickr Core and I just use the existing cassette, depending on how many gears you may need a spacer and you may need to tweak the indexing also.

Obviously I am having to swap the cassette back to the wheel when I want to ride on the road, but over winter that's not going to happen. You could buy a dedicated cassette for the trainer, but I'd be wary that the drivetrain/cassette would be wearing at a different rates.

[esuuv]

A refurb kickr core is £599 - you will need a cassette as the core doesn't come with one.

DC Rainmaker blog or the gplama YouTube channel for reviews / setup / info

[Audicab]

Correvor said:

For cassette - depends what you buy, some come supplied, some don't.

I'd keep an eye out locally secondhand, lots of people purchased home keep fit equipment during lockdowns and some of it is now being sold off. That's how I got mine and it was less than £300.

This is exactly what I did during lockdown, bought a new Elite Studio Trainer through Zwift and only used it twice, just didn't get on with indoor cycling so looking to sell it now.

[sjg]

I've got a Kickr Core and really enjoying the Zwift thing this winter. The main thing you seem to lose out on is auto calibration (manual takes under a minute and you don't need to do it often), and it doesn't fold down quite as small or have a handle to carry. Few non-pros will hit the lower max wattage of the Core.

Can take your existing cassette off your bike and fit it to the trainer if it's a regular Shimano style splined freehub. Campag or SRAM XD and you'll to pick up a freehub too. If you're regularly swapping between trainer and outside rides then it'd get tedious and you might want a second cassette. They come with all the adaptors for different QR and through axle standards in the box.

[GeordieSPG]

esuuv said:

A refurb kickr core is £599 - you will need a cassette as the core doesn't come with one.

DC Rainmaker blog or the gplama YouTube channel for reviews / setup / info

Looks like I can get a Core new for 575.

Will I only need a cassette if I ever want to ride my bike on the road without a load of hassle?

Thanks for all of the replies so far. I'm still confused!

[Harpoon]

Saris H3 - sub £600 right now at multiple sites including Rutland (£588), Tredz (£588), Wiggle (£589) etc etc

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/08/saris-h3-smart...

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/11/smart-cycle-tr...

This was selling at £799 to £899 for most of 2020/21, so a steal at this price IMHO. I got one from Rutland for £600 for one early in November last year, then it dropped to ~£550 on Black Friday. Rutland had a BF promise that if the price dropped again in November after you had already purchased, they'd refund the difference so I got the £50 refund. Oh, and £12 via TopCashBack.

The reviews say it's louder than the Kickr or Neo but I can't hear it over my fan / music / panting.

If you're not riding outside for the foreseeable future, take the cassette off your back wheel and put it on the turbo. You'll need a chain whip / spanner and a cassette locknut tool / spanner.

Edited by Harpoon on Monday 10th January 11:09

[Harpoon]

GeordieSPG said:

Looks like I can get a Core new for 575.

Will I only need a cassette if I ever want to ride my bike on the road without a load of hassle?

Thanks for all of the replies so far. I'm still confused!

Yes - you could move your cassette between the smart turbo and your rear wheel as needed. Should only take 5 to 10 minutes so not a major job but a pain if you want to quickly nip out. If you don't have the tools, budget about £20 to £25 for a chain whip / cassette spanner and a lockring spanner.

[esuuv]

GeordieSPG said:

Will I only need a cassette if I ever want to ride my bike on the road without a load of hassle?

Yes - you could take your cassette off your existing wheel and fit it to the trainer (with spacers if your bike isn't 11 speed) - but that's annoying as you have to swap them over again should you want to ride outside.

You will probably also have to fiddle with the indexing a little as the alignment isn't always the same between wheel / trainer.

[GeordieSPG]

Looks like I have

CASSETTE: Shimano Tiagra 4700 12-28, 10-speed

[Freakuk]

GeordieSPG said:

Looks like I have

CASSETTE: Shimano Tiagra 4700 12-28, 10-speed

You'll need the spacer supplied with the Kickr then

[defblade]

Another vote here for the Saris H3 at that price.

When mine got noisy on the uphills, I sent customer service a video and a few days later received a box with new pulley and belt in. No problem since, so very happy with their customer service as well as the trainer itself

Just to note - the resistance always lagged the visuals a little on ant+; my adaptor died so I swapped to bluetooth while ordering a new ant+; suddenly no lag at all and so I've never gone back.

[GeordieSPG]

Why Saris H3 vs Kickr Core? Are they different beasts entirely?

[Harpoon]

Not sure I've understood the question properly is but when it was launched, the Saris H3 was pitched against the full-fat Kickr and Tacx Neo - these three make up the "High End Trainer" section in the last DCR guide:

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/11/smart-cycle-tr...

Saris undercut Wahoo on price slightly then but now the H3 is the same price as the Kickr Core (which DCR listed as mid-high)

DCR said:

There’s really no surprise this trainer is here. Two years later and it still amazes me that more people don’t buy KICKR CORE’s over KICKR’s. It’s hard to get this level of a trainer road feel at this price, except of course when you see the Saris H3 on sale for $800 or something. But let’s be honest, that ain’t happening anytime soon again in the current environment

For me, I'd only go down the Wahoo path when the H3 is sub £600 if I knew I was going to buy a Kickr Climb unit in the future.

[Gareth79]

GeordieSPG said:

esuuv said:

A refurb kickr core is £599 - you will need a cassette as the core doesn't come with one.

DC Rainmaker blog or the gplama YouTube channel for reviews / setup / info

Looks like I can get a Core new for 575.

Will I only need a cassette if I ever want to ride my bike on the road without a load of hassle?

Thanks for all of the replies so far. I'm still confused!

Wheelbase had them for £575 yesterday, a friend was interested and I sent them the link, but today I see it's off sale and back at £699...

edit: Oh back at £575 again, ha!


I have a Tacx Neo (OG) which is great, but the newer ones have reliability issues and Garmin's out-of-warranty support is supposed to be awful, although there are a few people around who can repair anything which goes wrong for a fair price.

Edited by Gareth79 on Monday 10th January 12:35

[Ballistic]

I have a Tacx Neo, in perfect condition and working order, that is now surplus to requirements, looking for a good home at a give away price - I need the space, if any-ones interested.

[GeordieSPG]

Ballistic said:

I have a Tacx Neo, in perfect condition and working order, that is now surplus to requirements, looking for a good home at a give away price - I need the space, if any-ones interested.

How much?

[RapidRob]

Ballistic said:

I have a Tacx Neo, in perfect condition and working order, that is now surplus to requirements, looking for a good home at a give away price - I need the space, if any-ones interested.

If OP doesn't take this, I may be interested... If your midlands location is correct then I can swing by when seeing the in-laws.

[Ballistic]

@GerdieSPG
@RapidRob
I'm not sure the forum rules allow me to advertise, so please send me a pm and I'll give you the details.
Location is Derby area.