advice on getting a used smart trainer

[Paul Drawmer]

My wheel on smart turbo trainer (Cyclops M2) has just shot sparks at me and now offers no resistance, so I need to replace it.

My gosh prices have gone up in 4 years! Can't afford new - where's a good start for used ones please?

[sjg]

There's a few offers on new now we're out of winter:

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-direto-smart-turbo-...
https://www.dalescycles.com/wahoo-kickr-v5-smart-t...

Wahoo do factory refurbs too.

[Paul Drawmer]

Thanks for that, that Elite looks good vfm. I really wanted to keep below £300 though.

[sir humphrey appleby]

I bought a 30 or 40 quid second hand one off ebay, not the most sophisticated in the world, but has got resistance settings so works all ok. Certainly makes me work hard!

[esuuv]

Used kickr Snap on Ebay seems to be £150 / 200.......

[snotrag]

Wahoo factory refurb. They occasionally do offers too - get signed up to their stock alerts.

To all intents a 'new' product with full warranty.

Mine just looked like someone had opened the box, changed their mind and sent it back. Full Warranty, about £200off rrp.

[arun1uk]

Good timing, I've just replaced my Tacx Satori with a Tacx Vortex, so if you're interested in my Satori - let me know.
It's smart enabled so you can link to Zwift, but not automatically controllable so has a manual resistance switch.

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/training/indoor-...

Not looking for much, maybe £80? Includes front wheel stand, quick release through axle. Just replaced the batteries too.
PM if interested.

[mie1972]

Personally i think warranty is everything with smart trainers, so would be looking at something from an actual shop - ie refurb Wahoo or a new one. Otherwise a £300 turbo trainer might only last a few months before being caput.

The Elite Zumo at Halfords at £449 - still a decent price, & with various tricks, BC discount etc can normally take 10-15% off that price. Been out a while and no known issues...
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/turbo-trainers/sm...

FWIW Ive got an Elite Diretto and its been spot on for the past 2 years of reasonably heavy use.
Direct Drive is definitely the way to go if you can afford it

Edited by mie1972 on Monday 9th May 16:56

Edited by mie1972 on Monday 9th May 16:57

[Paul Drawmer]

Temporarily sorted for now. I've been sold a very cheap, but perfect working Tacx Vortex, which does the job.

I'll be using that until I can get a direct drive within budget.

The Cycleops I had been using was fine, but at 4 years old, I had already had to replace the Power Supply, and when it expired, it just suddenly lost resistance and communications. When I recycled the power, it shot sparks out!

Also, I note that the tyre/roller pressure was much higher on the Cycleops when set up as per instructions.

[Paul Drawmer]

AND....that didn't work. The very cheap Tacx Vortex is scrap. It has a common problem with the roller where a steel sleeve is over a plastic axle and it has become loose. The resultant vibration is an extremely loud buzzing noise. I could bodge it, but that would leave the power/speed calibration. Seems that after calibration the power output is within my expected range for my heart rate (sort of), but there's very little resistance and I'm running out of gears and going really fast!

So...thanks for the link; I've ordered the old Elite Direto from Wiggle. I use the turbo quite a lot, so I'll be doing a lot less tyre pressure checking.