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smart trainers

Hi All,

Have most of you gone the route of a smart trainer ?

I've got my old kinetic and cycleops pro still kicking around.

I have not yet gone the route of a smart trainer due to cost, but will be doing so in the next month or so.

I'm intrigued to hear from the cyclingnews community.
 
I have the Kinetic Road Machine | Smart Control. It costs $570. I bought it just last year before the winter. I really have enjoyed it. IMHO it's worth it. It makes indoor riding so much more tolerable. You can of course use things like Zwift and Rouvy. I'm not super read up on all the different software available to use with smart trainers. I've just used the two I mentioned. Zwift is nice from the social angle. I find that the competitiveness helps me ride harder and helps with building good form.

I've only used Rouvy several times. I enjoyed the fact that you can ride actual climbs like Mt. Ventoux, Alpe d'huez ect. Rouvy has SO many things you can do. It simulates different climbs and actual routes from around the world. It has workout choices from other smart trainer software companies like training peaks. You can do your usual interval training....and man can it create some hard resistance! You can be in your easiest gears and the resistance on the trainer can give you a crazy hard time!
 
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masking_agent said:
Hi All,

Have most of you gone the route of a smart trainer ?

I've got my old kinetic and cycleops pro still kicking around.

I have not yet gone the route of a smart trainer due to cost, but will be doing so in the next month or so.

I'm intrigued to hear from the cyclingnews community.

I bought a CycleOps M2 and have hooked it to Zwift. It's got me doing better training than I have in years. The focus on power has kept me engaged while on the trainer in a way nothing else ever has, or even close.

The training plan probably isn't perfect, but it's a world better than the ad hoc crap I was doing before.
 
I've had a Tacx Vortex Smart for a while now, and it's been a good investment for the rainy summers here. The rear wheel can slip sometimes when the resistance changes but its been great with Sufferfest at half the price of a powermeter and Zwift can be a great way to get a long ride in when there's terrible weather.
 
I bought a Tacx Flux last year but sold it to a friend in the spring. It was good but I am limited to only about 1hour then I lose focus. Best for me is still my TruTrainer rollers with added resistance. They are the smoothest rollers, big drums, most natural feel. They are the best!
 
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King Boonen said:
I haven't but just about everyone else I know who rides a bike has. They are all getting fitter and stronger and all of them are more able to tolerate spending time on the trainer now, even some who absolutely hated it.
They aren't a patch on riding outside, but they do let you train with structure at a fraction of the price of a powermeter. My wife also uses ours with Rouvy to recon some climbs we are doing this July like the Tourmalet and Gavia, which is handy when the longest climb within 20kms is a little over 2kms long.

Smart trainers come into their own when the weather is horrendous and you have a target.
 
Used a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine for years ... with my Road bike and TT bike ... depending on what I was training for. Using a Tacx Bushido now ... along with Garmin Vector II pedals/PM ...works well for me. I know whatI have to do each workout and stick to my program. My laptop purched on a music stand ... usually showing Biathlon, X-Country skiing, Triathlon, marathon, track races ... great stuff that works for me.
 
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