You can find a direct drive trainer for around 500 bucks if you look for sale prices, having had both styles i much prefer direct drive. you will want a cassette for it so make sure you take that into account for price. I’ve used the Tac/ garmin and wahoo models and they’re both great. I also wouldn’t shy away from a used one, they’ve never given me any problems whatsoever. i always prefer riding trails but I do love watching my tv shows and sports on a trainer if I don’t have time to get outside.

 

Thank you.
Time is what gas become the issue. I can't get to the gym as easy during the week to use the spin bike. I need something to do my zone and plan training during the week until I can get ro the trails in the weekend.
Did you like the garmin over the wahoo or vice versa?

Thanks again.

Sid

 

You may have already saw this one for $500; if not, the Zwift hub may be worth exploring.

Indoor Cycling & Running Virtual Training App - Zwift

Zwift is virtual training for running and cycling. Smash your goals and compete with others around the world. With structured workouts and social group rides.

us.zwift.com

 

While it’s not inexpensive, I love my Tacx Neo 2T.

Closest to actual bike feel I’ve ridden so far, easily moved, compact and easy to store, measures power and cadence, works with basically every single bike and axle standard (I think super-boost is the only exception), works with all cassettes.

 

Every trainer I see have road bikes hooked up. Will mtb bikes works as weell?

Thhank you guys for the replies.

 

Depends on the trainer.

You would have to look at the axle and spacing options available for each trainer and see if they match your mountain bike.

Also make sure they make a freehub that will take your cassette. Most come stock with HG freehubs, but you can usually buy an XD or Microspline one if needed.

 

Gotcha. What is erg mode? How do I detup a training and get it to drive my trainer?
Why is it called Turbo?

Thanks again

 

ERG Mode for Indoor Cycling: When to use it and when to turn it off - CTS (trainright.com)

to set up a training plan/program and get it to control the trainer, you need some kind of head unit to control it. depending on what you use, that could be a Garmin device, a smartphone or tablet, a laptop/pc, or so on. There are many programs you can use to set up a training program, so it just depends on what device you're using as your head unit and how you choose to run things.

 

A turbo is a very old term. Back 30 years ago they added a fan for resistance on a wheel on trainer and called them turbos.
MTB’s can be used but the wheel spacing is an issue. Best to ask a local bike shop.
The cheaper trainers can get hot and have issues over time.

 

The Zwift hub is a great choice at $500. I have my top fuel hooked up to it, took 5 minutes. I am also using the Zwift program right now but plan on trying some of the other free options since all I am using it for is erg workouts. Racing or just riding around in Watopia isn’t good on a 1x MTB, the chain ring is small and you spin out too easily.

 

I haven’t used it, but doesn’t Zwift have “trail” options for mountain bikes?

 

Thats exactly what I want. I want my mtb bike hooked up. Are you not using a 1X drive?

Sid

 

Maybe a "wheel on" is a better option for me. That way I dont have to worry about cassettes or running out of gear or free hub changes.

I need to find a good one that will give me most of what the direct drive units wi give me.

Im to search

 

wheel on trainers suck. They slip at high power even with a smooth tired road tire, they slip at low power if you’re using a knobby, they wear tires fast. And because your power needs to be determined through the friction of the tire you need to be picky about tire air pressure and caliberate power before every ride.

if you have the space the easiest approach is to set up a junker bike on a direct drive trainer. I use an old 26er mtb with seat and bars setup to fit well. Position is quite static so I found I needed a special saddle to be comfy. Keep your mtb for the trails.

I’m still using a refurbished Wahoo kickr and it’s been terrific. Erg mode is pretty great, computer sets the power and you ride at whatever cadence you like. For 3 years my bike had only 3 working gears and they were fine for erg mode (I stayed in the quietest one.)

 

The zwift hub is the best value by a mile and just inside your budget. Wheel off trainers feel way better and are more accurate. Wheel off trainers are easier to swap bikes.

This is a cycling purchase so your budget needs to ballon [emoji1782]. I would also recommend an Apple TV and put your trainer near a tv that you can use. It will hook up to your trainer and run multiple different training programs easily. It keeps it simple and simple is repeatable. I also recommend a good fan. You can get a squirrel cage fan on amazon for around 70$. Add in a 15$ remote switch for the outlet so you can turn on the fan after you warm up.

If you have an old road bike I would just leave that on the trainer. The gear range will be better. You also don’t have to clean a dirty bike after a trail ride to use on the trainer.


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The zwift hub is the best value by a mile and just inside your budget. Wheel off trainers feel way better and are more accurate. Wheel off trainers are easier to swap bikes.

This is a cycling purchase so your budget needs to ballon [emoji1782]. I would also recommend an Apple TV and put your trainer near a tv that you can use. It will hook up to your trainer and run multiple different training programs easily. It keeps it simple and simple is repeatable. I also recommend a good fan. You can get a squirrel cage fan on amazon for around 70$. Add in a 15$ remote switch for the outlet so you can turn on the fan after you warm up.

If you have an old road bike I would just leave that on the trainer. The gear range will be better. You also don’t have to clean a dirty bike after a trail ride to use on the trainer.


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Thanks a ton. Good point with the cleaning of the bike and all that. I just need to see if my older road bike will fit on the HUB. I'll call ZWIFT in the morning to see what they say. I'd really just rather keep the road bike on it and get a new seat. Its basically what I did all last year training at the Y on one of their spin bikes.

Is an APPLE TV needed or can it just be any smart TV?

Thanks so much.

 

Thanks man

 

I bought the Zwift hub with the intent to use my old hardtail and its just become a money pit (the entire project, not the hub).

My bike was 1x12 but the hub came with 11sp cassette (no 12sp was available at the moment). So i had to shell out money for a Sunrace 12sp HG cassette.

Then i realized that 1x setups SUCK BALLS for riding around Watopia courses. You spin out constantly! Its fine though for ERG mode workouts since the trainer adapts power to your cadence and you can run in virtually any gear all the same.

Now i'm on a mission to figure out a 2x setup for a MTB but it isn't cheap. A Sram Rival 12sp cassette, JetBlack Volt XDR freehub body, Sram Rival eTap rear derailleur, chain and Eagle AXS shifter are on order. The Rival cassette has a great range with a 10t cog but you need the XDR driver. Since its 12sp road, you have to bite the bullet and get the sram 12sp etap mech and flat top chain to fit the revised tooth profiles and larger chain rollers. AFAIK, there are no mechanical 12sp road mech's, at least not from sram that fit the road stuff.

For the front i'm going to use a cheap 3x crank with just the 2 larger chainrings (32/42t), a mechanical shimano 3x front derailleur with the limit screws locking out the small ring and a mechanical shifter.

Pretty confident the rear end will run nice but not sure about the front with such a mix of components.

 

Damn dude, and I thought I had concerns. Me not being able to deal on Marletplace without an account pales to your woes.
Im just looking for a cheap road bike to use. Last thing I want to do is buy a costly bike just to train on.

I feel for you man.

 

Eri, always insightful, thank you. Thanks for the heads up on the Wahoo. I haven't heard that take before.
To be honest Eri, I didn't do half bad last year just training on the spin bike at the Y coupled with my weekend rides. Its just this new position is eating up my lunchtime freetime and am getting out of work later. So its tiugh to get to the Y as often as I need.

I might just need to get my schedule dialed and tweaked. If I do anything, I need to get my road bike squeezed onto a hub that will accept 6 cogs. I can get the trainer past the wife, but another bike and even a cheap one will be tough.
A used Wahoo will be the only way. Do you have any hustory eith an older version and its successes? It'll only be erg mode for me. I'm thinking I might find an older unit someone is upgrading away from.

Thanks again sir.

Sid

 

First figure out the bike. It’s a six speed road bike so could be freewheel rear hub, or freehub and cassette. If cassette you can simply use it on any shimano hg trainer by adding extra aluminum spacers, cheap and easy. If bike has freehub you’ll need to buy a 6 speed cassette and go the spacer route.

Next is frame rear spacing. Your old bike might be 127 or 130 qr rear? If so you can get it onto trainer, 3mm isn’t much.

At that point you have a six speed bike on your trainer. Trainers can see a ton of miles. At some point a few years away you’ll need a new chain, take opportunity to upgrade to 8 speed, your bikes friction shifters will work great.

Wahoo reliable, I think so. My original v1 kickr is doing great, belt is starting to make noise. It lives outdoors on covered porch 24/7. I recommend their ‘core’ model because it’s cheaper. Get on their list they’ll email when they have refurbs available. The core is on sale rn for $700, refurb high end model is $800.

if you’ve been suffering at the y you’ve probably proven your willingness to use it but still great to not overspend. Tons of great free training plans and virtual rides, avoid subscriptions that’s the money pit.

A few times I’ve seen good kickr used for great price, usually in the fall when fancy people upgrade. Id buy one if price was right and I could demo it first.

 

Love my Wahoo Kickr Core, personally it has to be direct drive and smart.
ERG move is especially useful for a MTB as it says the resistance for you we don't have enough gears otherwise.

I use Whoosh, it's like Zwift but completely free.

 

tThanks rob

 

Bought an Elite Suito from a friend a year ago and it's been great. Reviews were mixed on forums, probably because only the ones who had issues are posting about it, but it's been flawless.

Saw quite a few deals throughout this winter and it looks like quite a few places have it discounted.

 

So I did a wheel on for years on a cheap dumb trainer and I threw a cadence counter and a wheel speed sensor on it. It was ok, but you could really never put the power down in a sprint as the tire would slip on the roller and I was constantly having to air the tires up. I ran zwift on it just fine and had what i considered to be pretty good data. My wife picked up a smart trainer for me last year. I never would have bought one and was just looking for a smart wheel off trainer to fit my old road bike. So now I have this Stages SB20 and I pretty much exclusively run zwift. While it is awesome and has 3 power meters (one controls the bike functions) My power numbers were pretty close on the old road bike and cheap wheel trainer with a couple of sensors. I think I was in the original setup for less than $300 and it was acceptable and I got some darn good workouts out of it.

 

Good to know guys. I really appreciate the feedback.

Thank you

 

The zwift hub is a rebranded blackburn trainer. It has solid reviews but hasn’t been sold in the states before zwift started selling them. I would take one over the wahoo for use with Apple TV. The hub/blackburn actually funnels all of your metric signals into one Bluetooth channel. So your heart rate, cadence, power, and controllable is one connection. That’s neat because Apple TV only supports 2 channels.

You can zwift, Rouvy, ful gaz, and whatever app other ways but you won’t beat the Apple TV. It’s reliable and convenient.

I have put a 6 speed cassette on my wahoo kickr. Anything is possible all be it less than ideal. I would just get the trainer and worry about a bike later.

If you are throwing your budget completely out the window the stages sb20 bike was on sale for 1300$ with a year of zwift included. That’s a top end setup and way cheaper than it’s ever been. I tried to sell some extra bikes to grab one but nothing left.


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The zwift hub is a rebranded blackburn trainer.

Incorrect. Its actually a rebranded Jetblack Volt.

 

Thanks for the input Mcfarton

 

If using a mtb on a trainer, lock out all suspension. This will avoid having your rear axle dropouts chewed by the trainer when your bike bobs up and down and the frame rotates slightly around the rear axle.

 

I have never used an indoor trainer or zwift before, so excuse the noob question. When people say the 1x isnt very good, is it because ERG mode is only available in certain workouts? Can you not use ERG mode for everything in zwift? Or do you just miss out on the sensation of shifting?

 

Erg is usually reserved for structured workouts. The other 2/3 of zwift is group rides/races. You can turn up the trainer difficulty and use 1x but you will have large jumps in your shifts. It’s vanilla vs chocolate.


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