There is a ton of great information on this thread! One of the many benefits of joining the team! I decided to go with an older "dumb" trainer we had in the garage (was really thinking about the Wahoo Kickr), set it up correctly (never really did in the past) and go with TrainerRoad (A no brainer now!). Once you have virtual power set up (undecided as to what PM I will go with in the Spring) and everything else dialed in, the loaded team WKO's are right there. No guessing, just executing! I really feel like a "knucklehead" for not doing this long ago!
If money was absolutely no object, one of the higher end trainers would be fun ... but it seemed unnecessary given a power meter.
I thought the same thing when I was looking into smart trainers last winter. I already have a Quarq, what possible benefit would say the Kickr offer. I bought the Kickr and have absolutely no regrets. The quality of my trainer wko's increased substantially.
My experience with a fluid or dumb trainer is that any change in cadence results in a fluctuation in resistance/watts. Not so with a smart trainer. When you set the trainer set to a specific wattage, you have to maintain that output to keep the cranks turning, regardless of your cadence.
The smart trainers also open up a whole other level of VR training nirvana: Zwift, Kimomaps, Trainer Road, etc.Even without those, which I do not use yet, it's still a great investment.
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I made the decision a while ago to have power on my bike.
Give that, I decided that Computrainer/Kickr/TacX were overkill.
So, I went with a 'dumb' trainer ... CyclOps Fluid Pro + Power Meter + TrainerRoad
If money was absolutely no object, one of the higher end trainers would be fun ... but it seemed unnecessary given a power meter.
I thought the same thing when I was looking into smart trainers last winter. I already have a Quarq, what possible benefit would say the Kickr offer. I bought the Kickr and have absolutely no regrets. The quality of my trainer wko's increased substantially.
My experience with a fluid or dumb trainer is that any change in cadence results in a fluctuation in resistance/watts. Not so with a smart trainer. When you set the trainer set to a specific wattage, you have to maintain that output to keep the cranks turning, regardless of your cadence.
The smart trainers also open up a whole other level of VR training nirvana: Zwift, Kimomaps, Trainer Road, etc.Even without those, which I do not use yet, it's still a great investment.