Smart trainer for winter

Kickr Core €599 delivered from various places, this will see you through a few winters.

+1 on the kickr core. i initially bought a refurbished one but it was loud so I sent them a video and they mailed me a brand new one.

Kickr Core or the Zwift Hub would be my choices if I was replacing at the moment.

Can anyone tell me why you would buy the zwift hub when you can just buy the unbranded version(JetBlack Volt) for 100euro less?

Zwift hub also comes with the cassette included if you want that version, also comes with a year free zwift subscription, so a saving there too if your planning on using it.

Only slight change with the zwift hub is the axle mounting point they’ve shaved it a bit so it won’t hit your calliper if you’ve disc brakes.

My Orbea Orca has to be spaced out by 1mm or else the calliper sits and rubs against the trainer

Firmware is different, free years zwift, and the zwift single cog set up/ virtual gearing if you wanted.

Only really matters if you're swapping bikes though really. Depends if you want to zwift as well - I use trainerroad, and erg mode, so at various times have used bikes only indexed to one sprocket!

If your bike is 11 speed then an 11 speed cassette will fit easily.

10 speed will require a spacer ( supplied) .

It makes sense to buy a separate cassette for the trainer. You can use the one on the bike but it's a palaver to change it over every time you want to use the trainer.

I have a stages SB20 smart bike I got it after previously having a Tacx Neo 2. Yes, it is a lot more pricier than a smart trainer and bike, however it has a much bigger flywheel (23kg) and in terms of footprint, it's actually a bit smaller than a bike and trainer although obviously you can't disassemble it and put it away like you can with a bike and trainer combo. However, it is easy to move around since it has wheels at the front so all you have to do is lift It from the front and then roll it to wherever you need it.

The biggest advantage for me however is it is always setup and ready to go plus there is no chain maintenance/cleaning to worry about.

One thing that is a pain in the ass however is it uses 2 stages power metres one on each crank so you have to remember to check the charge of the batteries and then change them every so often.

If a smart bike is within your budget, I would highly recommend giving it some consideration.