Talk me out of a Direct Drive trainer?
 

So. I have a TACX Vortex Smart. Works well, noisy, but works well. Won’t do huge hills or resistance, but I’m not putting out 5W/kg either ...

now the KICKR Core is on sale. I’m tempted. I can’t see it’ll make a lot of difference. Talk me out of it!

FWIW ... the cycleops trainers are all on sale now too ...

That said, unless you were upgrading from dumb to smart, or replacing a dead wheel on trainer for a new one, I wouldn't bother with a Direct Drive.

Cool and all ... eliminates the need for a spare wheel (not really a need, but handy), but if what you have works, I wouldn't bother with an upgrade just yet. Not to mention, Wahoo seems to be having some serious quality issues with some of their 2018 trainers ... might be best to wait and let that get sorted

Is it the core or the regular kickr they're struggling with? Or both?

And yes, direct drive is cool. Get one.

We're going to revisit this conversation when you get a bloody FLAT inside your own house. Mark my words.

Like last night?

Though that was me being dumb 2 months ago...

I'm using a Kickr SNAP, never had a flat or even came close. Noise not an issue, it is in the basement.

If you really want to talk yourself out of it, think of how much you could upgrade your road bike with $800, less a few bucks to hand out ear plugs to those who the noise is bothering...

I'm using that strategy to talk myself out of buying the Stac Halcyon wheel-on trainer that used magnets and wheel weights, no contact to the tires. The bike I use on the trainer is my 1995 Trek 520, which I still ride outdoors sometimes, and during the summer I occasionally want to get on Zwift on a rainy day. The Stac Zero would eliminate all the tire or wheel changing, as would a direct drive (at a cost of more $$) - but I really just want to see how that technology works.

eh ... with a spare wheel it's less of a problem. Heck ... when I broke a spoke I just swapped out the regular outdoor wheel for my trainer wheel while it was being fixed ... nice thing was, the bike shop isn't as busy so the repair was done in the same day I dropped it off.

Why do you use a different wheel on a trainer, I have heard of trainer tires.

Basically so in early spring, or late fall, when there are indoor days as well as outdoor days, you can swap out the outdoor wheel for the indoor one.

I use a trainer tire, so if I had the trainer tire on my outdoor wheel, in order to ride outdoors, I'd have to swap the tire.

Instead I can just swap the indoor wheel for the outdoor wheel and be outside in minutes.

Ok, I see the reasoning. I have quite a few bikes and have my hybrid setup with knobbies and chester platform pedals for snow days (if I feel like trying to ride outdoors). I just thought that maybe you were using a different wheel on the trainer because the trainer could cause problems for the regular wheels.

Mind you, it doesn't take THAT long to swap a tyre either. I'm not 100% convinced it's quicker to swap the wheel and adjust the indexing, but I'm still going with this approach as well. Especially as in NM, there's riding all year round outside. I've take the motorbikes out on a Saturday, driven an hour and skied on a Sunday before.

True ... however, if you're fighting with Contis I would argue that even reindexing takes less time :D

I guess that's a solid reason to change tyre brands?

Even better is a trainer bike.

On a direct drive trainer, just saying. Did you get one yet?

I have a trainer bike. With spare wheels. So it can be a grocery getter if I getter some ambition...

Worth noting too, that using your road tyres on a trainer will mean that any little bits of road debris will work their way deeper into the tyre and potentially cause a flat. That's what happened to me. I think the extra concentrated pressure of the small roller against the tyre causes the problem.

Nowadays I have a Kickr after upgrading from a Kurt Road Machine and I definitely won't talk you out of a direct drive smart. BUT my primary concern is high torque track sprint training. I had to wrap grip tape around the Kurt roller to stop slippage. If you aren't really that powerful then I honestly don't see s need to upgrade from what you have.