Best Bike Trainers According to r/Zwift

"I found a few in the €3K price range, like KICKR Bike and Stages SB20. I can also find a few ranging a bit lower, around €1.5K-2K, like BikeErg and BH TFB. BikeErg only has manual resistance adjustment, so that's out for me. I don't know about the other model, but I'm not sure I'd want to risk it to save money. I think my friend bought a Zwift Ride, so maybe I'll wait to try his out and then decide on whether to buy one of the more expensive models. I really like the idea of an integrated smart bike."

"You should not get an “exercise bike” for Zwift. Find a cheap bike (despite your desire not to) and a good direct drive trainer like a Wahoo Core. Should be able to do for less than your budget."

"I used to get drops like this on the core. Put it down to interferences between core and pc. I used to get it on HR as well. Bought a 2m usb cable with ant dongle and I run it right next to the bike. Touch wood no drops since."

"I use kickr core with the Zwift cog, a garmin chest strap for heart rate, and connect through the companion app. Never had any connections dropped. All works perfect and is what I would recommend to any new rider who has a spare bike to put on the kickr core"

"I too made the same exact switch, and I'm loving the zwift Ride. I do still ride bikes outside, but this saves my outdoor bike from the sweat induced corrosion and eliminates all excuses when it's time to ride."

"It's doable, but the Zwift ride is pretty heavy, much heavier than a road bike. The core is also heavy, and has no handle. I imagine you'll get tired of this this pretty quickly. A normal bike, and trainer with a handle will make it a bit less annoying."

"Have you looked at the Zwift Ride bike? If you want adjustability, that's a tough one to beat. I have one and 3 of us in the house use it and it adjusts to everyone. IMHO, you really want a setup that works with Zwift (a smart trainer and either a real bike (not very adjustable) or a Zwift Ride or Wahoo bike). This way, you feel the changes in resistance as you encounter different terrain in the Zwift world. I doubt Zwift will connect with your watch but it might. You might have to use the Zwift Companion app to connect to your watch. Alternatively, a cheap $30 HRM (chest strap) will work great."

"Wahoo KickR Bike v2 if you want to spend all the money. cheap Road bike + Wahoo Kick Core to stay "cheap" and have a bike to ride outside.."

"It will be a lot cheaper than the kickr bike too. Like thousands cheaper. Just get a Kickr Core Zwift One ($600) and any basic bike (~$500)."

"49 THOUSAND MILES!? THAT IS AMAZING! You have to be one of the highest mileage kickr bikes out there."

"I’m going to assume this fall/winter. You already have a kickr V6 so you’ll have the virtual shifting ability, I have the v5 and it’s not compatible."

"It may be a pricy option but Wahoo Kickr v6 has been rock solid and the issues that have occurred were all software related to feature updates and have since been resolved. It's currently running rock solid."

"Probably a scam. That said, I got a brand new unused Kickr v6 for $900. Had to drive a couple of hours to pick up but totally worth it."

"ThinkRider X2 is the budget king. Power accuracy is within 1-2% of my Assioma pedals."

"For example I train 8+ hrs weekly in a trainer just like this [Thinkrider X2], which is 1/3 of the price of many trainers and works great."

"If you're doing a full Ironman, I would strongly suggest getting a trainer like a Kickr or Tacx. You're going to want to train on the bike you plan on racing with."

"A friend and I trained and completed Ironman Italy using the Tacx Flow Smart trainer. We added aero bars and it was a great training setup."

"For basic indoor training on a budget, the CycleTEK works fine. Don't expect Zwift integration though."

"Started with a cheap magnetic trainer like the CycleTEK before upgrading to a smart trainer. It got me through my first winter."

"After waffling a bunch I decided to upgrade my old Keiser to the new m3i studio - pretty excited to finally have my own output graphs. I'm hoping I'll have it set up by next Saturday's long ride with Matt... That would be quite a maiden voyage. Fingers crossed. Happy riding y'all!"

"Sorry Cultural, Been off the bike for a long time. Running and trading 1/2 marathons. Back on bike and same issue. Power meter dropped 4 times in 1 30 minute session. I am now using an HR10 HRM and a new iPhone15. Was kind of hoping the newest HRM and Phone would make it better. Alas, no joy in M3i Town."

"Hi! I have a Keiser M3i with a power and cadence sensor that I bought. I downloaded this from the connect app store to my Garmin Fenix 7 and I'm looking forward to checking it out on my next ride! Does it show up as a new data field that I would scroll through on my watch? And when it gives the resistance range, is that based on what my bike is saying and then I see if it matches what the instructor is calling out? Sorry if that's a stupid question but this seems like a super cool new piece of information when I ride!"

"I’d recommend a Saris M2 (found on eBay) and then a cheap road bike to mount on it (used bargains to be had or just get whichever Decathlon Triban is in your budget)."

"I use the Saris M2 trainer with my gravel bike. All I needed was the thru axle and a trainer tire and I was good to go. I am an avid mountain biker and I love the climbs. I train with my bike trainer when I want to simulate a climb and not have the need to load my bike and drive out to the trails. I sometimes do long flat or combine them with climbs. The saris M2 was a way cheaper option when I didn’t want to commit more cash to a sport I can physically do out there without one."

"You can also get those Saris M2’s for cheap nowadays. Add one of those with a cheap bike, and you have a budget setup"

"I'd say this is normal, I'm similar. I was definitely very similar when I used a Tacx Neo, the Neo is very strict in how it applies resistance, somehow made it harder for me. Note that the Neo is also super accurate. But the way the magnetic flywheel applies resistance, for me, made it 3-5% harder when on the limit. Not saying it's a bad think, Neo is a great great trainer, I still have one. It's common for people to maintain 2 FTPs, indoors v outdoors. My FTP used to be 270 outdoors, but 245-250 indoors on the Neo. Lots of reasons, cooling, lack of bike movement, etc, etc. I would get my FTP auto estimated from outdoor rides, but set it different for indoor sessions, there was no way I could do indoor workouts with my outdoor FTP setting."

"I have a Neo 2T paired over BT with my computer and don’t have any issues using the TR workouts within Zwift. Sharing a data point for you"

"Yep - this is absolutely the case. I have both a Neo 2 "Smart Bike" and a Bike+ that I use regularly (office/home respectively). I love the instruction from the Peloton, but I love the ability to do "real" rides in Zwift too. Very different experiences, and impossible to replicate Zwift on the Bike+ - but you can absolutely do rides, especially Power Zone Training stuff - via Peloton App + a bike trainer."

"I use the Vacmaster and had it pointed at my chest / face. Got sore throat within few rides. Now I have it pointed at my upper legs lower torso. Works great."

"I use this Vacmaster beast: https://a.co/d/ftpPI7J I put it on the ground at probably a 30-degree angle to the left, tilted upward, and it’s awesome. Sometimes I have to adjust it mid ride because I don’t always set it in exactly the right spot, but when it’s set up well it’s a godsend, especially on the highest speed."

"Can you post a photo of your setup showing the cardio54? Seems like a good option but can’t visualize it"

"van Rysel D500, decathlon is always decent for a fair price. Reviews seem to be good. If you don’t have a bike any cheap bike will do, even an old mtb. Otherwise get a cheap second hand bike to add to the trainer."

"Your bike is the one you feel comfortable on. So that makes sense. Just clean it from sweat and use towels. I wouldn't worry about it. About the trainer, the D100 is very basic. Just 600Watts max and incline around 6 or 7%. That's not worth it. I'd go for the D500 which seems expensive at first, but if you get the D100 you'll regret it after the first ride. Or some others. I have the first Zwift Hub and getting the cog/gear set now as shifting my mech derailleur is brutal inside and sounds as if I'm breaking everything 😭"

"It is the best thing you can do fitness wise, imo. Try and get the D500 if you can afford it, as it is a bit more capable. The wear is negligible, especially with a zwift cog."

"My solution is probably overkill but I have a Wahoo KICKR HEADWIND with a heartrate monitor that I strap to my arm. When my heartrate goes up, the fan goes faster, when it drops, the fan slows down. Now I'm not in a hot garage but it works great for me."

"Wattbike Atom is an option. Expensive, but highly adjustable and great for Zwift."

"I got a proper in person bike fit done for my Wattbike Atom a couple of years ago which made a big difference, and from the looks of the Zwift Ride frame has far more in common with a regular road bike frame so I can't see that being a problem. Should also be a lot easier to transport than a Wattbike."

"As a seasoned indoor cyclist, I’d be buying a wattbike atom or wahoo kickr bike Shift if money wasn’t an issue. As it stands I use a decent road bike with a smart trainer."