![]() It takes the hassle out of indoor cycling training and makes good use of the road bike you've already got. You have to love the Wahoo Kickr Snap Bike Trainer. Provides less metric than some smart trainers Of course, you don’t get the power accuracy or realistic ride quality of a more expensive smart trainer, nor the ability to handle Cavendish-like sprints, but the Tacx Vortex Smart offers a significantly cheaper route into the latest virtual training software. One benefit of a traditional setup like this is that it’s nice and compact when folded down and takes little time to drop your bike into place (although, unlike a direct-drive trainer, the wheel-on design may wear down your rear tyre). That said, there’s a much tighter limit as to what the 1.6kg flywheel (with an effective resistance of 11.8kg) can handle, with a maximum power output of 950 watts and a maximum incline of seven per cent. It might be a budget option but the Vortex Smart is still capable of automatically controlling resistance, so as the gradient steepens in Zwift or you hit the next interval in the Tacx app, the trainer will ramp up the effort required to keep the pedals turning. At first glance, it looks like a typical wheel-on turbo, but plug the Vortex into the mains and you’ve got a fully-fledged smart trainer, ready to be hooked up to just about any software you like. ![]() Want the smart trainer experience at a wallet-friendly price? The Tacx Vortex Smart is, well, a smart option. If you want the very best money can buy, the Tacx Neo 2 is our recommended smart trainer, but if you’ve got a more realistic budget - and still want most of the top-end performance - the Wahoo Kickr Core is our go-to option. The Kickr Core is compatible with Wahoo’s Kickr Climb gradient simulator - attach your bike’s fork to the Climb, and it will rise and fall with the changing gradient when using software like Zwift. That’s helped by the 18kg flywheel, capable of replicating 1,800 watts and a gradient of up to 16 per cent, although naturally, those figures aren’t as impressive as the flagship Kickr (21kg, 2,200 watts and 20 per cent, respectively). ![]() The Kickr Core is a direct-drive unit, so you get the realistic ride quality you’d expect from a smart trainer like this. The Kickr Core, unlike the high-end Kickr and cheap Kickr Snap, is aimed at the crucial midmarket slot. Wahoo’s flagship Kickr is virtually neck-and-neck with the Tacx Neo 2 as a pro-level smart trainer - it’s used by Team Sky, after all - so why has the mid-range Kickr Core wrestled the number two spot from its more expensive sibling in the Wahoo range? One word: price. For the same price as the Wahoo KICKR V4, the new KICKR is an excellent buy and is highly recommended for serious cyclists. Indoor cycling is getting more and more realistic, and the AXIS feet are a step in the right direction (pun intended). The AXIS feet are a great new feature that will most likely please a lot of cyclists. ![]() Not only will you save time, but you also wouldn't have to worry about the data collected not being precise. The fact that you don't need to perform a spin down, yet the trainer can maintain a +/-1% accuracy is just astounding. This version of the KICKR was the most convenient turbo trainer from Wahoo to date when it was released. Wahoo only improved a few features and left others untouched: it might not make the new Wahoo KICKR appealing to people who own a V4, and, if anything, they might get annoyed that people who'll buy the V5 will get more for the same money they paid for their V4, but at the same time, they have probably been using their V4s for a number of years so really, everyone's a winner here, right? We also have an indoor cycling guide, another article about the best Zwift setup for every budget and finally, the one where a cycling expert answers the 12 most Googled turbo trainer questions. To clarify, you will need a bike and a turbo trainer, and if you haven't got one, we strongly encourage you to look at T3's best road bike and best triathlon bike guides to get started. Indeed, many riders now use turbo trainers all year round because they are such practical training tools. Obviously, it also means you're entirely safe from traffic, bad weather, potholes and pedestrians. ![]()
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