If you are new to the whole idea of interactive indoor cycling, choosing a home trainer that provides dependable performance and a realistic ride feel for your workout sessions can seem a little overwhelming at first, with literally every manufacturer offering a range of different bike trainers and other connected indoor cycling gear.
Today, there are a wealth of eye-catching options of home bike trainers available online at a myriad of price points and feature sets, and sometimes it can all get a bit overwhelming if you are not sure what you need. This is why when it comes to selecting an indoor bike home trainer for your regimen, it is important to take some time and do a bit of research before you settle on a specific model!
I hope that with the help of this buyer’s guide, you will be able to understand the main differences between each trainer type first, and then sift through the hundreds of options to find the one whose features best align with your unique style, specific needs, and budget.
Let’s begin. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the key things that can help you decide which type of home trainer will work best for your individual needs. By following them you can accurately select the perfect one for your particular purposes and/or planned use.
First, when investing in a bike trainer, you will need to choose between one of four main categories: Rear wheel-on home trainers, wheel-off (or direct-drive) smart trainers, rollers, or even the best complete indoor bicycle systems. This is the newest – and most expensive – category of trainers. All four trainer categories have distinct differences that set them apart. And each type of trainer differs in terms of features, price, road feel, noise, size, weight, footprint, connectivity, and compatibility depending on the user’s needs and budget.
What Type of Home Trainer is Superior for a Beginner?
A few questions you should ask yourself that should guide your decision when deciding on which type of home trainer you want. You will want to make sure you get the best budget bike trainer for beginners that you can find or the best trainer for an experienced rider that offers the latest in smart-trainer technology.
1.) Do you want to buy a new bike trainer or would you rather get a used one?
2.) Will you be the only person using it, or will you be sharing it?
3.) What is your level of ability/experience as a cyclist – novice, more experienced, advanced, or expert?
4.) How much time can you dedicate to home cycling?
5.) Will you be subjecting it to vigorous training use, or going easy on it?
You should also consider your needs:
6.) Will you be using your home trainer a lot or only occasionally?
If this will be your first foray into the indoor/online world of cycling, and you are going to be using your trainer only occasionally (once a week or only when the weather is bad), you will likely need an entry-level wheel-on home trainer first. But, if you are planning to get very serious about this sport and are going to spend hours a week on the trainer it is worthwhile to invest in some of the most up-to-date options if you can afford it because you know you are going to be toiling away and you do not want to make it harder for yourself. A proper home trainer can make your trainer session 10x more bearable.
Your answers will determine what kind of trainer you will need, and so the price you will pay.
There are a lot of criteria to look for when selecting a decent trainer, but for me, five of the most important ones are:
1.) The first and foremost criterion worth weighing up is the type of trainer.
2.) Compatibility: If you are going to be riding on a wheel-on home trainer, you will have to make sure it is compatible with the size of your bike’s rear wheel and axle. In case you get a direct-drive smart trainer (no wheel), be also sure that it will be compatible with your bike frame. Most trainer manufacturers have printouts on their support sites where you can double-check frame/wheel compatibility on your bike.
3.) Noise: When it comes to indoor home trainers, the most frequently asked question is: how quiet is it? Nearly all trainers make some kind of noise, especially when the bike is being ridden at higher speeds despite claims of being silent. The amount of noise that the trainer is expected to produce should be the biggest determinant of the majority of users’ impression of the trainer, so needless to say you should look for a trainer with low noise production and vibration. Most trainers list their decibel level at a given speed or cadence, so you can get an idea of the quieter models.
4.) Ride Feel (note ride, not road): Another important selection criterion is whether the trainer you are interested in offers a more natural/realistic “road” ride-like experience while riding it indoors. Typically when I talk about the ‘road-like feel’ of a trainer, I am primarily talking about the ability of the trainer to accelerate and decelerate on an infinite resistance curve to mimic the outdoor experience. That is typically accomplished through the use of a flywheel (either physical or simulated/virtual). In general, the bigger and heavier the flywheel is, the more realistic the ride feel.
5.) Another significant criterion to look for when selecting the perfect trainer is the trainer’s power accuracy and consistency. Different trainers have different levels of fluctuation depending on how they measure power, such as if it is via a built-in optical torque sensor (OTS) that measures power directly or is just estimated from an algorithm.
6.) Max resistance: The trainer’s ability to simulate gradient on a virtual ride is another key parameter in selecting a bike trainer. The slope/gradient represents the degree of inclination or steepness a device is capable of providing to you. Some mid-range bike trainers are capable of simulating climbs up to about 8% gradient, while higher-end models go up to 25%. The higher the gradient percentage that a home trainer can simulate the better the trainer.
Basic rear wheel-mounted trainer vs. direct-drive bicycle trainer — which should be right for me?
To answer this question, you have to ask yourself another important question – what are my training goals as a cyclist, and how am I planning to use the trainer? If you do not have any specific goals in mind, then perhaps you need to ask yourself what your preferences are when you are looking for a home trainer.
Indoor trainers can be used for different purposes (warming up before a race, preparing for various kinds of cycling events, fitness, aerobic exercise, or even weight loss), and depending on your interests and your level of fitness and/or experience, you can choose the type of bike trainer that might be best for what you are looking to accomplish.
Many beginner cyclists are told to start low with just a speed sensor (or power meter) and a conventional wheel-on trainer and to get a direct drive trainer (wheel-off) once they get some experience. If you are a very occasional cyclist and do not consider yourself an avid cyclist, a basic home trainer will probably keep your attention.
The idea is that as a beginner cyclist you might not need all the bells and whistles of more expensive models. At the same time, there is probably also no reason you need to spend that much money for a very functional electronically controlled trainer that has more capability than you may need—at least not in the beginning.
If money is not an issue and if you are a very ambitious rider and willing to put in the time and effort, then I think it is worthwhile going for a solid direct drive unit because the difference between riding Zwift on a classic trainer and riding it on a top of the line smart trainer is massive – like night and day!
In addition, it is worth bearing in mind that, even though a smart trainer could greatly enhance your riding experience indoors, indoor training is not every cyclist’s favorite cup of tea.
Cycling indoors rather than outdoors, particularly on a bike trainer, and pedaling in place in a room/basement, with limited air circulation, greater sweating, and for hours at a time takes a degree of self-discipline, self-motivation, and a positive outlook. It is not something that every cyclist will be comfortable with.
Are you intrinsically motivated to bring your outdoor rides indoors?
This may sound like a silly question, but the truth is that for the vast majority of beginner cyclists riding indoors can be quite monotonous and stressful. It is both a physical and mental challenge for which they are not quite ready.
The bike trainer that you eventually select would depend on your personal choice and the money you are willing to spend. For instance, the potential disadvantage that you should bear in mind when choosing between a wheel-on home trainer, and a wheel-off direct-drive one is the fact that the first one is understandably a bit noisier in its operation, especially during acceleration at high speed. To those who live in upstairs flats/apartments (or anywhere else that the floor is a neighbor else’s ceiling), the use of a wheel-on trainer can make it more challenging.
That is since the rear wheel of your bike makes contact against the resistance unit roller, and the friction between these two parts generates noise and vibrations – which means it could probably be prohibitively loud and irritating for your downstairs neighbors
Fortunately, there are several benefits of using a non-direct drive trainer for your indoor training. When you are choosing between the two types of home trainers, the first big difference you would usually notice at first is the price. Part of the attraction of the wheel-on ones is that they are typically more affordable, and much more lightweight than direct-drive models, which makes them quite easy to fold up, move around and store away once you have finished your workout. This is a great asset if you are short of money or short on indoor workout space at home and constantly need to move your trainer between sessions!
Compared to a top-of-the-line electronic trainer, a wheel-on home trainer is a much more suitable option as it does not require a connection to an electrical power circuit. And this is something that is worth considering when intending to use it as a tool for outdoor races for warm-ups and cool-downs.
Another big benefit that you can get from using a wheel-on type of trainer is that it does not require you to take the rear wheel and cassette off of it to transfer it to the trainer and mount the bike in place, so the setup is a breeze. The ease of setting up the wheel-on trainers means that you do not have to put in any extra effort before each training session (in case you simultaneously ride outdoors).
Nonetheless, you should be aware that there are unfortunately a few downsides if you decide to purchase a rear wheel home trainer that can make it a little less than ideal as a full-time indoor training solution. Depending on the trainer model and its use, when you are training on such a type of trainer, it will cause unnatural heat up due to the constant friction between the roller and the tire, and that translates to prematurely wearing your rear tires out versus riding on the road/asphalt.
Of course, there is a solution: always use a special (“smooth-tread trainer-tire”) tire instead of a regular road bike tire on your trainer setup. The rubber compound of the trainer tire is harder than a standard road tire and therefore stand-up to the high pressure and the heat created by wheel-on-bike trainers while training. There is another major bonus – by training with a tire made up of a robust compound, you will minimize the slippage between the tire and the roller, as well as the smooth surface of a trainer tire will reduce the sound produced between the tire and unit roller.
On the other hand, direct-drive home trainers by design eliminate the tire slippage or tire wear as an issue, but then you either require a second cassette installed on the trainer or swap the one off your bike with each use.
Aside from tire wear, the greatest downside of using a wheel-on home trainer is that most of the modern bike frames are not designed to withstand the stresses and forces applied on the bike’s dropouts that one can generate in a sprinting technique (riding out of the saddle) with the rear axle locked in place.
If you ride sitting on the saddle a lot, you do not need to worry about the stability of the trainer. However, if you want to ride intense sprints, particularly out of the saddle and you have a concern about bike frame stress, consider using a trainer that allows the bike to tilt a bit from side to side as you pedal. The Kinetic Rock and Roll is an example of such a type of wheel-on bicycle trainer.
Let’s see what you can expect from a direct-drive home trainer.
There are several very noticeable differences between a higher-end direct drive trainer and a lower-end trainer. Making the wrong choice between a wheel-off trainer or a conventional resistance trainer would negatively impact your indoor cycling experience.
The major difference in the realm of training is that the most popular higher-end wheel-off type trainers can provide a very high balanced level of resistance (i.e. 2,000 watts), and can simulate a climbing grade of up to 20%, while the lower-end trainers are incapable of providing it. Those are impressive numbers – more than enough for the vast majority of riders, even the most optimistic.
The amount of resistance that can be generated by most rear-wheel drive designs on the market usually does not break past 900 Watts! Frankly, I think the large majority of average riders might probably never max out a trainer with a 1400-watt upper limit.
The second difference that makes a direct-drive, interactive trainer superior to its traditional resistance trainer contender (for example, Saris CycleOps Fluid 2) is its ability to run in Ergometer mode, or ERG power mode as it is more commonly known. In this mode, no matter what gearing you use – no matter what speed or cadence you ride at, if your target is 200W (or whatever you set it to) and you go above this, the trainer will reduce the resistance to stop you from going any higher. If your wattage drops below the target the resistance unit will increase the resistance to encourage you to put more force through the pedals and get back up to the target.
On top of all of that, the new high-end direct-drive trainers typically feature the most reliable and accurate power measurement possible – usually, they can measure the power output within a narrow range between 0.5 and 3% accuracy.
In contrast to direct drive trainers, the high-class wheel-on home trainers can achieve a power accuracy of +/- 5% at best, and sometimes that +/- 5% claim is a bit iffy.
This is because things like tire pressure, tire type, tire wear, trainer roller tension, and numerous other factors all influence the accuracy of the power measurement. With a trainer that has a tire-to-roller interface, the heart of power accuracy throughout your ride lay in calibration.
That is where the big difference in performance and price between the two types of trainers comes from. Another price differentiator comes from replicating the “realism” feeling of riding on the road. This is so because the direct-drive trainer features a larger and heavier flywheel that closely replicates the feeling of inertia that you get while riding your bike in the real world.
Unfortunately, though, no matter how perfect the new technologies are, this type of trainer also has its limitations. One of its biggest limitations is that its heavy-weighted flywheel makes it quite awkward to carry or move around. The weight is not an issue if you are planning on setting the trainer up in a dedicated spot. However, if portability is a top consideration be sure to check the weight first.
Unlike wheel-on models, direct-drive ones have less potential for ease of use because the initial setup of the trainer is a bit of a faff. They are not designed to be driven by the rear bicycle wheel; instead, the bike has to be mounted to the trainer via its rear drop-outs with a compatible cassette (rear cogs) installed directly into the main unit.
Most direct-drive smart trainers, however, do not come with a cassette so require you to either purchase a cassette (costly and unrecommended), or swap it between your bike and trainer as required. Taking a bike on/off the trainer means both a little bit of work before each training session, and also to get often some chain grease on your fingers or your living room!
Despite this drawback, however, this kind of trainer set-up (without a rear wheel) has the benefit of both better power accuracy and making your indoor training sessions much more silent.
What do I need for the very basic pain-cave (indoor training area) setup?
Now that you have got an understanding of what the different types of the trainer are, and settle on which type of home trainer will work best for you, it is time to think carefully about all the “add-on” components and accessories that would complement your trainer and would further enhance your indoor riding experience!
Much in the same way as the selection of a particular bike trainer can affect the quality of your indoor rides, the selection of proper accessories can also affect the performance of your trainer and even your indoor experience when used with some of the many 3rd party indoor biking apps.
I believe that the choice of a “virtual cycling” platform is another game-changing piece of the puzzle that you should consider. Believe it or not, riding on a virtual platform has the power to boost your motivation for training, and can be a key component in helping you provide an immersive experience to get the maximum benefit of your indoor rides!
Although there are a wealth of different virtual cycling softwares available out there, Zwift is arguably the most fully featured, and almost certainly the most popular by far of the bunch.
By pairing a trainer up with whatever virtual software platform you choose to go with you will allow the software to control the resistance of the unit automatically while you are riding in-game, according to the virtual road and mountain inclines and declines in the platform!
And when you combine your trainer with some of the best virtual riding platforms, you will certainly get a truly lifelike, immersive riding experience indoors. This undoubtedly will make your pain cave sessions a bit more bearable. But you should also know that to be able to take full advantage of a particular application’s capabilities, you will need to take out a monthly subscription.
The next most important aspect of your indoor training setup is the monitor (TV). It can be the key to creating a compelling immersive experience to get the maximum benefit of your indoor session with visuals.
To experience ultimate picture quality and performance you will need a higher-performance computer or device to run any virtual programs and apps on your TV. The computer/laptop itself does not matter much, but the processor speed, capability of the graphics card, memory, and a stable internet connection are the components that will enhance the visual and overall quality of the picture shown on your screen.
The fan is the final piece of equipment without which it would be insane to ride. Why? Because being indoors, spending countless hours on an indoor trainer with limited air circulation, greater sweating and a “fixed” surrounding environment make it feel very different from riding outdoors.
Riding outside provides the benefit (usually) of a nice, steady flow of cooling air. The absence of a steady stream of cooling air, normally present when you cycle outside, makes your indoor cycling workout quite unpleasant, less motivating, and probably not very healthy because it will inevitably lead to overheating of your body.
So to cool yourself just as well indoors as outdoors you will need to install a higher-powered fan or multiple fans head-ons, side, and rear to replicate the constant circulation of air that is occurring when you ride on the road. Core body temperature control is essential not only to a safe workout but an effective one as well.
And, finally, we cannot forget a floor mat to dampen the noise. While cheap might seem the way to go, investing in a decent floor mat is always a great way to limit issues in the long run. The ‘noise-canceling’ formula will have a great effect on your overall indoor experience; this will ensure fewer complaints from your partner/family/roommates. Reducing trainer noise and the vibration is important, and your family and neighbors will certainly thank you for it.
Speaking of mat…I recommend foam interlocking tiles or a dedicated trainer protective mat. A training mat itself not only will further protect the floor below you, but it will also hold your bike and trainer in place, as well as serve to dampen some of the sound and vibrations coming from your bike trainer’s drivetrain that could worry your neighbors.
So, these are all the essentials to get started cycling indoors on a budget – or not. There is almost certainly a myriad of other small but significant things (like a towel, water bottle, shoes, power meter, HR monitor, peripherals, speaker or headphones, etc.) that could be added to that list, but those described above are crucial.
I hope this buyer’s guide has provided some valuable information.
An indoor-home trainer can become an invaluable training aid throughout the season, especially for those riders who are complaining about the weather and the shorter window of time for cycling.