I have a Kickr Core purchased in Sept 2019 and have had zero issues with it. I use it with a Garmin 935, with an iPad as the connection device to Trainer Road and all works fine. I also purchased the Wahoo cadence sensor that clips to a cycling shoe, since it transmits using Bluetooth and that gets my cadence and power data showing in TR on the iPad. Overall, I’m very pleased with this set up and definitely recommend the Kickr Core.
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I bought a Kickr in 2018 and have had zero issues and lots of use out of it. I suspect that as far as TrainerRoad is concerned, they’re all good, so maybe go for the one you can get a deal or, or is local, or whatever. I doubt your final FTP or anything will be nuch affected by whether you trained on a Kickr, a Tacx or NEO.
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I have spent about 160hrs on my Elite Suito since October without any issues so far. I can’t say I look for being able to simulate a 20% Zwift climb, and I’m no power monster (246W FTP), but I put on a few hours each week and have had no issues to date. My partner also has a Suito and has put on probably 70-80 hours since Christmas on it, again with no issues. For the price, and considering it comes with a cassette, I would say it is hard to beat.
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Iamholland thank you for such a detailed response. I do appreciate it. If you don´t mind one more quick question. With your H3 when riding zwift in sim mode or group rides/races, did you find the watts accurate? I have been suspicious that mine reads low judging by how much I struggle in group events.
Momola
Considering the wide range of “bad” trainers and virtual power devices, not to mention bad calibration or deliberate cheating, using group placement in Zwift to question your trainer data is a bad idea. There are way too many questionable riders and results to consider that a power check.
You really need another power meter to compare against.
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Thanks for the info 
My Kickr Core is starting to act up and not maintain power. This is the third Core I’ve had with similar issues, and that’s after two Snap’s with their own problems. Wahoo customer service has been great through all of my previous problems, and I suspect they’ll be helpful again. I’m going to try some basic maintenance such as cleaning the optical sensor (any tips on this would be appreciated). However, if it goes like the previous ones I’ll be in the market for a new trainer. After five previous Wahoo units I’m not sure I can keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome.
Therefore, what do you recommend between an H3 and 2T, and why? Thanks!!
I’m doing TR almost exclusively right now, so ERG performance is definitely top priority. 2T at 20% off is within the price range, so is the H3. Bike has a quick release skewer and I think I use the 130mm spacer for the Core.
I have the Neo 1 and the S3.
Neo 1 slippage is only an issue while standing. No issues hitting 800+ watts seated at high cadence (100-135). 2T should be better while standing and as good everywhere else.
My preference is toward the Neo. My wife doesn’t care and is perfectly happy with the S3.
That sucks. Feeling lucky I picked up the 2017 Kickr direct-drive a year before the redesigned Core and silent Kickr were introduced. No wide spread complaints about the 2017and it works great.
I do both Zwift and TR with a Kinetic R1 that I bought in January for just under $700 shipped. Zwift didn’t work for squat until I got the Kinetic long range Ant+ dongle. TR worked just fine right out of the box. TR does a really good job of managing ERG, but for Zwift I just need to put it into resistance mode and deal with shifting as if I were on the road.
Good luck finding one that isn’t marked up significantly over retail.
Given that I have a CompuTrainer, I thought I would way in on this. For anyone considering a CompuTrainer, I bought one used from a studio for $300 and have had a good experience.
CompuTrainer is sturdy/robust. You have to use TR Legacy because the current version of TR deprecated support for CompuTrainer. That solution works very well. I did that for a few weeks. I just added Perf Pro CT Smart app to the mix. This allowed me to upgrade to the current version of TR while using the CompuTrainer. To be clear, one has to still connect all the wires for the CompuTrainer. And, you have to have two ANT+ sticks. One for Perf PRo CT to broadcast the CompuTrainer. And, another ANT+ to receive all your ANT+ devices. In my case this is the CompuTrainer and my HR strap.
Officially, TR discourages use of bridge devices like Perf Pro. At this point, it is working well for me.
If anyone is considering a CompuTrainer and has any questions, feel free to reach out.
SoaringBear
I just sold my Hammer, which i bought as a refurb from Cycleops/Saris and was never quite right even after a refurb. Worked correctly, but wasn’t as smooth as others.
Hammer- Liked the pedal feel, if you’ve got a real uneven cadence, this has that instant resistance. It sucked in EGR mode because when you go from a sprint down to a full recovery, the flywheel would have so much spin going that you can’t hit the low number. I really wanted a brake. Never had to calibrate it really.
I’ve been looking for a replacement. I’ve bought /tried the following (note my goal on the trainer is to be able to go for an outdoor ride and not have to get in shape)
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Kickr Core Recond - came with a bad flywheel/pulley making noise and the casing needed trimming. Shame on Wahoo. They also make it a hassle to return it. Shame x2.
I did ride to see if it was worth getting another one. Didn’t have enough resistance to power changes. It also was not good at sprints where you pedal unevenly - I can do ~1200w on my Hammer (PM reading, not trainer), but could only do about 700w on the core. This is not the trainer for Zwift races. I’m sure if you were doing EGR it’d be fine. -
Tacx Neo 2T - Amazon warehouse “Very Good” very not good, it looked like it had fallen off the truck and been run over. One of the legs had cracks and the case was up top was damaged. Ride-able, but not worth the price Amazon had it for.
The frame flex interested me here. I like that the pivot is raised 6" or so above the ground, but I don’t think it added much comfort like you’d have on a rocker plate. The sway is only an inch total. There is no flywheel, so it doesn’t freewheel at all and the resistance is even for the strong and weak parts of your pedal stroke, so it feels like you’re riding uphill or through mud the entire time. Everything feels like low cadence work. Your FTP will be lower on this, but you’ll be stronger. Not the trainer for cruising around on Zwift or racing.
After my Wahoo experience and reading the threads, I’m debating on whether to try a Kickr 2018 or just get an H3 and be done with it. I’m done with refurbs now!
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Just to add one more data point. I have a KICKR Core I bought in 2018 from REI. So far it’s worked well for me. Granted its not been heavily ridden and I was off all bikes for 6-months last year.
I also have a used Tacx Neo first generation I picked up from a friend and have been riding that for about 1/2 of my rides the last 3-months. I like them both. The Neo does start and end each interval a few seconds early. It’s built-in cadence gets wonky once in a while too. I just use a Wahoo cadence sensor for all my training anyway.
I run TrainerRoad on my iPad via BLE and connect Zwift via Ant+ at the same time.
After sending in my kicker 18 for a new one for the 3rd time I picked up a Neo 2T. After 2 weeks I’m extremely impressed with it. I was worried about the under reporting of power people have been complaining about, but it’s been within 3 watts of my Assioma Duos every workout.
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After trying the Hammer, Core, Neo 2T, and now the Kickr 2018 (proper). I’m sticking with the Kickr. The Hammer is (by far) the best for instant accelerations (zwift racing, mimicking real world resistance, sprinting) and the worst for fast-slow-fast workouts. The Kickr does 80% of what the Hammer can do, but is MUCH smoother and is better at from highways to low watts.
After riding the Neo 2T a bit more, it seems like it works differently out of the box than after a few rides. Out of the box, it wouldn’t freewheel at all. Later, for some reason, it would. Initially it felt like i was riding through mud, then it felt much better. It still was not as responsive as the true flywheel trainers.
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How was the transition from the Kickr to the 2T? I’m on my second Kickr (and that’s after three Snaps) and it started exhibiting problems similar to the previous one, but (fortunately) has been behaving the last two weeks. Anyway, I had an opportunity to take a short ride on a 2T and the virtual flywheel felt different than the Kickr. Have you done TR (or other erg) workouts? DCRainMaker and others have commented on how abruptly it transitions between intervals. Any issues or adjustment period for you? Thanks!!
It definitely has a quicker transition between intervals, but its not bad. As long as your paying attention to the next interval coming its not bad at all. Im pretty sure the newest firmware smoothed this out quite a bit compared to when most of the reviews came out. Ive only used the 2t with the newest firmware though. And I’vd done 6 or so TR workouts and theyve been great, and like I said have tracked closer to my Assioma Duo’s than my Kickr18 did. Its also noticeably more quiet.
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I’m also a 2T fan. I rather like the little bit of side to side flex and the native thru-axle support. All of the other features have been well documented, and I expected some of those to be the big deals to me, but in the end (for me), those two alone made the difference. Canyon puts a nice little glued-on cap over the thru-axle drive side, and it needs to be removed if you use an adapter, but with the native support on the 2T you just thread in and go.
I don’t personally care about the ‘road feel’ feature, as I ride in ERG mode about 97% of the time (road feel is disabled in ERG mode). For cruising around Zwift and hitting a plank bridge, well, it’s, uh…neat?
The driven-coast-freewheel-downhill thing is also kind of nice - not really much of anything, but I like it.
Feel differences seem to be pretty subjective, but just a quick vote to say I’m a quite-pleased 2T user after having a Kickr Core and Neo 2. The changes are more abrupt, but only until you get used to it - pedal through and maintain your momentum and it all works well. I may have even ended up preferring it, though it’s incredibly hard to say with certainty. It doesn’t bother me - I can say that for sure. 
A side note about support, as I have read some concerns with Tacx/Garmin…I’ve had immediate and fantastic support for both of my Neos with Garmin. On the 2 I needed a disc brake spacer and they sent me a couple for free, and on the 2T I had some questions about the potential noises some had reported, and they sent me a disc extraction tool just in case it ever happened to me. They were always quick to respond, understood my questions, and took care of them immediately.
tacxfaqx.com has some good info on all of the models.
If I was to buy one today, I’d go for the 2T again. The Kickrs are awesome too, and I’m sure the H3 and others are as well. We have it good - I doubt most people would be disappointed in any of the high end options that are out there.
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I sold a kickr 18 because had noisy problems. I have 2 options: H3 or Tacx Flux 2. The H3 is cheaper in Colombia but im not sure yet. What would you advise me?