Looking to upgrade from my Saris H3 trainer and would like to look at a Smart Bike. Any consensus on the best right now? Last thread I can find on here was from over a year and a half ago… not sure if much has changed.
I’ve been looking at the Stages SB20, however, I’ve had some problems with their customer service recently and have heard it takes forever to get to power in ERG mode.
Also looking at the Kickr Bike and this is probably the one I’m leaning towards right now.
Any got any opinions? It’d be used 90% for TrainerRoad workouts and maybe 10% for Zwift races/events.
I had an SB20 and sent it back. It was workable in erg mode, but you really had to think too much. The shift buttons had no tactile feedback. That made Zwift a bit more challenging that I felt it needed to be.
Got a Gen 1 Wahoo Kicker Bike and it’s been spectacular. HOWEVER, I’m like you. I use it for TR 90+% of the time. Given that, I’d jump on the new Kickr Bike that doesn’t have the tilt function. I never use it and having a bike without it wouldn’t even be noticed.
Having a bike that is set up and dedicated for training is the best investment I ever made.
I’m on a KICKR BIKE V1, and can say that I rarely use the incline functionality so if I were going for something new I’d opt for the cheaper KICKR BIKE SHIFT.
i don’t have a ton of faith in any smart bike companies at the moment, feels very precarious, stages for obvious reasons. Wahoo may be turning things around but they went through a rough patch. Not really sure about Tacx support, they have garmin behind them but I don’t hear a ton of people who have it. A trainer just seems way easier to replace and less likely to be an expensive paperweight compared to a large dedicated indoor bike.
I’ll +1 for the kickr bike V1.
I absolutely love having a dedicated trainer sitting set up and ready to go at all hours. Tilt function is awesome when on Zwift doing a climb but like you I’m a 90% TR and 10% Zwifter so I probably wouldn’t miss it if the savings were substantial to go without. But it is a nice to have
I have a Kickr bike v2 and strongly recommend it for all mentioned above
It has still some flows which I found that in the V2 haven’t been fixed ie seatpost and handlebar slip if you don’t close the qr extremely strong
Having read the other posts I realized that I haven’t been using the tilt motion a lot… probably due to the non integration with TR
Having said that in the past 2 WOs I used it and enjoyed it quite a lot
I have an SB20. The ride feel sucks, the power accuracy (on mine) sucks, the ERG is ‘o.k.’. The customer support is literally an FTC suit waiting to be filed.
I ride my Kickr the vast vast majority of times I’m on the trainer. It has never let me down.
The SB20… if I could physically get rid of it, I would.
Also have a V1 Kickr that I love. I think I’d go for the shift if I were buying it again. It seems like the Shift is quieter and the design is potentially more reliable. I’m on TR 100% of the time (with Zwift running in the background) so I never use the tilt function.
Call Wahoo and ask for the preload adjust instructions as well as a fixing bolt. Leave the pre-load adjustment over night and that should fix most of the slip. Then, the fixing bold will replace the cam latch. You tighten it will an allen key and it’s not moving…ever. I’m over 250 and there is zero slip now.
If you’re within 150 miles of New York City, I’ll happily drive over and rid you of your burden… for free, even! I’ll bring you coffee and snacks with which to celebrate, too.
I’m on my third SB20. The first, I sold when we moved across the country and a friend wanted mine. The second died in a flood along with most of my house. The third has been going strong for almost two years. All three have been great, no problems, love the weight/mass/solidity/feel. Love the huge flywheel. Love it in general. I’ve only needed to talk to Support 2-3 times and they were quite good with me.
So zero complaints, and from my n=1 personal experience (which is all any of us really have) I’d recommend it highly. The huge flywheel provides a great feel, but DOES mean that ERG mode takes 3-4 seconds to stabilize at a new power level, though. For doing thirty-thirties, you want to switch to resistance mode. Bothers some people to hell and back… I don’t care.
Of the other options, I’d be most inclined to buy a Wahoo Kickr Bike, with or without the tilt.
I must be the only person who frequently uses the incline feature on my V1 Kickr Bike. I thoroughly enjoyed using it during my summer of Zwifting.
And now that I’m back to TR full time, I use it during standing efforts.
That said, it’s not worth the extra $1k over the Shift (tbf, I don’t think the V2 is worth the price of the Shift, let alone the $4k msrp but I did pick my V1 up during Zwift’s crazy sale for $2500).
I’ve had my Kickr bike for 20 months or so now and it’s been flawless… At least once I applied gritty paste to the steerer and seatpost clamps.
I’ve got a Gen 1 Kickr bike. I got it January 2021 and have put 300+ rides/330+ hours on it and have been happy with it. I think if the Shift/non-tilt version had been available when I purchased it I probably would have gone that route and saved the money. The tilt is kind of fun the few times I have ridden on Zwift, but I’m just couldn’t get into Zwift and just do TR workouts and watch something on the TV. That being said, I do actually use the tilt mechanism a decent amount since it is available. I’ll set it at whatever percent some of the climbs I like to do are in order to get used to riding in that position.
The fit tool works really well and I find it fun to play around with different stack and reach positions (it helped me decide what bike and what size to get when I was shopping for a new road bike). I like that it’s always ready to and I don’t have to worry as much about sweat. It’s also nice to quickly be able change the fit to emulate any of my outdoor bikes (ie road, gravel/cross, tt, mountain). The round seatpost tube (compared to stages or tacx) means you could but a cheap post and make swapping saddles pretty fast. I ended up replacing the saddle right off the bat. The bars are ok…a little wider than I usually ride but not a big enough deal for me to change them.
My one complaint is that the handlebar/stem height adjustment lever and the seat post lever are hard to get tight enough that it doesn’t slip. I kind of wish that instead of a quick-release they would have just put a bolt as it would be easier to tighten
ETA: I was just looking at the KICKR SHIFT and it appears that the seat post on that version can be tightened with a hex wrench. Good on Wahoo on making that change
Can anyone help… how does the noise from a smart bike compare with or against the noise from a direct drive trainer? I’m thinking of purchasing a smart bike for when I move to an apartment with neighbours above and below, rather than my current fully-detached house.
Love my Kickr bike. The Kickr v1 is much louder than my Saris H3… It has a hum at certain RPMs. It isn’t too bad though, I only notice it with no music or video playing.
Like others in the thread, if I was buying today I would go with the Kickr shift. I don’t use the tilt and per dcrainmaker it is super quiet.
DO NOT get an SB20. My 2.5 year old unit is still working fine. I am using power pedals with power match because the Stages PM cranks suck. But, support is non existent and when you inevitably get an issue, you will be dead in the water. They have cut almost all of their support staff, which is a sure sign the company is in major financial difficulty. Could definitely go belly up.
The ride feel sucks, the power accuracy (on mine) sucks, the ERG is ‘o.k.’. The customer support is literally an FTC suit waiting to be filed.