Ditto, and having went to a Suito, a part from its bulkiness at times I think the old non smart Elite Muin (non ERG) was better. I do though prefer the fully smart feed back of the Suito on virtual courses like Zwift or RGT.
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This is one of the main things that I was hoping to attain. I donāt think it takes quite 10 seconds, but Iāve gotten into the habbit of (despite being in ERG mode), shifting a few seconds before the interval so I can get to target cadence sooner.
Mine hub is one of the old 8 speed. I didnāt know that spacers were an option, but Iām hoping to upgrade my road bike this year at which point Iāll be compatible with most any of the DD trainers.
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This is a good practice for Erg mode no matter what trainer youāre using, so I still do it, but my DD trainer is still an order of magnitude faster than the wheel-on to get up to target power when the interval starts.
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The alternate to shifting that I use is to slow my cadence before the work interval, then kick up to my desired cadence once it hits. Ex: Rolling the recovery interval at 90rpm and then kicking up to my usual 97rpm at the kick for a typical Threshold interval.
For higher target intervals like VO2 and Anaerobic, I end up with a similar slow cadence (90rpm), but since I quickly ramp my cadence to 110rpm or more (based on interval intensity & duration), I get to that target power quickly since the fast change in cadence exceeds the ability of the trainer in ERG mode.
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It sure can, and is why Kinetic used to offer the option for their Road Machine trainer.
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And yet, you can get an equally good workout from either! (if you have a power meter and donāt use ERG mode especially lol). Personally I think ERG mode makes people worse at pacing and spinning but thatās neither here nor there.
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That was how the STAC worked. They had a janky looking set of weights in the wheel itself. It worked but it wasnāt nearly enough to be really good.
Yeah, I skipped that as I found it a bit of a hack workaround for their specific system. Kinda cool in a way, but that system always seemed to fall short for a number of reasons. I wonāt like though, I considered odd stuff like that (even thought about adding water into my tubes, cookooā¦ and I never actually tried) when I was looking for āsimpleā ways to get more flywheel effect on my rollers 
Despite that, there is potential benefit to adding the weights to the wheels, if it can be done easily, safely & properly balanced, particularly if you use a dedicated wheel just for the trainer.
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Agreedā¦the difference is in the experience of that workout. IMO (and those of most users), a direct-drive trainer provides a better overall experience. The workout is still the workout.
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This came up above, bit Iām a fan of the direct drive trainer over a dedicated bike like the Kickr or Tacx for a variety of reasons.
I can test the power meters on my road and mtb against my tacx Neo 2T, so I have a good sense for how far off they are and how my training compares to the PM Iām using outdoors (Short story, I tested Favero Assioma, Garmin Rally, and two Quarq PM against the TacX and theyāre all within 2% with some āspikesā on the quarq)
You could do this with a set of rollers too, but I like to be able to video myself on my bike to check fit and form with something like MyVeloFit.
The TacX and my old road bike pack up and store much easier. Iāve brought the trainer and the bike with me on vacation as long as Iām driving.
And, cheaper as long as you donāt have to go out and buy a new bike to use with it.
No complaints whatsoever with the TacX Neo 2tā¦
My sweat is like the blood from the movie Alien. It just burns through everything it touches.
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Until your $1000 smart trainer breaks 3 years out of warranty and you canāt get spare parts. Cry twice, maybe. 
That said, I bought a used direct drive Kickr and it is so much better than any wheel-on trainer that I highly recommend direct drive to anyone.
I have a kickr snap - itās great - big flywheel etc. Does need a spin down every ride though. That said - I will keep it until it breaks - its about 4 years old, but I will buy a direct drive replacement - so they are better but not so much better that I will bin a perfectly operational bit of kit for!
Perspective from a rider who alternates between a Tacx Neo (high-end DD trainer) and a Zwift Hub (low/mid-range DD trainer) roughly 6 days a week through winter. The price difference between them is roughly $800 USD at regular retail prices. Iāve been riding the Tacx Neo for 4+ years and my partnerās Zwift Hub for roughly 5 months. I also use dual Assioma power meter pedals to measure the wattās that Iām producing on the bike for both trainers in TR.
With a proviso: Iām a 66-68kg rider/racer focused mainly on TTās and climbing road races. So, I have little to offer when it comes to high-intensity short, on-off sprint effortsāI rarely venture above 800watt efforts. However, I spend a lot of time at steady-state VO2 Max, Threshold, and below.
Focusing on the criteria cited in your original question, Iāve found the difference next to zero between the two trainers when it comes to holding steady power at climbing and TT efforts. So far, Iām impressed at how well the Zwift Hub responds to changes in ERG-mode intervals and simulated gradients. So just viewing things through that lens alone, Iād recommend the ZwiftHub.
Iāve not used the ZwiftHub long enough to vouch for its long-term reliability or durability. So far itās been simple and easy to use. In the 4+ years of using the Tacx Neo heavily, Iāve had zero issues with it.
One thing worth considering is how your needs may grow over time. Because I enjoy climbing but currently live in the lowlands, I also ārideā and reconnoiter real-world mountain routes via downloaded GPX files or those on Tacxās software platform. As such, I benefit from the greater grade simulation that the Neo provides. As painful as that can be at times.
Hope this is helpful
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Perhaps I should have said; Do your research, THEN buy once, cry once?
Jokes aside. Thatās terrible. Sorry to hear that, and glad you got a solid unit in the end.
Hopefully Wahoo doesnāt go bankrupt and our existing warranties remain.
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Does resistance mode work for you with TR workouts? Thatās my one major regret with my KK. Seems to work fine in Zwift though. (Support was unable to resolve the problem.). I also occasionally have to hop off the bike to reset when resistance gets stuck at the end of an interval. But that is rare.
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I donāt know, I use a power meter and never use their resistance mode.
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- Are you talking about InRide virtual power sensor that Kinetic sold?
No, my unit has been fine. I scored a used Kickr from a friend for $500 years ago and itās been a champ.
But if one bought a new $1200 Kickr today, Iād want it to last 10 years and Iād want it to be repairable. The best you can get from Wahoo is a belt or new power supply. Itās a pathetic situation in the trainer industry. They want you to toss an expensive trainer if it breaks 2-3 years out of warranty.
If you buy a $1000+ treadmill from most any manufacturer, you can buy spare parts for 10+ years.
Iām surprised some right to repair law in Europe hasnāt forced them to supply repair parts and repair manuals.
This situation isnāt unique to Wahoo.
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