I’m thinking of buying the Saris H3 for its reportedly great ERG support, good price and current local availability (unlike the kickr core for example).
But I see a lot of complaints about issues (weird noises and whatnot). But as is often the case, the unhappy minority is louder than the happy majority, so it’s hard to tell how common the issues are.
So, if you’ve been using the Saris H3 for a while (3+ months), have you had any issues worth noting?
Mine was fairly loud at first. Adding some grease to the freehub quieted it down. Sometimes I think I hear a little extra noise, but I mostly have earbuds in and it doesn’t bother me.
Every other aspect of operation is pretty much perfect.
I feel like I opened the can of worms about the H3 here. Still have one I bought used after my fiasco because I didn’t like the Neo and was too nervous for a Kickr. Mine had the smooth pulley which made noise as it struggled for traction. I took it apart once and cut some texture on the pulley with a knife and it helped for a few weeks and then came back. I did a more aggressive treatment and it’s been fine but I’ve been using the trainer sparingly since it’s summer
Saris did send me an updated pulley with an actual embossed texture which they say now comes in all of the new units but I haven’t swapped it on yet. I’m hopeful, it is a good trainer, but def had teething pains
So far mine has been great.
One year with my H3 was this weekend. It has been close to flawless operation, with just a few hiccups that probably are my computer’s fault rather than the H3 itself.
A couple times I have started pedaling and it won’t connect, unplug for 5 seconds then it works like a charm. About half the time in a workout like Spanish Needle one out of 30 intervals will stick for 5-10 seconds.
Overall it works like day 1, smooth and quiet, if only it made V02 efforts easier it would be perfect…
No issues at all. Love it.
Amazing, super happy with it, amazing road feel, great erg mode, very accurate.
I’ve had zero issues with mine so far (knock on wood). My first trainer was a kickr, I think the H3 is quieter and way better in erg mode for which I primarily use it.
just for future readers thinking about some other trainer.
i got it replaced for a slippery problem on steep slope (even if i did find out that some belt conditioner actually solved the problem) and by then i had 2 kicker V5 and 3 kickr bikes. They are all awful asian product compared to the H3 which i regret i sent back.
So please do yourself a favor, save time and get yourself a H3
I’ve only had my H3 since the start of the year, but has been great so far and so solidly built.
I’ve had two minor issues, which were more software than H3, but now appear to be resolved:
Difficultly with bluetooth connecting the app (on Android phone) to H3 and HR monitor - to resolve this, I ensure I restart my phone before opening up the app to connect (no issues since doing this).
Cadence drop-out/auto-pause immediately after intervals when power drops - not sure if it has been mentioned anywhere else, but since the updated TR app launched recently I have had no such cadence drop-outs/auto-pauses after intervals.
Really pleased with my H3 - just wish I’d got one sooner.
So I’ve had the new pulley on for my entire winter training program and have had no odd noises of sensations from the trainer so I think their hack fixed the issue for good
Thats awesome!
A year with mine. Generally, it’s been an excellent experience, I had a knocking sound once last summer on one ride that never came back. Very rarely I’ll have one or two intervals where ERG seems delayed or stuck but it always goes away. Power readings are consistently way off both of my power meters, but I use PowerMatch so that’s not a concern.
I’m not familiar with the PowerMatch feature, could you please explain it? Until I got my H3 in January I had used a saris dumb trainer with crank based PM. I have noticed that the H3 is way off on power compared to my bike’s PM. It sort of screwed things up once I started riding outdoors.
Thanks
Power match allows TrainerRoad to use your Power Meter’s data, rather than the smart trainer. It automatically offsets the smart trainer’s ERG mode resistance to conform to what your Power Meter is indicating. Check out more info here:
Im at 18 months with mine and I’ve had no problems whatsoever. I would buy again.
I’ve had an H3 for just over a year now. I’ve used it with both my road and mtb bikes. So far it has been great - no issues to speak of. I switched to it after my Elite Drivo broke, and what impressed me the most is how responsive it is in ERG mode.
I’ll maybe have to ask them for a pulley to try in mine.
I really have no complaints with mine, but I do have some belt slipping when in a low gear and pushing hard at low speed. I basically never do this other than to see if it will slip, but it would be nice to get this fixed. I’ve had mine since November 2019, and have no complaints other than this one, and that doesn’t affect my training at all, as I pretty much don’t do sprints on the trainer (or outside either :).
For me the slipping was more of a sound than a feel, and would happen even when doing something like a 400w OOS interval, so something like riding up the radio tower climb on Zwift sounded like dying mice with every pedal stroke
Been good so far though, I’ve really put the trainer through it’s paces this winter
Agreed. I don’t see any of the lagging issues other people talk about with other trainers. The resistance is very quick.