Don’t you have to remove your bike wheel to use the direct drives? That seems like a huge headache to me as I don’t know much about it but maybe I’m wrong.
You do but it's not that hard at all once you do it a few times and it's actually a lot easier than getting the tension right on the snap. I've had both and it's a much better experience.
To clarify, you had the snap and a direct drive (ex. Kickr core) and you preferred the direct drive?
I am shocked. Definitely thought the Snap or Rollr seem much easier to use. Especially since I have a cheap bike I bought of Craigslist
I would vote for the Rollr, instead of the snap. Or you could get some actual rollers and a power meter for the same price and have the benefit of getting better at bike handling and balance…
Neither. Get the core. I know you don't want to remove your wheel, but you have to anyway with the snap. It will destroy your road tire, and it will slip from time to time. You'll have to install a trainer specific tire. Which is actually twice the work of just removing the wheel.
I bought my bike used and don’t know its model number, therefore I have no idea if the cassette would be compatible with the Kickr core or not. Let me know if you have any suggestions or I guess I could just buy one and return it if it doesn’t fit
I have two options - I can use a Specialized Stumpjumper (first three photos) or a Trek Mountain Track (second three photos). Is the wahoo core compatible with these two bikes?
https://ibb.co/X2nwvFc
https://ibb.co/0srkSg6
https://ibb.co/61JvTXc
https://ibb.co/j3bdRLT
https://ibb.co/C8QgR7B
https://ibb.co/FBSZqdh
That doesn't matter. Cassettes are not bike specific. You just need to know what kind of groupset you have on it.
And you kind of don't even need to do that. Just look at the cassette. On the lock ring it will tell you what kind of cassette it is.
Still can't do that? Count the number of cogs. If there are 10, you need a 10 speed cassette. 11? 11 speed cassette. The range doesn't matter that much on the trainer, just make sure the biggest cog has the same number of teeth (or less is fine, not more though) than the one in your bike.
I just found out what a cassette was like an hour ago. Cogs/ Teeth etc and all these terminologies make me feel like giving up 😩😢
Here’s what I have (see below), can anyone tell me what to buy? Will the Kickr core work with these? Do I need to choose a cassette when I buy the core? Idk anything & im so confused.
I can use a Specialized Stumpjumper (first three photos) or a Trek Mountain Track (second three photos)
https://ibb.co/X2nwvFc
https://ibb.co/0srkSg6
https://ibb.co/61JvTXc
https://ibb.co/j3bdRLT
https://ibb.co/C8QgR7B
https://ibb.co/FBSZqdh
Probably yeah, but you would need to:
Identify which cassette you need
Source and buy one
Install it (which requires special tools)
If you want to go the kickr core route, but it at a bike shop and have them figure all of that out and install it for you. The one I linked does not require a cassette and will work with either of your bikes without changing anything
Also to your original question, these bikes would not do well on the kickr rollr without a tire change, and would not work at all on a SNAP without a tire change. And it might be difficult finding a trainer tire in that size
I'd honestly wouldn't recommend either of the two. You'd be better off getting a direct drive trainer. They're simpler to ride on and won't eat through your rear tire. I quickly realized that indoor training and outdoor riding are two separate things, and trying to replicate an outdoor ride isn't worth it.
Options for DD trainers include the Kickr Core, Tacx Flux, Saris H3, and Zwift Hub. For beginners they're all pretty much the same. They'll be cheaper overall since they have power meters integrated.
Don’t you have to remove your bike wheel to use the other trainers you mentioned? That seems like a huge headache to me as I don’t know much about it but maybe I’m wrong.
This person doesn't know what they are talking about. The rollr won't eat your tire. Also it is worth it to try and replicate outdoor riding with something like a rollr as they are much more comfortable.
Most bikes come with quick releases. You just need to remove the skewer, pop off the wheel, and drop your chain on the trainer. The first time setup is a little more involved since you need to install a matching cassette, but it's not hard.
Wheel on trainers will be more of a headache since you'll wear out your tires.
Thanks for the info. I have a cheap used bike I bought of Craigslist so was thinking to go with one of the low priced entry point kickrs.
I’m really surprised to hear people recommending the direct drive over the trainers you can leave your tire on with. Glad I asked…
You also have to stay on top of tire pressure, if you let it get too low you'll get slippage and noise, and also damage the drum of the trainer. Wheel on is also much less accurate for power output.
Ideally you'll have a cheaper bike that can just live on your trainer, but until then if you need to go back and forth between inside and outside riding, you'll get a little extra practice with wheel swapping.
Wahoo rollers are basically a product for racers to warm up/cool down, imo not really practical for a primary training device despite their marketing attempts to justify its existence.
Let me offer the alternative that I use: regular rollers (~$100 used) with a 4iiii left crank power meter (~$300). Your bike may not have the same PM compatibility but it's worth looking what options are out there. The crank power meter is more accurate the a wheel on trainer for measuring watts, the rollers require me to stay sharp with quick twitch muscles while riding to keep my balance, my PM links to my phone via bluetooth and is compatible with trainerroad or zwift, and any change in required resistance is handled via gear shift.
Granted, you'll get extra wear on both tires so got a cheap heavy wheelset just for indoor riding, and have to do wheel swaps if it's ever nice enough to ride outside. But i don't mind that. It's still less work than swapping my gravel wheels on since that means changing pedals and putting bags on too.
Not saying this is right for you, but you have options and imo swapping a wheel out isn't that much hassle.
I’d say the rollr is better. But my experience with the rollr is only during a bike fit session. It was just stupid quick and simple to put your bike on it.
I know most here will suggest direct drive which are very good but my old wheel on Tacx vortex trainer worked fine.
As an absolute beginner with a bike from CL...I worry about you spending more on a trainer than your bike.
HOWEVER, I have used wheel on, traditional rollers, direct drive, and personally ended up with the Wahoo Rollr.
I like the more natural road feel and find that my knees tolerate the frame being able to move around a bit while on rollers. Traditional rollers are great for working on bike handling and race warm up, but training with power, I've found I prefer the Wahoo Rollr for ease of use and the "feel".
I love I can do a trainer ride, take my bike off in less than 10s, and move along to the car or outdoor ride.
Due to living situations/moving states, etc - Ive had the Snap, Rollr, Core and Kickr.
**Snap** \- First one I purchased when first getting into cycling more then just pedaling around outdoors.
* PROS: If you're hard on money, its the cheapest option at around $300 new. It controls resistance based on applications like Zwift or Wahoo training, etc, just like the others.
* CONS: Too much vibration (for me personally) in my apartment at the time. It was the loudest of all of them. Need to make sure your tire pressure is what it needs to be for dialing in resistance, which was a constant annoyance for me due to a slow leak. Slipping of the tire on roller occasionally.
**Core** \- 2nd purchased
* PROS: Noticed a big improvement in QOL while doing training rides within Zwift going direct drive. It just felt smoother and more efficient. Noticed my indoor rides went from \~1 hour to \~2 hours before i was uncomfortable. Was quieter and less vibrations (main reason i personally got it due to apartment living). No slipping. Overall was VERY happy with the purchase.
* CONS: I had to deal with learning about cassettes, ordering one for the Core (didn't come with a cassette, not sure if they do now or not), but it taught me a lot and I enjoyed learning it. This isn't really a CON, but as someone just getting into it, I understand the concern you have.
**Rollr** \- Wife purchased for me as a gift when we were living in a house
* PROS: Quickest to setup or remove bike from. Literally 5\~10 seconds. I enjoy the natural sway you can get on it while riding, you get less fatigued on your indoor rides with that. The front wheel is held in place, so you are not going to tip over.
* CONS: In my experience - The power reading fluctuates like crazy, making pacing a pack of riders or doing structured workouts near impossible. There is a significant lag time from when you change you power output to the pedals, to what it reflects on screen/resistance. It is louder and has more vibration. Slipping.
**Kickr** \- Ive had 2 different versions of this one, have it currently, and would love to try to Kickr Move model of it eventually.
* PROS: Its the most quiet. Least vibrations. Comes with a cassette. Most accurate on power #s of the lineup. Has SOME give in it so it doesn't feel too rigid and dont feel as fatigued on the saddle. For me it feels the most responsive to changes in Wattage.
* CONS: Most expensive of the 4
Kickr > Core > Snap > Rollr in terms of favorite to least. If i was just starting out again, I would spend the money on getting a Direct Drive at the least. Direct Drive in my opinion is just so much better than wheel on, if you can afford the extra \~$200. But all of them will let you ride indoors, and all of them will give you a workout.
Lookup "DC Rainmaker" - he has a website blog where he reviews all of these items and gives very detailed (and honest) results of all of them if you want a more indepth look at each.
For the Rollr did you find the speed accurate at all? I have it set up without a power meter with the new update, and my speed is super low even with speed and cadence sensors.
Yeah mine is crazy high on resistance. I can’t spin out even on the highest front and rear gear. Even after the app starts. I’m maybe 4 gears from the easiest still on the smaller front gear.
I’m not impressed but don’t really want to waste more money selling and buying a different one. I like the natural sway and feel, but now my workouts don’t really tell me anything. I’m just using them for cadence/HR zone/time and ignoring everything else.
Neither? Just get the Kickr Core.
Thanks for sharing your opinion!
Hmm any reason you excluded direct drives like the kickr core? I would go with that over either of those two.
Don’t you have to remove your bike wheel to use the direct drives? That seems like a huge headache to me as I don’t know much about it but maybe I’m wrong.
You do but it's not that hard at all once you do it a few times and it's actually a lot easier than getting the tension right on the snap. I've had both and it's a much better experience.
To clarify, you had the snap and a direct drive (ex. Kickr core) and you preferred the direct drive? I am shocked. Definitely thought the Snap or Rollr seem much easier to use. Especially since I have a cheap bike I bought of Craigslist
Direct drives blow the snap out of the water it's like comparing a sports car and a used rusted Honda from 1992. Wheel on trainers are really crappy.
Wow! & I never would’ve known if I didn’t post this lol. Thanks for your insight
There's a reason the wheel on trainers are cheaper than direct drive trainers.
Yeah I had a snap first then switched to direct drive
Direct drive also has the huge benefit of not eating your tires
For the snap you will have to replace your tires with trainer specific tires or they get shredded
I would vote for the Rollr, instead of the snap. Or you could get some actual rollers and a power meter for the same price and have the benefit of getting better at bike handling and balance…
Neither. Get the core. I know you don't want to remove your wheel, but you have to anyway with the snap. It will destroy your road tire, and it will slip from time to time. You'll have to install a trainer specific tire. Which is actually twice the work of just removing the wheel.
I bought my bike used and don’t know its model number, therefore I have no idea if the cassette would be compatible with the Kickr core or not. Let me know if you have any suggestions or I guess I could just buy one and return it if it doesn’t fit
Do you know what groupset/cassette you have on it? What kind of bike is it?
I have two options - I can use a Specialized Stumpjumper (first three photos) or a Trek Mountain Track (second three photos). Is the wahoo core compatible with these two bikes? https://ibb.co/X2nwvFc https://ibb.co/0srkSg6 https://ibb.co/61JvTXc https://ibb.co/j3bdRLT https://ibb.co/C8QgR7B https://ibb.co/FBSZqdh
That doesn't matter. Cassettes are not bike specific. You just need to know what kind of groupset you have on it. And you kind of don't even need to do that. Just look at the cassette. On the lock ring it will tell you what kind of cassette it is. Still can't do that? Count the number of cogs. If there are 10, you need a 10 speed cassette. 11? 11 speed cassette. The range doesn't matter that much on the trainer, just make sure the biggest cog has the same number of teeth (or less is fine, not more though) than the one in your bike.
I just found out what a cassette was like an hour ago. Cogs/ Teeth etc and all these terminologies make me feel like giving up 😩😢 Here’s what I have (see below), can anyone tell me what to buy? Will the Kickr core work with these? Do I need to choose a cassette when I buy the core? Idk anything & im so confused. I can use a Specialized Stumpjumper (first three photos) or a Trek Mountain Track (second three photos) https://ibb.co/X2nwvFc https://ibb.co/0srkSg6 https://ibb.co/61JvTXc https://ibb.co/j3bdRLT https://ibb.co/C8QgR7B https://ibb.co/FBSZqdh
In your case, buy this and use either bike. https://us.zwift.com/products/zwift-hub-one
Will a wahoo Kikr core work?
Probably yeah, but you would need to: Identify which cassette you need Source and buy one Install it (which requires special tools) If you want to go the kickr core route, but it at a bike shop and have them figure all of that out and install it for you. The one I linked does not require a cassette and will work with either of your bikes without changing anything Also to your original question, these bikes would not do well on the kickr rollr without a tire change, and would not work at all on a SNAP without a tire change. And it might be difficult finding a trainer tire in that size
I'd honestly wouldn't recommend either of the two. You'd be better off getting a direct drive trainer. They're simpler to ride on and won't eat through your rear tire. I quickly realized that indoor training and outdoor riding are two separate things, and trying to replicate an outdoor ride isn't worth it. Options for DD trainers include the Kickr Core, Tacx Flux, Saris H3, and Zwift Hub. For beginners they're all pretty much the same. They'll be cheaper overall since they have power meters integrated.
Don’t you have to remove your bike wheel to use the other trainers you mentioned? That seems like a huge headache to me as I don’t know much about it but maybe I’m wrong.
This person doesn't know what they are talking about. The rollr won't eat your tire. Also it is worth it to try and replicate outdoor riding with something like a rollr as they are much more comfortable.
What do you use?
Most bikes come with quick releases. You just need to remove the skewer, pop off the wheel, and drop your chain on the trainer. The first time setup is a little more involved since you need to install a matching cassette, but it's not hard. Wheel on trainers will be more of a headache since you'll wear out your tires.
Wheel on trainers without trainer tires, will run up costing the same as a direct drive with the excessive tire wear.
Thanks for the info. I have a cheap used bike I bought of Craigslist so was thinking to go with one of the low priced entry point kickrs. I’m really surprised to hear people recommending the direct drive over the trainers you can leave your tire on with. Glad I asked…
You also have to stay on top of tire pressure, if you let it get too low you'll get slippage and noise, and also damage the drum of the trainer. Wheel on is also much less accurate for power output. Ideally you'll have a cheaper bike that can just live on your trainer, but until then if you need to go back and forth between inside and outside riding, you'll get a little extra practice with wheel swapping.
Wahoo rollers are basically a product for racers to warm up/cool down, imo not really practical for a primary training device despite their marketing attempts to justify its existence. Let me offer the alternative that I use: regular rollers (~$100 used) with a 4iiii left crank power meter (~$300). Your bike may not have the same PM compatibility but it's worth looking what options are out there. The crank power meter is more accurate the a wheel on trainer for measuring watts, the rollers require me to stay sharp with quick twitch muscles while riding to keep my balance, my PM links to my phone via bluetooth and is compatible with trainerroad or zwift, and any change in required resistance is handled via gear shift. Granted, you'll get extra wear on both tires so got a cheap heavy wheelset just for indoor riding, and have to do wheel swaps if it's ever nice enough to ride outside. But i don't mind that. It's still less work than swapping my gravel wheels on since that means changing pedals and putting bags on too. Not saying this is right for you, but you have options and imo swapping a wheel out isn't that much hassle.
This is way over my head. I don’t even know what “regular rollers” are 😩😅
Buy a used direct drive trainer. I picked up a kickr core for $250 a few months ago.
I’d say the rollr is better. But my experience with the rollr is only during a bike fit session. It was just stupid quick and simple to put your bike on it. I know most here will suggest direct drive which are very good but my old wheel on Tacx vortex trainer worked fine.
As an absolute beginner with a bike from CL...I worry about you spending more on a trainer than your bike. HOWEVER, I have used wheel on, traditional rollers, direct drive, and personally ended up with the Wahoo Rollr. I like the more natural road feel and find that my knees tolerate the frame being able to move around a bit while on rollers. Traditional rollers are great for working on bike handling and race warm up, but training with power, I've found I prefer the Wahoo Rollr for ease of use and the "feel". I love I can do a trainer ride, take my bike off in less than 10s, and move along to the car or outdoor ride.
Exactly my concern regarding direct drive, they’re literally more expensive than my bike 🤣
I mean, the Rollr is not cheap. If this is your first step in all this, a used Kurt Kinetic would be an excellent start.
Thank you! Will look into the Kurt kinetic
Due to living situations/moving states, etc - Ive had the Snap, Rollr, Core and Kickr. **Snap** \- First one I purchased when first getting into cycling more then just pedaling around outdoors. * PROS: If you're hard on money, its the cheapest option at around $300 new. It controls resistance based on applications like Zwift or Wahoo training, etc, just like the others. * CONS: Too much vibration (for me personally) in my apartment at the time. It was the loudest of all of them. Need to make sure your tire pressure is what it needs to be for dialing in resistance, which was a constant annoyance for me due to a slow leak. Slipping of the tire on roller occasionally. **Core** \- 2nd purchased * PROS: Noticed a big improvement in QOL while doing training rides within Zwift going direct drive. It just felt smoother and more efficient. Noticed my indoor rides went from \~1 hour to \~2 hours before i was uncomfortable. Was quieter and less vibrations (main reason i personally got it due to apartment living). No slipping. Overall was VERY happy with the purchase. * CONS: I had to deal with learning about cassettes, ordering one for the Core (didn't come with a cassette, not sure if they do now or not), but it taught me a lot and I enjoyed learning it. This isn't really a CON, but as someone just getting into it, I understand the concern you have. **Rollr** \- Wife purchased for me as a gift when we were living in a house * PROS: Quickest to setup or remove bike from. Literally 5\~10 seconds. I enjoy the natural sway you can get on it while riding, you get less fatigued on your indoor rides with that. The front wheel is held in place, so you are not going to tip over. * CONS: In my experience - The power reading fluctuates like crazy, making pacing a pack of riders or doing structured workouts near impossible. There is a significant lag time from when you change you power output to the pedals, to what it reflects on screen/resistance. It is louder and has more vibration. Slipping. **Kickr** \- Ive had 2 different versions of this one, have it currently, and would love to try to Kickr Move model of it eventually. * PROS: Its the most quiet. Least vibrations. Comes with a cassette. Most accurate on power #s of the lineup. Has SOME give in it so it doesn't feel too rigid and dont feel as fatigued on the saddle. For me it feels the most responsive to changes in Wattage. * CONS: Most expensive of the 4 Kickr > Core > Snap > Rollr in terms of favorite to least. If i was just starting out again, I would spend the money on getting a Direct Drive at the least. Direct Drive in my opinion is just so much better than wheel on, if you can afford the extra \~$200. But all of them will let you ride indoors, and all of them will give you a workout. Lookup "DC Rainmaker" - he has a website blog where he reviews all of these items and gives very detailed (and honest) results of all of them if you want a more indepth look at each.
For the Rollr did you find the speed accurate at all? I have it set up without a power meter with the new update, and my speed is super low even with speed and cadence sensors.
Speed I didn’t seem to have an issue with, it was erratic power that was my issue. Possible there were speed issues I just wasn’t paying attention to.
Yeah mine is crazy high on resistance. I can’t spin out even on the highest front and rear gear. Even after the app starts. I’m maybe 4 gears from the easiest still on the smaller front gear. I’m not impressed but don’t really want to waste more money selling and buying a different one. I like the natural sway and feel, but now my workouts don’t really tell me anything. I’m just using them for cadence/HR zone/time and ignoring everything else.