Your training will be enhanced with the use of a smart trainer. It gives you the chance to be more precise and get better feedback during sessions, and allows you to take advantage of the simulated terrain in our workouts for a more robust and lifelike indoor riding experience.

When it comes to smart trainers, we recommend a "direct drive" (back wheel comes off) trainer. This will eliminate a lot of hassle vs. wheel-on trainers in terms of calibration, wearing through your tire, accuracy, reliability, etc. They also eliminate the need for any extra sensors or equipment. Direct drive trainers are bit more expensive, but they simplify indoor training, give you the best experience, and are great investment in your training long-term.

Our recommendations for direct-drive trainers are either a Wahoo Kickr or Kickr Core (the Core is less expensive but still extremely reliable and durable) or a Tacx Neo 2T. Saris also makes quality direct drive trainers.

We would stay away from Zwift Hub / JetBlack brand trainers and other budget options. There have been a number of hardware/firmware issues with these units and the reliability just isn’t there. We’d also stay away from the Kickr Rollr as it doesn’t include the outputs/features that you’ll want to take full advantage of our workouts.

If a direct-drive trainer is out of your budget (or you frequently switch between bikes that have drastically different drivetrains, like a SRAM MTB and a Shimano TT bike), a wheel-on smart trainer is still a great option. If you go this route, we’d recommend the Tacx Flow trainer.

In terms of sheer “bang for your buck”, we typically recommend the Wahoo Kickr Core. We’d recommend purchasing one new, or if you go used looking for one that is no more than 3 years old.

If you’re exploring “whole bike” options and/or add-ons, the Wahoo Kickr Bike also works great with our platform, as does the Kickr Climb!