which power meter?

[Hudson1984]

ok, so despite the advice... I'm really leaning toward getting a Kickr Rollr. It just seems to tick my boxes more than anything else.

only issue being, to use Zwift I seem to need a power meter... something I don't need for anything else (my old flow used speed and cadence quite happily)

Now i'm using 2 bikes on this.... really don't want to be spending £700 on the trainer, and then have to pay another £300 per bike for a power meter....any other options?

 

[Legs]

Get a direct-drive trainer, and swap bikes back and forth. I regularly swap between my 9spd racing bike and my son's 8spd mountain bike on a Tacx Neo 2T, and the change-over only takes about 10 minutes. If both bikes use the same cassette this is quick and easy - a matter of seconds.

 

[BurningLegs]

Get a direct-drive trainer, and swap bikes back and forth. I regularly swap between my 9spd racing bike and my son's 8spd mountain bike on a Tacx Neo 2T, and the change-over only takes about 10 minutes. If both bikes use the same cassette this is quick and easy - a matter of seconds.

Ten minutes is a long time! A Tacx Flow would be approx 2 mins assuming they’re the same wheel size. It’s just tension on the winder at the back of the unit.

I don’t know much about the Rollr but are you sure it doesn’t provide a power reading? I’d be surprised if it doesn’t. Are you also sure it requires no adjustment between bikes? I can imagine that if the bikes are different lengths (different wheelbase) then it might need adjusting???

One downside of the Tacx Flow in this use-case is that you apply adjustment to the wonder and then click/unclick the unit onto the wheel. That makes it super quick and simple to use with one bike but involves more trial and error when using multiple bikes.

The Kickr snap uses a winder only (the resistance unit isn’t applied with a lock/unlock with tension applied like the Tacx Flow). This means it will take the same time (less than 10seconds) to apply resistance to any bike because you wind until the unit touches the wheel then do two full turns. Probably better suited to multiple bikes than the Tacx approach.

 

[rivers]

Favero Assioma pedals. Takes about 2 minutes to swap between bikes and re-calibrate

 

[cougie uk]

ok, so despite the advice... I'm really leaning toward getting a Kickr Rollr. It just seems to tick my boxes more than anything else.

only issue being, to use Zwift I seem to need a power meter... something I don't need for anything else (my old flow used speed and cadence quite happily)

Now i'm using 2 bikes on this.... really don't want to be spending £700 on the trainer, and then have to pay another £300 per bike for a power meter....any other options?

Get a smart turbo that Zwift can read power from unless you're planning on racing on the road. Then any bike can show you power on Zwift. Plenty of choice out there.

 

[Legs]

Ten minutes is a long time! A Tacx Flow would be approx 2 mins assuming they’re the same wheel size. It’s just tension on the winder at the back of the unit.

Yeah, the process is:
1) Remove my bike and hang it up
2) Fully remove skewer from trainer, crack and remove cassette, set cassette aside.
3) Tweak orientation of narrow spacer behind cassette (because my cassette and Andrew's cassette have rivets in different locations w.r.t the wide spline).
4) Swap 130mm spacer for 135mm spacer.
5) Remove rear wheel from Andrew's bike, crack and remove cassette, set wheel aside.
6) Install cassette on trainer, replace skewer.
7) Mount Andrew's bike on trainer.
8) Put away tools.
It would be less than a minute if we were both on 9spd, though! That said, I'd glad that we're not running two chains on the same cassette because he uses his MTB for outdoorsy-stuff too!

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Your options are not to get the rollr and get a wheel off trainer like the Kickr or Core, or a pedal system, whether single or double sided

 

[Alex321]

I don’t know much about the Rollr but are you sure it doesn’t provide a power reading? I’d be surprised if it doesn’t.

It doesn't. It s a roller based trainer, not a direct drive one. On Wahoo's own site, they suggest their power meter pedals if you want power readings with it.

 

[si_c]

I think pedals are probably the best bet here, even a single sided pair will work well. But keep in mind that you may need to change your cleat choice, the Wahoo power meter pedals are Speedplay which is unlikely to be what you use currently and if you use shimano cleats you are limited in choice (Garmin Rally RS100/RS200 is the only out of the box solution but relatively expensive) as most use Look cleats.

Crankarm power meters (4iiii which is what I use, or Stages) are also a reasonable choice, depending on which drive train you use on your bikes, they are quite quick and easy to swap between bikes if you are halfway competent with a set of hex wrenches, especially if you leave the pedal attached. That being said I ended up getting a second as I was never happy which bike it was attached to.

 

[cougie uk]

Changing pedals will be a PITA though and eventually you'll mess it up and strip the thread. I remember Manchester Velodrome would let you swap pedals over on the hire bikes until people started knackering the threads.

Best bet is to buy a Turbo with built in power readings.

 

[Hudson1984]

So, ordered the Rollr....with their own power pedals....so no more spending for me for a while lol.

These are for my wifes bike, so the pedals are actually going to be worth more than the ruddy bike!! So shoes will be purchased to match the needs on these

I'm in the market for my bike, so i'm hoping to have more options on what I go for, I'm hoping I can use a 4iiii set and stick with SPD cleats as it's what i've used before and found comfortable...that being said, not sure how easy i'll find clipping in and out as I had a hip op so twisting is sometimes sore....see how I get on, at least with the crank I have pedal options if I find SPD no longer works for me

 

[si_c]

So, ordered the Rollr....with their own power pedals....so no more spending for me for a while lol.

These are for my wifes bike, so the pedals are actually going to be worth more than the ruddy bike!! So shoes will be purchased to match the needs on these

I'm in the market for my bike, so i'm hoping to have more options on what I go for, I'm hoping I can use a 4iiii set and stick with SPD cleats as it's what i've used before and found comfortable...that being said, not sure how easy i'll find clipping in and out as I had a hip op so twisting is sometimes sore....see how I get on, at least with the crank I have pedal options if I find SPD no longer works for me

I use dual sided SPD pedals on one of my bikes - I use it for leisure rides as well as just running down to the shops. In the latter case I use trainers with the flat side of the pedals, which works perfectly for me, R7000 left side 4iiii power meter.

 

[BurningLegs]

So, ordered the Rollr....with their own power pedals....so no more spending for me for a while lol.

These are for my wifes bike, so the pedals are actually going to be worth more than the ruddy bike!! So shoes will be purchased to match the needs on these

I'm in the market for my bike, so i'm hoping to have more options on what I go for, I'm hoping I can use a 4iiii set and stick with SPD cleats as it's what i've used before and found comfortable...that being said, not sure how easy i'll find clipping in and out as I had a hip op so twisting is sometimes sore....see how I get on, at least with the crank I have pedal options if I find SPD no longer works for me

If you go for the MTB SPD cleats then there is a multi-release option which means you can just firmly pull your foot up to release.