Which smart home trainer for my Cannondale Topstone 2 (2021)?

[mikkelmarius]

I bought my first bike this year, a Cannondale Topstone 2 (2021). As the colder season is approaching I was hoping to buy a smart trainer to use it for riding on Zwift over the winter. But as a bike noob I find it almost impossible to figure out what to get.

I have been looking at the Wahoo Kickr Snap. It's within my price range, it gets good reviews and I like the idea of a wheel-on trainer because I imagine it's easier to install and relatively fast to uninstall when I want to go riding outside again. But according to the Wahoo website the Kickr Snap doesn't seem to fit on my bike.

Another trainer I've been looking at is the Tacx Flow Smart Trainer. My problem with that one is that I can't figure out which adapter, if any, will make it fit on my bike. I've contacted Garmin and my local importer but none of them have gotten back to me.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for a smart trainer that will work with my bike? Thanks for reading and for any insights!

 

[Sharky]

To give you some alternative thoughts, why not invest in some decent winter clothing and lights. Don't know where you are, but summer months can be stretched to the end of October with the right clothing.
November can be a wind down month and December is usually occupied with Xmas shopping and entertainment. For me cycling starts again in January, usually is knocked sideways by bad weather in February and real training resumes in March and racing again in April.
I do have an old non smart trainer that will be brought out if bad weather lasts more than a week, but these are rare occasions. As long as I get out for a good workout once a week, I can keep my fitness ticking over.

Whatever you decide, I wish you luck and many years ahead of you, cycling.

 

[gcogger]

I don't have any specific suggestions, but it may not be easy to get this working. I have the same bike, and bought a TacX adapter for an ancient (not very smart!) Flow trainer. There were 2 problems:

• With the stock (37mm) tyres, the wheel appears too large to engage with the trainer properly. I have the official adapter kit for the trainer, for use with larger tyres, but I couldn't adjust it far enough to work. I need to have another go (the adjustment screw came all the way out, so I need to disassemble then reassemble things to try again). Hopefully a more modern trainer would be suited for people that fit larger tyres, but I'd check carefully (unless you're going to fit different tyres just for the trainer).
• The bigger problem is the shape of the frame where the through axle is fitted - it stands proud of where the through axle is attached.
  The trainer adapter has a shaped head on one end, and is extra long to make room for a shaped nut on the other end - the trainer then clamps on the 2 ends. On mine, I needed to use the supplied spacers, to make the 2 ends stand out far enough from the frame that the clamps would not hit (and damage!) the frame. Unfortunately the supplied adapter, while extra long, is not long enough. The nut that you attach to one end was barely engaging the thread, and I wouldn't feel confident using it. It doesn't help that the adapter appears to be made of aluminium for some crazy reason, and is therefore not very strong.

 

[mikkelmarius]

Don't know where you are, but summer months can be stretched to the end of October with the right clothing.

You're probably right about that but unfortunately snow in March is far from uncommon where I am so I might not be able to ride outside until spring. I've just bought some training clothes for winter, though, so thanks for the gentle kick in the behind.

The bigger problem is the shape of the frame where the through axle is fitted - it stands proud of where the through axle is attached.

Yeah from what I've been able to gather that seems like a problem that's not really solvable, unfortunately. Thanks for your input!

I've been looking at the Wahoo Kickr Core instead of the wheel-on options. The Wahoo website doesn't mention any compatibility issues between that one and my bike. Does anyone have any experience or input to help guide me there?

 

[Sittingduck]

I have a Flow and found it to be unreliable. I upgraded to a wheel off trainer (Neo mk1) and the difference is night and day. If you really can only afford wheel on then fine but if there is a chance to go for a Neo or a Kickr Core I would strongly recommend it.

 

[Buck]

I’m not familiar with the Topstone but does this help?

https://support.garmin.com/en-GB/?faq=5B7HotajM5AWW2HRbGSm1A

Garmin may be able to help on their live chat with more detail?