My Tacx Vortex stopped working last night. Thinking a power surge killed it but that’s a different story. In the market for a new one now. Looking at going direct mount. Got 500 to spend maybe a bit more so what would you recommend.

I’m out of the loop since buying mine last Xmas, but I’d probably consider https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Elite-Direto-Direct-Drive-Turbo-Trainer/233022951184?hash=item3641400f10:g:Ci8AAOSwcj1aRLd3:rk:5:pf:0 with “peachy” code tonight for ~£580.

Recently bought myself a flux for 450 quid from Halfords.the first one made a horrible noise when in the higher gears and the replacement isn’t much better. So before anyone suggests that, be wary. I think they have a bad batch.

If you can stretch to a KICKR Core then you won’t be dissolved. The elites are very good too.

I have the Elite Direto and very happy with it. Haven’t had any other Smart trainer so can’t compare but it’s “relatively” cheap, quiet and power output is accurate.

You’re probably aware or it but just in case this is considered the go to site for all info turbo related
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/

My flux went back to Halfords last weekend too. Don’t get one. I just traded it in for a flow, which is surprisingly good – use a power tap for power, and the ERG mode is not much worse than the flux.

Another halfords flux returner here. Bit of googling afterwards suggests there’s a mix of old duff batches and newer ones with better QC. Credit to halfords, they happily gave a refund with no issues whatever. Could have gambled again, but decided to look at more reliable alternatives.

Flux also limited in terms of what will fit – short cage mech only and no boost. Limits things if planning on using an MTB on it.

You Flux returners…was it the basic Flux, not the Flux S as I am hoping this model is the one that fixes the issues?

mine was a 2018 Flux – but reliability reports on the flux S are not good – check out the owners page on facebook.

My local halfords had another broken one by the till when I took mine back, and had had 7 additional ones returned. Staff were great, they didn’t even ask me what was wrong with it!

I bought a basic flux recently on offer, got a bit noisy and made cracking noises which turned out to be poor lubrication from the factory. greased the shaft holding the freehub on and all has been good since then. But, I think I may be in a minority!

Think I’ll stay away from the flux lol. Do like the look of the Direto tho.

Another direto user here. Got mine from Halfords with BC and works discount.

My Halfords Flux is fine, its a bit squeaky until its warmed up for 5 mins or so, otherwise all good. Hopefully it’ll stay that way… I kept the box & receipt.

Direto here, great bit of kit and no issues 🙂

Yep – another happy Direto owner here.

Just to mention there’ll be a few other bits you’ll need to get regardless of what trainer you get. You’ll want to subscribe to one of the training apps as the apps from the suppliers tend to be fairly basic. Main ones are TrainerRoad, Sufferfest, Zwift though there are loads others. Most give
a free trial period so you can decide what works for you. Most are reviewed and compared on DCRainmaker. If you’re running the training app on an android or iOS device the trainer will connect fine but if you plan to run from a windows laptop then you’ll need to get an Ant+ or bluetooth dongle. I find Ant+ to be more reliable with the Direto (doesn’t drop the connection).

Also looking at the mo – would you take a decent turbo like the one’s mentioned to an event to warm up? Or are they too smart for that and you’d just use something basic?
I quite like sitting on the turbo before a test – wondering if the portability is something to consider or if that’s not really the game, and you just plant them at home.

And another happy Direto owner 👍

Well they need to plugged in to work in smart mode but the Direto does provide a degree of resistance when not plugged in so I guess you could use it as a warm up at an event.

would you take a decent turbo like the one’s mentioned to an event to warm up? Or are they too smart for that and you’d just use something basic?
I quite like sitting on the turbo before a test – wondering if the portability is something to consider or if that’s not really the game, and you just plant them at home.

If you’re sure you can keep it dry (and secure (££)), crack on – they don’t all offer “proper” resistance when unplugged so check that. I have a drivo and really like it but it’s bloody heavy to carry around and I think it offers pretty low resistance when it’s switched off (though I’ve never properly pedaled it, just turned the cranks by hand while greasing or adjusting things)

Thks – didn’t realise they only had a bit of resistance without power. Thinking about it I usually leave my car keys in the wheel arch for a time trial, so prob not a goer.

Wahoo kicker here. Expensive but wanted to use Zwift via a laptop without all the connection issues. Once I got a ant+ dongle it was plug and play, quieter than I expected.

@Garry_Lager, you need one of these! A bit more secure than leaving your key in the wheel arch.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Frostfire-Mooncode-Portable-Security-Protective/dp/B0011U1U8E/ref=cts_sp_3_vtp

I’m doing a bit of hmmm and maybe at the moment on a Neo and a KickR. Wondering whether they’ll give me anything over the KickR Snap i currently have.

Wiggle have the Neo down at £890 currently… the KickR is £999.

I could ship out the Snap for £300.

Once you’ve gone Direct Drive, you won’t go back. I keep a bike on the KICKR permanently. It is a great piece of kit. The Core is the value option now, same resistance as my 2016 KICKR, silent, works with all their other toys. And I think you’d like the CLIMB too, not cheap, but CORE plus CLIMB would be my choice. Why wouldn’t you want to tilt the bike on climbs 😀

Thks feed, should get something like that for the keys.

Swithering here me ownself as a basic turbo with a powermeter on the bike works well for me with TR – it can be a bit klunky on the gear changes, plus the turbo drifts a bit. I’m sure the core is nice and all, but it’s a lot of cash to improve two minor issues.
OTOH a lot of the challenge for me with training is getting on the turbo when you really don’t want to, so I can see how small intangibles on how it feels pedalling can make a significant difference.

The Core or the Flux2 seem the value yes.. I was wondering about the facility for downhill simulation on the Neo and whether that would matter.

I don’t currently have a 3rd bike, but that’s not to say it’s an impossible idea by any means, but we start getting into storage thoughts then so it’s likely the Parkwood would stay on there a fair bit, but not necessarily 100% of the time..

Returning my Flux to Halfords tonight 🙁

@ weeksy

https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/bike-trainers/original-wahoo-kickr-powertrainer-refurbished

Gary, I have a basic trainer and have Kreitler rollers too. The KICKR flywheel feel is so far advanced from the basic trainer there is no comparison. It makes riding a pleasure and ride times of two hours are not at issue. Since it weights 25 kg, I take the basic trainer to races to warm up. Actually I’ve tended to take the rollers instead as there is less pfaff around the start time.

I’d go with CORE and CLIMB to tilt downhill, as opposed to power downhill on Tacx. There isn’t a bad choice though.

https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/bike-trainers/original-wahoo-kickr-powertrainer-refurbished

5 years old now and even though refurbished i’d rather spend the extra and go new. I’m going to spend an hour later doing some testing on mine but without a power meter i’m only testing the difference between the FE-C and the non-FEC modes to see if they’re different really.
I’m not exactly sure when my turbo/settings changed from FE-C mode but it wouldn’t shock me that it was about when i started getting better results racing 😀

But if i go for either the KickR or the Neo then i’m removing any other configurations of wheel tension from the discussions etc. However it could work out for the worse as i find that my real world power is actually where it seems to be now and i’m not quite a podium C all the time LOL. It’s just a question of whether i want to spend £500 to find out these answers really.