raycoltrane
New Member
I have tried the WattBike original and the Atom. It may work in a gym, but for your home it's a waste of money and half the functions don't work reliably or properly.
Whether you think you will need ERG mode or any other features or not, for the cost of an indoor bike trainer you should be adding these in to the longevity factor and additional capability, particularly if you become a better cyclist and get more into the hobby.
As someone who has cycled for decades I would strongly advise anybody not to buy an expensive static bike. Issues with positioning, saddle fitment and a whole host of other issues mean you are stuck with the bike and the supplier until the entire bike breaks. This applies to hardware and software. Peloton did allow zwift integration before, in the sense of allowing users to sideload, with some fuss, zwift on to the peloton tablet. This is gradually being disabled across the range of Peloton bike.
Your best bet for future compatibility AND sell-ability in future is: indoor turbo trainer, a bike you are comfortable to ride and enjoy using, with an old laptop, tablet or even your phone connected to any old monitor to use your favoured training program.
I now use a Tacx Neo (version 1, original) and it is fantastic. It is user serviceable, unlike the new 2T version that Garmin has used proprietary bearings within and no tool yet exists to service it.
If you aren't into cycling then a £300 to £600 turbo trainer, used with your favoured bike, should last you for years. My own personal preference if I was doing things all over again would be to buy a second hand Tacx Neo v1, as they appear to be bulletproof and are easily fixed. I've not had to fix mine in 4 years and I love how quiet it is - another consideration for those living in apartments or living with those with sensitive ears.
I explored a range of options over the last two years and various faults with the WattBike Atom and software restrictions put me off buying one. It is worth remembering that with a trainer+bike+phone/tablet/PC combination you are not tied to any software.
I use zwift, but also use RGT (RoadGrandTours) and Golden Cheetah. Golden Cheetah is opensource and free. You can load training programmes and/or videos to cycle to. I don't use the videos much. This gives a way to achieve FTP improvement and cycling goals without much brain effort. Watching a TV series or movie means I don't mind 60 to 120 minutes on this setup. I strongly recommend it and, having used a WattBike in the gym, can only say that cycling in comfort on my own bike indoors rates far higher for me than having a massive single unit arrive with everything integrated. I therefore won't be engaging with Peloton or WattBike in the future, nor the other brands who provide a single unit bike for indoor training, as they lead to a world of captive software, less comfort and of course less enjoyment of cycling indoors.
Cycling should always be enjoyable.
Whether you think you will need ERG mode or any other features or not, for the cost of an indoor bike trainer you should be adding these in to the longevity factor and additional capability, particularly if you become a better cyclist and get more into the hobby.
As someone who has cycled for decades I would strongly advise anybody not to buy an expensive static bike. Issues with positioning, saddle fitment and a whole host of other issues mean you are stuck with the bike and the supplier until the entire bike breaks. This applies to hardware and software. Peloton did allow zwift integration before, in the sense of allowing users to sideload, with some fuss, zwift on to the peloton tablet. This is gradually being disabled across the range of Peloton bike.
Your best bet for future compatibility AND sell-ability in future is: indoor turbo trainer, a bike you are comfortable to ride and enjoy using, with an old laptop, tablet or even your phone connected to any old monitor to use your favoured training program.
I now use a Tacx Neo (version 1, original) and it is fantastic. It is user serviceable, unlike the new 2T version that Garmin has used proprietary bearings within and no tool yet exists to service it.
If you aren't into cycling then a £300 to £600 turbo trainer, used with your favoured bike, should last you for years. My own personal preference if I was doing things all over again would be to buy a second hand Tacx Neo v1, as they appear to be bulletproof and are easily fixed. I've not had to fix mine in 4 years and I love how quiet it is - another consideration for those living in apartments or living with those with sensitive ears.
I explored a range of options over the last two years and various faults with the WattBike Atom and software restrictions put me off buying one. It is worth remembering that with a trainer+bike+phone/tablet/PC combination you are not tied to any software.
I use zwift, but also use RGT (RoadGrandTours) and Golden Cheetah. Golden Cheetah is opensource and free. You can load training programmes and/or videos to cycle to. I don't use the videos much. This gives a way to achieve FTP improvement and cycling goals without much brain effort. Watching a TV series or movie means I don't mind 60 to 120 minutes on this setup. I strongly recommend it and, having used a WattBike in the gym, can only say that cycling in comfort on my own bike indoors rates far higher for me than having a massive single unit arrive with everything integrated. I therefore won't be engaging with Peloton or WattBike in the future, nor the other brands who provide a single unit bike for indoor training, as they lead to a world of captive software, less comfort and of course less enjoyment of cycling indoors.
Cycling should always be enjoyable.
