TURBO TRAINERS

Indoor biking can be the most efficient way to train, and there are now plenty of sophisticated options to choose from. We test five of the best...

With the latest generation of smart trainers being so sophisticated - and even fun when connected to a virtual cycling app – increasing numbers of triathletes are turning their backs on the great outdoors altogether during the colder (and sometimes warmer) months, in favour of their home training set-up. You may even be lucky enough to have a whole room dedicated to your suffering – a ‘pain cave’ as we like to call them.

Gone are the days when you’d simply lock your bike into a ‘dead’ turbo trainer and use a dial to create resistance. The more sophisticated smart trainers in 2020 come with power meters, Bluetooth connection and plenty of built-in virtual resistance, so you can push yourself to the limit without having to halt because of the cold. All five trainers on test are interactive and compatible with many virtual training apps, which can essentially turn an arduous slog-fest into a cycling computer game.

With the prices of all five smart trainers on test higher than many entry-level bikes, they’re a serious investment, but certainly a worthwhile one if you’re going to use it year-round. To test the trainers, we used the same bike and did numerous sessions on each, connecting them to the Zwift training app. We used power meter pedals we know to be accurate to check consistence in power readings, and took value, specification, ride feel and quietness into consideration to reach our verdicts.