I don't know what a Phantom 3 is, but it sounds like a complete spin bike or something. If the Phantom can get you in a similar position to your road or TT bike and you are not looking to be competitive, you'll probably be fine. This assumes you'll get out on the road periodically too.

I am very happy with my Hammer and the ability to put your bike on it. A real trainer (especially direct drive) is going to be better than any spin or exercise bike since you can get accurate power readings and use your own bike. However if you're happy with the progress you are making, there's not a big reason to switch.

An issue I often see with exercise bikes is that they do not get you in a good position and the seats are horrible. Putting any real time on them will cause major chafing and not help you with riding on the road. They also are not accurate at all with their power, so the metrics are useless. Again, I know nothing about the Phantom 3 though.

I just noticed you are planning on doing an IM. You're going to need to put some good time on your bike to get used to the saddle, position, cranks, etc. Things to think about....

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Thanks for the info.. the phantom 3 is cycleops $2400 indoor bike so it does have power tap and most bells and whistles.

You can't switch gears.. just resistance but I do like not having to put wear on my bike and taking it apart.

Today is my last day to return so I'm just looking for input.

I just checked the CycleOps page and must wonder why you aren’t considering the Phantom 5? Since that is the bike to give equal training experience as the Hammer with smart functionality.
Maybe you could buy a Hammer and a cheap extra bike if you don’t want to put all the indoor mileage on the fancy bike

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Personal best:
Ironman 9:22:02
Ironman 70.3 4:20:00

Because I got the phantom 3 at a play it again sports for $1000.

I guess I do have a cheap bike for a hammer. But if its not my race bike etc... then shouldn't I just stay with this phantom 3?

Can the phantom 3 support 3rd party training apps like Zwift or Trainerroad? If it doesn't I'd return it.

For $900 you can get a Tacx Flux which I'd prefer over the that. A Cyclops Hammer is nice or for the same price as that there is a Wahoo kickr to consider.

Yeah it interacts with those. I've only used rouvy thus far.

Phantom is a flywheel so not sure if there are any pro's or con's with that vs a hammer type set up. I also have an old fluid trainer that I dont like at all, but I could exchange for 20% a hammer on that promo they are running.

Let's put it this way. If I'm spending more than $500 on a trainer it better have smart control. That is just me. Would that 20% trade in deal work for a Cycleops Magnus? A lot less $$ but is still a wheel on option like your fluid but has smart control.

I actually dont like the wheel on for some reason...so I think I want a direct drive or just an indoor bike.

I've never used a direct drive so not sure if there is any benefit that I"m missing from this flywheel indoor bike I'm on now. It's a pretty 'smart' indoor bike so I think its arguably better than the hammer as it sits now.

Understood. Again, I'm just letting you know what I'd do if I was in the market for a new trainer. I almost bought a wheel-on smart trainer but decided to wait it out so I could have the budget for a direct drive smart trainer.

Whatever gets you riding. Not sure if you'd like a direct driver trainer as it seems the indoor experience is something that so far hasn't been for you. I'd say keep an open mind to a smart control trainer even if it is wheel on because from the reviews from others is the experience is much improved.

If you can try them out first before making the decision. But I get that you have a deadline with the Phantom.

With your first post I had no idea what it was and did a search found a popular drone as the highest result. Had to add the Cycleops to the search to find out it was a indoor bike and not a drone.

haha...I did the same thing with the drone, thats funny.

I have enjoyed indoor training this last week, a couple hundred miles on this 'phantom 3' already. So indoors isnt the problem, I was just more up against this deadline and started looking at direct drives and wondered if that was better than this drone!

How much time (hrs/week) will you get on your race bike between now and the Ironman race? If it's a lot then it probably doesn't matter what you ride indoors (as long as you ride!). If it's not a lot then you need to consider position adaptation and on-the-bike experience (shifting, hydration, etc)

As a fitter, my thoughts:

• you need to make sure you can do race day duration in the aero position (5-7 hrs??). This doesn't happen overnight or in a few weeks.
• you need to adapt to said position such that any power loss due to being in the aero position can be made up and you're on the correct side of the benefit curve. This takes longer than the above point.
• all of your long rides need to be in whatever your race day position will be. If your race is soon and some of those long rides are indoors then you need to be in your race position indoors.

I'm speaking very generically since I don't know your goals, pace, experience, equipment options, etc.

I returned the indoor bike...and picked up a Hammer. I got 20% off and I already like this way better!

thanks for all the input!