Okay so assume I have a bike and nothing else. No power meter, no trainer. I am looking to solve 2 needs

1) A way to do controller indoor bike workouts (especially during the winter months)
2) I want to finally move up to training with power, at least on my indoor workouts (outdoor power can come later).

So first I want a platform to do it. Something with some videos and give me a plan. Seems like trainer-road gets good reviews, so cool - going to use that.

Now I need to figure the rest of the stuff, namely trainer and power meter. Current options seem to be:

a) Wahoo Kickr for $1100 (they really charge $100 more for the 11 speed casette? Can I buy a 11 speed Shimano 5800 on my own and save $50)
b) Kurt Kinetic Road Machine for ~$329
c) Kurt Kinetic Rock & Roll for $469

It seems like the Kickr will feed real power data into my trainer road.. but the Kurt Kinetics are on the trainer road "blessed" list, and will give me virtualized power. Maybe 10-20w off my real power, but seems totally fine to train on over the winter. Kickr is cool in that it can adjust the resistance of the unit to say match a hill in a trainer road video (not sure they even do that?), but on the Kurt Kinetic I can just shift up or down a gear when I want to make it easier or harder.

Tell me why I should spend another $700-$800 on a kickr? I am not seeing why, but clearly I am missing something. Also the Rock & Roll is tempting to not feel so static and boring...

Couple of thoughts:
1. The $100 upcharge - I think part of that might also cover the 11 speed compatible freehub. So an 11 speed cassette may not fit on their older freehub. Not sure...

2. You are right in that you can use the KK with trainer road, but the difference of course is that it is up to you to force yourself to the 'suggested' wattage they are telling you to do. With the 'erg' mode on a Kickr (or computrainer) it takes care of that for you. IMHO that is worth a ton!

Oh, and if you are going to go with a KK style trainer, I wouldn't pay the extra for the Rock and Roll. I tried it for a couple months. It did not feel real, and in fact it just felt like my bike was trying to lean over more that usual, I really didn't like it.

If money is a concern, maybe try to find a used computrainer?

You don't need any of this.

For the most effective workouts and race pacing you will want a power meter and a good reliable indoor trainer. I would suggest a Powertap and a Kurt Kinetic road machine. This way you will have power when you race and train(on the trainer and on the road) and you will have a good trainer that will last damn near forever (KKs are built like tanks in a good way). Kickrs are awesome pieces of tech, but you can't take the power part of it on the road with you which is important for pacing and for knowing yourself. At the end of the day you will spend about what you would on a Kickr, but it will be a lot more versatile.

You forgot one option, pay $600 for the BKool trainer and get 90% of what you get from the kickr minus reliable power.

http://www.bkool.com/home-trainer

A couple other things to consider in the KK vs Kickr debate. The "need" for a trainer tire, likely mounted on a spare wheel increases the cost. Also that KK has a power module, so that price would need to be added as well if you chose that route.

All of this really depends how serious you are about the trainer time. If you get >100 hours of indoor riding per year the nice stuff (Kickr, CompuTrainer, etc) really make the whole experience a lot nicer. Everyone gets a bit bonkers by late winter anyhow and having a better unit helps.

I want to be serious, at least 3 days a week in the winter, and maybe half my training year round. So happy to pay more if its better. But such a mixed bag here so far.. having to use my shift on a KK doesn't really hurt me, does it?

just get Trainerroad and the damn Kickr and never look back. You're spending more energy than necessary worrying about minor things. The extra $$ are worth it.

Why is the Kickr worth $600 more ;)

It's a great set up in my opinion. I have a kickr, Trainerroad and a bunch of Sufferfest videos. I don't have to shift. I don't worry about tire pressure, slippage and wear. I get on the bike and hit my workouts and move on with my day. There's $600 in my time right there.

Nice. But you do need a few more minutes to get the bike on and off it vs a normal trainer.

In an ideal world, I would get the kickr, trainer road, and a power meter for my bike for outdoor riding and racing. In that order, if you are going to be doing a lot of indoor riding (which it sounds like you are)