It depends on the conditions it is subjected to, but it will vary a lot in some cases. Before the Magnus we had a KK Road Machine. The bikes both had Quarq Rikens on them. We had small drift with my wife, but when I tried to do 2X20's it would drift a lot and force me to shift up another gear on the second 20. The heat sink would be too hot to touch at the end.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

I think either of those are an ok option. I have a PowerBeam Pro I found on craigslist that was only used for 1 or 2 rides. It has worked well for me however, the new-gen models that don't require a rear wheel seem more practical. They are quieter (at least on paper) and don't require a training wheel to spin. My PBP included a Joule computer. I use it to do a spin down (calibrate) every few weeks. I am not sure what other ways there are to do the spin down, but I know Zwift does not support the PBP, maybe someone can chime in if Trainer Road does.

As others have mentioned, a dumb trainer with a modern power meter is probably the way to go if you're on a budget.


Did you have a power meter in addition to the dumb trainer? Because that is what really makes or breaks indoor training for me.

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Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

Another vote for adopting the "buy once, cry once" approach. It's like a bike. You can get by with a several years old, used, budget road bike. But is that the best use of your money?


For me, it always comes down to choosing between the Elite Direto or the Wahoo KICKR.

I ended up going with the Kinetic Fluid Trainer Road Machine 2.0. Lots of you recommended the dumb trainer with the power meter. But I'd rather invest in a nice smart trainer now, and eventually i'll get a nice power meter as well.

Had my first workout this morning and it was great. So nice not having freezing limbs, and having to stop at red lights during intervals.

Thanks for everyone's advice!