I went from a kickr back to a dumb trainer. The reason is that the resistance on the kickr kept going all funky and dropping out. I went back to a dumb trainer simply because I didn’t want to spend $1400 on another trainer.

Haha fair enough. Mine works ok, but I like the kk resistance better and dare I say I even like changing gear to get a higher power. I know the kk can act like a dumb trainer but I find it’s power curve a bit strange

I'm often back on the Lemond Revolution when I'm in "damn it, just train" mode. I love the ride feel of that beast. It's also what I used for years when I was putting out my best numbers, so it's a security blanket of sorts. I know it has worked in the past. Oh, and that buttery smooth ride feel. Did I mention the ride feel? :)

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Shane Miller - GPLama
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I think CycleOps made a mistake discontinuing the Silencer for this very reason. A solid direct drive dumb trainer I think has a spot in this market for people like you...and me.

I resonate with Ride feel and the security blanket of sorts. I put out my best season and numbers when busting chops and focused on the trainer. Set and forget erg mode has just deadened it a bit for me, it’s hard to put my fi get on it. Technically it shouldn’t make me a worse rider but I do think smart trainers can actually make training more mundane rather than enhance it in certain circumstances

I purchased a new 2017 Kickr in November, thinking that I would use it for a portion of my indoor training. I have a set of Tru-trainer rollers (with supplemental load resistance bar) on a homemade free-motion set-up that I have been using for the past decade. After a few sessions, I knew the Kickr was not for me. The road feel of my rollers is so much better and being able to move the bike versus being fixed in one position makes the indoor experience so much more tolerable. I returned the Kickr this past week with zero regrets.

Screw 4K video. I'm going back to VHS.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I used both a cycleops hammer and a kickr over the last 2 years or so, but nothing feels better than my 'dumb' KK. It just feels more realistic to me, and I have power pedals so I'm still able to have structured workouts.

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“The answer is hard work. What are you doing on Christmas Eve? Are you riding your bike? January 1st – are you riding your bike?”- Lance Armstrong

id settle for a blockbuster again

I had a Tacx Vortex. Was fine most of the time. But anytime my phone or computer started acting up with bluetooth/ant+ connection, the trainer was useless. It was buggy for me and when I was in the middle of a multi hour workout and the resistance dropped to nothing, it was frustrating.

Ultimately wanted a direct drive and didn't want to drop the coin on a more reliable smart trainer. Ended up with an Elite Muin. Only direct drive non smart I was aware of. Had it for 6 months and no major complaints. I have a power meter, so really only thing I lose is erg mode and I never raced in zwift when I had the smart trainer. So not losing much except the ability to zone out and not pay attention to power, but that's probably a benefit of going dumb.

I still like ERG mode but have ditched all subscriptions in favor of manual control.

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Interval Design Studio
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amen to that.

I have a Kickr Snap, and I’ve found that using my own power meter as the ‘control’ makes it feel a lot more like how my KK Road Machine did. If the Kickr adjusts it doesn’t feel road like at all - with my power meter (P2Max) I need to shift up or down to adjust power levels like on the KK. Maybe give this a shot???

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
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I had a Computrainer for 11 years. Sold it a couple of years ago, because it was gathering trust. I used it a ton in the Midwest and loved it during the winter. Having moved to SoCal, I rarely ride indoors. I would love to get a Kickr, etc. but am perfectly happy just using my old Cycleops Mag trainer. With my Quarq, I get power readings and can easily gauge how I'm doing or how hard I need to pedal. It's not very realistic, like the Computrainer, when it comes to hitting hills in a virtual environment like Zwift, but that never really felt like how I rode the hills here anyway. If I lived in a place where I would mostly ride 3+ months indoors, I would probably get another smart trainer. What I find interesting is the number of people here who are buying a smart trainer and they don't even ride indoors that much. I wish I could justify dropping the $$ to do that.

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"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps"
Blog = http://extrememomentum.com|Photos = http://wheelgoodphotos.com

I never felt the need to use a smart trainer.
Structured training workouts, play with gears and resistance, a good stimulating video, and ''voilà'' !
I must admit that Zwift with a powermeter is helping a lot with going through the winter without too much of a spleen :-) .

Louis :-)

Never used a "smart trainer" so no experience with them.

I've always used basic so called, "dumb trainers" - first wind resistance, then had one of the first Kurt Kinetic Road units when they first came out, and my set up now is a standard KK Road unit and a set of rollers. I alternate back and forth between the rollers and the KK Road - hard stuff on the latter, easier rides on the rollers.

My metrics for indoor training in the winter are pedal RPM, what gear I'm in and heart rate. I have a few set workouts that I do and benchmark sessions to figure out where I'm at.

Never had a problem with any of this.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Using a Minoura Kagura which is a smart trainer with a dumb setting. I find myself using the dumb mode for most of my z1/z2 rides and switching back to smart mode for anything that needs structure.

As for your cadence do you train at different cadences or do you go with what feels natural?

I never in 100 years would consider this

You don’t get slower because you use a smart trainer. You also don’t change cadence because of a smart trainer

I could agree rollers vs smart trainer ... or maybe don’t like the cost of a smart trainer ... or don’t like your specific brand of smart trainer.. but smart trainer vs dumb? Seems ridiculous

It’s like trading an iPhone X for my Nokia 3310 because I don’t like how big the phone is anymore

I have a LeMond, and I have a hard time trying to justify a smart trainer, especially since I have power meters on my bikes.

I've been unplugging my Kickr SNAP and just using it as a dumb trainer. But that's mostly because I find it to be awful as a smart trainer.

I have gone Wahoo Kickr back to dumb trainer before. Wahoo ERG is not for me...like hitting a brick wall and having to restart every time. I definitely felt my training decline. I had it for 5 months and sold it as fast as I could. I've had friends experience similar things. Sold theirs as well. After reading DC Rainmaker's annual smart trainer report about 2 years ago. I bought an Elite Direto. LOVE it. Zwift is now my new BFF. Sometimes the smart trainer is not compatible with the rider. Elite and Tacx make great products. Between living in frigid winters in DC or the flatlands of Houston, Zwift + smart trainer has well prepared me for races with significant climbs.

The next wave of smart trainers might allow greater customisation of how erg mode works, for ‘static’ traning sessions and gradient for Zwift like sessions. The difference between machines will become less and less. But maybe not for everyone.

Personally I’d like to see a Sportcrafters Omnium like device with magnetic resistance governed by the bike’s power meter, all for 500 dollars/euros.

I loved Block buster.

And yes the KK virtual power is crazy accurate.

What software do you use for manual control? The ones I've tried (free, anyway) aren't very good at it.

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.