![]() I just don’t think it makes sense to put them in the lower priced category, though the case could easily be made that they compete with the $1,000+ trainers (and are almost universally a better buy). Mid-High End $700-$1,000: This category exists because there’s a clear line in the sand between the flood of sub-$599 trainers, and the flotilla of $700-800 trainers. ![]() Most of these are wheel-on trainers, except one…the new Elite Zumo. Mid-Range $500-$700: These are where we see electronic resistance control, as well as the majority of features and full app integration. Most apps support these in a basic manner. So, here’s the 2018 buckets, aligned to the trends of trainer pricing in 2018:īudget – Sub-$500: These tend to be basic in functions, and lack automated controls, but some do still have some electronics. Meanwhile, someone looking for a $599 trainer isn’t likely the same person as one looking at a $1,199 trainer. Meaning, someone looking to spend $599 is probably OK spending $699, and someone teetering at $529 might be OK spending that $699 too if the benefits make sense. My purpose isn’t so much moving the goalposts, as it is making the groupings more logical. ![]() I had to change my price bucketing last year to account for this, and once again I tweaked things a tiny bit this year. For example, functionality and accuracy that used to be reserved for $1,200 trainers has slid down to $900 trainers. Over the last few years we’ve continued to see major shifting in price vs feature-set combinations. Still, I’m lucky enough to have been able to try almost everything made by all the major trainer companies this year, at least at the mid to upper end (I don’t tend to review the 183 different models of trainers from $75 to $200). This is, again, my *recommendations*, not the holy grail of everything ever made by everyone. Though I will briefly discuss why I didn’t include some trainers in this piece at the end. My goal is NOT to make a roundup of every trainer on the market. I keep it simple and explain exactly why I feel a given way. When I look at recommendations across all products I make, I try and recommend products to you in the same way that I’d do to friends and family. Certainly, there are some trainers that were announced this year that aren’t yet available – you won’t find those recommendations here unless I have a unit on-hand. How I make trainer recommendationsįirst and foremost, I only recommend trainers I’ve actually used. I’ve already posted many such reviews this fall. ![]() Trainer reviews will happen as final versions of trainers come in. There are no further watches to be announced by any mainstream wearable company this year. My goal being to wrap up all the outstanding new wearable reviews by that timeframe. I have notes at the bottom of this post for all my caveats and why-nots.įinally, for those looking for general sports technology recommendations (watches/action cams/activity trackers/scales/etc.…), I tend to publish those late the week of Nov 12th. So for things that are still outstanding, it’s tougher for me to recommend them at this time. Generally speaking, I’m not going to recommend something unless I have a unit in the DCR Cave (exceptions are noted as such). And those that aren’t are within 2-4 weeks of shipping. While not everything that’s been announced is shipping, most things are. Some of them made big jumps, while most made more incremental bumps in specs and features. In any case, we saw new smart trainers from virtually every major brand this year, as well as some smaller brands. You can reference last year’s post though to see some of those cheaper suggestions. As such, all my recommendations are old there (though, the tech and trainers themselves in that category frankly haven’t changed any). The reason is relatively simple: While I occasionally briefly try non-smart trainers at trade shows or the like, I just don’t ride them these days. Specifically ones that transmit some sort of ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart signal (dual/concurrently), and allow control of the trainer itself. Instead of all trainers, I’m focusing on smart trainers. But with so many new (and really good) trainers coming out this past year, I’m narrowing that focus a bit. Now in the past I’ve covered all trainers, from $70 units up to $1,600 trainers. And the new trainer announcement season itself has stretched from late spring to just this morning (with two new entrants in the last 24 hours) With indoor training apps and the entire experience becoming more and more immersive, more and more people are using them all year round. Though in reality, that’s actually not terribly true these days. It’s that time of year again: Indoor trainer season.
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