Smart trainer or the new Elite Nero (roller)?

[wheelsONfire]

Looking for a trainer, but the more i read the more uncertain i get.
A buddy of mine swore by rollers!!
But lately i totally forgot about them reading up on all the smart trainers.
However, the new Elite Nero caught my eye.
What do you guys think?

[mattr]

Have you used rollers before?

[wheelsONfire]

I have never used rollers

[mattr]

Get a cheaper set and learn how to use them first. Or it could be a very expensive mistake.

Anyone can use a turbo trainer, some people never, ever get the hang of rollers. It took me 5 or 6 sets, ~25 years and a lot of shredded skin/bike parts. I can now ride them (easy), out of the saddle (hmmm), no handed (tricky) and sprint (the effort of concentration is almost harder than the physical effort).

[wheelsONfire]

This was actually a thing i was contemplating. Especially if i run zwift or something similar.
I don't know how much road feel these new smart trainers achieve compared to my old Tacx Booster?
But this one is not funny at all.

[Orbital]

I went from a trainer, to a spin bike and finally settled on rollers. Love them. Bought a used set and picked it up pretty quickly.

[wheelsONfire]

Thanks Orbital!
I guess it's a more lively and dynamic feel riding rollers?

[mattr]

I don't know how much road feel these new smart trainers achieve compared to my old Tacx Booster?

Masses, the difference is huge. Even a basic smart trainer (wheel on) will probably be better than a Tacx booster. Anything wheel off will be another stage better.

[cro2]

I've used Tacx Booster for season preparation for the entire winter of 2017/18. As I live in a flat and have some really crappy neighbours, I was forced to ride with the highest drag setting and using low gears to get the desired power output, yet the noise and vibration levels were still quite high. This resulted in a very poor feeling, quite far from what you would call a road feel. This fall I switched to Wahoo Kickr Core and the difference is like a day and night. It's very quiet, basically the only noise you get is from the drivetrain. It integrates seamlessly with Zwift and has some very cool features for a power focused training. I can't tell about rollers as I've never used them, but go with a good smart trainer and you'll be satisfied.

[wheelsONfire]

For me the most important is that i remain on the unit. I have no preferences as i haven't tried them.

What worries me is that i have never got along with the one i have. If i could sit on that thing an hour, well, that never happens.
It's basically a parking for my road bike.

[cro2]

It was a similar issue with me when I had the Booster. Every minute above the 1 hour mark was rather unpleaseant. It's a completely different story with Wahoo 2 hours ain't a problem.

[mattr]

Yeah, going from a wheel on mag trainer (20 minutes max, structured training) to tacx flux (could do near enough an hour, last 20 minutes were painful, psychologically, both structured and zwift) to a neo (done 90 minutes on Zwift, the session finished, i was knackered, but mind was ok).
The better trainers are simply, better.

The flux felt a little odd, the rocking on the neo was well worth it.

[wheelsONfire]

Which of all these offer the easiest setup running a PC?
I can't stand stuff which comes with alot of hassle.

[c60rider]

Get a cheaper set and learn how to use them first. Or it could be a very expensive mistake.

Anyone can use a turbo trainer, some people never, ever get the hang of rollers. It took me 5 or 6 sets, ~25 years and a lot of shredded skin/bike parts. I can now ride them (easy), out of the saddle (hmmm), no handed (tricky) and sprint (the effort of concentration is almost harder than the physical effort).

I don't know why this was the case. I bought the elite real e-motion rollers about 5 or 6 years ago now having never ridden rollers in my life. Within 10 mins riding in a hallway with walls either side I was able to ride without touching. Maybe the fact that they're on bungie type cords to accommodate fore-aft movement helps but I've never looked back since and would only ever use rollers again. The only thing I can't do is sprint out of the saddle on them but it's possible to knock out 600 plus watts (measured from my power meter) so that's plenty enough for any indoor session. I would never buy any trainer that my bike is fixed to as my concentration doesn't need to be up there to ride on it and subsequently becomes boring very quickly. Rollers with resistance on them are brilliant in my opinion so I would always recommend using those. But they might not suit everyone.

[wheelsONfire]

Looking at KickR 2018 and Neo 2800 and 2850.
KickR has better price than Neo 2850.
What seems nice with the Elite Nero roller, is the two flywheels instead of one.
Sprinting should be best on Neo as has an option to flex sideways.
Also that cobble rumble feature in the 2850.
But this unit cost an arm and a leg.

I can see the positives in a roller. You work your balance which you won't at a fixed trainer.
However, trainer allows you to slack a bit.
I wish i could call a psychotherapist to get some help on this choice