Test: Three smart trainers in direct comparison - smart trainers from Elite, Tacx, Wahoo and apps put to the test

Unlike on the road, the cyclist's experience when training on the roller is, shall we say, monotonous. Instead of enjoying the passing landscapes, you stare at a wall for hours on end; instead of a fresh breeze, you suck stuffy air into your lungs; no wind caresses your ears, but the monotonous sound of the roller drills into your consciousness. The only thing missing is that the tyre slips during the next sprint interval, your legs kick into the void and you almost fall off your bike. And because this is bound to frustrate even the most disciplined cyclists sooner or later, many roller trainers end up gathering dust unused in the attic or end up as bargains on the adverts market.

If the advertising messages from Elite, Tacx and Wahoo are to be believed, the new devices, sometimes referred to as smart trainers, sometimes as power trainers, are likely to be much more popular. One thing in particular speaks in favour of this: the direct drive. The racer is clamped into the device with the rear wheel removed, the chain drives the sprocket set and thus the programme-controlled trainer. This makes the ride feel much more realistic on all devices and allows for much more precisely controlled training than conventional roller trainers. Elite and Tacx specify a maximum possible pedalling resistance of around 2,000 watts, while the KickR brakes its rider with up to 1,550 watts. These are values that qualify all three devices for real sprint training, which is not possible with conventional roller trainers.

To provide the desired resistance, the three candidates use different braking technology. An adjustable hydraulic turbine works in Elite's "turbo mill"; in the KickR from Wahoo, the cassette drives a pulley that transmits the leg power to a flywheel weighing around six kilos via a toothed belt. Tacx, on the other hand, completely dispenses with mechanical components and uses an eddy current brake with controlled magnets.

You can find the entire article and the test results of these smart trainers and apps as a PDF download below:

- Elite Real Turbo Muin B+ (Correction due to measurement error->)
- Tackx Neo Smart 12800
- Wahoo KickR
- Elite My E-Training App
- Tacx Cicling App
- Wahoo Fitness App

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