Hey guys! I am a beginner cyclist (my longest ride was 40 miles) in a very cold place, and I need a way to bike during the winter…all I have is a mountain bike, and I wanted to buy myself the Magene T110, and it’s apparently compatible with 12x142mm and 12x148mm through axles, but I’m not sure how to check compatibility with my bike frame. I don’t have a quick release rear wheel, and the rear wheel hub is 10x135mm and secured with a nut.
I’m assuming my frame isn’t compatible with the smart trainer?
I would not invest in that trainer when the Wahoo Kickr Core isn’t much more expensive and offers a much better experience. The Magene is very “cheap” so expect a poor experience, the accuracy is terrible and the max watts only go up to 600, so if you plan on doing any sprints it will top out very quickly.
I’m not really planning on getting too serious with it - I don’t race or anything, I just chose to go with Zwift because I feel like it might give me more varied work.
The wahoo kickr core is about $350 more where I live, and is way out of my budget…I’m mostly wanting to do group rides and stuff.
The wahoo kickr snap is within my price range used, if that would be more readily recommended?
Is it really a nut, or a quick release skewer?
Is the axle solid?
If it is a solid axle, then I’m not sure what wheel off trainer you’d be able to use.
It could work with a wheel on trainer, like the KICKR SNAP. You may need an adapter to make it work properly. A quick chat with Wahoo should help you sort that out.
You should probably also invest in a smooth tire for use on the KICKR SNAP, if that works out. A knobby tire is very hard to ride on the KICKR SNAP - I did a couple of rides that way and it was not pleasant.
That is not a thru-axle. It is a nutted solid axle, and since the wheel falls out when you loosen the nuts, it means the bike has vertical dropouts. You probably need to use the 135mm quick release adapters on the trainer, and use a quick release skewer. I do not know if that trainer comes with a quick release skewer but those are not expensive. If you take the wheel out and measure the distance between the faces of the dropouts, I suspect you’ll find it’s 135mm.
I don’t have calipers but I’ll try using a tape measure.
So what you’re saying is that even though I have a solid axle, because I have vertical dropouts, I could just buy a quick release skewer and the dropouts would rest on the skewer and the skewer would hold them to the trainer?
I think you’re right! I mean it all makes sense obviously, but I’ll wait for a second person to confirm. Not because I don’t trust you, but because there are no returns on it so I need to make sure it works.
If you want to be really sure, take it to a bike shop and ask them. They can look at the bike and probably tell you in seconds if my assumptions are true.
The SNAP does not support bolt-on hubs, Trek Thru-skew hubs, quick releases axles narrower or wider than 130 or 135mm, or thru axle hubs larger in diameter than 12mm, or narrower or wider in width than 142 mm. For this reason, the following bicycles are not compatible:
Type
Standard
Description
Quick Release / Bolt-on
10x120mm
track
Quick Release / Bolt-on
10x126mm
legacy road, < 8 speed
Quick Relase
10x141mm
Boost QR
Thru Axle
12x135mm
legacy Specialized SCS
12x148mm
Boost mountain
12x157mm
SuperBoost mountain
You may wish to contact Wahoo customer support to ask specifically.
Or do what @Paul_Southworth said and ask a bike shop.
You’re looking at Kickr Snap info which is a wheel-on trainer. Ben is talking about a Magene T110 which is a direct drive trainer, so the wheel comes out, there is no solid axle used with the trainer. The only question is whether the frame fits the trainer since the wheel is removed.
The issue with nutted axles and wheel-on trainers is the shape of the nut, there is too much slack between the nuts and the receptacles for the axle (usually you are supposed to use a trainer-specific QR as well). Tacx at least used to make special axle nuts with cylindrical ends for use with wheel-on trainers, but that’s not relevant for a direct drive trainer. The only issue I can think of is if the dropouts are too thin for the quick release to close properly, but that is easily fixed with a washer or two between the dropout and the QR ends, and anyway it doesn’t look like that is the case. Also do note that the lever end of the QR probably won’t fit on the right side because of that bracket over the derailleur, which is okay, because its proper place is on the other side anyway.
I was trying to steer him away from the Magene due to its limitations of 600 watts, 5% accuracy, etc… it seems like a very cheap trainer and I think a better experience would be had with finding a used Kickr Core. Amazon had new Kickr Core’s (version 1) for under $500 this week as part of prime day sales, not much more than the Magene.
Yep it’s a cheap trainer, not a good one, but personally I would take that over a Snap any day. Van Rysel D100 is the obvious alternative to the Magene T110. Same limitations.
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