I’m getting a new trainer for the winter season. I almost bought TracX Flux but then I saw the issues reported by users and I’m not sure if the build and design quality makes it a plausible trainer.
Kickr Snap seam like a solid trainer. I’m not worried about any of it’s parameters. The only downside is the “snap” part.
The price point is similar for both. Flux is a priced a bit higher but with Snap, I’ll need to get a second rear wheel and the blue tire anyway.
Are the direct drive trainers really that much better? Are there any Flux users? Could you comment on the quality? Any issues?
Direto looks great on the paper. My only issue with it is that I’ve bought Elite rollers a year ago and when I saw the overall “quality”, I said I will never buy an Elite product again. And also - Elite is an Italian company. Which means “forget about warranty and/or spare parts”.
I may be paranoid here but I speak from experience
I have the flux, and it’s pretty good! The trainer response to terrain is quick enough (maybe 2-3seconds), and erg mode works well. The things I like less about it are:
It’s very quiet when it provides most of the resistance (generally most of the time in erg mode). However, when you do intervals or when you’re in sim mode going down hill, so you’re in high gear, it can produce a fair amount of grindy noise. It’s not that loud, but it is noticeable.
Erg mode isn’t all that accurate (it jumps around quite a bit), and it makes short intervals difficult. I tend to compensate by dropping my cadence a bit (20s) just before an interval begins, so the resistance per revolution increases - this means that you can then jump to 110 rpm to get your power to the right level
The shim for 130mm hubs isn’t that well thought out - it’s a untextured washer which you clamp between your dropout and the unit, and essentially provides a slip point. I’ve not managed to shake my bike loose yet, but it does sometimes make a bit of a noise when I’m really shaking the bike.
It could be a little more stable, though it’s stable enough I guess.
I’m a little suspicious about the cadence sensor - I was riding today, and it was recording slightly iffy cadence - I was cooling down at ~70rpm, but it was still saying 85.
I have ordered Flux yesterday and expect a delivery tomorrow. The news about ergo mode is a bit disturbing but I’m going to stick with the choice anyway. I want to do a lot of intervals so I hope I’ll make it work somehow.
To be honest, regarding erg mode and intervals, it’s probably just an expectations thing. I’ve been reading up on it, and some trainers basically ease you in to increased resistance, and for those I think you’re supposed to just keep peddling - you’ll be 5 s late hitting the power, but zwift should adjust and give you an extra 5s at the end of the interval.
The variance around power in erg mode might again be my expectations - you can get it to be +/- 5 w if you’re peddling consistently, which isn’t too bad; it’s just when you’re not in a rhythm, it overshoots when adjusting for your variance. I suspect that getting an actual cadence sensor would help quite a bit - the sensor built into smart trainers relies on deadzones in pedaling, so a spin counter would seem like a good idea…
Still, if there is some Flux owner, I’d like to hear his opinion.