Looking at getting a new trainer, Jetblack volt V2 $750can, Wahoo Kickr V5 $999can, Saris H3 $800can. I am leading towards the Wahoo, but being discontinued as it is 3yrs old now and replaced by the V6,… $1000can is my budget.
Thoughts
Had a h3, I rode it tons. I was sharing with my wife, she kept using the h3.
I got the v5. It is great.
The h3 was starting to give us some issues. Once I found out I could get another v5 for $1000, I was on my way to the bike shop for another one.
I use a windows 11 laptop, with direct connect. It’s amazing, dropouts are a thing of the past.
My wife uses Samsung s6 lite tablet. She has had no issues. We highly recommend
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V5 would likely be your best bet. Not much has changed with the V6
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I have no experience of Saris or JetBlack trainers, only Wahoo, so take my view as semi-objective. But mine’s yet another vote for the KICKR v5 – especially if you can find it at an even better price, which you might, now that the northern hemisphere winter training period is at a close and stores will want to clear inventory.
The Wahoo KICKR is a mature product after going through so many iterations, as demonstrated by the very low number of technical issue reports appearing here and elsewhere these days. There do seem to be a few more for the JetBlack and Saris products, but I suppose that that is anecdotal.
I started with a 2018 KICKR (a.k.a. v4) at a time when the production of that new model was going through some early teething problems. Although I went through two replacements back then (handled impeccably by Wahoo support), I stuck with my third and it has given me years of hassle-free, intensive use. It’s still working fine, as a back-up and loaner for friends.
In December 2022, I was in the same position as you, weighing up v5 and v6 KICKRs. Their mechanisms and the load-bearing structural elements seem to be identical, with only some of the electronics being different. As of the latest firmware update for the v5 in February 2023, the only known advantages that the v6 still has are:
- Built-in Wi-Fi connection
- Odometer
If you wanted to take advantage of the 10 Hz data transmission possibilities of Race Mode with the v5 (compared to the 1 Hz standard), you’d need to invest in the KICKR Direct Connect dongle (plus Ethernet cable), but that’s perhaps a niche use case.
I went with the v5 (at a great price) and am still very satisfied with my choice.
We don’t know what Wahoo will do down the line to differentiate the v5 from the v6 in terms of capabilities, but I suspect there’s plenty of years of full use in this “older” version.
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I have a Garmin Neo 2T, I purchased an open box, at Sports Basement, and it was 30% off as well plus 10% as a basementeer, I think I paid about $900 for it. It is a beautiful device. I purchased a 4K monitor and a wall mount, and I purchased an Apple TV. I use it regularly. I have it my living room. I can send you a picture if you would like. My brother purchased a trainer, he was new to Zwift, and he purchased a less expensive trainer. What I like, well, the road feel is fun. I leave a bike on my trainer which I never remove, I have other bikes, and that makes a tremendous difference, and it is a fitness bike, Aluminum, because it really makes no difference on a trainer the weight of the bike.
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I ended up ordering the Kickr V5, found a place for $989can, will just need to order a 9 speed cassette now for my bike. Thanks for the input.
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I have the H3 and it is now 3 years old. Initially it had the knock but seems to have worked itself out…or maybe it was FW update. I recently picked up Quarq AXS PM and having trouble getting the power to match…off by 5-8%…Quarq high.
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