Good afternoon I’m after a bit of advice. I’m looking to start with Zwift mainly to get fitter and lose a few pounds.
I’ve been offered a Carrera virtuoso road bike. It’s 24 speed 3 front 8 rear. The bike is a nice fit for me. I’m looking at getting a smart trainer elite Zumo.
Would this combo be ok or would I have to get extra.
Thank you
Thats not a great trainer. If you can afford to get a kickr core that would be much better, check the used market where you live too.
The bike you have picked will be fine for training on Zwift.
You might want to also invest in a set of play controllers for using on Zwift too. They help with navigating menus and allow you to steer and brake in game.
When I started on Zwift, I was going to buy a cheaper trainer(can’t remember what it was), the guy at the bike shop suggested that I don’t cheap out on the trainer. So I spent a little more, and got a Saris H3. Didn’t take long and I wore that one out. So I bought kickr v5. A great trainer. My wife is riding that one now, and I have upgraded to the Kickr Move. We couldn’t be happier.
Long story short, if you can afford it, buy the best trainer you can. That way you won’t need to upgrade, in the near future
Solid advice… “buy nice or buy twice”
Sounds like you might be UK based judging by the bike you have, if it helps refurbished Kickr Core direct from Wahoo with standard warranty is currently £299 which seems like a bit of a bargain (very tempted myself!)
Hi @Tony_Goble, welcome to the forums! I’m Francisco from Zwift Support
Awesome to hear you’re jumping into Zwift to kickstart your fitness journey!
Lots of folks start with similar setups. The Elite Zumo is an entry-level smart trainer; it’ll get the job done.
That said, as other members, if your budget stretches (or you find a good deal secondhand), something like a KICKR Core would offer better road feel, accuracy, and long-term reliability.
Your combo will work just fine to get you rolling! You can always upgrade down the line. It’s up to you.
You can check the compatible trainer for Zwift here, it’s helpful to double-check.
Get a really good smart trainer to start, otherwise you’ll end up spending more in the long run when the first one either fails or ends up being not reliable enough (or not accurate enough).
The elite Direto XR is available for £350 in halfords right now too which seems like a decent deal, it is a bit old but was Elite’s best trainer when it was released.
Just need to be careful as I’m not sure it is compatible with 8 speed drivetrains
Should be fine with 8 speed, with a 1.8mm spacer under the cassette. Far better than the Zumo, and supports virtual shifting as well.
very much not newbie help but…do you think it would be better to get the refurbished kickr core or the Elite Direto XR brand new?
with postage there is only £30 between them.
i’m kind of torn between the two
My experience with a refurbished Kickr Core is that it showed up in new condition. I don’t know how common that is but for example the freehub never had a cassette installed on it before I got it, all the accessories were new in the bag, no scratches or any signs of wear on it. It has a full warranty from a company that’s well known for its good warranty support. So that was all positive from a sample size of one. In terms of features they are pretty close.
The Direto XR supports HRM bridging so an Apple TV user might like that. It also claims greater max resistance and gradient simulation, and slightly better power accuracy.
Bottom line is they are both decent trainers.
Not that anyone probably cares but I went for the Kickr Core in the end, mainly because I took too long deciding and the offer for the other one ended!
So expect a new kickr core to be announced any day now 