Before we get in to reviewing the best direct drive turbo trainers in 2015 / 2016 (new trainers generally come out in September 2015 so are the new models for the majority of 2016 too) it should be said that since there are all high-end trainers they are all very good. Pulling apart any significant difference in performance is difficult, although software, noise, price, and other features do make the trainers stand apart.
Read the details about each trainer and decide which is best for you.
Introduction
Direct-drive turbo trainers come with a cassette mounted directly on to a resistance unit. With these you remove your back tyre completely and fix your drive train to the cassette on the turbo. These are becoming more popular as they fix the problem of your back tyre wearing and cut out the noise of your tyres.
It can be an issue to remove your back tyre every time you want to use it though, and direct-drive trainers are not completely without noise themselves. Direct-drive trainers also tend to be on the expensive side, and you'll be hard pushed to find one below a couple of hundred pounds.
Whether you like it or not, the turbo-trainer season is approaching so here are some of the best direct-drive turbo trainers available today:
Tacx NEO (approx price: £1200)
Turbo trainer specialist Tacx has just lifted the lid off its new Neo Smart direct-drive trainer, which uses a fully electronic design ' there is no flywheel ' and is claimed to be silent with a realistic road feel. At £1200 this trainer is at the top-end of the market, so you'll have to dig deep and be serious about your indoor training if you're considering buying this. Although you know what they say ' you get what you pay for'
The Neo Smart is compatible with Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo gears. It doesn't have a heavy flywheel; instead Tacx have opted for a virtual flywheel, using electronics to control the resistance. This trainer houses a motor with 32 Neodymium magnets that rotate around 30 coils, and control of the current passing through these coils adjusts the resistance. The larger the magnetic force, the higher the braking power.
Watch the promotional video by Tacx for the NEO smart trainer below.
Tacx are claiming this trainer gives gives a realistic road feel and practically silent operation. The Neo Smart can handle up to 2200W and provides a high resistance level, even at low speeds, and is ideal for hill training as it can simulate up to 25% inclines.
It comes complete with ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart compatibility so can be paired with speed, cadence and heart rate sensors. It can also easily be paired with a smartphone, tablet, or computer, which allows you to easily control the resistance.
The Neo Smart can be used with or without mains power, which makes it incredibly flexible.
Check out latest & best prices here for the Tacx NEO Smart Trainer.
CycleOps Silencer (approx price: 600)
CycleOps' new Direct Drive turbo trainer is simple to set up, with just 3 x 6mm Allen bolts holding its two parts together, and it has a user weight limit of 100kg, excluding bike.
At 17.6kg this is a heavy trainer, which is great for stability, but not for storage as it is rather bulky which limits its ability as a pre-race warm-up tool. The mass should increase durability though, and the short setup time makes it ideal for year-round training.
The four round feet are positioned at the Silencer's edges, and are height adjustable for stability. Attaching your bike is simple: just remove the rear wheel and attach the frame to the turbo as if fitting another wheel. The Silencer comes with a 10/11-speed Shimano/SRAM-compatible freehub body and a 10-speed 11-25 Shimano cassette, so if you ride nine-speed or Campagnolo you'll need to get the respective freehub body.
You may need to tweak your rear derailleur for perfect running but, once it is ready, the first major advantage over a conventional turbo becomes obvious. What you'll appreciate is its realistic feel and lack of noise. There's no tyre/roller interface, which reduces friction, and with fewer moving parts it's very quiet.
Resistance is magnetically controlled, with adjustment via a bar-mounted lever from 8-800W. This is more than enough but there are always your gears if you need more. Whether spinning at 200rpm or fighting to hold power or cadence at a high resistance, the Silencer stays rooted to the spot, giving great confidence to push harder. If you're used to conventional turbos, whatever resistance method they use, you'll find that the Direct Drive ' with its belt-driven, 25cm diameter 5.9kg flywheel ' feels more akin to road riding than anything else you've tried.
See best prices for the CycleOps Silencer trainer here.
Elite Real Turbo Muin B+ (approx price: £1000)
The Real Turbo Muin B+ is Elite's new flagship machine that adds electromagnetic resistance and compatibility with Real software to the mix. Basically it is the same as the original Real Turbo Muin trainer with added (built in) Bluetooth+ (B+) and FE-C included. B+ transmits on both Bluetooth Smart and ANT+ and therefore means it transmits ANT+ Speed/Cadence/Power, and Bluetooth Smart Speed/Cadence/Power. So you can pair the trainer with basically any Garmin device, ANT+ device, and compatible Bluetooth Smart devices. FE-C means that ANT+ FE-C compatible applications can control the trainer (resistance control).
Elite claim it to be a super quiet wireless hometrainer with direct transmission of power, it features the highly efficient transmission of rider-generated power by a direct connection between the trainer and the bicycles chain. Just remove the rear wheel, connect the bicycle directly to the hometrainer, and begin training, as you would on the road, by simply using the gear shifters. Resistance, both fluid-dynamic and magnetic, is managed electronically. Powered by Real Software technology, the Real Turbo Muin B+ perfectly simulates outdoor training.
Watch the video below by Elite.
The Real software, via ANT+, allows riders to take on video courses while also adding online play. The electromagnetic resistance makes automatic changes to match the difficulty of the course profile being ridden, the Real Turbo Muin is capable of emulating gradients of up to 18%.
The technical features of the Real Turbo Muin make it a professional instrument for indoor cycling training. There is an internal flywheel for smooth pedalling to better reproduce road conditions, and progressive resistance automatically increases with speed. Its high power output is ideal for cadence-based, power and sprint training. It also features dual resistance technology, is compatible with 9- 10- and 11- speed Shimano cassettes, and is suitable for both road and mountain bikes.
Wahoo Kickr 999
Wahoo's Kickr power trainer offers a very smooth and realistic road feel, is simple to use and is compatible with an increasing number of apps that give you access to a huge virtual training world. However, with a 999 price tag you are paying a lot for it, and is a serious investment.
The Kickr comes fitted with a 10-speed Shimano cassette, and it's compatible with 10 and 11-speed cassettes and a Campagnolo freehub is available.
It is a rather hefty trainer at 21kg, which ensures that it remains stable. There's a useful handle to facilitate moving the trainer, and two legs fold away for storage. It's easily adjustable to accommodate different wheel sizes. The feet are height adjustable too.
The Kickr provides a very realistic road feel, and the transition through the power levels is very smooth and is very quiet. It utilises an electromagnetic resistance unit with a built-in power meter, and Bluetooth 4.0 and ANT+ connectivity. The only limitation of the Kickr is that it needs to be used in a room with a power socket, which also means the Kickr cannot be used for warming up before races unless there is power nearby.
Watch the video by Wahoo below.
A big appeal of the Kickr is its ANT+ and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, and the fact Wahoo have allowed third-party developers to produce compatible apps. There is a growing list of compatible apps such as Zwift and TrainerRoad, a feature which no other trainer can rival.
The Wahoo Fitness app gives you a choice of four modes for controlling the resistance ' level, resistance, erg and sim ' depending on the sort of training you want to do. Once a session is completed you can share it to a number of training websites to track and monitor your progress.
If you can get past the price, you'll find a seriously feature-packed power trainer that has the potential to transform your training, and fitness.
See latest & best prices for the Wahoo Kickr trainer here.
LeMond Revolution (approx price: 399.99)
The LeMond Revolution is a high-quality indoor trainer with a great ride feel and it's built to cope with long hours of training. It isn't light or quiet, but the ride and stability are enough to make up for that. It's compatible with Shimano and SRAM gears, so if you want to fit a Camagnolo cassette you'll need to either swap the freehub, or get a crossover cassette.
The Revolution is still quite heavy, but it is the lightest of those we've reviewed, at approximately 14kg. There's an enormous turbofan that's both a flywheel and a resistance unit. It uses a fan to generate progressively more drag as the speed increases, which is a simple way to get effective resistance, however it is not the quietest- really go for it and you'll be creating quite a racket. It is probably best to use this trainer outside or somewhere where noise is not an issue.
Watch the LeMond video below.
The ride of the LeMond is up there with the best. The big flywheel means that it's very smooth and the base is rock solid; stable enough for full-on out-of-the-saddle sprinting. Three legs and adjustable feet on all of them mean you can compensate for any unevenness in the floor, too.
A Power Pilot display is available which will give you speed, distance, power, cadence and heart rate data. It's not cheap at 300, but you can improvise with a rear-wheel mounted computer.
If you want a machine to put the hours in over the winter, or when it's dismal out, the LeMond is definitely one to look at. It's not a cheap compared to some out there (particularly cheaper mag trainers) , but the ride quality and build quality mean you'll get your money's worth over time. Some say this is the most road-realistic trainer you can get ' DC Rainmaker.
Summary
Wahoo Kickr is great for training and improving performance due to the large number of third-party apps available, along with their own fitness app, however the major drawback is that it is mains powered. If you are looking for silent operation, incredibly realistic road feel and a trainer that can be used anywhere then you need to be prepared to part with £1200 for the Tacx Neo Smart trainers. All of the trainers have their pros and cons, and what you buy is really dependant on your budget and your training, and whether or not you want software add-ons.
However, choose any of the trainers discussed here and you will get a high quality machine that will serve you very well when you need extra training or cannot get out on the open road.
