2018 Smart Trainer Recommendations Guide Released by DC Rainmaker

DC Rainmaker‘s annual Smart Trainer Recommends Guide has become the Christmas shopping reference standard for indoor riders everywhere, and for good reason: Ray spends a lot of time with a lot of trainers, shows an amazing attention to detail, and has been doing this for a long time.

You can read his entire guide here, but I’m going to summarize his top picks for each price category below.

Budget (sub $500)

These wheel-on trainers tend to be basic in function and lack the durability, accuracy, and realistic road feel of higher-priced offerings.

Mid-Range ($500-$700)

The best of the wheel-on trainers, but still falling short of the durability, accuracy, and realistic road feel of higher-priced  direct-drive offerings. 

Note: DC Rainmaker declined to pick a top two for this category, saying they were all pretty similar. The two listed above were referred to as the most “robustly built” and “most accurate” respectively.

Mid-High End ($700-$1000)

Direct-drive trainers which lack some of the beefier features of their high-end counterparts.

Note: we linked to the Tacx Flux 2018 above instead of the Flux S, since the S isn’t yet widely available. According to DC Rainmaker the Flux S is “basically just the 2016/2017/2018 Flux 1 with a bunch of internal changes and support for longer derailleur cages.” 

High End ($1000+)

The best trainers available, these are quieter, more accurate, and sturdier than their mid-high counterparts.

Note: the Neo 2 has just been announced and is not yet readily available, but its release has lowered the price of the Neo 1 in many shops. DC Rainmaker recommends either as his top pick, so it really comes down to the price you can get and whether you want the “latest and greatest.”