£300 Turbo recommendations

supercyril
supercyril Posts: 201
edited August 2015 in Road buying advice
Im after a new turbo with the price range around £300. Possible contenders are -
Elite turbo muin
Tacx vortex smart

Any real world reviews or options would be helpful. I use a stages power meter if that help with suggestions.

Thanks

Comments

  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    The Tacx works with ANT+FE/C, does the Elite do that too?
  • hugo15
    hugo15 Posts: 1,101
    CycleOps Jet Fluid Pro. Had mine for a few years now. Light years ahead of the old mag trainer I had. Would highly recommend.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,471
    What do you want to do with it? As you have a power meter already and your budget doesn't stretch to the high-end VR trainers I'd go for something simple, robust and high quality that offers a nice ride feel and increases the resistance automatically as you go harder (instead of you having to select the resistance or have it controlled by software), i.e. a decent fluid model.

    One of these three, depending on whether you want direct drive (no back wheel) or not. Also depending on what you want to spend. You can get the KK or the Cycleops for £200 or so and there is really no need to spend more than that.

    Elite turbo muin (direct drive)
    Kurt Kinetic Roadmachine II
    Cycleops Fluid 2

    Based on my own experience I'd steer clear of the Tacx ones that need to be controlled by a phone or wireless handlebar unit. You'll probably have endless hassle with it and if you are just doing intervals and have a power meter the fluid trainers will feel nicer and have the massive advantage of just letting you put the bike on and start pedalling without faffing around with dodgy software and wireless signals...

    Recently got a KK Roadmachine II because my Tacx Bushido was doing my head in with it's unreliability and setup hassle. So much better unless you want to do the whole VR video thing.
  • supercyril
    supercyril Posts: 201
    The most important thing is something that has a good road feel. My current minoura v270 is ok but it's just a grind sometimes. The turbo muin is looking the best for my needs (tainerroad/sufferfest) at the moment.
  • mfin
    mfin Posts: 6,729
    Unless you want the VR experience of simulating hills then KK Roadmachine is a good bet as you have Stages.

    You can use Zwift either way to spice up the boredom if you grab a cheap ANT+ usb dongle and have a PC/Mac close by.

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