Gear reviews
20 reviews of single products. The comparison pages help while you are still choosing a category; these are for after you have chosen, when what you want is a reason not to buy.
Every page names the weakness that costs the sale, because that is the part a manufacturer will never tell you: what a subscription costs over five years, which trainer noise your neighbours actually hear, and how often the honest answer is that a power meter would do more for your riding than a wheelset.
Indoor training
- Keiser M3i Studio Plus review
Commercial grade, no subscription, no screen, and a power number you can trust. - Peloton Bike+ review
A swivelling 23.8 inch screen and a rep tracker, against a subscription that outlives the hardware discount. - Wahoo KICKR V6 review
Two thousand two hundred watts, one percent accuracy, AXIS feet, and a WiFi connection that does not drop. - Wahoo KICKR CORE 2 review
It arrives with the Zwift Cog fitted, which removes the job that puts people off direct drive trainers. - Garmin Tacx NEO 3M review
Built in motion plates, a virtual flywheel and no calibration ever, for eighteen hundred dollars. - Garmin Tacx Neo 2T review
Thirty two neodymium magnets, no calibration, no wear surface, and no motion plates. - Concept2 RowErg review
A PM5 monitor whose numbers are the sport's standard, and a machine that outlasts the room it is in.
Treadmills
- Peloton Treadmill review
A 24 inch swivel screen, a 300 lb capacity, and a $49.99 monthly fee that never stops. - NordicTrack Commercial 2450 review
Fourteen miles per hour, a minus 3 to 12 percent incline range, and an iFIT subscription that is not optional. - NordicTrack Commercial 1750 review
The same incline and decline range as the flagship, five hundred dollars less, and a smaller screen.
Watches and head units
- Garmin fenix 8 Sapphire review
Sixteen days of battery, forty seven hours of GPS and a sapphire lens, at a price that buys two Forerunners. - Garmin Forerunner 970 review
Running economy and step speed loss, a titanium bezel, a sapphire lens and an LED flashlight. - Garmin Forerunner 965 review
Twenty three days of battery, built in maps and multi band GPS, for five hundred dollars. - Garmin Edge 1040 Solar review
Solar charging, multi band GNSS and a battery measured in days rather than rides.
Power meters
- Garmin Rally RS210 review
Dual sensing pedals with cycling dynamics, one percent accuracy, and a fitting that takes five minutes. - Favero Assioma Duo review
Dual sided power to one percent, rechargeable batteries and fifty hours per charge, for around five hundred dollars. - Wahoo POWRLINK Zero Duo review
The only dual sided power meter built on the Speedplay platform, with dual sided entry and one percent accuracy.
Bike gear
- Shimano Ultegra WH-R8170 C50 review
Fifty millimetres of hooked carbon rim, tubeless ready, at roughly half what the top tier costs. - Thule Epos 3 review
Telescopic arms, integrated tail lights and a licence plate holder, on a rack that folds flat. - Kuat Piston Pro X review
Hydro pneumatic arms that clamp both wheels with one touch, and Kashima coated struts because Kuat is like that.
Find your heart rate zones, build an aerobic base with 8- and 12-week plans, and use pace and power tables to train easy and race faster. Inside: zone tables by age, max HR, heart rate reserve (Karvonen) and LTHR, field tests for max HR, LTHR and FTP, four ways to verify Zone 2 without trusting your watch, and complete base plans for running and for cycling.
Before you buy anything
Most of what makes people faster is training rather than equipment. If you are choosing between a piece of kit and knowing what your training is doing, start with the FTP calculator, the training load calculator or the heart rate zone calculator, and buy the thing that is genuinely holding you back.
These reviews draw on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested these products ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.