I’m looking at upgrading from my trusty Kinetic Road Machine to a direct-drive smart trainer. That would also let me keep my Assioma Duo pedals on my “best” bike - I currently swap them around so I have proper rather than virtual power on the trainer.
I’ve had the Saris H3 on my list of options based on DC Rainmakers review which said it’s excellent for ERG mode response time and accuracy. However, in his review, DC also said:
In my testing I didn’t find this necessary every time – things seemed to be surprisingly consistent for me (I only did it once). Still, again my general recommendation here would be that anytime you move the trainer, or if there’s significant shifts in temperature in the spot you’re operating it in (such as in a cold wintery garage), to do a calibration about 10-15 minutes in, just to be sure. That’s pretty consistent with what I’d recommend for any trainer except the Tacx Neo 1/2, which require no calibration (and don’t even have the option to do so).
As my turbo lives in an unheated, detached garage I’m wondering how often I would need to calibrate an H3? Through lockdown I’ve been completing a SUF session most weekday mornings before breakfast. If I don’t mess around too much, I can squeeze in a workout of up to 55 minutes (Nine Hammers before breakfast? Certainly starts the day with a bang). If I need to spin for 10 to 15 minutes, calibrate and then start a session I’d not have time for the longer sessions. Or could I start a SUF session and calibrate after 15 minutes? I’d expect that to potentially skew figures though.
Looking at the temperature trace from Edge 800 from my ride (Get To The Other Side) this morning. The temp drops from 10 deg as the Garmin gets use to moving from the house to the garage and then levels out at 2 deg for the last hour of the session. And yes, I have considered putting overshoes on once the fan goes on as by the end of the session my toes are numb!
Another attraction of the H3 is it’s around £150 cheaper than a KickR v5 in the UK. However, the new continuous calibration in the v5 could be a winning factor…
Thoughts?
PS. I did ask Ray Maker and but didn’t have a definitive answer, so suggested trying the TR forums. Then David McQuillen suggested asking in here - not sure why I didn’t ask earlier to be honest.