Indoor trainer price GOUGING during / after lockdown...

[Matchstix]

Please note this trainer is not supported with Zwift:

 

https://zwift.com/hardware

If its a smart trainer it should still work.

[tinmug]

Please note this trainer is not supported with Zwift:

 

https://zwift.com/hardware

 

The Zwift web developer is on an extended holiday. The Elite Suito, which comes with a free 1-month Zwift subscription, is not listed. 

[Duane_Bosch]

The Zwift web developer is on an extended holiday. The Elite Suito, which comes with a free 1-month Zwift subscription, is not listed. 

Ja the Zumo isn't either which is what I have. I just told Zwift I have a Diretto and it works fine.

[Vetplant]

I see that Alixpress also now have a chinese made direct drive IDT

 

https://thinkrider.eu/product/thinkrider-x7-smart-trainer/

 

goes for 10k on alixpress

What irritates the crap out of me is that they didn't even try to do some own design work, they just copied the Kicker 2/3 as efficiently as possible.

 

Please don't buy this if you have R10k to burn, support the companies that put the effort into developing the hardware.

[shaper]

What irritates the crap out of me is that they didn't even try to do some own design work, they just copied the Kicker 2/3 as efficiently as possible.

 

Please don't buy this if you have R10k to burn, support the companies that put the effort into developing the hardware.

Its not new coming out of China.  There is also the Magene Gravat that has been around for a while (2017).  The ironic thing is, it is a copy of the Kickr....... then wahoo copied elements of the Gravat for the Kickr core.

 

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/08/magene-gravat2-smart-trainer-in-depth-review.html

Edited April 23, 2020 by shaper

[Shebeen]

What irritates the crap out of me is that they didn't even try to do some own design work, they just copied the Kicker 2/3 as efficiently as possible.

 

Please don't buy this if you have R10k to burn, support the companies that put the effort into developing the hardware.

Don't fully agree here.

 

If they can sell it at half the price, then they either have put a lot of thought/effort into their manufacturing or wahoo are ripping the public off.

Assuming there's no patent infringements I'm happy to let economics find the stable pricing

[hansolo]

That Magene is more expensive than the Kick Core in the DC Rainmaker review and it would have less support in a place like South Africa. Why would you buy it then?

 

Sort of off topic but somewhat related. Chinese products (eg. cars) are becoming better and more expensive. It used to be cheaper option but I think most consumers would still rather pay a 5-10% premium for a more well known brand than a newer Chinese or even Indian one. It will be interesting to see what long term effects of this virus has on manufacturing as it sounds like lots of countries/companies are trying to bring back manufacturing.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Don't fully agree here.

 

If they can sell it at half the price, then they either have put a lot of thought/effort into their manufacturing or wahoo are ripping the public off.

Assuming there's no patent infringements I'm happy to let economics find the stable pricing

Or, they were leveraging off someone else's R&D and didn't have to include that in their costings. Plus, as Han says, it's more $$ than the Kickr Core. 

Edited April 23, 2020 by Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

[Markellis]

I love my Core, only thing I hate is moving that b@stard around. There is no handle and it’s awkward to carry.

 

During lockdown I have had a few sessions on the porch and moving that thing from the pain cave to the porch was a workout on its own!

 

 

[Muttley]

I love my Core, only thing I hate is moving that b@stard around. There is no handle and it’s awkward to carry. During lockdown I have had a few sessions on the porch and moving that thing from the pain cave to the porch was a workout on its own!

With all that moving around, don't foget to do the spindowns 

[Shebeen]

Or, they were leveraging off someone else's R&D and didn't have to include that in their costings. Plus, as Han says, it's more $$ than the Kickr Core. 

if that's the case then you wouldn't buy it.

 

What's the problem?

 

for what they are, direct drive trainers seem ridiculously overpriced.

think Wahoo have priced their R&D into that, won't last forever but they seem to be doing ok right now.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

if that's the case then you wouldn't buy it.

 

What's the problem?

 

for what they are, direct drive trainers seem ridiculously overpriced.

think Wahoo have priced their R&D into that, won't last forever but they seem to be doing ok right now.

There isn't one. The wahoo (and other options) are cheaper and better, IMO. Well, better meaning better support, more well known company, locally available etc.

Edited April 23, 2020 by Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

[Duane_Bosch]

This whole trainer story is the same as computers.

 

The money is in the software. No product to move. No warehousing costs. No manufacturing costs. Just a smallish team of IT nerds and a bunch of server space. Which you don't even need to buy anymore. The signals sent to the units aren't new. There have been feedback steering wheels in gaming for probably 20 years.

 

People paying $15 a month to see their little cartoon dude ride up an imaginary Alp. Beautiful! 

 

I believe that the increased volume of people using these apps will see improvements in the offerings and hopefully more competition and better pricing. 

Edited April 23, 2020 by Duane_Bosch

[Vetplant]

This whole trainer story is the same as computers.

 

The money is in the software. No product to move. No warehousing costs. No manufacturing costs. Just a smallish team of IT nerds and a bunch of server space. Which you don't even need to buy anymore. The signals sent to the units aren't new. There have been feedback steering wheels in gaming for probably 20 years.

 

People paying $15 a month to see their little cartoon dude ride up an imaginary Alp. Beautiful! 

 

I believe that the increased volume of people using these apps will see improvements in the offerings and hopefully more competition and better pricing. 

I remember on the FitFilePodcast they discussed the job openings that Zwift posted and they clearly were fishing for engineers to develop their own branded Indoor trainer.

 

Could be interesting if they decided to diversify into hardware as well. Question would be whether it will be locked into Zwift(Like the Peloton bike), with a very reduced hardware unit cost to the user or whether it will be able to play nicely with other online platforms at a higher hardware cost to the user.

[Duane_Bosch]

I remember on the FitFilePodcast they discussed the job openings that Zwift posted and they clearly were fishing for engineers to develop their own branded Indoor trainer.

 

Shu. I'm no business guru but I'd rather stick to what I'm good at.

 

I did have a little thought the other day tho. The Zwift bikes that appear in the game. Someone should license those and sell the real version of the virtual bike. 3 open mold frames. The climbing bike. The Aero bike. The TT bike. 3 build kits. Little bit of branding. Done.

Edited April 23, 2020 by Duane_Bosch

[Jewbacca]

Shu. I'm no business guru but I'd rather stick to what I'm good at.

 

I did have a little thought the other day tho. The Zwift bikes that appear in the game. Someone should license those and sell the real version of the virtual bike. 3 open mold frames. The climbing bike. The Aero bike. The TT bike. 3 build kits. Little bit of branding. Done.

A real life TRON bike?!