Product Review: STAC ZERO (indoor cycling trainer)

Since basically mid October, its been a chore to get on the road bike for some exercise. The layering, the excess dirt on your clothes and more importantly, your bike results in a lot of clean up. If you decide to just leave the bike filthy from all the grime picked up, you'll end up causing excessive wear on expensive components that will only need to be replaced sooner.

With all of that in mind and that my waist line continues to increase because I like ice cream (so sue me) I decided to buy an indoor trainer. This wasn't the easiest decision as I don't have a $2000 of fluid cash just sitting around for me to drop on something that is as important as putting food on the table or winter clothes for the family.

Also, I live in an apartment building so the trainer needed to be as silent as possible. On top of the other two qualifiers (inexpensive and quiet) I need something that has a cadence or speed sensor that will connect to my MacBook so I can use Zwift (a virtual cycling program: http://www.zwift.com ).

With all of this in mind, I couldn't purchase a cheap roller trainer because they're often quite loud and they don't have a cadence/speed sensor to connect. The smart enabled trainers or ones that connect to Zwift often start in the $500-600 (CAD) range, and the 'quiet' smart trainers are usually direct drive. A direct drive trainer involves removing your rear wheel and connecting to the rear cassette that is built onto the trainer itself - here is a link to one of the better models of direct drive trainers, price point starting at $1,200.00 (USD) (https://www.wahoofitness.com/devices/bike-trainers/wahoo-kickr-powertrainer)

So after a lot of research and deliberation I found that the STAC Zero was going to be the best way to go. I found a great deal by purchasing it in the US and shipping it to my US mailbox, this resulted in no shipping fees, and a lower price point due to the resellers own promotions. The Stac Zero uses the magnetic force to create a resistance on the wheel. In order for this to be effective, you need to have aluminum wheels and there can be no steel found in them or the tire.

Upon opening the box (which was in reasonable condition) I noticed that the quality of the unit was definitely on par with the reviews I had read. Almost all aspects of the unit feel very well built and solid.

The trainer itself unfolds easily - I had heard that the legs can be a little flimsy but that was not my experience. The magnets can be difficult to set up, im not sure I even have it set up properly as it does take some ride time to find exactly the feel you're going for.

So far I've done two rides. The first had me on and off the bike a lot to constantly adjust the magnets to get the right feel. I think I've found the best location of them for me for the moment. The ride is absolutely silent - the beauty of magnetic force. The only noise made is the noise from my drive train. The second ride was smoother than the first, I only got off the bike to adjust the magnet once at the very beginning of the ride, then continued for another 25min ride without interruption.

Here is a screenshot of my second ride. I mentioned Zwift earlier which collects data from you bike to move your avatar through a virtual training course. I've only used it twice but so far is a fantastic way to keep track of your real time stats and keep you pushing. If you haven't had a chance to try it out and you have a smart trainer, I highly suggest it. They also provide a free 7 day trial and don't collect and CC information until you decided to pay for the monthly membership.

I hope you all enjoyed the review. Its not too deep as I haven't used this for months, only days but I'm certainly looking forward to burning off these winter pounds over the next few months until the sun starts to warm the Pacific North West up a few degrees!

Have a wonderful day everyone!