Cycling Weekly — January 11, 2018

A quiet and realistic indoor riding experience
is yours for the taking at a very reasonable
price courtesy of the Jet Black Z1 Fluid Pro.
Although the Z1 is not a smart trainer like
the Tacx, Minoura or Wahoo, it comes with
its own app that pairs with sensors such as
speed, cadence, heart rate using Bluetooth or
ANT+ protocols. The app calculates ‘Virtual
Power’ or paired with Zwift you’ll get Zwift’s
own zPower calculation. However, the beauty
of ‘classic’ (non-smart) trainers is that you can
use your own bike-mounted power meter and
not need to worry about the variation between
it and your turbo’s built-in system.
The Z1 offers 900 watts of resistance, a
good, heavy 3kg flywheel and a HydroGel
roller. Its SQR clamping system will accept any

axle width from 120-150mm and

from 26 up to 29in wheels.

JetBlack claims 55 per cent

less noise and up to 30 per

cent less tyre wear (less

than what, we’re not told),

and it certainly is very

quiet compared to a

basic magnetic-

resistance unit.

It also offers a

comparatively

realistic ride feel too, and the base

is confidence-inspiringly solid for

those hard efforts.

The Magneto’s progressive resistance unit

adjusts resistance depending on your speed

— unusual for a magnetic resistance unit and

a system patented by CycleOps. This

means the faster you ride, the more

the resistance increases, mimicking

the effect of shifting up when riding

on the road creating a remarkably

realistic riding experience for a

magnetic trainer, although

the unit struggles a little

when really putting

down the power

or accelerating

quickly.

The downside

of having no way to manually increase the

resistance is that high power must equal high

speed, which unfortunately means this is far

from the quietest trainer on test. CycleOps

claims 66-68 decibels at 20mph (about the

same as a normal conversation) but if you’re

doing a decent set of intervals you’re going to

be going much faster than this.

The Magneto is not a smart trainer but

can be used with Bluetooth and/or ANT+

sensors and paired with CycleOps’s

VirtualTraining app plus third-party apps

such as Zwift very easily.

Great value for money and a clever

resistance system but due to the

noise at high speed, the Magneto is

one for the garage rather than the

Victorian conversion.

8

JetBlack Z1 Fluid Pro £289.99

CycleOps Magneto

£200

Minoura Kagura £599.99

Weight: 14kg

http://www.chickencyclekit.co.uk

Weight: 9kg

http://www.cycleops.com

Weight: 17kg

http://www.zyrofisher.co.uk

BEST

CLASSIC

TRAINER

9

7

The Kagura is a wheel-on smart trainer
that can also be used for non-powered for
warm-ups before events. Resistance can be
set to 100, 200 or 300 watts.
In powered mode, resistance is
continuously variable up to 2,000 watts and
the Minoura Kagura can simulate a 20 per
cent gradient.
You can either lock down the rear wheel
to the roller on the resistance unit, like a
traditional trainer, or run it in ‘gravity’ mode.
The latter uses your weight to keep the rear
wheel in contact with the roller. Minoura says
this works better for high-cadence workouts
and reduces tyre wear. However, more
vigorous efforts lift the wheel out of contact
with the roller.

The flywheel is heavy enough that,

combined with the magnetic resistance

unit, it provides a realistic ride feel. It’s also

pretty quiet.

Connectivity to training apps and head

units is via either ANT+ or Bluetooth, so

there’s plenty of compatibility with popular

apps including Zwift.

You can convert between quick release

and 12x142mm thru-axles too and tyre width

can be up to 42mm, so there’s

versatility for different

bikes. Plenty of versatility

but pricy for a wheel-

on trainer.

Cycling Weekly | January 11, 2018 | 41