Zwift dropping hardware plans and laying off staff. Is this another example of normalising after Covid or a bigger lack of participation per the local race thread?
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It seemed to imply they were bracing for recession and lower revenues and wouldnāt sell some niche but expensive but expensive indoor bikes.
Dare say theyāve seen what happened to peloton.
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As the article says, the Zwift bike would be a high end/expensive product and sales of trainers at that end of the market have fallen off a cliff now because everyone who wants one bought one during the pandemic.
Unless theyāre going to lease the hardware as part of the monthly subscription, I would have thought that the future of the likes of Zwift and Peloton has to be in software rather than hardware
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I also think it was a pretty poor concept that seemed to have no advantage over putting your actual bike on a direct drive trainer.
Just came on to post that. Zwift was always one of those things that I ran in the background, almost regardless of how much I used it but since the CoL increases, I binned it and would have to think hard about re-instating it before the depths of winter again.
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I assume they were intending it to be a rival to the Kickr bike, Wattbike and Stages bike rather than a straight alternative to buying a turbo.
I know a few people whoāve bought them over the last couple of years. A nice addition to the home gym, if youāve got space for one 
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Iām referring to their specific concept rather than complete gym bikes in general. It was effectively a dummy bike (including fake front wheel) on a turbo so seemed to offer little benefit, particularly in terms of space and probably less adjustability than the options you mention.
Upgrade time to my first smart trainer. Being quiet would be a big win, beyond that I donāt think I have specific needs that I know of.
Anyone any thoughts on the mid-range (Ā£400-700) market? I want to keep it for one year and then sell, so would rather avoid the depreciation of buying new, but warranty would be nice given how much these things seem to break (although likely outside initial 12monhmths anyway)
My current options are Kickr Core for Ā£500 second hand 12 months old, or new for Ā£700 (with cassette). Reckon I could negotiate the second hand down a bit given that theyāre currently on sale new.
Tacx Neo 1 for Ā£500 second hand.
Elite Suito for Ā£450 second hand.
Iām leaning towards the core from reviews, donāt fully know why. It would potentially move between rooms quite often so the lack of handle on the neo might be a problem.
Is there actually any real differences or all as good as each other there?
ETA: Was the reduction in noise from the core onwards as noticeable as Iām led to believe on YouTube? Thatās my only reason for going with a trainer that good, otherwise Iād probably look cheaper. Although if buy second hand and sell on in a year Iād hope to not lose that much
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Any Saris H3ās available on discount?
They massively overproduced and think that are stopping manufacturing.
Was some big reductions of late as they cleared stock.
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Ā£700 new, same as the Core.
Iāve converted each to Ā£, but prices are definitely more here for near everything, and seems much rarer to find a really good sale, so itās partly a question of relative value compared to each other to work out what best deal is.
I narrowed it down to the Saris H3 and the Kickr Core. The reviews, plus of course our in house gear consultant @mw22, convinced me that the Saris might be the better choice and also it was a bit cheaper. So thatās what I bought and have been very happy with it.
But if I was only going to have something for a year I might be tempted by a second hand Kickr as I get the feeling they may be a more trusted brand (dunno??) and in a year it could be sold on for basically the same price.
Iām never getting rid of my smart trainer though, lovely bit of kit 
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Sigma currently have
Kickr Core at Ā£599
Kickr at Ā£749
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Unfortunately heās in Oz @Mr-me.
My thoughts are similar to what @fruit_thief said at the end. What are the dominant brands out there, as that will protect your resale price the most.
Iād also be tempted with the 2nd hand Kickr personally.
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Facebook for the last month has been 55% wahoo kickr or kickr core, 35% tacx (mostly flux), 10% other.
And given I only have a total audience of 1 million people to resell to within ~2hr drive (so likely a lot lower depending how far people will travel to buy) thatās a good point.
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Oh and that South Aus is one year behind, so 90% of people who have turbos only bought it one year ago when covid hit 
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Might be easier to get a Wahoo fixed or spares as well? When I had my powerbeam which was owned by Saris they werenāt interested when it packed up despite being a high end, expensive turbo and it didnāt help that they were in the USA.
Having said that they are generally seen as a disposable commodity anyway.
I only mention this as you mention the flux above. If you zwift then avoid the flux2 it doesnāt play well. I am OK with that as I prefer systm (was sufferfest) and it works great in all respects except zwift.
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My friend has seen H3 at Halfords, I know people here like them and they get good reviews but the article on DCR suggests they are basically up for sale and I canāt see any progress on that, so the questions would be around support and firmware\software updates.
Or have I missed something and theyāve been bought out?
No think they are dead. So support and firmware will be non existent shortly.
Guess it depends on the price of the unit. My software has been fine, canāt remember the last time I even looked for an update.
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Ok ta, quite risky then and no wonder Halfords are selling them cheap. Although they should be a reliable unit.
They are Ā£480