Direct drive trainers are often referred to as ‘smartʼ trainers because of their ability to give very accurate metrics during your ride. This accuracy is afforded by the fact that to use a direct drive trainer, youʼll need to remove your rear wheel and mount your bicycle directly to the trainerʼs cassette and axle.

If youʼve ever gotten a flat rear tire and successfully changed it, then you already have the skills necessary for mounting your bicycle on the trainer. The obvious downside here is that, besides taking a little bit of work to do, it can be pretty messy. Assuming you regularly ride your bike out on the road too, your chain will be greasy and, when swapping out your rear-wheel, itʼs easy to get black grease on your hands and clothing.

However, once you have everything set up properly, direct drive trainers ride like a dream. Perhaps the greatest advantage of a direct drive trainer is its ability to replicate a realistic bike feel. Thereʼs nothing worse than spinning out hours and hours atop a setup that feels nothing like a regular road ride.

Direct drive trainers are very accurate, with most sporting a +/- 2% accuracy rating that takes the guesswork out of power training sessions. So, when you fire up your latest interval workout on TrainerRoad, you can take comfort in knowing that the numbers donʼt lie.

Lastly, direct drive trainers are silent since they donʼt rely on pressure being applied to your rear wheel to generate resistance. If you like riding in without headphones or live with others who value their peace and quiet, then going the direct drive route is a necessity.

Wheel-on trainers have their own suite of advantages, but most are related to budget. Put succinctly – wheel-on trainers cost less and therefore make a great option for those looking to ride indoors without dropping a pretty penny doing so.

In contrast to direct drive trainers, wheel-on varieties donʼt require you to mount your bicycle on the trainerʼs cassette, so the set up is a breeze. If youʼre not confident in your ability to reliably change out your rear wheel, then the wheel-on option is a great compromise.

Plenty of bike racers prefer wheel-on trainers because theyʼre reasonably lightweight, making them an excellent option for travel. If you like to warm up before a high-intensity criterium, road race, or group ride, then youʼll want to take a trainer with you. Direct drive trainers are heavy and cumbersome to move whereas wheel-on trainers can be popped into the trunk of your care with less effort.

Concerning accuracy, the latest generation of wheel-on trainers doesnʼt miss much, with many trainers featuring accuracy levels of +/- 3%. On the flipside, youʼll need to calibrate them with each use which, while not difficult, does take a little extra time and attention from each session. Additionally, if your training takes you to high power zones on occasion, you may experience slippage as a result of the high amount of pressure applied to the rear wheel to create resistance.

Because of the way wheel-on trainers create resistance (by pushing against the rear wheel), noise is an inevitability, but it isnʼt much of a concern as long as you arenʼt overly sensitive.