Have an H2 now, have an opportunity to sell it to a friend and get a new H3 for an extra $200. One thing i know is improved is noise which is definitely a bonus for me since it will help keep the noise levels down for when my wife is studying in the evenings or sleeping in some mornings.
Is anything else changed between the units? Is response to terrain changes in Zwift for instance any better? Is reliability improved? I did not find many actual differences.
@dcrainmaker claims it is pretty quiet (not as quiet as some others), but both him and @GPLama were discussing on the last Fit File Podcast how amazing it is for Erg Mode.
Sounds like if you could get a new trainer for $200 and youâve got $200 to spend might be a sweet deal.
The power spike in sprints is resolved via the latest firmware update (that works on all H1 & H2 models as well).
The cadence issue is not resolved, and features as the main negative in Rayâs H3 review. Honestly, if you care about cadence more than the oddity, you are better served by adding a regular cadence sensor to your setup (which is largely true for any of the âpulseâ sensing cadence trainers, and that is what I do).
Ah, yes. ATV and a power meter in the mix makes it more complicated for sure.
Ah, that one too. No, I donât think that issue is resolved either.
What exactly do these Power Robbery and flywheel speed issues mean practically speaking? I typically do my ERG workouts in 36x17 because I find resistance changes happen quicker with slower flywheel movement.
36x17 you shouldnât have a problem. However, if you switch to a bigger gear and run the flywheel at 20+mph which doesnât take much to get there with its massive flywheel, then it will start to over report power by 5-10%. They told me they are working on a fix but no idea when that will happen. This is to me a bigger issue than over shooting on sprints because, I donât know about you, but I donât sprint all day long but do ride 53 ring all day.
I know this isnât TR related but It can also be an issue during descents as well.
Both of those sound like issues that can be tweaked with downloadable updates, hell if they were able to remedy overheating via firmware updates then I donât see why they couldnât change the calibration of power relative to flywheel speed to get rid of that 5-10% gap.
That is correct, AFAIK and what I have gathered from Ray and Shane in their reviews. The H3 trainer is only minimally changed overall. There may be some cooling related changes to the H3 too, but that could be part of the new drive system.
Tariqhali I watched your video and understand the issue now, definitely annoying but I hope it can be patched. I did notice that during high flywheel speeds with my H2 if I stop pedaling completely and am coasting down a hill in zwift it will still report 30w or so of power and very slowly will taper down as the flywheel slows.
I use the H2 and to resolve the cadence issue I just use an ANT+ cadence sensor on my garmin V3 I donât use the power from the V3 I use the power on the trainer. But this works out for me.
I upgraded a couple of weeks back from a Kickr SNAP to an H3, the H3 is a beast of a unit, itâs big and heavy.
Unfortunately, Iâve now had two H3âs and both had issues. Both had a noise whilst sprinting, like something had come loose inside. After the second unit had the same fault I gave up on them and was offered a Kickr for only a few ÂŁâs more.
The Kickr is so quiet, a great deal quieter than either of the H3âs were (even without the sprinting noise!).
Also, the cadence works spot on, the H3 varied quite a bit.
There must be some changes because H3 is supposed to be quieter than H2. I donât have either and believe that even H2 would be improvement over my Tacx Vortex but if I am going to upgrade I want it to be quiet. Featurewise even the Vortex would be fine (except power floors and erg overshooting).
Yes, they changed the belt drive system to make it quieter. Iâve mentioned that specifically in other threads (and effectively did so here with my âThat is correctâ acknowledgement to the âdifferent drive beltâ via my reply). It is a real change, but one that is maybe minor?.. since it is not considered âsilentâ and the H3 is still louder than the Kickr18 and Neo series.
The overall point is that the changes to the H1/H2/H3 have been relatively minor and incremental. It still lacks in some feature comparisons when matched to the Kickr and Neo, and I feel that Saris admits that indirectly with the fact that they reduced the price from the original $1200 USD to the current $1000 USD.
The Vortex is an âOKâ trainer at best in my view. It is particularly loud compared to the Kickr Snap and Saris M2 which are in the same basic price range and feature set. The Vortex limits you mention are not present in the other trainers either.
All that is to say that even the H2 would be an improvement for noise in most cases. The H2 is particularly quite when you use ERG in lower gearing (34x17 is what I like) and the strength of the trainer eliminates and floors/ceiling so there is no need to shift to hit high or low power targets.
It does develop the typical whine in higher gearing, so that may matter if you prefer a faster flywheel speed.
I have not used an H3 yet, so canât compare sound level, but it is supposed to be noticeably more quite than the H2, but not silent like the Kickr/Neo.
Happy with my H3 so far. Iâm using a Stages PM (left side) for my power source (with Powermatch) and cadence. Itâs my first smart trainer so I canât compare it to others. ERG mode is very responsive, even when riding in the big chainring, which I prefer.
Thanks @mcneese.chad! I was a little bit brief but your answer is great as always.
My main gripes with Vortex are:
I am lost for what level of noise would be a noticeable improvement over Vortex and how different models compare to each other. I probably donât need Neo-level of quiet (big fan is not silent, drive train neither) but quieter is better. As I do all of my workouts in erg mode I am inclined to try Cycleops/Saris. I would like to be able to use higher gears but as a climber I do most of the work in lower gears.
I did some price research and this is what I found is available:
Obviously, Iâve read DCR, GPL and Tariq but the noise is better to hear than read 
I think the Neo 2 is the choice I would make. This assumes you are comfortable at that price, but those 4 options lead to this order in my eyes.
Neo 2 is superior to the H3 for just a small price increase, so that is an easy choice for the 1k euro range, and would be my choice among these three I mention now.
The H2 makes sense if you want the cheapest alternative that meets most of your goals, but is not âlocalâ via my preference.
The Neo 2T doesnât make sense unless you really want the direct thru axle support and expect to need the greater power of virtual tire slip resistance.
So if we compare the H3 at $850 new vs the Kickr at $1,200 new, is there any reason to spend $350 more?
Is this US dollars?
If it is USD, this presumes getting the H3 at a discount and the Kickr at full price, is this correct?
You need to add a cassette and quick release skewer to the H3 (since the Kickr includes both), so the price of the H3 is likely over $900 when you match it entirely.
Assuming you never want to add a Wahoo Climb, the H3 is as good or better than the Kickr in actual performance (noting the cadence and fast flywheel issues at present for the H3), but it will have more noise (based on review reports at least).
I have an H3 on order from OutdoorPlay using their 15% coupon but its delayed so gives me an opportunity to get something else if I choose to. I already have a cassette and a skewer so wouldnât need to buy that.
I have no interest in the climb, and have been happy with my H2 aside from noise. Donât need something thatâs totally quiet but just a bit put off by the flywheel speed issue. I typically use my internal H2 power meter for indoor rides as opposed to my Stages to control the unit, but thatâs because it typically makes the ERG control worse, but maybe thatâs not me using powermatch or something. I just find that it doesnât hold the power quite as flat as the Hammer and doesnât seem to ramp up or down as quickly
Perhaps I should give using my Stages to control the ERG another try, what should I do as far as powermatch settings?