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CycleOps HammerJust In:CycleOps Hammer Direct Drive turbo trainer
The CycleOps Hammer direct drive trainer has just arrived at road.cc for review, and it’s definitely worth a quick look before we send it out.
It’s an electrical trainer that incorporates PowerTap power measuring technology. As you might know, CycleOps and PowerTap, the power meter brand, are from the same people. CycleOps claim an accuracy level of +/-3% with the Hammer.
Read our PowerTap P1 pedals review here.
CycleOps says that the electromagnetic resistance and large 20lb (9.1kg) flywheel (in our experience, lighter weight flywheels can often feel jerky because they lack momentum) give a realistic feel and that the Hammer can handle up to 2,000 watts at 20mph. It’s capable of simulating anything up to a 20% (1:5) gradient.
We’ve had the chance to stick a cassette on the Hammer (it comes with a Shimano splined freehub for 8-speed to 11-speed cassettes) and given it a quick spin, and we can tell you that it’s very quiet in use. CycleOps say that it’s 64 decibels at 20mph – quiet enough to ride in a library is the claim. We’ll head to the university and set it up in the humanities section, then, and let you know how we get on. Maybe.
We’ve been using the Hammer with a standard road bike but it’s thru-axle compatible for frames with 142mm or 148mm rear spacing.
The front wheel tray sits neatly within the trainer when the legs are folded in for travel/storage, so there’s very little danger of mislaying it.
The Hammer can speak to your computer, tablet or phone via ANT+, Bluetooth Smart or FE-C. This allows you to use it with CycleOps’ VirtualTraining software, for example, the PowerTap mobile app, or with Zwift, which seems to be taking over the world right now.
The price? It’s £1,200. Is it worth it? We’re shipping it off to one of our reviewers to find out. We’ll be back with a review on road.cc soon.
Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
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