Saris - H3 Series Smart Indoor Bike Trainer, Quietest Ever at 59 dB, Compatible with 12-Speed Drivetrains, Includes Virtual Training App Subscription

This trainer has gone up in price since I bought it a year and a half ago and it’s still an incredible value. What you save with this over something like a TacX Neo or comparable trainer is essentially enough to buy an entire training setup: exercise mat, iPad, headphones, rear cassette, floor fan and still have a few bucks left over for a new set of bottles. What’s more you don’t sacrifice much in doing so. The device is excellent - it pairs almost instantly, requires zero calibration, is accurate and capable of delivering real world resistance comparable to all but the absolute steepest climbs in the world and after a couple of thousand miles is still exceptionally reliable. It even folds up to be tucked away when not in use. The only downside I’ve found is that the machine is also ridiculously heavy - I’m betting 40lbs+. That also speaks to how well built it is - steel case and legs and aluminum attachment points where the bike interfaces with the machine at the frame. The spindle has a little bit of give in it, which is ideal for soaking up some of that lateral movement from pedaling and climbing out of the seat. It’s not much, but it’s there and that means it’s going to be kinder on your bike and feel a little more natural on your body. After a minor back injury a few months back I’ve been putting way more miles on Zwift over my previous routine and I love it. Once you get your setup dialed in jumping on the H3 is a joy. I personally use an iPad Air5 connected to an ultra wide monitor which can run Zwift on one half of the screen and Apple TV on the other. Once Zwift is running it just connects to the H3 without any fuss and off I go. (I used all of the free trials that came with the H3 and Zwift is just the most fun imho - even without getting into the competetive aspects). If you read this far you might wonder what you’re missing out on over the TacX - immersion - the H3 is a boilerplate sim rig - it simulates resistance for exercise and nothing else (and it does it astonishingly well) - the TacX adds force feedback and granular vibration feedback to more closely imitate the actual experience of riding a bicycle. Is that cool? Hell yeah, it is. Is it worth an additional $6 or $700 (or more if you throw in the peripherals)? If you’re a serious rider or someone who has the extra dough laying around I wouldn’t hesitate buying the TacX but if you’re like me and just want a no nonsense setup for days when you can’t get outside I can think of a better trainer than the H3.

I've waited to review this since it was a big purchase, but I've now hit 1,042 miles (64 rides) on Zwift, with a total time of 61 hours in the saddle. Setup: Fairly straight forward. I had never installed a cassette before so I bought the Luditek chain whip (ASIN: B07517WGKY) at the same time. Only took about 10 minutes to take the cassette off my wheel and install on the H3. I watched a couple of generic videos on how to do this, and the Saris website has an un-boxing video with great info as well. It comes with a spacer - the spacer stays on for 8-10 speed cassettes and comes off for 11 speed. That all worked fine and I was ready to ride. Each of the support legs has a height adjustment so make sure you screw those down so you're not wobbling back and forth. The unit itself seems very heavy duty and stable. Connection: I haven't had any issues connecting to my computer or iPhone to ride on Zwift. It usually auto connects after waking up the H3 and remembers the previous connection type (don't know if that's the H3 or Zwift). Within Zwift you can chose if you want bluetooth or ant+. I've been using Bluetooth connecting to a Mac Mini or the iPhone Zwift companion app. I've had 1 ride where the connection was lost (it reconnected after about 30 seconds) and 2-3 rides where I felt like there was a delay in the resistance changes, although I don't know if those cases were the H3, my computer, or Zwift so I'm not taking off any stars. Those cases were fairly soon after I got it so maybe the Firmware updates have fixed this issue. Overall it has performed great and been easy to connect. Ride: The resistance is amazing. If you're coming from an old school fluid trainer this thing will kick your butt. The hill resistance changes are consistent and in line with the gradient on screen. During erg mode workouts it does a great job holding at the specified wattage. Riding in Zwift you WILL be shifting and using your entire gear range. If you ride without connecting to a program (Zwift, the app, etc) it mimics a fluid trainer resistance, which is great for cooling down or warming up. My only complaint is the cadence calculation doesn't keep up when shifting. With firmware updates it has gotten more accurate when riding a consistent tempo, but drops out when shifting compared to the cadence output on my CatEye computer still mounted to the bike (which only shows cadence now). Not taking off any stars since this is a fairly minor complaint overall. The Saris App: This has received major updates in the last 2 months (almost like it wasn't ready when they launched the product). The firmware updates have worked without issues, the calibration works (I haven't noticed a major difference before and after so I think it was fairly close right out of the box for me), and the ERG mode functions as expected. The app is free so I'd recommend downloading that for the firmware updates and calibration. It has to be disconnected from other devices to connect to the app, so I usually check firmware and calibration about every 2 weeks at the end of a ride. Summary: Overall I'm very happy with this purchase and would highly recommend this unit. I've been riding more, riding longer and enjoying it MUCH more than I ever was with my old 'dumb' trainer. I'm also getting stronger and faster during the wet off-season.

Purchased this item in April 2025. 5 months in, using the Rouvy App, has greatly increased my performance. This machine is smooth, quiet and accurate. I have improved on my outdoor performance by being able to push myself to new limits. Climbing up to 20 percent gradients is real. I can truly say this trainer is top notch. Placing the bike on and taking the bike off the trainer is easy.

The Saris H3 Plus is a great trainer. The resistance is smooth and realistic. The build quality is superb. It works seamlessly with Rouvy and was super simple to setup. Very happy.

UPDATE #2: With rainy weather coming to my area, I've done my first ride with an app. The experience was vastly superior to my prior trainer. So I think this (or the H3 plus--same trainer with 12 speed support, and now less expensive than the H3) is a great trainer. Just hope you don't need support. UPDATE: I'm leaving my initial review up below, but now have sorted out setting up my 12 mm through axle bike with the trainer, and it appears to operate properly, based on a couple of short tests with a trainer app. HOWEVER, getting there was very painful. I finally reached CS by phone, and the person attempted to be helpful, but fundamentally got the facts wrong. That person directed me to the Saris adapters for various through axles, as well as the Robert Axle Project. As I looked at the adapters, it became clear that they all are for wheel on trainers, not wheel off trainers like the H3. I was clear that I have an H3; CS should instead have given me pointers for mounting my bike correctly. In fact, CS stated (completely incorrectly) that the H3 was not compatible out of the box with 12 mm through axles. That's just plain wrong. I also finally got an email in response to my parallel inquiries. That email was similarly wrong, but simply pointed me to the adapters. So 4 stars for what appears to be a solid trainer. One star off for CS staff who don't know what they are talking about. ORIGINAL REVIEW Saris has gone through a rough patch, but I hoped that they were on an upswing. Maybe not? My trainer arrived well packed, but once I installed a freewheel and attempted to mount my bike, I realized that none of the adapters work my through axle. Maybe I have an unusual one? Checked the through axle on my wife's bike, also a recent road bike. Same problem. None of the adapters has a thread that will work for a 12 mm through axle. I assumed this was an oversight, so I contacted Saris support. By phone, they have a message that they are closed for "the holiday." I'm not aware of any holiday in the world on 10/23. Also contacted them via their support form. Nothing yet. Sadly, this needs to be sorted in two weeks, or the trainer needs to go back.

This is my third trainer, but first smart trainer. I had a really cheap magnetic, a pretty nice Kurt Kinetic fluid (wheel-on) and now this Saris H3. The reviews said it was quiet and they are 100%. My wheel-on magnetic and KK fluid were very noisy, I think the chain and cog noise of my bike's drive train is louder than the H3. With the 100% necessary (for me) cooling fan blowing on me as I pedal, I hear nothing but my fan (my KK fluid was louder than the same fan). The resistance variation of the H3 is quite substantial. I had it nearly stop my pedaling completely during one workout. I don't know about the 2000 Watts because I'm not a pro and so far I don't think I've seen over ~500w, but haven't worked on my conditioning with it yet. I'll update when I know more. The coolest part of any smart trainer (IMO) is the VR interface options provided by 3rd party online services like Zwift. The included 30 day free from trial on Zwift has been very fun. For the first time in over a decade of having an indoor trainer, I WANT TO RIDE THE TRAINER! Having the resistance vary as you go up and down the virtual hills (or mountains) is very cool, as is riding in the virtual environment with your local buddies or your new Zwift friend from Finland. I'm a data-guy, so having all the feedback info from the trainer (power and cadence, in addition to speed) is very cool. My Garmin HRM chest strap paired easily to my laptop, along side the H3, so I get BPMs on my Zwift display as well. Using an HDMI cable to connect my laptop to the TV in our workout room really enhanced the experience also (has me thinking about getting a bigger TV down there). My trainer (new and unopened) did arrive without a power adapter and with a broken front wheel block, but the seller was very quick to ship out replacements and it's been all good since.

I had the H3 setup for my enduro bike, Boost spacing, XD driver, GX Eagle 10-50T cassette. When I get to the 12T cog the H3 starts thumping; at 10T it thumps and grinds. Sent a video to Saris customer support, no response 14-days later. I am at 112-miles on the unit and about 30-miles ago it started creaking on the low end. I am convinced the Boost spacing with my 184#s puts too much torsional torque on the unit. I have given up hope and am sending it back along with the XD driver. I will give the Wahoo KICKR a try. Update: Nearly a month later and still no response from Saris. No thumping or creaking experienced to date on the Wahoo KICKR (85-miles in). A lot more metal in the Wahoo build as compared to plastic in the Saris.

My motive for buying this is probably opposite of most other bikers, to get in shape, not to stay in shape. It does indeed give you a workout so break out the fans, towels, and water bottles. You'll need the sprocket set from your rear wheel, or simply buy one just for the trainer to quickly switch back to using your bike on the road again. I thought I needed a special thru-axle to mount my new Trek Domane, but as it turns out the handle sticking out of my Treks rear axle is really a removable tool that pulls off out of the way. I don't know if this is some new thing but nobody on the Bike Forum (or some youtube videos) seemed to know this, so I ended up ordering a special rear axle that I didn't need. ( I'm just getting back into cycling after a few decades.) Using it just plugged in without any software programs does give you some resistance, enough for a warm up, but you need the programs to really get a heavy duty workout. Software: Right off the bat forget the Bluegiga bluetooth dongle you might see advertised. Never could get it to work. I found the "Avantree DG40S USB Bluetooth 4.0" works for me. They seem to have all the right software to make it work with any Windows 10 system. Setup was a breeze. Don't even need a long cord to get it close to the trainer (as I've seen others have to do). I used the trainer with Zwift using my Win10 gaming desktop and an iphone companion app that acts like a "middle man," connecting the trainer to the desktop to my 55" TV (because it's on the same WiFi network). It made the setup rather painless and you can control the software from your iphone mounted to your handlebars. It all works well, but after the free trial I was turned off by the somewhat expensive subscription rate. Then I tried Rouvy but had a lot of connection problems, and never got it to connect with my TV. I emailed support and their only solution was to plug my ipad into my TV using a long cord adaptor. Didn't care for the small image of my ipad on my big screen TV as it wouldn't fill the screen, so I dumped them. I'm now using the FREE, yes, FREE (free is good) RGT cycling app, that connected instantly, connecting to my iphone and my desktop. To use my TV I do have to run an HDMI cable from my desktop, but it works very well, and again, it's freakin' FREE, and not a bad app at all. Maybe it doesn't have all the scenery or the social interaction of Zwift, but what it does have looks very nice so far. Did I mention it was FREE, and it works? Besides, once a program is running, I find I like to stream movies while working out instead of watching the virtual world, but to each his own. I do wonder about cheating going on in virtual races. It would be so easy to connect a drill to the H3 or any trainer, and win every prize offered. I say this because I've seen people blast past me like they're on a crotch rocket. I just can't imagine someone pedaling that fast in real life. I software doesn't seem to detect this, as far as I know. Maybe someone is monitoring it all, looking for someone who is consistently breaking records.