Elite

Real Axiom Tuno Frame ANT Plus Double Wireless Trainer

An indoor session's great dilemma is no secret: it's indoors. Elite's Real Axiom Tuno Frame ANT+ Double Wireless Trainer doesn't change the essential fact that indoor sessions are still run indoors, but — with hardware and software features designed as a facsimile, if not a perfect replica, the outdoor experience — it does make those long, winter maintenance sessions a bit more bearable.

While the trainer itself is a big step up from the old wind-resistance unit that haunts your garage all summer and your dreams all winter, the Real Axiom Tuno's big selling points are the virtual elements that it brings to your training with the Real software suite. Using an ANT+ connection, Real software lets you "ride" pre-recorded courses, imported GPX files, Google maps routes, or even your favorite local loop courtesy of the MyRealVideo feature.

MyRealVideo doesn't instantly thaw your favorite 12-mile climb, but it does reproduce a previously recorded footage of you riding it, bringing the halcyon days of a spring morning spent outside to the grind of a winter morning's indoor training. When maintaining 'cross fitness or ramping up for spring, little indulgences like these are sometimes necessary to keep motivation alive. Real software also tracks your fitness with Conconi tests, which essentially processes you through the pain cave to gauge your level, and customizable training plans help keep you on track to improve your numbers next time around.

The trainer unit itself does its part to replicate road feel, providing controlled, bobbing feedback with Elite's Swing System frame. The resistance ramps up in a way that reminds of the road, if not duplicating it exactly — kinda like tarmac's first cousin — and you can manually override the smart trainer's resistance with the supplied remote control. We find that beating Pantani's time while riding a pre-recorded, virtual climb up Alpe d'Huez is also an effective morale booster during indoor sessions, even if it's only possible if the trainer's resistance is dropped and the climb is effectively flattened. Elite finishes the package with the all-important travel block.