CycleOps Hammer smart trainer review

It's an absolutely beast in terms of its body weight, but the CycleOps Hammer proves to have world beating ride feel

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(Image credit: Cycling Studio)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

You feel you’re in safe hands with the CycleOps Hammer, although your own hands won’t thank you if you try to move it around too much: it’s extremely heavy and has an awkwardly placed handle that places the unit out of balance if you try to lift it. However, it had a heavyweight performance to match and was straightforward to set up and use. Ride feel was matchless. It’s a pity the yellow CycleOps stickers have already peeled off the plastic body. For £1,000 you might reasonably expect it to keep its looks for a bit longer.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Covers all bikes

  • +

    Very stable

  • +

    Best ride feel available

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    The body is extremely heavy!

  • -

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Simon Smythe's avatar
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As one of the heavyweights in the power-measuring field it’s appropriate that the CycleOps Hammer, CycleOps’s range-topping smart trainer, achieves its smooth, realistic road feel via a 9kg flywheel that is claimed to be the heaviest on the market.

The complete unit weighs a monster 21kg, making unboxing it an epic feat. On the inside of the box lid is the legend ‘what will you accomplish today?’ just in case you thought lifting it out of the car was quite enough for one day.

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Simon Smythe
Simon Smythe

Simon Smythe is a hugely experienced cycling tech writer, who has been writing for Cycling Weekly since 2003. Until recently he was our senior tech writer. In his cycling career Simon has mostly focused on time trialling with a national medal, a few open wins and his club's 30-mile record in his palmares. These days he spends most of his time testing road bikes, or on a tandem doing the school run with his younger son.

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