STAC, the Candian company, announced at Interbike a new smart trainer that is ANT+ FE-C compatible and Smart Bluetooth.I had a chance to sit down with the company’s founder and CEO and got a preview of the smart technology they are currently working on.
I had a chance to sit down with the company’s founder and CEO and got a preview of the smart technology they are currently working on.
If you aren’t familiar with STAC, you aren’t alone. The company completed their Kickstarter campaign and started production just last year so they are fairly new in this space.
STAC Zero makes the quietest trainer on the market. The reason it’s so quiet is that they have no moving parts. Its proprietary magnetic braking technology generates resistance without actually touching the wheel of your bike. The only downside – it doesn’t work with full carbon wheels. If you only run full carbon wheels – then you have to go and find an older wheel with an aluminum brake track.
The STAC Zero offers a zero contact resistance unit, which means no noise, and no tire wear. According to the company, The STAC Zero is the quietest and one of the smallest, easiest to use and most portable power compatible trainers available on the market. I wasn’t been able to test the noise level or ride feel but I can easily see why that is. Since nothing touches the tire, the only noise generated comes from your bike’s geartrain.
They are working on a smart version that is ANT+ FE-C and Smart Bluetooth compatible that should be available next year. It will work with any third-party app that supports these protocols such as Zwift, TrainerRoad, The Sufferfest, KINOMAP and many others.
According to STAC, the smart version will be accurate up to 1% according to their own tests. The trainer will also come with a rechargeable battery that will last up to 10-hours and can be easily recharged using a micro-USB.
The company plan to offer an upgrade kit to current STAC customers. The plan is to push the smart upgrade kit to all current customers first in the Spring of 2018 and then make the full production unit available next Fall.
As for price, they are still working on that. The current STAC Zero with a powermeter is selling for around $450. I would probably expect to see it priced around $600 – on par with Wahoo SNAP and CycleOps Magnus.
