Van Rysel's D100 smart trainer is incredible value but don't ignore this crucial limitation

The Van Rysel D100 is one of the cheapest smart trainers available, costing only £259.99 / €299.99 with a Zwift Cog and Click shifter included.

Despite the low price, it features a direct-drive design and form factor reminiscent of the Wahoo Kickr Core – one of the best smart trainers currently available.

While the specification is acutely compromised in one particular area, if you can live with the resulting limitations Van Rysel's D100 smart trainer offers a huge amount of performance for its bargain price.

Van Rysel D100 Home Trainer with Zwift Cog and Click specification

At only £249.99 / €299.99, the D100 sits at the bottom of Van Rysel’s recently launched range of smart trainers.

As you might expect, the low price means there are some compromises to be made in the specification – especially compared to similar-looking direct-drive models such as the Wahoo Kickr Core Zwift One (£449.99 / $499.99 / €499.99) and JetBlack Victory (£399 /$399 / €449.95).

Maximum power output is capped at 600 watts on the D100, for example, while it can only simulate gradients of up to 6 per cent – both areas where the Victory and Kickr Core boasts more than double those figures.

Likewise, power accuracy is claimed to be only +/- 5 per cent, compared to the +/- 2 per cent (or better) you’d typically expect from a mid- to high-end direct-drive trainer.

Those are unfair comparisons, though, because options closer in line with the D100’s low price – such as the Tacx Flow Smart (£269.99 / $369.99), Elite Novo Smart (£199) and Wahoo Kickr Snap (£349.99 / $399.99 / €399.99) – are all wheel-on smart trainers with more comparable specs.

Where the Van Rysel trainer pulls ahead of these models is with its direct-drive construction. 

Rather than clamping your rear wheel on a roller, you remove it and mount your bike frame directly to a direct-drive trainer.

Generally, this leads to vastly improved rider feel, quieter operation and more accurate power data. This is because it eliminates tyre slip, reduces frictional losses and eliminates potential inconsistencies (such as tyre pressure variations).

Likewise, the D100’s 3.2kg flywheel is only 300g lighter than the 3.5kg flywheel found on the highly rated Elite Suito, while the 10.78kg overall weight adds an extra bit of ballast not generally present on wheel-on models (which should help it offer a more stable ride feel).

The D100 Zwift Edition is specced with a Zwift Cog and comes with a two-month free trial for Zwift, the popular virtual indoor cycling app.

The Zwift Cog singlespeed adaptor offers compatibility with “almost any 8- to 12-speed bike”, with the bundled Zwift Click shifter used to change gears 'virtually', in-game.

The downside of the Cog is it means the D100 is only fully compatible with Zwift in this setup.

Fortunately, the Zwift Cog can be removed and a regular cassette installed in its place, if you prefer. With a cassette installed, the D100 can then be used with any indoor cycling app you like.

If you don’t want the Zwift Cog, the D100 can be purchased without it for £229.99.

Both versions of the D100 come with a Shimano HG freehub, which can fit 8- to 12-speed HG-compatible cassettes (as well as the Zwift Cog), although a SRAM XDR freehub is available separately for £34.99.

At the time of writing, the Van Rysel D100 is only available in Europe and the UK.

Van Rysel D100 Home Trainer with Zwift Cog and Click setup

As is often the case with these types of Kickr Core-inspired smart trainers, setting up the Van Rysel D100 is easy.

Bolting the two legs on and attaching the correct axle adaptors is all that’s required, and Van Rysel helpfully includes cardboard axle-measurement tools (similar to those included with the now-discontinued Zwift Hub) to help make sure you’ve got the setup right.

At 10.78kg, the D100 is heavier than most wheel-on trainers but amongst the lightest direct-drive trainers available.

As always, there’s a trade-off between a trainer being heavy and therefore potentially more stable underneath powerful riders, or light and a bit easier to set up and move around.

For the D100’s target audience – and especially considering its 600W maximum power output – I think the decision to pitch it towards lighter and less experienced riders is the right one.

It’s a small shame there isn’t a dedicated carrying handle fitted, but that’s not unexpected at this price.

Van Rysel D100 Home Trainer with Zwift Cog and Click performance

Van Rysel D100 Home Trainer with Zwift Cog and Click connectivity

Once plugged in and switched on, the Van Rysel D100 can connect to smart devices via Bluetooth, but not via ANT+ or ANT+ FE-C.

This means you can’t connect to a bike computer to do your own ERG mode workouts or to simulate courses, because those typically use ANT+ FE-C to communicate with smart trainers.

Given most will likely be looking to use Bluetooth-equipped smart devices and indoor cycling apps, this shouldn't pose issues for too many riders.

As with the pricier Van Rysel D900, the D100’s firmware and system is managed by the Magene OneLap app (available for iOS and Android).

As things stand, there’s no option to perform spin-down calibrations for the D100 in Zwift, so you’ll need to disconnect from that and do it via the OneLap app (which recommends riding for 10 minutes first, to warm it up).

This is a small inconvenience, but it’s not the end of the world.

Unlike with wheel-on smart trainers, power accuracy on direct-drive trainers isn’t subject to as much drift from things such as variations in tyre pressure, so you shouldn’t need to perform these calibrations too often anyway.

Van Rysel D100 Home Trainer with Zwift Cog and Click ride feel

In use, the Van Rysel D100 offers great ride feel for the money.

Coming off the JetBlack Victory, which has a 4.7kg flywheel, the D100 feels a touch choppier through the pedals.

I also found it relatively slow to respond to virtual gradient changes and changes to my power output.

This may be because, unlike on the JetBlack Victory, there’s no 10Hz Race Mode here. This means data packets are sent and received between the D100 and your smart device at the standard rate of 1Hz (once per second).

This is the same as most mid-range smart trainers such as the Wahoo Kickr Core Zwift One, Elite Suito and Tacx Flux S, though – none of which feature high-speed data modes.

Despite this, the D100 impresses compared to wheel-on options at similar prices, such as the Tacx Flow Smart or Elite Novo Smart. The D100’s ride feel is vastly superior to both.

The direct-drive design feels much more realistic, there’s no tyre slip, and the wide stance legs and higher weight offer much greater stability when standing on the pedals.

Sprint limitations

The one area where the D100’s specification is most compromised is the 600-watt maximum power output.

Unless I’m very fatigued, I can hit that ceiling quite easily – even as a relatively lightweight and not particularly powerful rider (I currently weigh around 64-65kg and have a threshold power of roughly 235-240 watts, depending on which power meter I ask) – making it a notable hindrance during sprint workouts or competitive events.

Of course, not every Zwift race or group ride ends with a sprint, but getting to the end of an event only to find your performance limited by your equipment can be incredibly frustrating.

It’s a shame, because the extra stability and improved ride feel offered by the direct-drive design makes sprinting on the D100 otherwise much better than on lighter, less stable wheel-on options.

If the D100 could push up to 1000 watts, or even match the Tacx Flow Smart’s 800-watt maximum power output, I suspect that would be plenty for many riders.

As it is, though, this 600-watt ceiling is likely to be a deal-breaker for anyone with competitive aspirations.

Does the 600-watt maximum power matter?

Of course, for less powerful riders, or those without a desire to compete in virtual races or group rides, this performance ceiling will be less of an issue.

If all you wanted to do was ERG mode workouts – which the D100 is perfectly adequate for (assuming you’re happy to stay beneath 600 watts, of course) – for example, then you might never notice it, because these typically don’t include all-out sprints.

In contrast, the 6 per cent maximum simulated gradient doesn’t feel particularly limiting – especially on Zwift, where the default ‘realism’ setting is 50 per cent (meaning you only feel 50 per cent of the gradient shown on-screen at the trainer, in order to reduce the required gearing range).

Climbing Alpe du Zwift, for example, doesn’t feel all that different on the D100 compared to pricier smart trainers, which can simulate gradients of 16 per cent or steeper.

Once the on-screen gradient ticks past 12 per cent on Zwift, you can notice the lack of increase in resistance at the trainer. But when immersed in the ride, and not just watching the numbers, I found I forgot about it quickly.

Of course, if you prefer to use apps that have a greater focus on realism, such as Rouvy, this might feel more limiting, because you'll likely hit the maximum resistance more frequently.

For most riders, though, I suspect this compromise will be acceptable considering the D100’s price.

Van Rysel D100 Home Trainer with Zwift Cog and Click noise

In terms of noise, the D100 Zwift Edition put in an impressive performance, averaging around 58 decibels when riding at 150 watts / 30kph.

Noise levels increase when you start ramping up the power, though, peaking at around 68dB at around 600 watts / 42 kph.

Nevertheless, this is an impressive performance for the price, rivalling pricier direct-drive trainers and outclassing any wheel-on option I’ve previously tested.

I found the Tacx Flow Smart to be significantly noisier, averaging around 68dB at 200 watts and only getting louder as you put in more effort.

In this instance, I think having the v2 version of the Zwift Cog helped tremendously because I was able to find a sweet spot for my Giant TCR Advanced Pro Disc at position 3 (of 10), which meant drivetrain noise was almost eliminated.

Van Rysel D100 Home Trainer with Zwift Cog and Click power accuracy

Van Rysel claims the D100 is accurate to only +/- 5 per cent, but in terms of power measurement it exceeded my expectations, tracking on-bike power meters very well.

Compared to a Quarq DFour DUB spider and a set of Favero Assioma Duo pedals, for example, I found the Van Rysel D100’s power data was generally within around 3 per cent on average. This is leagues better than any wheel-on smart trainer I’ve tested.

Of course, any time you go above 600 watts, the D100 simply can’t follow you.

Anything beneath the ceiling was measured with good accuracy, but if you put more power than that through the pedals, the D100 can’t measure it (your data will simply show a flat line at 600 watts).

It also can’t provide any additional resistance to your pedalling, meaning you’ll start spinning out as if your bike didn’t have a big enough gear. This makes connecting a separate, on-bike power meter to Zwift a non-viable workaround for this power-ceiling issue, unfortunately.

The data is vastly better than similarly priced wheel-on smart trainers, then, but – being fussy – it isn’t all rosy.

Power accuracy falls off at very high speeds, for example, and – like its pricier sibling, the D900 – the data also tended to be quite ‘sticky’. It would take around five to 10 seconds for the D100 to recognise I'd stopped pedalling.

The latter makes doing a Supertuck on descents in Zwift tricky, because your avatar won’t enter the position until the trainer tells the game your power has hit zero.

It’s fair to say neither of these are major issues for a trainer at this price, though.

Slightly more problematically, the cadence data provided by the D100 was so far off at all times as to be completely useless.

If you have a Bluetooth cadence sensor on your bike already, you could connect that to Zwift instead. If you don’t, you could buy one to solve this issue, but of course that eats into the D100’s price advantage versus other trainers.

This might be something that can be fixed via a future firmware update if there isn’t a hardware-level issue, but (as always with these things) there’s no guarantee.

Fortunately, if you can learn to ignore it, this doesn’t affect the in-game experience much, or dent the D100’s abilities in ERG mode – it's simply annoying.

Van Rysel D100 Home Trainer with Zwift Cog and Click bottom line

The Van Rysel D100 impressed consistently during testing, delivering ride feel, noise levels and power measurement surpassing its low price.

It’s not flawless, but Van Rysel can nevertheless be commended for bringing a direct-drive smart trainer to one of the lowest prices we’ve ever seen, with relatively few compromises to spec or performance.

Stronger riders are likely to find the 600-watt power ceiling severely limiting in certain scenarios, and will therefore be better served by saving up for a pricier, better-specced model.

But if the low maximum power output isn’t an issue for you, the Van Rysel D100 could be all the smart trainer you’ll ever need.