You know what I'm surprisingly good at? Pressing the refresh button on the Internet. Seriously, if someone gave me a task to find something in stock, I'm gonna eventually find it in stock. Albeit, in the least efficient manner - but by gosh, I can refresh a browser like nobody's business.
And in fact, over the last few months I was manually tracking trainer stock for some of the more in-demand units. Things like the Wahoo KICKR, Tacx NEO, Stages Bike, Elite Sterzo Smart, etc... I was mostly checking US sites, but also a handful of European sites. From there I'd drop comments in the comments section of my review, or on Twitter, when things were in-stock. However, that wasn't super scalable or timely. Mostly just a lot of luck.
Thus, introducing an automated version of me: The DCR Smart Trainer Alerting Tool (STAT?). That's not an official name, because I'm horrible at naming/branding. It's just a simple consolidated site that you can go to and check the stock of various trainers from various DC Rainmaker partner retailers, and then set an e-mail alert for a given trainer when it's in stock. The frequency of the checking is pretty high, and in my and many other people's testing if you click the link as soon as you get the alert - you're able to nab that trainer (whereas if you wait till after making a pancake breakfast...not so likely to win).
In any case, it's incredibly simple. You go to the trainer stock page, and then see which units are in-stock. For ones not in stock, you can set an e-mail alert to be notified the second it's in stock. Note that we automatically check the appropriate stock for your country. Below, you can see the US:
Yet when I check from Germany, I see appropriate local prices/stock/options there for the sites I'm currently checking. Same goes for other European countries:
Simply click that little checkbox to enter your e-mail address and then confirm the sign-up.
Here's an example of the e-mail alert you'll get when something is found. Short and to the point (somewhat unlike a typical DCR Review):
Right now I track the most popular (and hard to get) smart trainers across three main categories:
- High-end models: Wahoo KICKR V5/2020, Tacx NEO 2T, Elite Direto XR, Saris H3
- Midrange models: Wahoo KICKR CORE, Tacx FLUX 2, Tacx FLUX S, Elite Suito
- Wheel-on models: Wahoo KICKR SNAP, Tacx Flow Smart, Elite Tuo, Saris M2
And then atop that, two more categories of things:
- Smart bikes: Wahoo KICKR Bike, Stages Bike SB20, Tacx NEO Bike Smart
- Hard to get trainer accessories: Wahoo KICKR CLIMB, Elite Sterzo Smart, Saris MP1 Rocker Plate
Currently, this service is targeted at US and Europe, though it also covers Amazon Canada and a few other Amazon country sites. We do plan to expand it, but honestly like anything else, trying not to boil the ocean here in one go.
Same goes for retailers. Right now I'm just covering the retailers that support the site here, so that includes Wiggle, REI, Backcountry, CompetitiveCyclist, and Amazon (all Amazon Europe sites are covered). I've got a few more in mind to expand it to perhaps down the road.
A couple more notables about the alerts:
- Your e-mail address is never shared with anyone (period), it's just used here to notify you of trainer availability for the unit you selected
- You can instantly unsubscribe to alerts using the well-labeled 'Unsubscribe' option within the e-mail, at any time
- It's possible using this service will cause you to spend money on a trainer that may or may not be approved by your partner. If you get in trouble with your partner for buying a trainer without permission...that's totally on you. Though, I do appreciate your support via the links. 😉
I initially rolled it out to DCR Supporters about two weeks ago, and then incorporated a pile of feedback from them. And more importantly for a number of people: They snagged trainers and smart bikes they'd been trying to find for weeks (or longer). Boom!
Behind the scenes we're tracking lots of details about the trainers, including stock history and exactly how long every trainer stays in-stock, and even pricing shifts. It's something we'll likely be able to expand to other products down the road, and use in other interesting ways.
With that - go forth and enjoy, and good luck finding that smart trainer!