We're often asked about the differences between a Wattbike Pro and Wattbike Trainer so I thought it would be useful to briefly outline which bike might be best for you. The simple fact is that the Wattbike Pro is exactly the same as the Wattbike Trainer in every respect except that the Wattbike Pro has a slightly higher resistance range. All other features are exactly the same, including the price.
What I would say initially is that the Wattbike Trainer is the preferred model for the majority of people as with a combination of the air brake and magnetic brake you can replicate a desired power output up to 1200W. The Trainer is great for high cadence, low intensity sessions and people who want to use a Wattbike for recovery and rehabilitation, not forgetting that with the adjustability of positions on the Wattbike, the entire family can use a Wattbike Trainer.
If you're wanting to do peak power tests it's still possible to produce in excess of 1200W on the Wattbike Trainer (using a combination of the air and magnetic brakes) while endurance cyclists can produce 220W at 90 cadence or 300W at 100 cadence with only the air brake at level 10.
What does all this mean for competitive cyclists/triathletes though? As a rule of thumb if you're a male Cat 4 cyclist or below, a female Cat 3 cyclist or below, your 10 mile TT takes longer than 25 minutes or as a triathlete your 40km ride time takes longer than 1h 10' then look towards the Wattbike Trainer.
If you're currently making significant gains on your performance then look towards a Wattbike Pro. The Wattbike Pro is suited to more powerful individuals and you'll find that there is an overlap of the resistance settings between the two models.
Level 5 air resistance on the Wattbike Trainer is equal to Level 1 air resistance on the Wattbike Pro - both of these settings produce 150W at 90 cadence which nicely illustrates why the Wattbike Pro is the choice of more powerful individuals.
See the Pro/Trainer helper on this page for assistance in choosing which model is right for you.