For this years list, I’ll do it by price range. Then mention where that item falls in the overall wish list. This is a modified version of the Revised Fitness Wishlist.
Cash is king, to help pay things down. But after that…
So order:
- Cash ($0-$14 million)
Bib ($50-100 range)I’m 99% sure this has been taken care of- Better Trainer ($400-550)
- New Watch ($500)
- Monitors ($140-260 each)
- Zwift Membership ($200)
- Cassette ($50-65)
- Cycling Shoes ($200)
$0 to $50
Okay, first up in this price range, and even more expensive, is my Steam Wishlist. Sort by Rank, and the first 30 or so items are in proper ranked choice order. (Some of those do cost far more then this price range, which to be clear, on that one, the only one wanted is either the 512 GB OLED, or the 1TB OLED, the 256GB LCD is basically useless. Anyhow, those start at $550, and at that price there are plenty of other items I’d rather have). Overall ranking, fairly middle of the road. I’ve got a lot of games already, but some of those titles in the first 5 or so are fairly high overall.
Carnation Breakfast High Protein 10 Pack, 6 Count ($41.82). I use the High Protein version of Carnation Instant Breakfast with Fairlife 2% milk after a bike ride, sort of a recovery, but not nearly so. Overall, fairly middle of the road. I can buy a carton at a time at Giant Eagle, but a carton is about $9, so this is a fairly deep discount, though about the same as the Walmart price.
$50-100
Cycling Bibs. NOTE: I’m 99% sure this was taken care of. This is probably near top overall, especially for this price range. I have one cycling bib right now, but ideally, I’d have at least 2, preferably 3 or 4 total, so while one is being washed, and drip drying, another can be used. So we’ll say 2 more total. The best deal on decent bibs are the NeoPro Onyx Cargo Bib V2.0 ($59.99-79.99 depending on sale going on at the time) size Small. I’m damn near extra small. A near second place choice is their non-cargo version (that is no pockets) NeoPro Onyx Bibs V2.0 ($48.74-64.99 depending on the sale going on at the time). How are those prices compared to others? Much cheaper. Cheap bibs at say the local supplier, Aero Tech Designs, cheaptop shelf cycling-bib shorts, are $99.99, but most are in the $140-200 range. Same at Pro Bike Run, which is the local bike shop, where I’ll be listing the shoes I want. That said, the chamois in those more expensive bibs is probably better, but $100 better? Probably not, at my level anyhow.
New cassette for my trainer. While Zwift can do virtual shifting, most of the other apps can not, at least not easily, especially using Apple TV 4K. If I were using my computer, I could use the keyboard to use virtual shifting, just need a way of easily reaching the keyboard… Anyhow, the trainer I have has a generic 11 speed cassette, however, my bike is indexed to the microSHIFT Advent X ($64.99, on sale for $52.50 as of writing). In order to change the cassette, one needs specialized tools, a cassette removal tool and chain whip, like this Oumers Bike Cassette Removal Tool with Chain Whip ($17.29). Overall rating, high.
Added 21 December. Rocker Feet Adapter for my trainer. Getting one from Etsy, they are Elite Suito-T Rocker Feet Adapter: Stability Enhancement Accessory ($81.78-109.04), or Elite Suito-T Rocker Feet Adapter directly from Wax Wing Wonder (the people who sell it on Etsy) (€67,50 about $79.07 in USD). If I had a 3D printer, I could print my own, or if someone has access to one, here are the Elite Smart Trainer Foot Suspension at Thingverse.
$100-200
A year of Zwift is $199.99. Sadly, sort of hard to gift this, as basically I have to put one’s CC number in as a form of payment, they don’t have a gift card that works for memberships (their gift card is only good for physical items off their shop).. Basically pay for 10 months, get it for a year, so saves 2 months of the monthly rate. Very high, and most wanted at this price range, and probably overall most wanted after the bibs.
I need a new monitor for my computer. At the cheap end, and probably the best my current computer can drive. KTC H27T22C-3 ($164.99). In in ideal world, as I run a two monitor setup, I’d have 2. The problem is that my current monitors are 1080p, while this is 1440p, so I’d realistically have to get a second one at the same resolution, if different size. Different sizes is okay, but different resolutions is a problem. The better monitor AOC Q27G3XMN ($259.99) is another, or its cheaper sibling the AOC Q27G4XN ($139.99) would be good. The dream primary monitor (would still need one of the other monitors here as the second, as it’d be silly to get two of this dream monitor) is the ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG27ACDNG ($759), but for the price of that, could get two of the AOC Q27G3XMN, or two of the other monitors and have budget left over for something else, and I don’t think it’d be worth it, rather have two of the AOCs, and something else… not saying I’d complain having the Asus and one of the others.
Cycling Shoes. NOTE: I’m 90% sure this was taken care of. For cycling shoes I’m looking at the Specialized Recon 2.0 ($90-199 depending on sale price. I’m size 42. I’ve tried these on, and they fit really well. At the moment, Pro Bike Run, where that link goes to, is out of them. I didn’t see them on Amazon. Short of those, the basic idea is size 42, SPD mountain bike, with at least one BOA (the Recon 2.0 uses BOA for the top, and Velcro for the bottom), with good walk-ability. Realistically, shoes will likely fall closer to the $150 range, such as my second choice shoes, the Pearl Izumi X-Alp Summit ($165 at REI). Now, to use those on my bike, I’d have to get pedals (as these clip into the pedal), though those I can get as cheap as $50 or $70 or so. Overall, fairly high, but we’ll say high end of middle.
Bike radars detect if a vehicle is approaching you from behind, it alerts you via the bike computer, or app on your phone. They also can be setup to flash a warning to the driver to be careful. They are a very helpful thing while being on the road. There is a Wahoo Trackr radar ($199.99) coming out May 6th, and that might be my primary choice for radar. The Garmin Varia RTL515 ($199.99) is a bike radar that helps alert you to cars approaching from behind on your bike computer. In theory, this should be higher than the shoes, but most of my rides aren’t on roads, so overall, lower end of mid, to low.
$200-250
A Whoop strap with Peak Membership ($199-239). Whoop is amazing at fitness, especially recovery, and health. However, it is an annual membership. The strap becomes useless without the membership. A better value is the Garmin Venu 4 listed below, which while it costs another couple hundred, gives all those insights (if not as well), without the annual fee. Would be cool, but the Venu 4 would be better.
$400-600
So as noted on my Revised Fitness Wish List July 2025, I have an issue with my current trainer. It has a very low power floor, and most importantly, it only broadcasts on one Bluetooth channel, so it can’t broadcast to both Zwift, and say a watch. It’s an older model. So at the lower end of replacement trainers is the Wahoo KICKR CORE 2 ($399.99 to $549.99 depending on the sale going on at the moment, normally on sale closer to $450 to $499). I mean, very high, but the price moves it way down. The alternative to the Wahoo KICKR CORE 2 is a JetBlack Victory ($399 + shipping + tariff, about $70 total). This is a smaller brand, and some reported issues, though others seem fine, seems to be more a mixed bag. However, they both fix the Bluetooth problem I’m having now.
I need a replacement watch, as mine doesn’t record power, and missing some other features, especially in terms of recovery, that would be helpful. This basically comes down to the Garmin Venu 4 ($499.99-549.99). This can be found on Amazon, and special orders via Target, and others. I’d probably want slate with black band. This is probably near the top choice overall, perhaps tied with a year of Zwift, and right behind the bibs. Mostly as it would be more useful overall.
$600-800
So our TV has lots of dots in the background. The caps for the dimming zones fell off, so the dimming zones not only don’t work, we see the big dot where the bulb is that controls that zone. To that end, there’s a few TVs. At the semi-budget end is the TCL QM6K ($527.99 Amazon, $529.99 Best Buy), or stepping up TCL QM7K ($749.99 Amazon, $749.99 Best Buy) are the better 55″ TVs in the lower mid range. TCL QM8K ($1499.99 Amazon, $1499.99 Best Buy) steps up to actual mid range, and by this point, one is sort of stuck going 65″, which really gets a bit big for our space. Not too big, but is getting there. The dream TV is the Samsung S95F OLED (Best Buy 55″ 1899.99, 65″ $2299.99, and at that nice of a TV, you really should go 65″ or bigger), but really, for that extra grand, I’d nearly rather have the QM6K or QM7K, and something else on the list.
$800 range
Power meter pedals. The Favero Assioma Pro MX-2 power meter pedals ($809) allow me to train outdoors. These broadcast the power I’m putting out at the pedals. Basically the same thing the trainer does in the house, using Zwift, or whatever, but can do the same outdoors. Obviously a bit expensive compared to indoor training.
$1500 Plus
Okay, getting a little silly, but the dream trainer would be a Garmin Tacx NEO 3M with Zwift Cog ($1499.99-1799.99), though it really also needs the Garmin Tacx Smart Network Adapter ($129.99) to give it the features the much cheaper Wahoo KICR Core 2 above has, and may as well throw in the Garmin Tacx Alpine Gradient ($1099.99) to simulate gradients at that point. Seriously though, at that point, I’d probably prefer that in cash, to pay things off then have an overly fancy indoor setup.