I'm shocked!!! this review honest and genuine making the other UTbers that reviewed this product look like sponsor thirsty sellouts... Thank You Brother
I made the same switch as you, however I am satisfied with the change. If you haven't already, it is worth trying some grip paste on the seat post and handle bar stem, I cleaned out the grease and applied grip paste and have not had an issue with either seat post or handlebar slipping whilst only applying moderate force to the quick release lever. I do find the forward and back rocking around the tilt mechanism a little annoying, I only notice this when standing. As a heavier rider (~100kg) I find the grade simulation on the kickr bike much better, I think the motorised fly wheel enables additional resistance feel to be added when climbing. The radio tower climb is even more difficult than on my (now sold) kickr18. Overall I am very happy with the kickr bike, hopefully you and your wife can overcome your initial disappointment.
Hi Greg, thank you for watching and for your comment. Using grip paste is a great idea, I will try it. We use our Kickr bike a lot and have gotten used to the changes in setup. I think the Kickr bike is more stable (less side to side rocking) than a road bike setup. The turn buttons on the inside of levers still feel awkward and I press them often unintentionally. After a couple of months of riding I feel much more satisfied with the bike as well. Cheers!
Thank you for this video. Its exactly what I was looking for. I was thinking to do the same as you did, but now after seeing this video, I will keep my current setup, until they fix all the issues.
Thank you so much, exactly what I was looking for; this saved me the frustration to fiddle with the kickr bike, will keep my kickr/Climb setup and will keep swapping between my wife’s bikes and mine for now as the only inconvenience.
I made the same switch 1 year ago. like yourself I was interested in having a quick setup that my wife could use as well. I previously used the dual kickr setup with my primary road bike for 2+ years. I noticed an increasing amount of wear on the rear dropout of my carbon frame. The through axle was being tightened further and further through the frame as time went on. I surmise that the constant raising and lowering of the front end was actually causing wear in the rear. I was able to get a great deal on a new frame but decided it wasn't worth it to put a new frame on this setup. since I didn't have a second bike to dedicate to the trainer... Kickr bike! The bike works well enough but the most glaring thing for me is the erg mode is very much more unforgiving than using the old Kickr, almost unusably so. You're totally spot on about the peddling through mud feeling though I think this goes for most trainers.... I didn't notice too much difference between the old and new trainer setups.
Thank you for watching and sharing your experience, Doug! I use my Kickr Bike on rainy days or when I don’t have time for a longer ride. I find that the Zwift workouts are always much harder than on a road bike! The continuous tension on the pedals and the virtually non-existent coasting, plus my competitive nature provoked by the passing riders make my Zwift workouts very intense. Cheer!
Thank you for this video, you did an excellent job. The flaws and shortcomings you’ve outlined here are widely known across the web. There’s no chance Wahoo will get my money for a smart bike until v2 has been released and the flaws and shortcomings have been addressed. I am happy ZWIFT will be releasing a smart bike to add competition to the market. Hopefully their initial unit won’t suffer the same as the KICKR bike has.
Interesting review as I’m about to upgrade to the kickr bike from my kickr 1st gen trainer. I’ve never owned the climb and don’t fancy putting my good carbon frame on a new kickr trainer. Hopefully the new kickr bike has these issues sorted
Thanks for the vdo. My point of view is the following. Personally I chose as home trainer the Stages bike SB20. It does not simulate the ascent nor the descent, it is for me a minus for the simulation but a plus for the stability and the reliability. The body of the bike is the same as the fitness bikes from Stages bikes which have been improved many times. It is extremely easy to adjust to your body shape in all directions. I am sure I made the right choice. Sporty greetings
Thank you for watching. The only issue I complained during my initial testing of the Kickr bike was “a rocking motion when doing down on steep downhills, when the bike and rider lean forward. This issue is still present on my Kickr bike, but I got used to it and often don’t even notice it after riding on Zwift almost 10,000 miles. As my long-term assessment of Kickr Bike - I love it and would buy it again, if I had to it now. Cheers!
I am like you I currently have the kickr move plus climb combo and am constantly wondering should I upgrade to the kickr bike?? What I'm hearing you say is it probably isn't the better move?? Taking money out of the decision do you think riding you're own bike on the trainer plus the climb is better than the feeling of the kickr bike?
@@dinoaustralia7752 Both setups work well. The advantage of Kickr bike is that it is ready to go, without needing to take both wheel off your road bike and mounting the frame to the trainer and Climb. Cheers!
@@Tellvia appreciate it. I have a spare bike which I permanent leave on there so that’s not the issue. It’s more is the kickr bike a better feeling machine to use over that trainer climb setup?
@@dinoaustralia7752 Electronic shifting of Kickr bike is very fast, faster than Shimano Di2, which is nice when doing Zwift group rides or races. You can also set up your own gear set both on front and rear. I use the same gear setup as on my road bike but often feel that I need a gear in between, which easy to do for hilly or flat rides. The “in game” steering with push buttons is also fun to use sometimes. Overall, after 4 years of using Kickr bike I am happy that I made the switch.
All good points - all relevant and all presented very fairly. Some videos also point out that the Kickr smart trainer moves around quite a bit when you're sprinting - is this also your experience? Would a rocker plate help with this? After much agonising, I went with the Stages SB20. The big flywheel is a definite plus (do you feel this would help with the unrealistic pedalling actions you identify). For me, the SB20 definitely doesn't EVEN GET NEAR to replicating a real road bike. It's VERY solid (much too solid). The gear shifters are dreadful (just buttons) and there's no tactile or visual feedback from them (unless you use their phone app, in which case you get a 'click'). My indoor cycling app is Zwift (using an iPad/iPhone) - it's not possible to run the Stages app AND the two Zwift apps concurrently. I would think a point against the Kickr trainer might be uneven chain and sprocket wear between the real bike and the trainer? Also, the thrown-off chain grease tends to get everywhere! And, the overall drivetrain is noisy (due to chain noise)... Finally, in all cases the handlebars are fixed solid - once again, I find this very unrealistic. A real road bike uses the handlebars to initiate turns (they also induce a snaking motion when sprinting) - I'm not about to get into gyroscopic effects and countersteering here! The SB20 has the ability to turn using buttons (as does the Wahoo smart bike) - personally, I think this is just silly. On the other hand, putting the Kickr climb on a rotating plate and then sensing that movement would make a lot more sense - wouldn't it? And, it would also be a plus point for the 'trainer+climb' combination. Just some random thoughts but, for me, the current situation is VERY far from ideal. 🤔
Hi Peter, thank you for watching and commenting! My former Kickr trainer did move when sprinting and I had to immobilize it to a 48”x96” sheet of plywood with industrial zip ties. My Kickr bike, however, has not moved at all since I set it up. I use an optional Wahoo rubber mat under it. Regarding the chain/sprocket ware - I believe, Kickr bike is driven by a belt. As a result it is quieter then my former trainer. I found that setting the trainer difficult in Zwift settings to 30-40% make Kickr bike feel closer to my road bike. I used to ride at a trainer difficulty set to 100% and have recently changed this setting to 40% and like it now much better. Cheers!
Thanks for this. It is good to know that there are some flaws. I just bought one of these v1 bikes in the 30% off sales and am hoping that it works out. I've seen some fixes for the issues, as you, buying different hadlebars (gravel bars seem poular) and using a different nut tightened bolt instead of the hand fasteners. A handy wrench deals with the ease of changing while orthers used grip paste. The rocking sounds odd. Did you ever contact Wahoo and ask them if this was normal. Another RU-vidr seemed to get his bike replaced when it did not perform as expected. Anyway, thanks for the heads up. Incidentally, some time back I once owned an Echelon EX3. It was a solid bike but very uncomfortable and a relief to sell. The power data was way off and I needed a third party app to connect it to Zwift. For a casual rider OK, but that was about it. As for Peloton, their tying to their app is a big miss. Pay heaps for a bike only to be held to an expensive subscription.
Hi Neil, thank you for watching and sharing your experience. After riding many miles and competing in Zwift races I am actually much more satisfied with my Wahoo bike than when I got it. The rocking is still their but does not bother me that much and it did not get worth with time. Zwift is continuously improving the bike turning algorithm and I often enjoy using this feature to carve the corners on the course on solo rides. The power meter is spot on with my Karoo 2 road cyclo-computer and, after adjusting the fit on Wahoo bike, I like my position on it better than on my road bike and tuned the road bike to match it. All the clamps on my Wahoo bike are original, I keep them free of lubricants and they hold position. I hope you will enjoy your Wahoo bike as well. Cheers!
Excellent review. Very useful. You didn't mention the Q factor. I stick with the Wahoo Kickr because I'm afraid I wouldn't like the distance between the pedals on Kickr Bike. Top tube is a bit wide it seems.
Thank you for watching. Glad you found it useful. Regarding the Q factor - I use Shimano pedals with a +4mm longer spindle on both my road bike and Wahoo bike. This helps with the top tube clearance as well. Cheers!
Thanks for the review. Did you find the width of the pedals and frame of the Kickr Bike to be ok. Do your knees ever hit the frame? I wonder if there will be a gen 2 version coming out soon since it's be out for several years.
Hi NIck, thank you watching. I use a version of Shimano SPD-L pedals with a +4mm longer Q factor. I like them on my road bike and they help with the clearance of the leg tights on the Kickr Bike. I had the same concern about the top tube thickness, because it just is looks so thick. I believe, however, that most people will be okay on the bike every with regular Q factor pedals. Regarding the next gen of this product - unless the competition will come-up with a new popular feature, that Kickr is missing, it will be a few more years before a redesign. Cheers!
At the time I bought my Wahoo setup the Rollr model was not yet available. I believe Rollr would be a great option for those who want to be able to carry the trainer with them to bike races to wam-up before and cool-down after their race. After using my trainer for more than two years I am very happy with it. Cheers!
Hi, thanks for the vidéo ! for the same reason as yours, adjustability, I want to purchase a Kickr bike to allow using the same setup for my wife and I. The question is that my basement has à low ceiling and I need to figure out the height of the cranck axle to see how much the kickr bike is higher (it seems higher than my bike on the kickr smart trainer) Thanks a lot in advance if you can tell me this height :)
Thank you for watching, Marc! The distance from the floor to the center of the bottom bracket axel on Kickr bike is 12.5”. I measured the same distance on my road bike and it is 11.75”. I hope this helps. Cheers!
Thank you for watching. After riding my Kickr bike for over 6 months the see-saw is still there but it does not bother me as much. Wahoo should fix this issue moving forward, though. Cheers!
