The Takeaway: The KICKR Bike is the most connected, capable, and easy-to-use stationary bike available.
- Incredible real-feel connectivity with third-party apps.
- Super-easy setup using app and phone camera matches the geometry of your outdoor bike perfectly.
- All sensors are built in and Bluetooth ready.
Price: $3,500
Weight: 92 lb. (claimed)
The all-new Wahoo KICKR Bike smart trainer was released at this year’s Eurobike, and it is pretty freakin’ rad. It’s definitely, in my opinion, the be-all and end-all of the indoor ride setups I’ve ever been on. The bike is ideal for anyone committed to improving their fitness through indoor training. At $3,500, however, it’s pretty much an investment in an entire extra bike, and one you can’t ride outside. But consider: Instead of dragging your cruddy bike through the house, recalibrating resistance, relocating sensors, and potentially removing a wheel, you just hop on the KICKR and ride—at a moment’s notice.
As a standalone machine, it doesn’t require you to install anything but your own pedals (it comes with platform pedals so you can ride it right out of the box). It connects with most of the major online training apps (Zwift, The Sufferfest, TrainerRoad, Strava Summit, etc.) on your laptop or TV screen, and provides unmatched real-feel feedback to the rider based on the terrain in the game. It has integrated sensors that measure your cadence and power output (with +/-1% accuracy power output up to 2,200 watts), so you can fully connect with the training app of your choice. The new bike incorporates features from the company’s standalone KICKR trainer and KICKR Climb grade simulator.
The Fit
There are multiple ways to get the ideal setup on the KICKR Bike, and according to Wahoo, it should take about 10 minutes or less. It has five adjustment points: standover height, saddle height, setback, reach, and stack height. The easiest and most accurate way to make adjustments is with the Wahoo Fitness App, which allows you to take photos of your outdoor bike and gives you the measurements for which to adjust the KICKR Bike to mirror the exact geometry you need. The bike comes with a seat and 42mm handlebar, but you can swap in your own saddle and bar if that’s your preference.
You can also upload fit results from Guru, Retul, or Trek Fit, and the app will translate those numbers into the adjustments you need for the bike. Or you can put your height, inseam, and riding style into the app and it will give you roughly accurate measurements as a starting point. Riders select their crank length from five options, between 165mm and 175mm, and install their pedals in the corresponding hole.
The Feel
Because the KICKR Bike has no actual gears to shift, you can program it to feel like whatever Shimano, SRAM, or Campagnolo drivetrain you’re used to riding—or one that you wish you had on your bike (feel like riding eTap? The KICKR Bike will make it feel just like you are). You can select the exact make and model of your drivetrain, the gear ratios, and the number of teeth per cog. The bike will mimic the functionality of the system you choose, right down to the chunk-chunk-chunk sensation of dropping into a high gear to chase down another rider.
Most of this incredibly real-feeling ride is due to the high-tech flywheel, which in addition to adding resistance, also has a motor that speeds you up, so you get the sensation of coasting in addition to braking and shifting higher.
There is a piston-like mechanism toward the rear that reflects elevation changes in real time (like the Wahoo KICKR Climb) by changing the angle between the bike and the ground, with a range of 20 percent incline to -15 percent decline. You can allow this to sync with your third-party app workout for a real-time reflection of the course, adjust it manually with a button located on the left hood, or lock it out completely so the bike will just sit level. If you aren’t using an app that displays your incline grade and gear ratio, there is a little LED display down and to the right that lets you see what you’re doing.
The bike itself feels super stable when your riding it thanks to the wide platform feet and some really good counterweight from the flywheel, despite the fact that the handlebar is sort of hanging off in space. Oh, and one more thing—it is SO QUIET.
The Competitors
Of course, the KICKR Bike isn’t the only stationary bike of its kind. The Tacx Neo Smart Bike has some of the same features, and Stages will introduce its new StagesBike sometime in early 2020. But the OG of indoor stationary bikes, the Peloton, is perhaps its biggest competitor. And while it is significantly cheaper than the KICKR ($2,245 vs. $3,500), it offers a very different ride experience. Where the KICKR Bike is intended to realistically mimic your outdoor ride with the least amount of effort—in order to benefit your outdoor fitness as much as possible—the Peloton doesn’t ride much like an outdoor bike at all. The Peloton’s cranks are fixed to the flywheel (meaning there’s no coasting), and riding out of the saddle can be as easy as leaning your weight from side to side. The KICKR has a freewheel like a regular bike, which requires a more realistic effort to maintain a consistent power output in your workout or Zwift race. And while the Wahoo app allows riders to adjust the KICKR Bike to fit exactly like their outdoor bike, the Peloton is much less adjustable. It also comes with a bullhorn-style handlebar, compared with the KICKR’s drop bar, that doesn’t lend itself as well to a true bike riding position.
All in All
If you spend just as much time riding inside during the colder months as you do outside during the warmer ones, the KICKR Bike will streamline your training and take you to the next level. The connectivity is unmatched, the setup is almost too easy to be true, and the ride feel will keep you engaged and making gains all winter long.
Riley is a writer and outdoor adventure guide currently based in Tucson, Arizona where she leads mountain bike rides, rock climbing, and hiking trips. In her spare time, she writes stories and reviews outdoor and fitness gear. Find her writing in publications including Outside, Lonely Planet, SHAPE, Bicycling, Runner’s World, and others. When she’s not playing in the mountains, she’s probably laying down somewhere or eating (or both).
