Wahoo’s portfolio, designed to help you get a workout without going anywhere, is expanding, with the announcement of the Kickr Bike, which it claims is “the first smart bike built on the world’s leading indoor training ecosystems”.
Having started off with a direct drive turbotrainer and added the Kickr Climb to simulate gradients and the Kickr Headwind for extra effort, a complete bike seems like the next logical step.
Wahoo says that the Kickr Bike is designed for “simplicity, superior ride feel, comprehensive connectivity, and maximum customisation for passionate cyclists who demand best-in-class equipment”.
Wahoo Bike is designed to work with Zwift and other training platforms and with Wahoo's other kit like the Kickr Headwind fan
Jose Mendez Wahoo’s Director of Product Management says: “The Kickr Bike represents the highest standard for indoor smart bike performance and has extensive features.
“However, we went to great lengths to ensure the product remained simple and intuitive to set up and operate. We’ve learned that it’s not enough to make a product with a lot of great features. We knew the Kickr Bike needed to be as effortless as possible to use so athletes can focus on training and not troubleshooting.”
Features of the Kickr Bike include simulation of both uphill and downhill, with front and rear brakes to allow the rider to control their speed as they would outdoors.
Levers let you control up and down angle as well as mimicking standard gear shift patterns
You can customise your gear ratios to match your usual bike too and you can replicate seven different gear shifting set-ups, covering those from the major drivetrain manufacturers. Wahoo says that it’s even simulated the feel of gear changes – presumably not including dropping your chain.
Plus, you can use the built-in tilt buttons to change the bike’s angle, simulating climbs and descents, as well as using training platforms like Zwift to do this for you automatically.
Wahoo reckons that assembly should take around ten minutes. That’s followed by adjusting your bike fit, guided by the Wahoo app. Input options for fitting include importing data from a professional bike fit, entering your own measurements or just taking a shot of your usual steed.
Crank length can be set up to match your outdoor bike
As with the new StagesBike, there is a chainset that allows you to select different crank lengths.
Wahoo says that the Kickr Bike will be available in the US from October 2019 and will retail at $3499.99, UK and Euro prices to be announced, with availability slated from early 2020.
Alongside the Kickr Bike, Wahoo has announced a price drop for the Kickr Snap wheel-on trainer to £429.99 and a Kickr KOM bundle comprising the Kickr Smart trainer and the Kickr Climb for £1349.98, saving £150 on the separate item price.
There’s also now support for multiple Bluetooth connections in its existing trainers, so you can link up multiple sensors more reliably.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.
He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.
Hire and hire: Bike rental schemes hit record numbers in the UK, almost topping 25 million rides
Egan Bernal says he has regained his pre-crash form, but others have improved
