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The Ultimate cycling pain cave? Wahoo fitness ecosystem

The ultimate cycling pain cave? Wahoo's latest Kickr, Headwind and Climb unboxed - Video

David unboxes the latest Wahoo indoor training products to build possibly the ultimate pain cave
by David Arthur @davearthur
Fri, Nov 23, 2018 10:23
7

With the sudden temperature drop, it's likely that many cyclists are now turning their attention to indoor training and getting prepared for the winter. If you need to build your own 'pain cave' and have deep pockets, this complete setup from Wahoo could be the perfect setup to launch you into the world of virtual riding. 

In this video unboxing, we've got the brand new Wahoo Kickr smart trainer (£1,000), Headwind fan (£200) and Climb (£499) completing what Wahoo refers to as an ecosystem. It's a symphony of connected devices that make indoor riding as realistic as it's possible to get. Not cheap mind, and there are much cheaper alternatives - here's a roundup of other indoor trainers. But if you want the ultimate pain cave setup, this could be it.

wahoo kickr

The Kickr has been upgraded with a bigger flywheel and a near silent operation, ideal for cyclists who live in flats and don’t want to upset the neighbours. Max power has been increased to 2,200 watts for your Chris Hoy sprints and a bigger flywheel is said to provide an even more realistic pedalling feel.

wahoo_-4.jpg

The new fan, called the Headwind (see what they’ve done there?), can be controlled manually, via buttons on the front unit, by the Wahoo smartphone app, or it can automatically increase the fan level to match your power output. Pedal harder and the headwind increases. Simple.

Wahoo Climb 2.jpg

And finally, the Climb. This thing makes riding indoors more realistic by simulating actual climbs by lifting the front of the bike up and down. It'll connect to your favourite training software to simulate climbs as steep as 20%. Yikes!

Now we've unboxed these new products and run through the installation process, we're going to set about spending the new couple of weeks really testing them as thoroughly as possible, so stay tuned for those in-depth reviews soon.

Wahoo
kickr
climb
headwind
Training
indoor training
smart trainer
David Arthur @davearthur

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes. 

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7 comments

Avatar
CXR94Di2 | 2998 posts | 4 years ago
1 like

I have the Kickr and Climb.  The forks rise up and down depending on the gradient on Zwift routes.  So for example ride up the Alpe du Zwift which is a replica of the D'Huez, the forks would elevate the bike to give the same tilt of 7.5% ave and varying up or down for the early steep sections to lower for the flatter switchback hairpins, trainer resistance increases the steeper the gradient and vice versa. 

So it positions your bike and body which uses muscles that you may not use in a static flat position.  I also find I can now do 2,3 hours rides on my indoor trainer because the contact points vary with bike moving position. That and its fitted to a full length rocker board, so I have side to side motion too 4  

Avatar
only1redders replied to CXR94Di2 | 132 posts | 4 years ago
2 likes

CXR94Di2 wrote:

I have the Kickr and Climb.  The forks rise up and down depending on the gradient on Zwift routes.  So for example ride up the Alpe du Zwift which is a replica of the D'Huez, the forks would elevate the bike to give the same tilt of 7.5% ave and varying up or down for the early steep sections to lower for the flatter switchback hairpins, trainer resistance increases the steeper the gradient and vice versa. 

So it positions your bike and body which uses muscles that you may not use in a static flat position.  I also find I can now do 2,3 hours rides on my indoor trainer because the contact points vary with bike moving position. That and its fitted to a full length rocker board, so I have side to side motion too 4  

You can't tell us all that and then not include a picture....

Avatar
STATO replied to only1redders | 595 posts | 4 years ago
0 likes

only1redders wrote:

CXR94Di2 wrote:

I have the Kickr and Climb.  The forks rise up and down depending on the gradient on Zwift routes.  So for example ride up the Alpe du Zwift which is a replica of the D'Huez, the forks would elevate the bike to give the same tilt of 7.5% ave and varying up or down for the early steep sections to lower for the flatter switchback hairpins, trainer resistance increases the steeper the gradient and vice versa. 

So it positions your bike and body which uses muscles that you may not use in a static flat position.  I also find I can now do 2,3 hours rides on my indoor trainer because the contact points vary with bike moving position. That and its fitted to a full length rocker board, so I have side to side motion too 4  

You can't tell us all that and then not include a picture....

https://road.cc/content/tech-news/248993-sbr-rockr-pro-launched-elevate-...

Avatar
CXR94Di2 replied to STATO | 2998 posts | 4 years ago
0 likes

STATO wrote:

only1redders wrote:

CXR94Di2 wrote:

I have the Kickr and Climb.  The forks rise up and down depending on the gradient on Zwift routes.  So for example ride up the Alpe du Zwift which is a replica of the D'Huez, the forks would elevate the bike to give the same tilt of 7.5% ave and varying up or down for the early steep sections to lower for the flatter switchback hairpins, trainer resistance increases the steeper the gradient and vice versa. 

So it positions your bike and body which uses muscles that you may not use in a static flat position.  I also find I can now do 2,3 hours rides on my indoor trainer because the contact points vary with bike moving position. That and its fitted to a full length rocker board, so I have side to side motion too 4  

You can't tell us all that and then not include a picture....

https://road.cc/content/tech-news/248993-sbr-rockr-pro-launched-elevate-...

Avatar
Russell Orgazoid | 595 posts | 4 years ago
0 likes

Ecosystem.

Avatar
jaysa | 279 posts | 4 years ago
0 likes

The video states at 4:50 that you can link the Climb with your favourite software like Zwift, so the forks raise and lower under program control - See a hill, ride a hill. Plus more resistance on the main unit.

Avatar
don simon fbpe | 3234 posts | 4 years ago
1 like

"And finally, the Climb. This thing makes riding indoors more realistic by simulating actual climbs by lifting the front of the bike up and down. It'll connect to your favourite training software to simulate climbs as steep as 20%. Yikes!"

I'll admit it, I need someone to explain how lifting the forks simulates a climb.

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