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Hi hivemind!
I’m thinking about making the upgrade to a trainer bike in the garage. Mainly to be used on zwift but my wife might also use for spinning.
Looking for some experience/reviews on the following if anyone has any to share:
1. Zwift ride - great value if you can get in sale, decent value anyway. Doesn’t play well with Apple TV Bluetooth channels. Easier to send away for fixing if part of it breaks. Very Zwift orientated and might not work so well for spinning.
2. Wahoo Kickr Shift - can be had new for £1500 ish. Seems to be technically the best of the three, but ropey wahoo quality and the difficulty of having to send the whole thing back could be a pain.
3. Wattbike Proton - similar spend to wahoo, hadn’t really considered one but maybe should?
Any experiences or research gratefully received!
The peak torque geezer has had something on long term test - quite likes it
I know a guy at the club has a Wattbike (Atom?) and seems very happy with it. They sell reconditioned models as well
Are you both very different heights?
If not I went for a Wahoo Kickr Core and the Zwift Hub/Cog thingy so you can just use a cheap road bike set up single speed, no need for working shifters/brakes/rear mech etc. as I just use the trainer in ERG mode and change 'gears' using the buttons on the Zwift shifter buttons on the bars.
It's a super quiet and simple setup, I was up and running for under £600 a few years back and these days there are much cheaper smart trainer options than a Kickr Core that'll do the same thing like this Decathlon one which is sub-£300 and includes the Zwift cog/click already (although I have no experience of this trainer myself, so check reviews):
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/d100-home-trainer-with-zwift-cog-and-click/355194/m8883242
The cog itself is essentially just a single speed sprocket but with some built-in adjustment rather than using spacers to centre it, it's the buttons that you need to navigate Zwift and change virtual gears etc.
I'm very happy with my Elite one. It folds up to be much much smaller than the Wahoos and was cheaper when I bought it, about £250 on sale from Tredz.
Currently using with a Zwift cog because it's the 'default' solution and it's worth £17 per month to me. Would be interested to try other software though, haven't seen any good comparative reviews.
Having a real bike gives you the option to use a cassette and non-Zwift software, which I guess you lose if you opt for a Zwift bike.
I picked up a second hand Watt bike atom for about £1000 last year.
Previously had a Kickr and old bike.
My thoughts -
Was worried about being tied into Zwift. For now I like it but the price keeps going up and other options are opening up. I was doing a lot of racing but when I'm not many of the other platforms would offer what I need at less cost.
If you buy a stationary bike then any problem is going to be a PITA. You can't just take it to your LBS and they are generally harder to fix than standard bikes.
Wattbike Atoms have a V1 which is not as good. There was a significant change in the V2. Easy to identify the models, the V1 is often much cheaper second hand because of this.
The Wattbike itself is mega stable and robust. It was very easy to set up and just worked. It weighs about 40kg so actually moving it was the hardest part. The feel is ok, Not sure it is much better than the Kickr core. It is supposed to be more accurate and repeatable. Mine reads the lowest out of 3 power meters (4iii cranks and garmin pedals being the other two) which I find annoying. It is a hassle for training as my indoor numbers were already a little lower but now they are lower again. Also losing watts for Zwift racing has basically taken me to surviving so not as much fun.
If I was going to buy new I'd try and have a go on one. See what backup you get.
If I had to make the decision again I would have kept my Kickr core spent the money on the cheap bike attached to it.
Thanks everyone. Yeah I currently use my good bike on it, would be nice to not do that and other half drastically different size and won’t actually have a bike. Even on the turbo (don’t ask, it’s just easier!).
I have similar thoughts about flexibility outside of zwift as it gets more and more expensive and the others get better
