(cardboard sliding)
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- What's up, this is Tariq here from SMARTBIKETRAINERS.COM
and this is the Wahoo KICKR 2020
or KICKR five.
This is the same KICKR direct drive trainer
that you know and familiar with.
Wahoo been making small and tiny
improvements to the KICKR,
making it slightly better every year
without making big and drastic changes.
And the new KICKR is more accurate,
calibration free, comes with new axis feet,
a built in port for wire connectivity
to wifi to help eliminate dropouts.
And this option isn't ready yet.
And will require an additional accessory
to connect it to your home wifi network.
But this feature is there to help eliminate
some of the frustrations many cyclists
who experienced the ANT+ or Bluetooth dropouts.
However, it is not ready yet,
but I am curious to see how this gets implemented.
Personally, since switching to Bluetooth,
I hardly ever experience dropouts.
So I'm curious to know if dropout is an issue for you,
would you be willing to upgrade
and would you be willing to spend an additional
say $80 or $100 for an accessory
that will give you that wired option
and give you that peace of mind?
Let me know down in the comments, but other than that,
it is the same KICKR.
Same $1,200 US price tag.
Same maximum 2200 Watts.
Same 20% maximum incline and the same 16 pounds flywheel.
Same bike compatibility as previous models,
and still comes with an 11 speed,
11 to 28 ratio cassette installed,
and the KICKR uses an Ant+
and ANT+ FEC
and three Bluetooth connections.
Now, unlike ANT+,
Bluetooth can only connect to one device at a time.
So for example,
if you connect your KICKR to the Wahoo app
on your phone to check on the settings
or update the firmware and forget to disconnect it,
you won't be able to pair it to another app like,
Zwift for example.
That can be annoying and you can spend a lot of time
trying to figure out what the problem is
until you realize, oh wow,
I connected it to the Wahoo app and I forgot to disconnect.
And that's why you're not able to
connect to Zwift, for example.
So having multiple Bluetooth
connections eliminated this issue,
and you can connect the KICKR to multiple apps
at the same time if you would like,
so you can run the Sufferfest,
for example, or TrainerRoad and Zwift
all at the same time if you want to.
Wahoo added cushioned axis feet to the KICKR five.
These cushioned feet basically made
from some rubber type material allow
up to five degrees of tilting side to side,
and the axis feet comes in three stiffness option,
easy, medium, and hard.
To change the axis feet,
all you need to do is replace the top cap
and these top caps are weight specific
and you'll need to select
the appropriate top cap for your weight.
Wahoo has a little disclaimer in the manual
to use the appropriate top cap for your weight.
But by default,
the KICKR comes with the medium one installed.
Now, if you are familiar with previous KICKRs,
then you know how rigid this trainer can be.
And the only movement you will feel
is the natural flexing from your bike,
particularly if you have a carbon bike,
but the idea behind these feet is to give you a little bit
of motion and the more natural moments on the bike
by minimizing the pressure touchpoints
and that results in less fatigue
and the ability to stay on the bike for a lot longer.
Now, these feets are not going to provide you
with a noticeable rocking motion.
And just because the rocking motion isn't noticeable,
it doesn't mean it's less comfortable or more comfortable
than previous KICKRs.
If anything, it didn't feel that much different to me.
However, there is a slight
and a noticeable side to side movement.
Does it make it feel more comfortable?
I'm not totally sold on that.
Like I said in other videos for a comfortable ride,
You want the bike to move under you and with you
and not forced in a static motion one way or the other.
So I won't go and spend my money on a new KICKR
just for this feature if comfort has been an issue for you.
The good news is these feets are compatible
with previous KICKR models,
except the KICKR core and the KICKR snap.
And you can get yours for about $80.
Another feature Wahoo added to this year's model
is the auto calibration.
And this is probably the most notable update
to this trainer.
So one of the best features of a smart trainer
is their ability to measure power produced by the cyclist,
but for the most accurate power measurement,
you need to perform a spin down calibration every few weeks
or so, depending on the type of trainer you have.
Generally this involves warming up the trainer
for about 10 minutes or so,
then performing the spin down procedure
using the Wahoo app or any other compatible app
that lets you calibrate your trainer.
Generally it takes a few seconds to run,
but it's still that one more pesky thing
that you have to do.
Also many people aren't even aware
or know of a spin down procedure.
So to alleviate this,
the KICKR automatically runs
the calibration for you every few minutes.
And this is important for a few reasons.
One is you don't have to worry about running it yourself
and interrupting your training session.
Also, you don't have to worry about
if the trainer needs to be calibrated or not
and if the power measurement is accurate.
Also it will continuously override any altered calibration
value that you might have unintentionally or intentionally
altered during the spin down procedure.
Wahoo claims the KICKR is accurate within 1%.
So this is 1% from the point at measure power,
which is the hub,
not 1% when comparing it to other power meters
that measure power from different points
such as cranks or pedals.
In my test, I compared that against my Assioma Dual
or dual pedal based power meter
and two different cranks, power meters
installed on two different bikes.
Overall, it was within range and consistent.
As you see in this ride I did on Zwift,
the KICKR normalized power for this full ride
was about five watts lower than Assioma
and three watts lower than my crank based power meter,
which is as expected.
Now in erg mode, it was quickly responding
to changes going from around 100 watts
to about 400 watts within three to four seconds.
Also using different gears did not affect
how the trainer responded and continued
to measure power accurately.
Also, it was no problem for the KICKR
to hit very low Watts when using very big gear,
which can be problematic for some other trainers,
specifically trainers at the mid price level.
The KICKR also measures cadence, and it was very good.
Very few issues where it over or underestimated cadence.
And I'm talking about once or twice during a ride.
As for noise, the KICKR is a quiet trainer
and only as loud as your drive terrain.
(bike chain whirring)
Wahoo added some padding on the legs
to dampen the noise on vibration,
but if you live in an apartment,
any trainer with a physical flywheel,
including this KICKR will generate some vibration.
So depending on where you train
and the type of flooring you have,
most likely it's not going to be an issue,
but it's just something to think about
if you think that might present some issues for,
or bother some neighbors,
if you tend to train super early in the morning
or late in the evening.
And one more thing as for the flywheel issue.
And I feel like I need to address the flywheel,
that issue that plague the 2018 model.
And I know it impacted a lot of you
and I'm probably going to hear
about it in the comment section,
but I think Wahoo addressed it.
And I know this because I really have not heard
much complaints since late 2018.
And I have put a lot of miles
or a lot of hours on this one
and I've been using it as my primary
trainer for a while now.
And I've had no issues.
Okay.
The KICKR direct drive trainer
has been the leading smart trainer in this market
and Wahoo has been slowly making improvements to it,
making it quieter, better, more accurate.
Fundamentally, there isn't much different
between this year's KICKR versus last year KICKR.
Still the same premium Wahoo KICKR
that you are familiar with.
Auto calibration is great,
possibly a tiny bit more comfortable.
And we'll see what happens with this built-in port.
Okay, there you have it.
Hope you enjoy this video and stay tuned for more videos
and also make sure to subscribe
and check SMARTBikeTrainers.com for all the smart
trainer deal page for all the holiday deals
coming up this year and every day.
Thank you for watching.
And I'll see you guys in the next video.
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