- New wahoo kicker trainer.
Triathlon Taren is now on Zwift.
My project this week is to make it warm in here.
(upbeat music)
Oooh, morning trainiacs.
As you can probably tell,
it's trainer season again.
Have a look at this outside.
Yeah, it's Winnipeg, it's ugly.
We already have a foot of snow outside.
However, I think that this winter
is not nearly gonna be as soul crushing
on the trainer as last winter,
because a, new wahoo kicker trainer,
and b, Triathlon Taren is now on Zwift.
Hit me up and let me go for a run and pretty myself up
and I'll explain how you set up a wahoo kicker
and start playing with me on Zwift.
Alright, trainiacs, let's talk about setting this up.
Now, you don't need Zwift to operate the wahoo kicker
and you don't need the wahoo kicker to operate Zwift.
All that you need for Zwift
is a trainer that communicates with Zwift via Bluetooth
and ideally ends up changing the speed.
Like a controllable trainer,
but you don't even need that
and then for the Wahoo Kicker,
all you need is the Wahoo Kicker.
But without something like Zwift
or a programmable workout
that can communicated with the Kicker,
you're missing out and you're paying a heck of a lot
for basically a direct drive trainer.
Now, the reason I am doing this video with them together
is because Zwift and the Kicker
are probably the two most commonly talked about
smart trainer apps when it comes to
training indoors these days.
These are the companies that are like
doing the groundbreaking stuff out there.
So, they pair really well together
and in my experience,
they paired really well together, like quick.
Alright, let's talk about how to set this up,
with my step by step process.
Now, the first thing that you want to do
is pick a spot for your Kicker.
You can do this where you were doing all your training
with your old trainer.
The Kicker does take up a little bit smaller a footprint
than most trainers, particularly my old trainer,
and especially when you fold up the Kicker,
it takes up a way smaller footprint
than a lot of the other 50 pound, super duper,
high end, stable trainers that are out there.
I recommend putting down a foam mat.
Wahoo sells these.
You can use a yoga mat, I just use a towel.
But you do have to be within nine feet
of an electrical outlet
or have an extension cord
because how the Kicker works,
is it needs to be plugged into the wall
and when you do this,
you'll see a standing red light that is steady.
Yup, I'm right on that.
Indicating that you can connect via Ant+
and then there's a blinking blue light
indicating you can connect your devices via Bluetooth.
One thing of note, with the Kicker,
you don't actually need a block under the front wheel.
I went to set it up
and just assumed that I needed a block under the front wheel
because just about every trainer
requires a block under the front wheel.
Didn't end up requiring it.
And the reason for that is the same reason
that this takes up a little bit of a small footprint
than a lot of trainers
and that's because it's a direct drive trainer.
Meaning that you mount your bike right into it.
You don't mount your bike wheel onto another wheel
that provides resistance to your bike wheel.
You take your back wheel right off
and you mount it into a cog set,
that is actually mounted on the Kicker itself.
You will need to adjust the height
of the rear end of your bike
by sliding the barrel that's on the middle stabilizer
of the Kicker, to the indicated wheel size of your bike.
So, for most of us, it's gonna be a 700c.
Now, you mount the rear of your bike on
just the same way you would mounting a back wheel on.
But it's a little bit awkward to do
because unlike mounting a rear wheel
where you're actually moving the wheel
and trying to hold the bike steady,
it's the exact opposite.
You're actually having a stationary trainer
and you've got to move the bike.
So, it takes a little bit of jimmying around
to get used to it.
But once it's in place,
insert the skewer that comes with the Kicker,
don't use the skewer off the rear wheel that you've got
because you'll chew that up
and you want to sacrifice the skewer that Wahoo gives ya.
And then to get started,
you want to download the Wahoo fitness app
and there are a bunch of apps that Wahoo has come out with.
What you're looking for is the once called Wahoo fitness.
It's totally free and you have to punch in
all of your details.
Walks you right through everything
and the nice thing that is does
is it automatically syncs to your trainer
and registers the product.
So, all of your warranty is taken care of
and then it walks you through all of the pairings.
Go and make sure all of your devices are woken up.
Your heart rate monitor, your cadence sensor,
your power meter.
Anything that you want communicating with Zwift
or with the Kicker,
you do through that Wahoo fitness app
and in my experience, the Bluetooth in the Wahoo fitness app
picked everything up like really quickly.
Super smooth and then your set up of the Kicker
is basically done, it's ready to go.
After that, you want to then set up Zwift.
If you're doing it on a laptop,
go ahead and download the Zwift app on your laptop
or you can download it on an iPhone, android device
and if you're doing that,
I would recommend downloading another app
called Zwift mobile link,
that helps link your Zwift on your phone
to the Zwift on your laptop.
So, I originally intended to play it through the laptop.
So, I downloaded it on the laptop first,
but what I was finding,
is the Bluetooth on my Macbook
wouldn't pick up any of the sensors.
It wouldn't pick up my power pedals,
it wouldn't pick up the Kicker,
it wouldn't pick up my heart rate sensor.
Like nothing got picked up.
However, the Zwift app on my phone
was able to pick everything up really quickly.
I went through the Zwift app on my phone,
paired everything one by one,
and then with Zwift mobile link,
which you can access through your laptop,
once you set it up through Zwift mobile link,
you can just say,
hey, instead of trying to use the Bluetooth from my laptop,
just connect to directly to Zwift mobile link,
which already has the list of everything
that I want to be paired to and use those
and all of a sudden,
there they came.
Now, if you want to play Zwift on a TV screen,
you'll need something like Google Chromecast or Apple TV.
As much as I dislike Apple at the moment,
Apple TV with an iPhone or a Macbook,
very, very simple.
On an iPhone, you swipe up from the bottom,
screen mirror and then you open the Zwift app
and then it plays on your TV,
basically instantly, as long as your Apple TV
is connected to the same wifi as your phone
and the same with the laptop.
You click the screen mirroring icon in the top tray,
the tray of the laptop
and then once you sign up
and you setup your Zwift profile account,
you've already got your Wahoo profile account,
all you need to do is then open Zwift
and when you go to start a ride,
it'll prompt you to pair to all of the devices
that it already knows.
Really, all you need to do is hit the ones that it knows.
You hit the controllable smart trainer,
I think, what the icon is,
which is the Kicker
and all of a sudden,
your Zwift is controlling the tension of the Kicker.
It's incredible.
As you start going on increased grades on Zwift,
the tension back here is increasing.
As you're going downhill on Zwift,
the tension decreases.
And even as you start drafting in behind people,
you start noticing a pickup in the speed
and a decrease in the intensity
from drafting those little
computer generated figures on the screen.
I actually found it incredibly motivating
going over sprint sections
and king of the mountain sections
and as you're coming up on somebody,
it's saying close the gap
and as somebody is coming up in behind you,
which never happened, by the way,
it was prompting me to stay ahead of them.
It turned a dreadful trainer session
into a very enjoyable game.
Which I just so happened to get an exercise out of.
So, I am officially a Zwifter and Wahooligan,
thank you very much.
I'm in, I'm sold.
Sign me up, where's that hat?
Oh, would you look at that?
Oh, oh, how 'bout that?
Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm.
Hashtag not an ad.
Alright trainiacs,
you're getting a sneak peek
of new Triathlon Taren headquarters in a little bit.
We're doing some work on it this afternoon, come with me.
Allow me to give you a brief tour of
future Triathlon Taren HQ.
So, at the moment, it's framed.
It has a garage door.
It has no garage door opener,
it has the windows and the electrical is roughed in.
My project this week is to make it warm in here.
(upbeat music)
Woo! (laughing)
Pow, yeah, let's do it.
(upbeat music)
One step further forward
and we are ready, now, for insulation.
I am so ready for some insulation.
Woo, later trainiacs, have spectacular evenings.
Dogs, go!