Wahoo Kickr Smart Turbo Trainer 2017

Now in its third generation, the Wahoo Kickr continues to be one of the best direct-mount smart trainers on the market, providing easy resistance control, superb realism, rock-solid stability, massive 2,000 watt capacity, and easy connectivity to a range of apps from Zwift to TrainerRoad. Yes, it's expensive, but as an investment for serious winter indoor training, it doesn't get much better than this.

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The changes to the latest 2017 Kickr are minor, and for the most part it's identical to the second generation version of the Kickr that was launched last year. The main differences are that it's compatible with the new Climb accessory, which the previous two versions are not, increased disc brake clearance, and new thru-axle adapters for both 142x12mm and 148x12mm axles. Compared with the original Kickr, the new model is quieter, more responsive and more realistic.

Get smart

Wahoo was one of the first companies to get its foot in the direct-mount smart trainer market, and its Kickr has been hugely popular. It's a category that has exploded over the past couple of winters and we're seeing a staggering growth in indoor training enthusiasts, especially with a wide range of apps that make indoor training more appealing than the dull old days of turbo sessions.

I tested the original Kickr back in 2015 and was highly impressed by its smooth feel, rock-solid stability, and easy connectivity with a variety of apps and training packages. In fact, I liked it so much that I still have it; it's become a regular fixture in my house for winter (and spring and autumn) training sessions when I want to do a targeted workout. You can really get a good hit of exercise inside an hour which makes it great for time-crunched cyclists and is sometimes preferable to riding in the rain/dark/cold if you want a worthwhile training effect.

The Kickr is a direct-mount trainer. That means you have to remove the rear wheel and fit the bike frame directly to the trainer. Apart from having to remove the wheel, direct-mount trainers offer many pros, including: no worn out tyres, smoother pedalling feel because of the large flywheel, great stability, and no need to calibrate the trainer as often as wheel-on trainers. It's easily adjustable to different wheel sizes, too, so there's nothing to stop you fitting a mountain bike or adventure bike, it doesn't have to be a road bike.

Setting up

Out of the box, the Kickr comes set up for a quick release rear axle, and an 11-speed cassette is already fitted. It's a doddle to configure the trainer for a disc road bike with a thru-axle. Simply remove the quick release axle, pull out the end caps and replace with the thru-axle compatible endcaps, and use the bike's axle to fix the disc road bike to the trainer. You even get a disc pad spacer to prevent the pads pushing out if you inadvertently pull the rear brake lever during a ride. I mainly used a disc road bike with a 12mm thru-axle during my testing and had no problems whatsoever.

It's no lightweight trainer. The 21kg weight does mean it's a bit of a brute to move around, but the new handle makes it much easier to manhandle than the original. The foldaway feet mean it takes up little space when it's not needed. I pack mine away after every training session but it's only two minutes' work to fold out the legs, whip the rear wheel out of the bike and get it all set up.

That weight also means it's rock solid when you're doing big efforts, and it's stable enough for riding out of the saddle. Adjustable feet ensure you can level it on uneven floors.

Wahoo claims a +/- 2% accuracy for the Kickr. My testing against a set of Powertap P1 pedals, which have a claimed +/- 1.5% accuracy, reveals the power data for each device tracks extremely close to each other with no discrepancy to note, during a wide range of power zones. The Kickr has a maximum power output of 2,000W and it can simulate a 20% gradient, which I think is more than enough for most cyclists this side of Sir Chris Hoy.

It's also said to be quieter than the original, by a claimed 14%. And it is to a certain degree. Testing the new Kickr alongside the original, it makes noticeably less noise; it's not the same high pitched whine as the original. It's still not the quietest trainer by any measure, but it's perfectly possible to maintain a conversation over the new Kickr, and someone in the next room can easily watch television without being disturbed and you won't have your neighbours banging on the wall. Once you've got the fan on, and some music playing, both essentials for my indoor training sessions, the sound the Kickr makes really isn't an issue at all.

Wahoo has refined the second and third generation trainers and the result is a noticeably smoother pedalling feel to the original. It's also now more responsive to differing resistance levels. That's especially handy if doing interval sessions and increasing and decreasing the power from extreme highs and lows. I noticed this during Zwift workouts: there's a smoother and easy transition from contrasting power zones, and it feels more realistic.

Control the resistance

The heart of the Kickr is an electromagnetic resistance unit with a built-in power meter, and Bluetooth 4.0 and ANT+ connectivity. There are status lights for the connection protocols so you know when it's on and connected. It needs power, so you're limited to setting up the Kickr near a power source. That can have the potential to limit where you can use the trainer. I, for example, can't use it in the garage because there's no electricity, so instead it takes up residence in my conservatory. You can ride it without power but you obviously can't control the resistance or connect it to your favourite app.

While the Kickr transmits power via Bluetooth or ANT+, it does not transmit cadence. For that data, you'll need to use the supplied Wahoo RPM2 pod that is easily attached to the cranks of your bike. That's fine if you're using the same bike all the time, but it's a shame it doesn't take cadence from the trainer itself like other products do.

What makes the Kickr such a good trainer is that it is simple to use – watch our unboxing video to see how quickly you can go from box to training – with a solid and professional build quality. It syncs with a phone, tablet or computer really easily, using either an ANT+ dongle or Bluetooth if your phone or computer has it (most do nowadays), and with the cassette already fitted to the trainer, there's no extra expense required.

As a bonus, Wahoo throws in free trials for Sufferfest, Kinomap, Rouvy and TrainerRoad so you can try out some of the best apps to see which one works for your requirements. There's also a free 60-day Strava Premium membership as well. Wahoo's own Fitness app is a free download and if you just want to control and set the resistance for your training, it's more than adequate.

The best thing about a smart trainer compared to traditional turbo trainers is the integration of a power meter and being able to easily control the resistance level. Training with power (as well as heart rate) is the gold standard; you don't need to be a pro to harness the benefits of power, it's well suited to time-crunched cyclists because it basically avoids wasting time by ensuring each training session is productive. You'll need to know your FTP (functional threshold power) before you start on a training plan, but most apps make that easy to do, or you can simply bang out a 20-minute hard-as-you-can-pedal session to determine what your FTP is. From this number, all your power zones can be worked out and most training apps will figure out training sessions based on what your FTP is.

Being able to set the level of resistance of the Kickr via an app is a great appeal of the smart trainer revolution. Want to ride at 200 watts? Set the resistance to 200 watts and pedal away. The free Wahoo Fitness app makes it really easy to do this via the fantastic ERG mode, which lets you punch in any power you want and the trainer will provide the required resistance, leaving you to concentrate on the pedalling.

Conclusion

Has the latest Kickr done enough to deserve your cash? Well, there's a growing choice of smart trainers on the market now, some cheaper and some more pricey, so it's a buyer's market these days compared to when the Kickr first launched. But despite the growing competition, I feel the Kickr is still one of the best smart trainers currently available.

It's solidly built and really stable, is very accurate and reasonably quiet, works seamlessly with a host of apps (and the free Wahoo app is a great place to start), it's accurate and consistent and feels smoother and more realistic than the original, and the 2,000W output is more than enough for most people. The Kickr does it all extremely well.

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There's no doubting it's a big investment – you could buy a bike for the same price etc... but the thousands of kilometres I've ridden on the original, and the 500+km I've clocked up on this new one, and the improvement in my fitness as a result of targeted and focused training sessions with fewer junk miles help to ensure it's a justifiable expense.

If you own a V1 Kickr there are many good reasons to upgrade to this V3. If you have the V2 release it's going to be harder to justify upgrading, unless you really want to get your hands on the new Climb accessory, or want better disc brake road bike compatibility.

If you're buying your first smart trainer, be sure to check out the Kickr before you part with your hard-earned.

Verdict

Accurate, solid and highly capable and compatible smart trainer