Hi,
A friend of mine decided to start shredding some weight and would love to use Zwift for it. However as the title says he is on the heavy side. I did some research and max weight supported that I can find for hardware is around 130kg. He found a bike that could handle the weight apparently but I am worried about the trainer. Does anyone has experience and maybe tried it successfully?
There is a guy named James Terrell whoās active on the Zwift Insider Discord that you should contact. He builds all sorts of custom trainers that use Zwift Kickr Coreās, he actually just posted a picture of a recumbent style setup that may work for your friend. Given your friends weight, I doubt any standard upright bike and trainer set up would be comfortable, easy or safe to use. The recumbent setup pictured looks like itās beefy enough to support their weight, would be much easier to get in and out of, more comfortable to use, and most importantly, the trainer isnāt actually carrying any weight.
He typically just builds things for friends, but he may be able to give some pointers on finding something similar.
he could potentially use rollers, some brands that make steel rollers should hold up to the weight, you would need to confirm with the manufacturerā¦ also they can be expensive!
This looks actually like a great idea and makes sense. Will look into it! Thanks a lot
Also, for a heavier rider a recumbent can have a major advantage, there is no way your friend will put excess pressure on his knees by trying to stand. With that said, it is actually possible to blow out your knee on a ābent, had a friend manage it during a 500 mile race (still not sure what he did wrong, and he doesnāt really remember either, he was too busy screaming and falling over). Anyway, good luck to your friend on his fitness journey.
@Thirsty_Dog might have some ideas for heavier riders. What equipment do you use Robbie?
Iāve have a Zwift Ride and a Kickr Core 2 for about two months now. Seems to be holding up ok.
I was 184kg down a little to around 170kg now. The Zwift Ride is certainly strong enough and appears to be holding up ok, there does seems to be a bit of play in the bearings on the pedal shaft though. easy as to replace them though.
Kickr has been rock solid too. I was wondering whether Iād be well served to bolt on some 20mm steel tubing to connect the front and rear stabilizers - the additional steel tubing would create a rigid triangle and resist the legs opening up due to downwards force.
For whatās it worth itās been my experience that solid rigid frame MTBs will hold huge weight. Depending on the power and your maintenance habits the chain will blowup or youāll pull spokes through the rim eyelet. I have a 2018 Bombtrack Beyond +1 that has had zero frame issues. I used to break chains on a monthly basis and until I got custom wheels made I kept pulling spokes (all that was when I was a lightweight at āonlyā 140kg"). The chain issue was largely resolved when I got better with maintenance and selected appropriate gearing rather than go full gusto on tall gearing while at low speed (weāre talking around 250kg static force on the crank - 140kg body weight + me pulling up on the bars to push the pedal down).
Long story short: At 180kg the Zwift Ride (or probably any rigid steel MTB frame) will be strong enough. Kicker Core 2 is strong enough, no worries - might be worth bolting on a steel tube to connect the front and rear stabilisers/legs.
I know this thread is a few months old but it is massively helpful. Iām 6ā9ā"(208 cm) and weigh 380 lbs (172 kg). Iāve been using a Keiser M3i but constantly changing the magnetic resistance in an attempt to match the gradient is no fun. IF I could use a Kickr Core 2 and my mountain bike that would be wonderful!! Iām too tall for the Zwift Ride and I donāt want to use my road bike right now because Iām just getting back into shape and want to ride a lot of road this summer.
I remember this lot used to do massively heavy stationary bike frames - almost bomb proof, they stood up to heavy use:
I donāt know if they resell just to individuals.
But I wonder if a better option would be a kickr bike of some sort? that avoids all the problems of using your own bike. Alternatively Zwift Ride.
If heās too tall for the zwift ride heād be too tall for the Kickr bike.
MTB frame on a Kickr core, with virtual shifting to make up for the small chainring, is likely the best solution.
There is a 200cm tall rider using it here:
The biggest risk is with the seat post, the clamp mechanism can break, you need to have enough of the seat post inside the clamp to avoid putting pressure on it.
Here are some more measurements:
Looking at those, possibly he is too tall.
Definitely too tall for the Wahoo or Zwift frames. The Kickr Core 2 is coming today, Iām going to set it up with my MTN Bike frame and see how it goes. Iāll follow up if I find any stability issues.
If you get strange fluctuating power measurements from it with the MTB, check the physical gear ratio. You are looking for as close to a 3:1 ratio as possible if using virtual shifting, which can be difficult to achieve on a modern MTB. If the power graph appears to cycle up and down every few seconds for no good reason, come back for more discussion.
Thanks for the info Paul. I can use my road bike as well; itās a Zinn Designed KHS built for guys my height/weightāhas Shimano 105 groupset. I was considering my MTN bike for convenience more than anything.
Try any bike, just be aware that depending on your power, if the gear is way too low, the flywheel on the trainer wonāt move fast enough. Thereās no harm in trying whatever you want but you might notice the trainer feels different with larger vs smaller gearing.
Thank you so much for your post!
I was really surprised to read that you use the Zwift Ride and Kickr Core 2 combination.
My situation: Iām 186cm tall, weigh 163kg, and Iām looking for a weatherproof indoor solution.
Iāve been scouring all sorts of online sources for a while now, trying to find a solution that suits me, but I almost always come up against the maximum weight limit.
Are you still using this combination?
Zwift itself states 120kg as the maximum.
May I assume that exceeding this limit wonāt lead to immediate mechanical failure, but āonlyā to faster wear and tear?
Do you think the higher weight capacity applies only to your specific combination or also to other frames/bikes?
Do you know of any other smart trainer options compatible with Zwift / Rouvy that can handle this kind of weight even if not explicitly specified?
