I’m having a problem with my bike and wahoo kicker. I put my chain on the kicker and it got caught in the kicker. This has happened several times now and I’m to the point of getting rid of the entire set up. The cassette is the same size. What am i doing wrong?
Have you adjusted the rear derailleur at all? There is no guarantee that things will line up exactly, even using the same cassette and/or chain.
Are the cassettes different ranges? All mine are same, never had a problem
Continuing the discussion from Guide to Direct Drive Trainer Cassette Spacing:
A different way to describe this: The cassette has a range, a span from largest to smallest cog. The limit screws adjust the ends of the span, adding or subtracting to the smaller or larger distance of that snap, like using pliers and adjusting it for a larger nut. The barrel adjuster slides that span in one direction or another. If the cassette is the same type (11 or 12 speed) then adjusting the barrel will slide that up or down (left or right) on the cassette. If the bike is an 11 cog cassette, and you have that on your trainer, do NOT adjust the limit screws because if it works ont he bike already, the ‘span’ is set, it needs to be slid one way or the other. Adjusting the limit screws is asking for problems when you swap the tire back on.
BUT you shouldn’t have to do that at all, if the cassette is properly spaced. I’ve never had to adjust the rear derailleur, unless I hurriedly slapped on a cassette on a new trainer and didn’t take the time to space it properly. It’s not an art. You either have too many spacers, or not the right kind, or potentially something is really wrong on your bike. On all the trainers I own, I have not had to adjust the shifter at all, although I haven’t used every trainer out there, I would think that if you ‘have to’ adjust, it’s not set up correctly.
So if you are shifting off the large end of the cog, ‘into the Kickr’, you have too much space behind the cog, you have shifted the span outside of the span of your current setup. Putt some spacers out. Some cassettes don’t need the spacers supplied with a trainer. If it essentially undershifts, pull spacers out. It’s a pain, and can be messy, but some nitrile gloves, a cheap chain whip and a lockring wrench makes it easy to remove cassettes.
A chain whip, and it’s currently on sale.
And if you have a large crescent wrench, this will work. This one, with the large pin, helps keep the tool straight. This is a fancy one that doesn’t need a separate wrench to use.
Here’s a different brand, chain whip and a lock ring tool without pin and with pin. There are other brands out there that would work too. Taking it in to a local bike shop might not be a bad idea either. Get them to set it up. Some will do it for free too. Good luck…
Minor differences in freehub positioning are common on both wheels and trainers. Sometimes you can make up for it by playing with very thin spacers to make the wheel and the trainer match more perfectly. Without that, it’s normal to need some derailleur adjustment even when using the “correct” spacer (or none at all for 11-12 speed).
Then I’ve been really lucky, I guess. I suppose there could be some combinations that might require tweaking, but there are also a lot of different spacers out there too.
The manager at the local bike shop also said it’s rare to have to adjust shifting. It would sure help to defeat the idea of swapping bike on/off trainers if it involved a lot of tweaking, each time (dedicating a bike to that purpose would make a lot of sense at that point). I just didn’t give up the first time I setup my trainer, and got it to work, no tweaking, and also on the others I’ve used. Like everything in life, YMMV, I guess.