Hi All,
I am currently using a Cycleops Jet Fluid Pro and I have the opportunity to purchase a Wahoo Kickr for 15% off, which makes it affordable. The debate I am having with myself is whether I go with the Kickr or purchase a Stages power meter. The Kickr sounds like a great product but the Stages gives me the versatility to use in the real world as well, be nice to have both but not really in that position. Any feedback in regards to pros and cons on both would be appreciated.
I would personally go with the Stages so that you can train with power while outside, but that’s coming from someone that does around 95% of my rides outside. It’s especially useful to have power on your bike for races (even more important in TT/Triathlon which I race). The major advantage of the Kickr would be game-controlled resistance. If you spend a whole lot of time playing Zwift, then I could see how the resistance control would be a nice feature, but I think power while outside is much more important. It’s much easier to quantify your outdoor rides using power rather than speed, and it’s invaluable as a pacing tool while out on the road.
Also, consider that if you get a Kickr, you would be able to sell your current trainer. This would reduce the cost of the Kickr even more. I realize that this contradicts what I said above, but I like to try to point out more details than not enough.
Thanks for the reply Kyle, you have reinforced what I was thinking.
I have a Kickr but no power meter. On Zwift I have ridden with the Kickr in SIM (Kickr changes resistance to simulate hills so you have to shift like you would on the road) mode and more recently in ERG mode (Zwift drops your speed and you have to upshift to increase the effort) because the SIM mode stopped working for me after the latest update. I’m sure it will be fixed shortly. The difference to me was huge. Not sure why but SIM mode is so much more realistic and enjoyable (did I say that out loud about a trainer?). For me at least for indoor training the Kickr is invaluable. Just my two cents.
I have a Computrainer and no powermeter and I would love to have both but if I had to pick them I would have a ct over a pm. I do a lot of turbo all year and any focused work will be on the turbo and the CT is ideal for this. The kicker is just as good and cheaper. If you will be doing races or TT,a them a pm might be better but I like my CT.
Thanks to David, Stewart and Kyle for their opinions. I am a keen amateur, not a serious racer, and also live in the coldest/wettest state of Australia, so have purchased a Wahoo. Timing couldn’t have been better as I managed to purchase from a store that was running a 15% off Wahoo special and on top of that they had 10% off all trainers, so ended up with a 25% discount.
Congrats, I know the feeling about the weather being from Michigan. We are just coming out of the cold and into the wet. Enjoy, I know you won’t be disappointed.
You scored! For me the best thing about the kicker is erg mode with trainer road while riding on zwift. I can enjoy the zwift environment while getting in a focused workout without focusing on it, the trainer takes care of everything but the pedaling.
This topic was discussed in /r/velo before, and looks like it was a 50-50 split as well.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Velo/comments/2byhdw/power_meter_or_wahoo_kickr/
I use Stages power meter. I’ve had it for over a year and it’s a better option if you plan to ride outside. The KickR looks cool and one friend has it. He reports the KickR on hills causes too much shifting, which he doesn’t like.
Hi All, I have just had my first ride on the Wahoo Kickr. Certainly adds another dimension, definitely better than the “dumb” trainer that I was using, certainly know when you are climbing! Very happy with the way the interface works and looking forward to Zwift only getting better.
Thanks everyone for their opinions, I considered all of them, but ultimately the Kickr is a better fit for where I am at, maybe progress to a power meter when my fitness justifies it.
Hey Ron,
How do you set it up to use both Trainer Road and Zwift at the same time? I would like to try that as well.
You need 2 ant+ sticks. I use my laptop for tr & my PC connected to a TV for zwift. Zwift is connected to my quarq crank & tr is connected to my kikr.