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Wahoo has announced the Kickr bike, the “first smart bike that’s built on the world’s leading indoor cycling training ecosystems”.
It is the culmination of years of experience developing the entire Kickr ecosystem of integrated training products.
“Over the past five years, we’ve seen an incredible increase in indoor cycling and the sales of Kickr indoor smart trainers,” said Mike Saturnia, CEO of Wahoo Fitness.
“During this time, we’ve built the most complete ecosystem of connected indoor cycling products. The Kickr bike represents the next generation of indoor smart training for Wahoo and delivers the most complete, unparalleled riding experience in its class.
“It is the ultimate product for discerning, data-driven athletes who are ready for a feature-rich, top-quality, responsive, dedicated indoor bike as the new cornerstone of their fitness.”
Kickr bike combines the Kickr trainer’s ride feel with upgraded innovations like integrated grade simulation, both uphill and down. Front and rear braking allow riders to control their speed just as they would out on the road. The Kickr bike’s proprietary ‘gear shifters’ are set up to replicate seven different custom gear shifting configurations from Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo.
Additionally, users can customise their front chainrings and rear cog selection to identically match the bike shifting platforms of their outdoor bikes. There are also proprietary algorithms built into the pedalling. Out-of-the-box assembly is simple and integrated into the Wahoo App. Step-by-step instructions, images, and video guide users through a set-up.
Within the Wahoo App, users can take a photo of their outdoor bike, enter their own body measurements, or import measurements from professional fit systems like Retul and Guru to adjust the Kickr bike’s five contact points.
“The Kickr bike represents the highest standard for indoor smart bike performance and has extensive features,” added Wahoo’s director of product management, Jose Mendez.
“However, we went to great lengths to ensure the product remained simple and intuitive to set up and operate. We’ve learned that it’s not enough to make a product with a lot of great features.
“We knew the Kickr bike needed to be as effortless as possible to use so athletes can focus on training and not troubleshooting.”
The Kickr bike retails for $3499.99 and will ship in October 2019 in the US. It is available now at wahoofitness.com and availability will expand to Europe and other markets in early 2020.
Additionally, there are two important software updates for Wahoo’s current generation Kickr and Kickr Core trainers. Each have been updated to allow for multiple Bluetooth connections, and now have integrated cadence reporting directly from the trainer. Both upgrades are available from 4th September.
