Zwift has announced a new generation of its Click controllers with expanded functionality, and we’ve got our hands on a set.
The Zwift Click v2 controllers take inspiration from (and replace) the brand's existing Play controllers, integrating the D-pad and action buttons into a smaller, more bike-agnostic format.
This means the Click v2 controllers should work better across a wider variety of bikes with drop, flat or aero handlebars.
In contrast, the Play controllers were only designed to work on bikes with drop handlebars, placing the buttons and paddles alongside and underneath the shifters.
The Zwift Click v2 controllers cost £49.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 per set and come with a Zwift Cog v2 singlespeed adaptor for your smart trainer. They will also soon ship with ‘Zwift Ready’ smart trainers, such as the Van Rysel D100, JetBlack Victory and Elite Rivo.
Let's dive in to what's new and my first impressions of how they perform on the bike.
Smaller, cheaper and more compatible
While Zwift’s Play controllers aren’t perfect, they remain an impressively refined product for a first attempt at the genre.
The ability to control the game and your avatar, without needing to reach for a mouse or touchscreen, is a notable improvement, and I still find myself reaching for a set whenever I load the game.
Making an equivalent controller for riders of bikes with flat handlebars, or triathlon or time trial bikes with aero extensions, was an obvious next step then.
The Click v2 controllers are almost the same size as the diminutive Click v1, which launched with the Zwift Cog and was designed only to control a smart trainer’s virtual shifting.
As a reminder, the Zwift Cog enables almost any 8- to 12-speed bike to be mounted on a smart trainer, with no need to swap cassettes (and shifting then taken care of virtually), making swapping bikes on and off your trainer far simpler.
In an impressive feat of miniaturisation, though, the Click v2 controllers offer almost all of the functionality of the Play controllers – including menu navigation, steering, four action buttons and virtual shifting.
The only missing feature is that there’s no input for braking. As I noted in my Zwift Play review, though, braking served little useful function in Zwift, outside of certain tech demos, so it doesn’t feel like a loss.
Indeed, since then, Zwift has added the option for Play users to reduce or even turn off braking sensitivity in-game, to reduce accidental inputs.
The lack of a dedicated brake button on the Click v2 controllers – which Zwift has stated are a replacement for both the Play and Click v1 controllers – suggests the brand doesn’t have any major plans for this feature either.
Unlike the Play controllers, the Click v2 controllers are powered by user-replaceable CR2032 coin cell batteries, like many heart rate monitors and power meters.
Zwift says it opted against rechargeable batteries in order to keep the cost as low as possible.
It’s fair to say Zwift has achieved this, because £49.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 for both the controllers and the Zwift Cog v2 undercuts a Play plus Cog combination significantly.
The price for Play controllers fluctuated significantly throughout their lifespan (from as high as £149.99 / $149.99 / €149.99 to as little as £49.99 / $49.99 / €49.99, as Zwift looked to clear stock), but the Zwift Cog added another £79.99 / $79.99 / €79.99.
Zwift Click v2 first ride impressions
The Click v2 controllers mount via two sets of thick rubber bands, making for easy installation and removal.
In contrast to the Play controllers, which were designed to sit underneath road bike shifters, the Click v2 controllers can be placed almost anywhere on your handlebar. This is both a blessing and a curse.
The new design makes perfect sense on a flat handlebar or set of aero extensions, for example, but I struggled to find a location that worked as well as Zwift Play on a drop handlebar.
The Click v2 controllers fit neatly on the tops of your bar, for example, but if you hold your brake hoods while riding, the controls aren’t within immediate reach as with Zwift Play.
You can mount them on the hooks of the drops or inside of your shifters, as Zwift suggests, but then you’ll need to use the buttons based on muscle memory rather than sight because you won’t be able to see them clearly while riding.
Of course, it’s fair to say I don’t look at the controller while playing video games – relying on muscle memory instead – so perhaps I just need a period to adjust to the new setup.
After all, I didn’t like the way steering logic worked with the Play controllers on first impressions, but came round to it after longer-term testing.
The only thing I’m pretty certain I won’t be convinced by is the new D-pad. Rather than using distinct buttons for each direction, the Click v2 has a one-piece button with four directional arrows (and presumably four sensors underneath).
As a result, I found it was far easier to press the wrong direction – left instead of down, for example – than with Zwift Play.
Are the Zwift Click v2 controllers an improvement?
While I’ve only spent a few hours with the new Zwift Click controllers, I’m not yet convinced they will replace my trusty Play controllers.
The Play controllers are fairly bulky in comparison, but their design is ideal for drop handlebars and I’ve yet to settle on a preferred placement for the Click v2 controllers on a road bike.
That said, the value proposition is far clearer here than with Zwift Play, because the Zwift Cog v2 is now included with the Click v2 controllers at a much lower price than before.
And as I've noted, it may just be a case of getting used to something different and rewiring my brain so the new layout becomes second nature.
