Indoor training has made leaps and bounds in recent years with the advent of smart trainers and immersive training platforms like Zwift and TrainerRoad. Now, Wahoo is raising the bar — the handlebar, that is — with its new Kickr Climb indoor trainer grade simulator.
When used with a new Wahoo Kickr or Kickr Snap smart trainer, the Kickr Climb responds to workout and virtual course data in real time by raising and lowering the front end of your bike to mimic climbs and descents.
“The world we ride in isn’t flat, which is why we believed the indoor riding experience on the Kickr should follow suit,” explains Wahoo Fitness CEO Chip Hawkins.
The fork-mounted unit can simulate up to a 20-percent climb and a negative 10-percent descent.
Aside from creating a more immersive riding experience, changing the grade also engages climbing muscles.
Third-party programs like TrainerRoad and Zwift control the Climb through interaction with a new Kickr or Kickr Snap trainer, which then drives the Climb.
On Zwift, when you come to a virtual climb, the Climb will adjust the fork height to match the gradient. On TrainerRoad, climbing workouts can be executed with the angle of the bike set upwards, so you are specifically working your climbing muscles.
The Climb has to be used with a new Kickr or Kickr Snap. The original Kickr is not compatible because it has fixed dropouts; the new Kickr pivots (and also works with thru-axle bikes). Similarly, the Climb is not compatible with smart trainers from other brands with fixed-dropout connections.
The Climb can also take gradient information from pre-loaded routes on Wahoo's Elemnt or Elemnt Bolt computers, so you can replicate training on a course's undulations.
Should you want to manually adjust the grade, you just press up or down on the remote, which pops out of its cradle atop the Climb and comes with a handlebar mount.
The unit itself measures 25.75in x 5.1in x 7in (65.4cm x 12.95cm x 43.18cm) and weighs 17lb / 7.7kg.
The base has a rubberized pad for use with any type of flooring.
The Kickr supports quick-release forks as well as 12x100, 15x100 and 15x110 thru-axle forks.
Kickr Climb will be available this winter for £450 / €500 / $600 / AU$750.
