Fave new Trainer: Wahoo KICKR

[CharlesM]

Hmmm, I don't think the Lemond does act like all fan units simply because of the huge flywheel. ?? I'm not sure what you mean when you say it drags with high wattage efforts. Oh well, I'll give it a go just for kicks when I find one. Was just curious about it. Thx. Truth is, I hate stationary trainers of any kind, which is why my Lemond mostly collects dust. .

The flywheel is a good point... When you use a cassette versus a wheel, you need to have the big gear wheel to turn the fan as fast as a wheel would, but it's pretty close. The flywheel is a twist that most fan trainers dont have.

That said, that drag effect does happen (though I'm just not strong enough to do it constantly) not to mention it sounds like you're being chased through an Angry Seattle Seahawks stadium by the dust storm in Lawrence of Arabia...

The bigger benefit (and part of the reason I would disagree with saying that the Wahoo is less road like) is that you can program resistance transitions that replicate the road more effectively than snatching a hand full of gears and pedaling like hell to create the effect of a hill repeat start or dumping gears to make the change like rolling down hill.

The Lemond works like a champ. The Wahoo feels a lot like the Lemond but it's a night and day difference on programmed courses and or using things like Kinomap or Segments... Especially when you mix in some of the graphics packages / videos.

I like the Lemond smoothness. But the Wahoo is LOADS more like the road when you start to add in the programs...

[Calnago]

Thanks Charles. Yes, agreed about the whole programming of different courses etc giving different feels. I've never used those. I sort of treat the trainer as a solo spinclass I guess. I never follow the instructors in those classes anyway... If I want to do calisthenics I'll get off the bike. But although I haven't tried the KICKR, the Lemond has been the closest thing to date I've ever felt to a real road feel on a trainer. It's just the noise that it creates is something you have to deal with. Your analogy is accurate .

[CharlesM]

I actually used to ride with headphones on... My wife came home once with guests and it scared the crap out of me... I climbed off and heard voices and found half a dozen people laughing because they had been there for half an hour.

[Calnago]

Lol. That's hilarious. I have the advantage that I can use mine on the back deck. For whatever reason, the neighbor used to like to mow his lawn at the dumbest times, like when I had people over for a bbq... so annoying. So, to get back, I'd just fire up the Lemond on the back deck when he's eating dinner on his. There's a good bit of distance between us, but his lawnmower's got nothin' on my Lemond.

[boysa]

I was forced to move to colder climes a few months ago, and up until that point my infrequent indoor training was either done on E-Motion rollers or Kreitlers. I realized it was going to be a long winter... or rather, my wife realized it was going to be a long winter... so we bought a Kickr. It's been a real lifesaver. It is incredibly quiet, and the ability to use the Ergo feature (adjust the wattage using my phone) is marvelous. It took some getting used to, especially the fact shifting, or standing, for that matter, make little difference. Now I won't quite say I'm enjoying being snowed in... but at least it's bearable.

The only possible downside might be the price, but I figured since it is so easily upgradable down the road, it should be with me a long time. I couldn't recommend it highly enough.

[rchung]

I'd rate the Kickr road feel as better than the Lemond's. Hands down. Smoother and longer spin up and spin down, none of that "riding on awful tires" feeling, and very smooth and linear progression of resistance.

What are the virtual CdA and Crr for the Kickr?

[spdntrxi]

I'd rate the Kickr road feel as better than the Lemond's. Hands down. Smoother and longer spin up and spin down, none of that "riding on awful tires" feeling, and very smooth and linear progression of resistance.

What are the virtual CdA and Crr for the Kickr?

good question.. I don't know there exact method of calc'n the slope. I know when I used there special utility program we where shooting for 400w, then they had me put in a new slope value. I know the spins down use temp..I don't know how they handle elevation estimate? Are you trying to knock the dust off the math part of my brain.. got me thinking about Monte Carlo.

[rchung]

I'd rate the Kickr road feel as better than the Lemond's. Hands down. Smoother and longer spin up and spin down, none of that "riding on awful tires" feeling, and very smooth and linear progression of resistance.

What are the virtual CdA and Crr for the Kickr?

good question.. I don't know there exact method of calc'n the slope. I know when I used there special utility program we where shooting for 400w, then they had me put in a new slope value. I know the spins down use temp..I don't know how they handle elevation estimate? Are you trying to knock the dust off the math part of my brain.. got me thinking about Monte Carlo.

Here's how we figured out the virtual CdA and Crr for the Lemond Revolution:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gfo ... 82#3178482

[vdrey]

So, what does it do that a Kurt Kinetic fluid unit doesn't, and doesn't do more accurately? Umm, nothing, as far as I can see. Nice review, but I think it's a bit pricey for what it delivers.

You can use a computer to control the resistance, which allows you to do intervals without having to manage your gear selection.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[airwise]

I love the feel of my KICKR but the Segments app has been buggy in the extreme.

I still feel the basic platform is head and shoulders above my old Tacx though, and comparable with the Wattbike that I use in France. The future is really bright.

I just hope that the likes of Tacx and others will agree to move towards cross platform software. I would happily pay top dollar for Tacx RLV's to work on the KICKR and iPad.

I use turbotripping video on occasion which makes for a great diversion and mood enhancer.

[asv]

I love the feel of my KICKR but the Segments app has been buggy in the extreme.

I see the segments app as more of toy, TrainerRoad is my primary app for utilizing all the features of the Kickr.

[spdntrxi]

I'd rate the Kickr road feel as better than the Lemond's. Hands down. Smoother and longer spin up and spin down, none of that "riding on awful tires" feeling, and very smooth and linear progression of resistance.

What are the virtual CdA and Crr for the Kickr?

good question.. I don't know there exact method of calc'n the slope. I know when I used there special utility program we where shooting for 400w, then they had me put in a new slope value. I know the spins down use temp..I don't know how they handle elevation estimate? Are you trying to knock the dust off the math part of my brain.. got me thinking about Monte Carlo.

Here's how we figured out the virtual CdA and Crr for the Lemond Revolution:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gfo ... 82#3178482

Since I still have the special utility on my phone… I dug a little and Crr is 0.004 based on mass of 85kg

[airwise]

I love the feel of my KICKR but the Segments app has been buggy in the extreme.

I see the segments app as more of toy, TrainerRoad is my primary app for utilizing all the features of the Kickr.

I don't race ( I ride mountains) so I don't really need the stuff that TR offers. I tend to just keep riding in the Winter and Segments allows that - if it's working properly.

Yesterday I did a 55km route that I ride in the Vercors in the Summer and the time comparison with the real thing was within 0.5% whilst average power was within 1.5%. Consider me impressed.

[spdntrxi]

I love the feel of my KICKR but the Segments app has been buggy in the extreme.

I see the segments app as more of toy, TrainerRoad is my primary app for utilizing all the features of the Kickr.

I don't race ( I ride mountains) so I don't really need the stuff that TR offers. I tend to just keep riding in the Winter and Segments allows that - if it's working properly.

Yesterday I did a 55km route that I ride in the Vercors in the Summer and the time comparison with the real thing was within 0.5% whilst average power was within 1.5%. Consider me impressed.

I'm slower on segments… with less power and more tired…. but it's still fun.

[kode54]

Hmmm, I don't think the Lemond does act like all fan units simply because of the huge flywheel. ?? I'm not sure what you mean when you say it drags with high wattage efforts. Oh well, I'll give it a go just for kicks when I find one. Was just curious about it. Thx. Truth is, I hate stationary trainers of any kind, which is why my Lemond mostly collects dust. .

The flywheel is a good point... When you use a cassette versus a wheel, you need to have the big gear wheel to turn the fan as fast as a wheel would, but it's pretty close. The flywheel is a twist that most fan trainers dont have.

That said, that drag effect does happen (though I'm just not strong enough to do it constantly) not to mention it sounds like you're being chased through an Angry Seattle Seahawks stadium by the dust storm in Lawrence of Arabia...

The bigger benefit (and part of the reason I would disagree with saying that the Wahoo is less road like) is that you can program resistance transitions that replicate the road more effectively than snatching a hand full of gears and pedaling like hell to create the effect of a hill repeat start or dumping gears to make the change like rolling down hill.

The Lemond works like a champ. The Wahoo feels a lot like the Lemond but it's a night and day difference on programmed courses and or using things like Kinomap or Segments... Especially when you mix in some of the graphics packages / videos.

I like the Lemond smoothness. But the Wahoo is LOADS more like the road when you start to add in the programs...

totally agree here. i have both and only ride the Kickr nowadays. great review Pez.