I've made the decision to get an indoor trainer and would like some guidance. I made the decision for a few reasons:

- Too cold/icey to ride outdoors in winter
- I would appreciate the luxury of not having to go to the gym
- I have been told the glory stories of being able to do some very cool virtual rides. This sounds like loads of fun.

A few cyclists I trust have pointed me to the Wahoo Kickr, so I think I will go that route. I like the idea of the wheel-off trainer.

Thing is, I currently ride a bottom-of-the-line Trek 1 series, with basically no gizmos. I use RWGPS on my phone to track my outdoor rides. Hence I dont have a power meter, cadence sensors, etc, etc, etc.

If I go with the Wahoo Kickr, I want to have the full effect:
- power meter
- cadence, speed
- be able to see/watch my virtual ride
- anything else I am missing?

I've got PCs, Ipads, you name it. But no bike hardware. The Wahoo website is awfully confusing. I would love some guidance on what hardware and software/apps I would need to be able to get all the metrics (power, cadence, other?) and be able to do the virtual french alps - and in fact I'd love to do a virtual ride of some of the centuries & fondos I recorded this year with RWGPS.

Could I ask you to share what hardware & other bits I'd need to accomplish this? I'd have a preference for lower entry prices, and in a perfect world these would also work on the bike when on the road (with some app).

My limited research on power meters, etc tell me they are very expensive, and the Wahoo website is geared towards people who have some pre-existing sensors, apps, etc.

ps - I do understand I'd likely need to sign up for Zwift to do the virtual stuff.

Thanks.

I'm curious too. I may have to go this route, even though my cross and fat bike should have em riding way more than any other winter. How does somebody simulate climbs on a virtual route? Here to learn....

Kickr will include cadence sensor. Speed and power meter is already inside the Kickr machine. Kickr also have bluetooth that can connect to your iPad with bluetooth.

Just reminder you when you buy Kickr, be sure you have right cassette available since it only include 11-speed cassette. I had to change to 8-speed cassette (I had to buy new one) to make work with my Allez bike with 8-speed.

Really? I sort of thought that might be the case for power meter. But I cant figure how it determines cadence with no other hardware?

And do you use Zwift? Or can you recommend anything else? There are a ton of apps that appear to be supported here (Wahoo App Comparison Chart)

And on the cassette - in fact I too have an 8-speed. But I saw somewhere that it came with spacers to make it work. Is that not the case? My derailer is only 9 speed so going to 11-speed would be another cost I'd need to factor in.

Thanks.

I personally would pick up some old cheap road bike to stick on the kikr. Nothing fancy or special, just something so I'm not swapping bikes back and forth. I also find that I prefer a different fit on the trainer compared to the road bike, more upright, with a different saddle.

Crank based power meters use inertia switches to sense revolutions. Pedals may as well but I dunno for sure. Wheel based has no way of knowing due to gear changes.

I use a basic Nashbar Fluid Trainer and a TV which provides me with shows that have commercials.

Then I do commercial intervals.

Ride easy during the show ... ride as hard as I can for the duration of the commercial break.

My trainer bicycle is a Giant OCR3 acquired in 2002.

The Wahoo Kickr comes with a separate cadence sensor that sends Bluetooth and Ant+ signals. You attach it to the left crank or your shoe. The Kickr has a built in power meter that sends Bluetooth and Ant+. Connecting sensors to a computer or Ipad requires something to receive the sensor signal, either BT on a Mac, or ANT+ on a Windows PC. The Ipad reads BT. BT needs to be version 4.0 so it will have to be a later iPad. It is also useful to have heart rate for training, so a ANT+ or BT chest strap.

A full setup for Zwift indoor training or other typical video software would be:
Bike
Smart trainer (resistance controlled by the computer for hills or wattage intervals)
Computer - Virtual worlds are graphically intensive so a good video card is required for high res.
Built in BT and/or ANT+ USB dongle
Subscription to software
Large screen connected to computer or iPad - nice for immersion
Speakers
Sweat mat
Fans
Heart rate strap
Internet connection - preferable to use ethernet over WiFi
Stand for monitor and iPad next to bike.

Join the Facebook group Zwift Riders to see people's setups. These training equipment configurations run into the thousands, above the cost of the bike.

Also watch the Youtube Zwift videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeO...y65aiENWfuFzUQ which would be similar to any other indoor training software.

Here is my set-up

Kickr Snap
Alienware Alpha
USB ANT+ dongle
Cheap fan
Wahoo Tickr heart rate strap
Wahoo Cadence sensor
40 in TV

Here is a video from Shane Miller that may help

Just in case you weren't aware.. just because you use RWGPS or other app on your phone, does not mean that you can't use a cadence sensor or power meter as well. You can link these with eg. RWGPS and use on your outdoor rides and therefore be able to track this data also.

Yes, I do Zwift as I just started recently. There are good advice above my post. My Kickr set up is pretty much basic - bike, cadence sensor (that was included with Kickr and I strapped it to my crankset), PC for Zwift, and iPhone 6+ for Wahoo and Zwift apps. That's it.

The cadence that came with Zwift, it has internal sensor that senses revolting. There's nothing to add.

Kickr included spacer, so don't worry. Buying cassette is not expensive - maybe $15 and up. Kickr's freehub only work with Shimano/SRAM cassette (someone please correct me).

I'm still learning how to use the Kickr and wanted to try the Strava road download into Wahoo's app.

Sadly, "cheap road bike" describes my current bike.

But yes, I intend to continue to use this on the trainer after I get a new bike

So... all that is needed is this Kickr! I'd love to enjoy riding a trainer. But even if I thought this device would help.... $1200 is a lot of money for a trainer.

I setup an old bike (with a decent saddle) and run youtube videos through my PC to the TV (in the man cave). I don't enjoy it... although sometimes during a cold winter... it does feel good to just spin and sweat.

Thanks for the responses guys. It was very helpful to appreciate what I need to get going. Its a bit overwhelming just going to their website.

It does seem all these trainers are smart these days, with Bluetooth, sensors, etc. Hence, you need nothing but a bike and an ipad or pc. I am thrilled.

I've pulled the trigger on the Kickr just now. I went to the website and the Cyber Monday sale was too much to pass up. There's probably 15 minutes left on that.

On that topic - I'm not a shill for Wahoo Kickr. Case in point I was reading reviews today on DCRainmaker here and there are many trainers he seems to support more, are quieter, etc. But it took me so long to figure out Wahoo that I dare not research more.

Now I just need to get a mat, fans, heart rate sensor, sign up for zwift (or other app I am not a shill for) and I think I'm good.

I saw the Wahoo Snap at the LBS and I was impressed at how quiet it is for a wheel on trainer.

There is a free 60 day trial of Strava I get for buying the kickr. I had planned to just pay for zwift. Any recommendation on best app to use?

You can use Strava to track progress and analyze your rides but to do an interactive social type of ride, you need Zwift.

If you have a paid subscription to Strava and you link it to Zwift you get 60 days of free Zwift.

you may also want to get a male/female USB extension cable to get your ANT+ sensor closer to your KICKR

Wheel based power meters (Powertap) can pick up cadence. They get it from the varying load going through the hub due to the pedaling motion.

To clarify this, if you have or upgrade to Strava premium, you will get the rest of the year free. They used to give a month free as a bonus to Strava premium members, but that is ending this year.

Hey everyone, OP here. Thought I'd close the loop here.

So I took advice, did some research, ordered the Wahoo Kickr. Its been a bit of a rocky road, but with a happy ending.

My first Kickr worked 98% of the time - but notably on large climbs or sprints, the resistance would suddenly get easy. This really sucked when it would happen 1 hour into a ride. So had to go through various message boards, support, etc, etc, etc. Finally decided (late December) to return it for a new one. That process on the surface was easy and support was courteous. But packing up a HEAVY trainer and lugging it to a UPS store sucked. Not to mention the wait for the new one.

New one came and.... I had the same &^$&$ problem! Various support tickets later and troubleshooting, I got it to work NEARLY all the time, but still had issues. Wahoo and ZWIFT were adamant it was not their problem. Then, later in January, ZWIFT had an update that included a small gem described something like "fixed rare Wahoo Kickr resistance issue blah blah blah". Ugh!

The bad:
- You cant imagine all the new trinkets and apps you have to get acquainted to. I might be a bit of an outsider, as I never had even a cadence meter before. But suddenly I had power & cadence when using the Kickr, and unfortunately like 3 different Wahoo apps. And Strava. And Zwift. And the Wahoo apps are not even the same across ipad and android. This was very frustrating. And really continues to this day - why cant Wahoo have just one app that behaves the same on iOS and Android, and have it do all the Wahoo stuff it needs to do?
- (not really BAD but) - this ecosystem does not let me (to my knowledge) play back a live event I have done. At least I have not discovered how. I say not really bad because, once you have the video screen for Zwift events, the idea of just spinning and resistance changing without video would seem like a letdown now.

The good:
- The Zwift / Strava ecosystem is very entertaining and encouraging.
- I have not had to go use the gym trainers since I got this.

The Excellent:
- I said the ecosystem is good. But damn, now that I have discovered Zwift races, I find that I am getting such a better workout, and its now addictive to race, go look at results (at yet another 3rd party website!) and plan the next race.

Overall, very glad I've done this. It is, however, a major investment. I literally have a $700 bike on a $1200 trainer. And I've bought a new monitor too for my workout area. Not to mention Zwift and Strava subscriptions are now costing me god-knows-what every month ($10 each?).

But am very satisfied.

If I had to go back to answer my 2-month-ago-me, I would summarize whats required as:
- Turbo trainer (eg Wahoo Kickr but I believe most work)
- Trainer comes with cadence meter (Kickr did at least), and of course measures power.
- Get an ANT+ heartrate monitor
- Get an ANT+ USB adapter for your PC and the extension cord for it (it needs to be away from the PC and close to ANT devices)
- Use all of your devices in ANT+ mode (so get an ANT heartrate monitor)
- Get a mat & fan
- Get a cassette to keep on the trainer (unless you can use the 11-speed cassette it comes with)
- Setup a permanent area for everything (PC, Fan, Monitor, Trainer, bike, etc)
- Zwift and Strava subscriptions.

But then you're good to go. Try all the Zwift maps, and start training and racing.

One caveat - I suppose many folks out there are quite happily using bluetooth and not ANT+, and perhaps using their ipads now for ZWIFT, but I never got confident with that setup. Seemed flaky and convoluted.

Hope this is helpful.

Very helpful. Thanks for the update!

If you like virtual rides, check out Fulgaz. It works on iPhone or ipad. I'm enjoying it and Zwift so much that I find it hard to go outside and ride.

^ thanks for the update / checking back in.


I have since modernized my indoor training set up too.

Using my old cx bike (10sp 105):

I got a Kickr (new) that included the BT/Ant+ cadence sensor (zip ties to left crank arm).
Just pulled the cassette off the wheel since I don't need the bike for outside right now.
I dug out a 5 year old Intel NUC (i5/4GB/integrated video) that I wasn't using, fresh install of Windows 10.
Cheap $99 1080p monitor.
Generic ANT+ dongle (under $20 on amazon)
Generic treadmill mat (under $30 on amazon)
"old style" garmin ant+ HR strap ($24 on amazon)
Strava premium + zwift.
3x 20" box fans

I made a computer stand from 3/4 PVC and a 20" x 14" shelf board scrap.
And I wired a switch box for the fans that I can reach from the bike (fans on/off)

So really it was like $125-150 worth of parts beyond the Kickr and some kind of computer.