Wahoo Kickr questions

[Daninplymouth]

Hi, I think I’m going to have to invest in a turbo trainer. Iv caught the bug for cycling and want to keep it up over winter however I’m not to keen on the cold dark nights so think an indoor trainer would suit me to get an hour or 2 in a few times a week. Also I am competitive and try to push myself so the likes of zwift will keep me motivated.
Got a couple of questions if anyone can help
Is the kickr worth it over the core?
The kickr comes with an 11-28 cassette fitted, my bike has an 11-30 fitted, would I need to change this or make any adjustments each time I go from wheel to trainer?
From memory do wahoo go any Black Friday offers?
Thanks

 

[vickster]

I doubt there'll be much if any discount on turbos - given they are already in short supply and shortages will only get more acute as the days shorten and become colder...if you want something specific, best buy now if you can! They sell out in autumn usually it seems...it'll be worse this year especially if there's a national lockdown as seems well within the realms of possibility!

 

[Daninplymouth]

I doubt there'll be much if any discount on turbos - given they are already in short supply and shortages will only get more acute as the days shorten and become colder...if you want something specific, best buy now if you can! They sell out in autumn usually it seems...it'll be worse this year especially if there's a national lockdown as seems well within the realms of possibility!

Thanks that’s sort of what I am thinking too and if we do have another lockdown then they’ll be impossible to get so I am going to order just need to decide which model.
If the 11-28 cassette will be fine to use without me having to keep adjusting my gears then I’d probably just order the kickr.
If I can’t get on with it they don’t seem to lose much money and if there’s another lockdown then il probably be able to get all my money back if not more so seems a no brainer when I put it like that.

 

[vickster]

Thanks that’s sort of what I am thinking too and if we do have another lockdown then they’ll be impossible to get so I am going to order just need to decide which model.
If the 11-28 cassette will be fine to use without me having to keep adjusting my gears then I’d probably just order the kickr.
If I can’t get on with it they don’t seem to lose much money and if there’s another lockdown then il probably be able to get all my money back if not more so seems a no brainer when I put it like that.

Why would you need to adjust your gears? Is this one of the turbos that you use without your own wheel but a cassette on the machine?

 

[Daninplymouth]

Why would you need to adjust your gears? Is this one of the turbos that you use without your own wheel but a cassette on the machine?

My bike is currently set up to use an 11-30 cassette, the kickr ships with an 11-28 fitted so didn’t know if mine would run fine or if I would need to make any adjustments each time I swapped between my wheels and the trainer. I know I could get a new cassette for the the trainer but this would be an extra expense so could do with out it if possible

 

[Specialeyes]

As long as the cassettes have the same number of sprockets (presumably 11 on both) then the most you'd have to adjust would be a turn or 2 of the barrel adjuster to get the indexing bang on, and probably no adjustment at all.

On the rare occasions my wife's road bike comes off the Kickr, it's 3/4 of a turn of the derailleur barrel adjuster to account for the slightly different left/right alignment of the cassette on her rear wheel as opposed to the turbo. (tbh I could probably fix it by adding/removing a spacer but I've never got around to it... like I said, 'rare occasions')


Edit to add: the turbo has 11-28 while the wheelset has 11-32. It's not the cassettes that are the issue, just dialling in the left-right adjustment, which you can do by eye+ear.

 

[tom73]

I don't think you can really tell the difference for what you want to do between the two Kickers.

 

[ianbarton]

I don't think you can really tell the difference for what you want to do between the two Kickers.

I bought a Core a couple of years ago and it's fine for what I need. It sounds as though it would be suitable for you. I just bought a duplicate cassette for the Core to save the faff of removing the one from the bike.

 

[theboxers]

The only piece of advice I have is fans. Multiple, big fug orf shiney ones.

You will over heat very quickly without sufficient airflow. Get as big as you can fit in you training space, 12 inch min, 18 inch or more if you can. The bigger fan will move the same amount or maybe more air at slower, quieter speeds.

 

[Daninplymouth]

Well I went and ordered the kickr. Wahoo’s website was saying 2-3weeks delivery yet it was shipped yesterday so hopefully only a couple of days I can get started with some training 😃

 

[Daninplymouth]

As long as the cassettes have the same number of sprockets (presumably 11 on both) then the most you'd have to adjust would be a turn or 2 of the barrel adjuster to get the indexing bang on, and probably no adjustment at all.

On the rare occasions my wife's road bike comes off the Kickr, it's 3/4 of a turn of the derailleur barrel adjuster to account for the slightly different left/right alignment of the cassette on her rear wheel as opposed to the turbo. (tbh I could probably fix it by adding/removing a spacer but I've never got around to it... like I said, 'rare occasions')


Edit to add: the turbo has 11-28 while the wheelset has 11-32. It's not the cassettes that are the issue, just dialling in the left-right adjustment, which you can do by eye+ear.

Is this the indexing barrel? The gears didnt seem to bad on my quick test ride but the very top few gears sounded a bit clunky.
Also have another question it has adapters for 142 and 148mm thru axles, but when I look for the synapse cannondale list them as 12x100, any ideas on this? The 142 seem to fit ok as I tried the 148 and the quick release couldn’t reach the other side

 

[Specialeyes]

Yup, that's the barrel adjusted I was referring to - you can tweak the alignment of the derailleur by turning it a quarter-turn at a time and you'll see the inner part winding in and out, and the derailleur moving a gnat's with each.

Not a great expert on thru axles, but if the threaded end of the bolt reaches well into the adapter, and is thus a better, more secure fit - then I'd go for that one!

 

[Daninplymouth]

Just having some doubts as iv just seen online that kickr say not to use 2020+ carbon cannondales. Mine is a 2020 carbon synapse, to me it seems to fit on fine and is pretty solid.
Does this look ok

 

[CXRAndy]

Take the bike off the Kickr, check where the adaptors touch the frame. If there is no gouging in the frame and everything is solid, you're good to go.

Ive been using my Boardman carbon cyclo-cross bike on turbo trainer for 5 years. Not a moment's problem. If you like to swing when pedalling out of the saddle, then consider a rocker board or modify riding to be more static.

Here is my setup

 

[Specialeyes]

@CXRAndy I'm a big fan of your, erm, big fan!