Indoor bike recommendations

[Maherees]

Hi all,

After going through the winter of hassle disassembling my road bike to mount on to my wahoo kickr I was thinking of getting a watt bike, as a more dedicated training machine. And a smaller footprint.

I've seen a few around the £800 mark on eBay and wondered if anyone has purchased one this way? Anything to look out for?

Thanks

 

[kingrollo]

Bear in mind the wattbike and wattbike atom are pretty different. The former doesnt do zwift etc if that's your thing.

Fwiw I had similar hassles with a smart trainer - I just got a very basic spin bike from decathlon - but I don't do much indoor training YMMV.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I've got the Atom, it seamlessly connects with Zwift

 

[Peter Salt]

Bear in mind the wattbike and wattbike atom are pretty different. The former doesnt do zwift etc if that's your thing.

Fwiw I had similar hassles with a smart trainer - I just got a very basic spin bike from decathlon - but I don't do much indoor training YMMV.

This is incorrect. Every Wattbike is Zwift (and other 'virtual platforms') compatible and connects without any issues. Pre-Atom models however are not not 'smart' which means that the apps can't manipulate the resistance when you go up a virtual hill/descent. Still, watts are watts and you can change the resistance yourself.

The OG Wattbike (Trainer/Pro) is a solid commercial-grade piece of kit. Not much to worry about when buying these second hand. I would however note that these were developed with track cyclists in mind and then became very popular with the likes of rugby teams - i.e. it will fit you better if you're a bigger bloke.

 

[Maherees]

Yea unfortunately as ex rugby player I fill a shirt, not quite in the way as a few years ago.
Much prefer being outside but not in the wet winter. Maybe I'll stick to my wahoo.
Thanks.

 

[JtB]

I bought a Wattbike Atom (Gen 2) just over 18 months ago and I think it’s an excellent bit of kit. Virtual riding is not my thing so I stick with the workouts on the Wattbike Hub App. They seem well structured with warm-ups, cool-downs and intervals, and once the machine has been calibrated with your FTP then the workouts seem well adapted to your fitness level. They certainly push you to the limit and produce lots of performance data for you to analysis and track if you’re so inclined. The only quirk I’ve noticed is that in Ergo mode you have to concentrate on your pedalling technique otherwise the resistance has a tendency to fluctuate quite a bit. But engaging the brain as well as the muscles helps to make the workouts more interesting.

 

[Winnershsaint]

FWIW if you are thinking of a Wattbike Atom but already have a Kickr you might want to think of investing half the sum of the Wattbike on a Climb to go on the front. I’ve had one since just before Christmas. it might seem a bit gimmicky, it pairs to the Kickr and pretty much seamlessly adjusts the angle of your bike up to a max of 20% gradient on whatever platform you use. I use Rouvy. As you are not anchored at the front there is movement of the bike as you ride, fore and aft mainly, but also some, not much, side to side. A number of years of using smart trainers imitating gradient changes left me with persistent knee pain/ITB inflammation. I tried to work back to find a cause and it was only when I ceased to have said pain/discomfort after I had matched my new Kickr up with the Climb and ridden for about a week it became obvious that the origin was almost certainly riding with smart trainer resistance on what effectively was the flat. So encountering an 7% incline before was simply like riding on the flat into a serious block headwind. Once the Climb adjusts the bike angle accordingly it ceases to be like that and very much more like a climb. Using the muscles that you would expect to use rather than those you’d use on the flat. No different in effort required but out the saddle feels like out the saddle.