Is a wattbike worth the money?

[Supersuperleeds]

Hi, I've got a Wattbike Atom which I use almost everyday, like you I'm not super fit or particularly serious* about cycling. * with the exception of the Cyclechat league on Bkool which is great fun (sadly in it's Summer break now). I've used it on Zwift and Bkool, TBH it works better on Zwift but somehow Bkool is more interesting as there's a great bunch of friendly guys in the league from here (dont tell them I said that!). My wife has used it too but she lost interest quite quickly but I'm still glad I got it, I've had it since November last year and prior to that I had a Tacx wheel on for a year which started my cycling journey really. The Wattbike is just so available, you jump on and go, the wheel on was a bit of a faff ensuring the correct tension and comparable pressures, my results varied too much, with the Wattbike I can see much more consistency and any improvement I feel more confident is real rather than some temporary blip. Having said that the direct drive options would eliminate some of that just not the ready to go part but I've never had a direct drive so perhaps it's super quick.
If money's no object then the Wahoo bike is a better option but I'm still happy with my Atom and probably wont upgrade till something significantly better comes out.
I've used a standard Wattbike regularly in the gym but the interaction the Atom has with the apps makes it much more engaging.
I paid £1500 for mine and it's done over 3000 virtual km's now mostly on Bkool. You also need to factor in the £8-£10 per month for the apps but they are well worth it if you use it regularly.

Another Atom owner here, so my reply is slightly biased, but I think it's a great bit of kit. Easy adjustment, great interface with Zwift, Sufferfest, RGT and other third party apps, solidly built and no faff with swapping bikes. They need servicing every so often, but otherwise no mechanical adjustment / wear either.

The Version 2 atom is out now, which apparently has better shifting on Zwift and a couple of other minor updates. You can probably find a good, used Version 1 for under RRP on the various selling sites though - most are well-cared for so that would be my first port of call.

I'm seriously looking at getting an Atom so good to see some positive comments as it is a good lump of money for one.

 

[JtB]

There seem to be lots of good reviews on the WattBike Atom and even though it’s expensive it’s still cheaper than other bikes in the same class. So this evening I made the decision to order a next generation Wattbike Atom.

 

[AndyMacca]

There seem to be lots of good reviews on the WattBike Atom and even though it’s expensive it’s still cheaper than other bikes in the same class. So this evening I made the decision to order a next generation Wattbike Atom.

Cool, interested to hear how the next gen bike works keep us posted.

Which apps are you going to use on it, the Wattbike Hub or venturing into other stuff Zwift,Bkool etc?

 

[johnblack]

I've been thinking about an atom but I know I won't use zwift so really just need a spin / gym bike that measures power, I was using a wattbike or Schwin Carbon Blue in the gym so just want a home version as looks as though I'll be working from home for a while. Looking at the BH Spada 2 or Taurus Z9 which are both available sub 750, just really don't like turbo trainers.

 

[GravityFighter]

I've been thinking about an atom but I know I won't use zwift so really just need a spin / gym bike that measures power, I was using a wattbike or Schwin Carbon Blue in the gym so just want a home version as looks as though I'll be working from home for a while. Looking at the BH Spada 2 or Taurus Z9 which are both available sub 750, just really don't like turbo trainers.

The Wattbike Hub, TrainerRoad, Sufferfest are all good options and less 'gamey' than Zwift if you just want to ride to power and need to justify an Atom!

 

[McStumpy]

I received my next gen atom in August and after swapping several mails with wattbike my issues remain unresolved.

specifically -

It’s unusable in ERG mode. Power fluctuates wildly therefore so does resistance. In trying to hold, for example, 115w at the start of a workout, power jumps from 60w to 220w as resistance varies widely even though my cadence stays the same. Wattbike are trying to suggest the issue is my pedalling efficiency but I’m not buying that.

also gear shifting in zwift is erratic. most of the time it’s instant but sometimes it’s over 10 secs. On a recent workout where I turned off erg mode due to above issue, gear shifting stopped working completely

covid doesn’t help, the lag on email response is several days. I phoned but there is no support option given on the menu. Their emails mention live chat but I can’t find that.

if I can I’m going to return it , it’s a useless pile of junk and I was better off with a bike on a decent smart trainer.

 

[derrick]

I’m looking to by an exercise bike to use when the weather turns or I just don’t have the time for a ride, I was looking to get something for the bike to fit on and then the wife said She wants to use it as well’ 😟 we both know she won’t but....
So I’ve been researching them, I know nothing so all help appreciated, I am a keen enthusiast not a super fit or even a fit man wanting to smash 100 miles out on a bike, It would be more like a couple of hours 30 miles or so.
I’ve seen a Nordic Track GX 5 2nd hand for £200 but reports they are poorly made, is the wattbike worth £1000?
advise please

jr

Only if you use it, I settled for a good quality belt drive spin bike, fitted with speed and cadence, nice and quiet and gets used in the winter months. I did 3 months on a Wattbike a few years ago with a coach, defo got me fitter.

 

[AndyMacca]

I received my next gen atom in August and after swapping several mails with wattbike my issues remain unresolved.

specifically -

It’s unusable in ERG mode. Power fluctuates wildly therefore so does resistance. In trying to hold, for example, 115w at the start of a workout, power jumps from 60w to 220w as resistance varies widely even though my cadence stays the same. Wattbike are trying to suggest the issue is my pedalling efficiency but I’m not buying that.

also gear shifting in zwift is erratic. most of the time it’s instant but sometimes it’s over 10 secs. On a recent workout where I turned off erg mode due to above issue, gear shifting stopped working completely

covid doesn’t help, the lag on email response is several days. I phoned but there is no support option given on the menu. Their emails mention live chat but I can’t find that.

if I can I’m going to return it , it’s a useless pile of junk and I was better off with a bike on a decent smart trainer.

Not good, massively frustrating.
Dcrainmaker also noted the ERG issues and has been battling with them, some info here;
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/10/wattbike-smart-review.html
Haven't heard about the gear shift lag, the improved gear-shift is one of the reasons I was thinking to upgrade to a next-gen atom but I'm holding back to see how these issues get fixed.
I'm sure you can return it as they have a good return window on new sales and also if it's that bad then it's not fit for purpose.
Good luck with it.

 

[johnblack]

I

Only if you use it, I settled for a good quality belt drive spin bike, fitted with speed and cadence, nice and quiet and gets used in the winter months. I did 3 months on a Wattbike a few years ago with a coach, defo got me fitter.

I've just bought a really good belt drive, mag resistance spin bike too. Absolutely silent. I've always hated turbo trainers, plus the rest of the family wouldn't use it, whereas they will get on the spin bike. I just ride with cadence and resistance now, once you get used to the bike you have, the power isn't so important because you know what effort you are putting in at any given resistance by your rpm and speed and also your hr.

I enjoyed riding with power in the gym on a wattbike but as I can't go back there anytime soon I thought I'd bite the bullet and spend out. Got it on 0% for 24 months so that made it an easy decision. I miss the power but I don't ride with it on the road so it's no big deal and if I really wanted to I could add a vector pedal (I won't).

 

[McStumpy]

Not good, massively frustrating.
Dcrainmaker also noted the ERG issues and has been battling with them, some info here;
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/10/wattbike-smart-review.html
Haven't heard about the gear shift lag, the improved gear-shift is one of the reasons I was thinking to upgrade to a next-gen atom but I'm holding back to see how these issues get fixed.
I'm sure you can return it as they have a good return window on new sales and also if it's that bad then it's not fit for purpose.
Good luck with it.

Thanks will let you know how i get on

 

[CXRAndy]

I received my next gen atom in August and after swapping several mails with wattbike my issues remain unresolved.

specifically -

It’s unusable in ERG mode. Power fluctuates wildly therefore so does resistance. In trying to hold, for example, 115w at the start of a workout, power jumps from 60w to 220w as resistance varies widely even though my cadence stays the same. Wattbike are trying to suggest the issue is my pedalling efficiency but I’m not buying that.

also gear shifting in zwift is erratic. most of the time it’s instant but sometimes it’s over 10 secs. On a recent workout where I turned off erg mode due to above issue, gear shifting stopped working completely

covid doesn’t help, the lag on email response is several days. I phoned but there is no support option given on the menu. Their emails mention live chat but I can’t find that.

if I can I’m going to return it , it’s a useless pile of junk and I was better off with a bike on a decent smart trainer.

Poor gear shifting in Zwift was known from new and didnt get resolved. I would like a dedicated bike but all of them have issues and I'm not paying £2-3k for a crappy setup. I will stick with my Neo 2 setup, which has been just as reliable as my Wahoo Kickr V1

 

[McStumpy]

If erg mode works ill be happy as i mainly use for workouts.

Wattbike got back re my latest mail and are arranging an engineer visit

 

[steverob]

On my original version Atom, I don't really use the ERG mode much so I can't comment on that, but recently I had noticed that my gear changes (which weren't exactly super fast in the first place) had been getting slower and slower and sometimes weren't registering at all. In fact sometimes I'd hit the button a few times out of frustration that it wasn't registering, then 5-10 seconds later would suddenly get all of the (what I'd presume were queued-up) gear changes happen simultaneously - not great when you're trying to race on Zwift at the time!

The solution to that turned out to be to replace the coin battery that is in the shifter - it's a rechargeable one, so theoretically should not run out as it's always getting a charge while the bike is on, but clearly mine had other ideas. Since changing it, things have returned to normal.

 

[McStumpy]

Engineer visit has sorted it. Flywheel was out of alignment.

 

[AndyMacca]

Engineer visit has sorted it. Flywheel was out of alignment.

Really glad they came and fixed it - did they fix both the gear shift and ERG issues?