Scooped up a used Wahoo Kikr!

[philipgonzales3]

So this morning, I put on my full kit, open the garage door... only to notice it had started sprinkiling already. I knew it was forecasted to rain today but was supposed to start in the afternoon and not the morning!

I had been eyeing a post of FB marketplace for a Wahoo Kikr v4 for $200. Figured that it would likely be well worth it for rainy days. I offered $150 since I'd need an 11 speed cassette. Figured I wouldn't bother asking the seller bc he doesn't want a lot of questions (which is understandable, selling stuff can be a drag.) He said, come pick it up!



Figured, I would tear it down and repair it while waiting for the new casette to come in from Amazon. I'm in IT and have a Hakko soldering station, multimeter, and some basic repair experience. Started off as an computer technician back in the day, so no biggie to make a new molex to barrel connector or what not. Anyway, when I go to pick it up, I end up giving the guy $160, bc he wanted cash and I had to stop at the bank ATM to withdrawal the cash and it only allows increments of $20. I said, I'm not worried about the $10, still a great deal. I mention needing to order an 11 speed cassete and he says, hold up. I have the one that came with it and I'll never use it. You can have it! He also mentioned the cable only really acts up when you pull on it! That he has used it like that for a long time without any real issue. Well that sounds good to me, I just won't pull on it! Lol



Instead of tearing it down, decided to just set it up! Went pretty smooth considering I've never swapped a cassette before.







The Zwift - "My first workout in Watopia", just about killed me! Hence my post in the beginners thread haha.

Totally misunderstood the assignment, thought there were only 4 zones. Ended up about dying here and then coasting during the zone 5 and zone 6 parts, but oh well. Gotta start somewhere.




Pretty sure this is the highest and longest my heart has ever been in Zone4! Lol but all good, I wouldn't push myself that hard on my own. Especially if I have to pedal back home without keeling over!



Have some new stats to check out. I'm a bit of a data nerd so stoked to have cadence and power data available. Don't judge the data too hard. Was just trying to survive the 15 miles I did today on Zwift lol.

 

[13 rider]

Have a look on zwift for paced group rides and pick one your comfortable with might take a bit of trails and error then you can plod round in zone 2 or just free ride and tick of the routes which you get a virtual badge for each one it's not all about workouts . Then you can think about racing which is a bit bonkers and if your even a bit competitive will get you trying very hard

 

[cyberknight]

Next up alpe zwift 😜

 

[philipgonzales3]

Even though I didn't have any issues with the trainer (it stays on if you don't physically wiggle the connector), I went ahead with the repair anyway. Text below copied and pasted from my FB bc too lazy to re-write it lol.

Was "stuck" at home, as I was on call yesterday for work so decided to make use of my time with a little project.

So I picked up this Zwift Kickr v4 for $160 on FB Marketplace due to it having a wonky power jack, and the seller bought a new one. Supposedly seller bought it for $1200 new (2018 model so obviously a good 5+ years old, but still thought that was a great deal). To be fair, the unit worked fine as long as you didn't jiggle the power cord. Could have likely just let it be, but figured why not take a crack at repairing it.

Pics are in reverse chronological order. As far as I know Wahoo does not sell the power pigtail connector. In fact they give you a discount on a new one if you call in with issues.

Total cost of repair ~ 15 bucks and some elbow grease. Was being lazy so just bought a 10 pack of pre-wired connectors (3.96mm Pitch Female Connector) and a 10 pack of 12v female power jack adaptors. So really only ~1.50 in material used LOL. Could have likely just soldered directly to the board and found a female adaptor for free 99. but either way, all good.

Used Ethernet boots that I had lying around for strain relief and as grommets inside and outside the case just because. A little back tape and Bob is your uncle. Good to go! Not perfect, but good enough for me.

10 file limit reached... see next post for more pics if you desire.

 

[philipgonzales3]

Welp, that wasn't TOO bad. Hardest part was the silver pulley on the bottom left was seized up pretty good. Took a ton of prying. Also the key was the same, but at the end of the day I got it done.

Edit: Revised Imaged

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Are you now riding it regularly?

 

[philipgonzales3]

Are you now riding it regularly?

Yes, about 150 miles and 9.5 hours on it in two weeks. My road bike is in the shop and it's much more enjoyable to ride the flat bar bike on Zwift than it is to ride the flat bar bike in real life. Adding in some elevation gains that I've never hit before. Still relatively low volume climbs but still a lot more elevation than I would have easy access to otherwise. At first I felt that Zwift was way harder than riding in real life but it's kind of balanced out as I've learned to pace myself better. I'm better at targeting my zones as desired. Speaking of zones, I've done a few group rides and to keep up I have to push hard in Zone 3 or 4 for the whole hour to push 1.5 or so watts/KG but all good. I feel like I'm building up fitness strength nicely and faster and more consistent than out on the road. Very little coasting, basically none, plus I can easily pick a route that suits the type of workout I'm trying to get in. Flat for Zone 2, hilly for more intensity, etc.

 

[cyberknight]

I did the rapha 500 challange on zwift last year 500 km ( 311 miles ) in 8 days .I was doing 2x 45 min pacer sessions per day .That hurt !

 

[philipgonzales3]

I did the rapha 500 challange on zwift last year 500 km ( 311 miles ) in 8 days .I was doing 2x 45 min pacer sessions per day .That hurt !

That's my total mileage for a good month. Always want to do more but you know how that goes. One of these days I'll ramp up the volume. You know me though, always worried if I'm over training or under training but at the end of the day I'm a lot healthier than when I started! Also down 36 pounds. My wife says I barely have a tummy now. She's over exaggerating a bit but I'm winding the clock back for sure! I used to weigh 150 all through high school and had trouble gaining weight (like 20 years ago at this point!). I was 284 and now 248. How low will I go? Only time will tell. I know diet has a more direct result than excersize but the Ozempic certainly helps lol. 😆

 

[si_c]

Looks like you got a really great deal there. Good to see something repaired and put back to use rather than just tossed.

 

[Cynthia111]

Hey, congrats on scoring that Wahoo Kikr!For that price, it's an amazing deal, especially with the cassette thrown in.Glad you jumped straight into it – first workouts are always tough, but it'll get easier.Zwift can really kick your butt, right?About the zones –yeah,it's easy to get mixed up at the start.But with each ride, you'll get a better feel for pacing, especially now that you’ve got that dataHaving all that tech is already a big advantage!

 

[philipgonzales3]

Hey, congrats on scoring that Wahoo Kikr!For that price, it's an amazing deal, especially with the cassette thrown in.Glad you jumped straight into it – first workouts are always tough, but it'll get easier.Zwift can really kick your butt, right?About the zones –yeah,it's easy to get mixed up at the start.But with each ride, you'll get a better feel for pacing, especially now that you’ve got that dataHaving all that tech is already a big advantage!

Completed my longest ride to date (both IRL and on Zwift) the other day of 40 miles. 3 Hours on the trainer. Boy did my rear and legs hurt, but I did it! Yes, getting better at sprinting and recovering, hitting my power targets and getting back into Zone 2. Actually completed my FTP test (my first go around I was too tired to even complete it, tried too much too soon haha). Got a score of 183 watts or something like that. Still relatively weak at 1.6 or so watts/kg, but the upside is plenty of room for improvement. Totally loving Zwift at the moment.