New Wahoo Kickr trainers aim for better usability with some subtle tweaks

Ten years ago the first Wahoo Kickr turbo trainer came on the market. A decade later and we’re now being treated to the Wahoo Kickr v6 direct drive turbo, and version two of the Kickr Bike too. That first Wahoo Kickr was not the first to bring some kind of computer-controlled system to indoor riding but it was the first to do it in a way that worked for most people. Before the Kickr, the few options that you could pick from used proprietary systems operating in a tiny market space; the first-generation Wahoo Kickr changed all that by being open and available for any company as a platform. Every list of the best turbo trainers since 2012 has included a Wahoo Kickr in some form, but Wahoo continues to innovate. 

One the biggest changes for the Wahoo Kickr world has been the expansion of the ecosystem, primarily as a result of greater competition. Wahoo has brought options in pricing with the Wahoo Kickr Core, and Kickr Rollrs, and realism-enhancing ad-ons with the Wahoo Kickr Climb. Since 2019 there’s been the option to combine everything with the Wahoo Kickr bike and they’ve even considered useability with a desk, and a fan. More recently there’s been a bigger push into the software side of things as well with the Wahoo X streaming service. 

Now, as we head into the 2022 / 2023 winter riding season in the Northern hemisphere, the brand is once again revisiting the products on which its reputation is built. The question is, what’s left to improve on with the current state of refinement in the industry?  The answer, at least from Wahoo, is usability. 

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