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Wahoo Teases New Cycling GPS, Also Expands KICKR Bike Features

Today we’ve got a round-up of two piles of Wahoo Fitness news. I could have squished these into a ‘Week in Review’ post, but decided they were probably worth longer discussions. Thus, let’s get rolling.

Wahoo Adds KICKR Bike SHIFT & V2 Features:

First up, Wahoo has added features to their newer KICKR Bikes: The KICKR Bike SHIFT and KICKR Bike V2. In the case of both of those, they’ll now get added Zwift Play-like buttons within the handlebar buttons. Meaning, those buttons can now be used to trigger a Ride On, U-Turn, or Power Up:

Additionally, the front left button could be used for ‘Select’.

I tried this out for a few rides, and it worked well enough, though I kinda wish there was an option to actually change which way it’d go at turn prompts. Right now you can select something, but you can’t actually change something. So a turn menu comes up, and the steering options are of course only for steering within the roadway, but not actually for choosing a direction at a turn prompt.

It seems Zwift being a bit more clever on how these buttons are mapped when that turn prompt comes up would go a long way towards making it easier to navigate the game from the handlebars.

In any case, the second update is just for the KICKR Bike Shift, which gains gearing indicators in-game (upper left corner), it now shows your gears. Previously only the KICKR Bike V1/V2 did. As seen below here, on a recent ride on the KICKR Bike Shift, with the gearing indicator shown (Gear 1-9):

Of course, a few notes here. First up, this only works via both DIRCON (WiFi) and Bluetooth, not via ANT+. That’s because this is all a switch to Zwift’s “Zwift Protocol” for connecting to Zwift, and that’s not available on ANT+.

The second (big) note is that this isn’t available for the KICKR Bike V1. It sounds like there isn’t the memory space available in the KICKR Bike V1 for the Zwift Protocol (and thus, these new features), for which the SHIFT and Bike V2 are moving to.

And perhaps that’s the case, but that doesn’t (in my mind) let Zwift off the hook on this for gearing display on the KICKR Bike V1. There’s simply no logical reason that can’t be shown. Wahoo transmits that data already, and other apps like IndieVelo show that data just fine. Here it is in IndieVelo (now TrainingPeaks Virtual) from a year ago showing it (2-5, mid-upper right):

Further, Zwift themselves enabled it several years ago for the Wattbike ATOM 2020 just fine, well before Zwift Protocol was even a twinkle in anyone’s eye, below, showing “Gear 13” from Nov 2020:

The problem with Zwift and Wahoo just casually not enabling gearing display for the KICKR Bike V1, is that it only serves to bolster the consumer impression that the two companies are basically acting as one company with the aim of upselling you on newer Wahoo/Zwift gear (such as the Zwift Ride bike built atop Wahoo hardware). It also cements further the notion that the Zwift Protocol is bad for the larger industry, as companies have said that in tight memory space situations, it’d either be keeping industry standards like ANT+ FE-C, or ditching those to fit in the Zwift Protocol (rather than working as a single cohesive industry to expand the existing Bluetooth and ANT+ protocols).

In a past Wahoo, this would have been rolled out to all units. But now, the company has been forced yet again to leave older units behind to favor supporting a single company’s protocol. We saw this with the KICKR V4 and V5 not getting virtual shifting because of lack of memory space (and the company having to choose between disabling ANT+ FE-C to fit in Zwift Protocol, or doing as they did, and having the V4/V5 not receive Virtual Shifting). I’m sure some at Wahoo or Zwift will view these words as harsh, but the facts are the facts here – and proprietary solutions don’t help consumers long term, or the industry at large.

Wahoo Teases New Bike GPS:

Speaking of Wahoo, the company has e-mailed people, as well as posted teasers to social media channels, indicating that “Something Epic” is coming. The e-mail includes an an x-ray-style image of a bike computer, and links to a page within the bike computer section, to sign up for further information when it comes out.

It ends with a date of December 3rd, 2024, as the date when we (The Royal We) will apparently know more.

In the meantime, they have a 30-second trailer on YouTube and other social channels of a bunch of pro athletes being handed the device, with the device pixelized, such as below:

The athletes then give some brief positive reactions, but there’s no other information included from Wahoo.

Concurrently though, we’ve somehow seen a full boxed unit leak out to Reddit where someone claims they bought 3 of them via eBay, and then posted two potato-cam-like box photos. To me, that smells like an internal/marketing leak. Since when does someone on Reddit having a full boxed unit not take photos of what’s inside the box? And then continue to post subsequent comments but not pictures? From there, various publications have picked it up and run with it as full stories.

I will, though, say that at least said Redditor took the photos of the unit on the floor outside of Wahoo’s HQ. Given that Wahoo’s HQ doesn’t have wood floors. Here’s what it looks like inside from my visit last year:

The date of December 3rd is of course playing with fire. On one hand, they clearly hope people will skip the inevitable Black Friday/holiday sales, in hopes of buying Something Epic from Wahoo a week later.  On the other hand, every retailer has at least a 30-day return period for unopened products, and it’s often even longer during the holiday time period to cover early sales and returns after Christmas. And by Wahoo announcing this early, it gives companies (well, basically just Garmin and Hammerhead) time to think about just how much they want to tempt consumers.

Either way, more to come…either here, or just Reddit.

Thanks for reading!

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33 Comments

  1. TheBlackKite

    Do I understand this right, if Wahoo would decide to get rid of Ant+ there could be potentially a solution to get Virtual shifting on kick v4 or v5? (if it is really a memory issue…)
    Any chance of them releasing a software without Ant+ to make if possible?
    I mean I have no use for Ant+ in my current setup anyhow…

    • Correct. They noted though that they were not in favor of removing pre-existing open standards:

      “The only other option would be to remove some existing features but that would be taking away from open standards which I am really not a fan of. “

    • John Olson

      Good grief… Wahoo, I do not need/use Ant+ on my KICKR V4 and would gladly sacrifice it to be able to use virtual shifting Zwift.

    • Stuart

      I use ANT+ all the time. It’s my preferred protocol, given the choice – mostly because you get the ability to connect multiple head units to a single sensor out of the box, whereas that’s not guaranteed with BLE. (I run an Edge 540 and a Fenix 7s; if I’m on the bike, both of them are recording and displaying what I’m doing. The Fenix is my “definitive” unit, whilst the Edge is the main display, but the Edge also controls the trainer if I’m doing an indoor set. Never mind that my HR strap is ANT+ only.)

      So whilst what you are describing would work for you, it would not necessarily work for others who use the hardware. Don’t assume that _your_ use case is the _only_ use case, please.

  2. Luis De Freitas

    The new bike computer pic has been leaked all over the place – not sure what Wahoo is waiting for…

  3. Karl-Eric Devaux

    The LEDs were one of the few different with the competition …
    I liked them when used to indicate R/L turns
    I recently discussed with a friend that Garmin should add something similar
    Alas

  4. hackcyclist

    What percentage of indoor riding setups are using ANT+? No one knows for sure, but I would posit not very many.

    • Pavel Vishniakov

      Given that you can simply hook an ANT+ dongle to your laptop and get all the bells and whistles of it without the drawbacks of BLE, I expect that a sizeable number of people does it.

  5. Oops Wahoo

    So, you’re telling me that Wahoo is not going to release its supposed new bike computer until one week AFTER the biggest shopping day of the year. Genius move!

    • Michael

      Kikr bike v1 has had zero, ZERO meaningful functionality updates. You pay 3k for a bike, you expect some new releases. But instead Wahoo forget about you. I will not buy any Wahoo products as a result of my experience.

    • MartinM

      Well, if it’s meant to replace the Roam or Bolt, those should be on liquidation pricing during Black Friday, so they’ll clear out old stock and maybe steal a few sales from Garmin.

  6. Darwin

    Oh please, just release the damn thing, some marketing persons idea no doubt to annoy their customers.

  7. Lee Abraham

    As a Kickr Bike v1 owner, thanks for calling them out on this. I only bought the bike 3 years ago, so I am a bit put off by the lack of updates. At least give me onscreen gearing.

    They even sent an email proclaiming my bike had an update. Checked the app…nope.

  8. Bradley Tipp

    Ray, thanks for clarifying the issue with a V1 Bike. I had asked Wahoo for more specifics, but have so far heard nothing. I do hope they and Zwift can enable the Gearing – I also think it speaks to both stepping up and avoiding obsolescence of electronic gear. I’m no Apple fan boy, but they really to set the standard for supporting products for longer than most expect.

  9. Francis C

    I feel betrayed. I supported Wahoo by purchasing the Kickr V1 when it first came out under the premise that it was decked out in technology that this wonderful thing called “updates” would keep it feeling like new in the years to come. I could have bought a $1000 trainer and a $3000 beginner road bike. I chose to trust them in their vision, a vision that apparently was more a sales pitch than reality. Honor matters. That’s why I’ve decided to ignore their treadmill. They will just do the same thing again.

  10. Bobby

    IndieVelo (now TrainingPeaks Virtual) also has custom mapping for KB V1 buttons. Different for races and free rides and workouts.

    • Bradley Tipp

      That is interesting, thanks for letting us know, I had no idea they had that – maybe a move away from Zwift then?

  11. Matt Siviter

    Wattbike have a lot to learn from Wahoo. The ATOM and Proton have numerous redundant buttons that could be used in Zwift and the Proton doesn’t show the current gear either. Rubbish. I’m starting to regret my Proton purchase.

  12. Mark B

    Ray – I’d be really interested in your view of the Atom Vs the Bike Shift. Largely for ERG mode training. I’ve read your comments on n the Atom suffering in this respect and that’s tipping me to the Shift but I wondered what your longer term experience with it has been? I’d really appreciate any insights please! Thanks….

  13. Ben Poiesz

    Recommend people upset with Wahoo send messages to their support team. I generally prefer Wahoo over Garmin, but Garmin largely hasn’t left their customers out to dry by EOLing product well before it’s reasonable.

    I have two v1 bikes and this is really frustrating as I wrongly assumed Wahoo would treat this expensive hardware like their bike computers…

  14. Derek

    Wahoo, why would I even contemplate purchasing something like the Kickr Run V1 knowing how you’ve treated the V1 bike consumer? I bet they have more V1 owners than V2 and Shift combined.

  15. Luc

    Isn’t the Wahoo Ace a sure thing?

  16. Steve Bonica

    Steering does allow you to choose directions at intersections on Zwift, just not all the time. It seems as though when you choose a route to ride from the start you are locked in on that unless you steer away from the keyboard or the app. However, when I just join my buddies who are already riding then the steer buttons on my KBv2 will allow me to choose directions at intersections. I learned this accidentally and had to teleport back to them.

  17. ArT

    Every blogger praises the products of manufacturers but no one touches on an important thing like repair and offering spare parts. What was my encounter with wahoo when I asked wahoo about the strap for my kickr. It is a basic consumable item that should be available. The answer I got was that wahoo does not have spare parts!!!! Not even a strap for the trainer. Your strap wears out and they suggest buying a new trainer, that is sick. No one touches on buying spare parts.

  18. Bruce Burkhalter

    I thought the Ace post on Reddit was from someone at an LBS. I had heard from a source (😉) that a new device would probably be released at the end of summer. With the Dec. 3 date, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Wahoo that did the Reddit post. The poster hasn’t answered any questions , posted better pictures, etc. Probably trying to get a little excitement going with such a late release date. Hopefully the software is solid on release.

  19. Juri

    I still can’t understand why it was possible for the kickr core to get the update but not the V4/V5? Back then I remember them being based on pretty much the same chipset (core &V4) only difference seems a much higher necessity/ incentive to make it become a zwift hub, not a hardware limitation.

    • My understanding is that while they likely have the exact same chipset, the CORE doesn’t have the port for DIRCON (ethernet connectivity), nor the WiFi connectivity. Both of which take up code memory.

  20. Jip

    The kickr v1 not getting updates is indeed infuriating. Maybe just sell us an updated compute upgrade or something?