Bespoke Blog

Smart trainers have been a surprise hit in recent years, and helped by online training services like TrainerRoad and Zwift, riding indoors is not only getting more serious, but more realistic.

Wahoo's brand new Kickr Climb add-on product takes the realism to another level.

Kickr Climb is an additional accessory that is compatible with the Kickr and Kickr Snap trainers and adds physical grade changes to indoor rides by raising or lowering the front wheel to match the virtual gradient. No need to prop up the front wheel under a stack of books to simulate a steep climb!

"The world we ride in isn't flat, which is why we believed the indoor riding experience on the KICKR should follow suit," says Wahoo Fitness CEO Chip Hawkins. "And as we continue to keep Wahoo at the leading edge of innovation in this category, we're proud to quite literally take structured climbing workouts and virtual course rides to the next level," continues Hawkins.

The Kickr Climb is able to match gradients up to 20% in severity, and descents of -10%. It does this by raising the front fork - you have to remove the front wheel - to match a virtual course in real-time. We can't wait to try this out on the Pretzel course in Zwift.

It can also be locked if you want to maintain a fixed ascent, with control via a bar-mounted remote allowing you to make manual adjustments.

But is it really necessary or just a gimmick? Wahoo reckons that apart from creating a more immersive virtual riding experience, it can engage more climbing muscles and improve pedalling technique to enable the rider to become a more efficient and powerful climber. We can't wait to try one out to see for ourselves.

The Kickr Climb will be compatible with Zwift, TrainerRoad and pre-loaded routes on Wahoo's Elemnt and Elemnt Bolt GPS. It's also compatible with most front wheel axle standards, including quick release and 12 and 15mm thru-axles common on disc-equipped road bikes.

The Kickr Climb Indoor Trainer Grade Simulator costs £449.99