Cyclist
Gear up for indoor training season with Wahoo
It’s that time of year again. Longer nights are setting in, your summer kit is packed away for the year and your fake enthusiasm at the idea of a two-hour ride through sub-zero temperatures isn’t convincing anyone.
Do you have a training goal for next summer? A big sportive coming up in the spring? Well, now’s the time to get ahead of the game. With its range of world-class at-home trainers, sensors and bike computers, Wahoo has you covered, giving you everything you need to sustain your cycling fitness over the winter months so that you’re ready to go when spring arrives.
Keeping yourself in form during the off-season
Whether you’re hunting local Cat 4 races, looking to distance your friends on the cafe ride or just trying to lose weight, cycling is about keeping in a regular training rhythm.
During winter, we often hang up the bike, and in doing so we sacrifice any gains made during our summertime fitness progress. Wahoo offers an alternative: regardless of your budget or cycling ability, its range of indoor fitness tech, accessories and software can help keep you in tip-top shape year-round.
At this time of year, indoor training really comes into its element. Logging into an indoor training app and tackling a couple of hours on the trainer is the best, often safest and warmest, option until it’s possible to confidently take to the roads once again. Plus, it’s the best solution to sustain or even improve the cycling strength you’ve built up over the past months.
Trust me on this, indoor training is the best option I’ve found to avoid getting dropped on local speed bumps once spring comes along. Likewise, smart trainer sessions are a great way of getting yourself in a cycling rhythm, so you don’t have to rebuild your fitness and on-bike confidence from scratch once the weather heats up again. Frankly, springtime results come from wintertime training.
And because you can control your environment indoors rather than being at the mercy of the elements out on the road, structured training sessions are far more effective and the resulting data more reliable.
Market-leading trainers
To kick off your indoor training mission, a trainer is a must-buy. Whether you want to hook up your existing bike or take on the challenge of a fully immersive smart bike, Wahoo covers all bases in the indoor cycling sphere.
Wahoo’s specialised trainers are at the cutting edge of indoor trainer technology. The Kickr range offers an indoor cycling solution for all rider types and budgets. Wahoo’s Kickr trainers are all compatible with ANT+ power meters and popular indoor training apps including Zwift, Bkool, Rouvy and MyWhoosh. Even more, all Kickr trainers come with a trial subscription to Wahoo’s own library of structured workouts and training plans via the Wahoo X platform. These platforms will come in handy as they change the game for indoor training, introducing a videogame-like setup to your training experience.
At the top end, the Kickr Smart Bike offers a customised fit, shifting and gearing to match your outdoor bike of choice. This replicates groupsets from SRAM, Shimano and Campagnolo so you don’t have to compromise your regular on-bike setup during the off-season.
There’s no need to wait for the local KOMs to dry up – the Kickr Smart Bike comes with integrated grade simulation which mimics the fun of going uphill with its belt drivetrain-powered resistance system that can simulate slopes of up to 20%. This can all be linked up to training apps via ANT+, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi on an Apple or Android device, as well as Mac and Windows computers.
For those who prefer the real-world movement of rollers, the Kickr Rollr provides a real ride feel with resistance-driven rollers. With a clamp on the front wheel, the Kickr Rollr is a safer alternative to conventional rollers. Importantly, the Kickr Rollr also helps improve your balance and core strength thanks to the real ride movement on the back wheel.
The flagship Kickr Core is Wahoo’s most affordable all-round smart trainer. Compatible with 8 to 12-speed cassettes, the Kickr Core recreates an outdoor ride feel courtesy of the trainer’s 6kg precision flywheel. The Core tracks speed and cadence, so doesn’t compromise on the vital stats at hand, and can be linked up to third-party fitness platforms to keep training fun and productive. Plus, with every Kickr Core purchase, you can also claim a discounted one-year subscription to Zwift.
Staying on top of winter training
Regardless of how big or small your objectives may be, tracking your progress is crucial to keeping on top of your at-home training. To monitor your strength off and on the bike, Wahoo offers plenty of ways to map out your fitness stats.
On the bike, Wahoo offers its own RPM speed and cadence trackers to monitor your progress, with real-time stats that link up to compatible cycling computers, including Wahoo’s own Elemnt range. Similarly, wearing a Wahoo Trackr heart rate monitor can provide crucial data to keep your fitness goals on track.
If you’re looking for something to wear all day, Wahoo’s Tickr Fit armband is designed to be worn on your forearm, and its heart rate and calorie burn tracking can be used not just for cycling but during runs, gym sessions and even swimming thanks to the armband’s water-resistant technology. Like most Wahoo devices, the Tickr Fit can be linked up by Bluetooth to the Wahoo Fitness App, which will help to organise all this important data.
Building your own personalised cycling studio
To create your own indoor cycling setup, you’ll need a little more than just a smart trainer and bike. Here are three items from Wahoo that can bring your cycling studio to the next level.
A good fan is a necessity for indoor training, especially as you’ll be building up quite a sweat in the saddle. Wahoo’s Kickr Headwind is the first cycling-specific smart fan on the market. The Headwind uses a targeted airflow pattern to mirror the shape and position of a cyclist’s body while riding. The fan also reacts to changes in your speed and heart rate to match your cooling needs.
To help you get a little more sprightly on the climbs, the Kickr Climb allows your bike to move up and down, simulating real-world gradients. It works exclusively with Wahoo trainers, but when connected with indoor riding apps such as Zwift and Bkool, the Kickr Climb replicates gradients from -10% all the way to a 20% incline. This makes training a little bit more realistic, as it prompts you to take on a natural climbing position on the bike, engage your climbing muscles and improve your pedalling technique.
Talking of online training apps, it’s always handy to have a desk on hand to keep your laptop or tablet nearby. With this in mind, Wahoo’s Kickr Desk Stand is designed to optimise your indoor training conditions. The desk stand makes sure everything is within touching distance when in the saddle. It can be adjusted to cover all riding angles, whether you’re in the drops, tops or just cruising hands-free. It can even double up as a standing desk in your office.
Immersive home training with real-world results
In my experience, indoor training has been a game-changer. Mid-week sessions on the trainer have made sure I keep up on weekend group rides throughout the year. Similarly, I can smash out an intense threshold session I’d never get on the road, allowing me keep stock of my top-end power and push my cycling limits. Plus, with the fun of online training and a community of indoor riders worldwide, at-home training complements my cycling regime.
If you want to reach your fitness potential, Wahoo has everything you need to create a fully immersive home training setup. From the real-world gradient simulation on Wahoo trainers to the cycling-specific Kickr Headwind or even access to the Wahoo X collection of fitness plans, the Wahoo ecosystem is far broader than just a means of locking the bike in for a simple turbo trainer session.
It’s all about tailoring your fitness journey and enhancing your cycling ability to help you get real results out on the road. And who knows – when summer does arrive once again, you may find yourself tempted to smash out some indoor Zwift sessions anyway, to keep the fun and the fitness progress going.
• To find out more about Wahoo’s range of indoor trainers and accessories, visit wahoofitness.com
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