Continuing with their gamification of indoor training, Zwift now lets you steer your avatar throughout the entire game. Not just Repack Ridge. But in order for it to work, you’ll need a steering sensor. One way to do it is to just strap your cell phone running the Zwift Companion App to your handlebar. That’s assuming your bike has the ability to turn, that is.
And what if you’re on something like the Wahoo Kickr bike which doesn’t have a fork or the ability to turn the front end? Well, Wahoo has an answer – and all it takes is a firmware update.
When Wahoo first released the KICKR bike, we noted that the bikes included extra buttons on the shift hoods that were unassigned. We were told that some day they could work with future gaming functions on programs like Zwift. Well, the time is now.
Using the thumb buttons on the inside of each hood, the left button steers you left while the right button goes right. Granted, this will provide more of a video game controller feel to the game than real life riding, but it’s better than nothing. And as Wahoo points out, it’s claimed to be the first and only smart stationary bike that allows riders to steer in Zwift.
The update was released Thursday night, so if you have a KICKR Bike and haven’t done so already, simply update the firmware and start turning.
Updated Trainer Adapters to fit Trek/Cervelo/Giant Bikes
What happens when manufacturers update their frames? Sometimes that means the new ones will be incompatible with existing trainers. That was the case when Trek, Giant, and Cervelo released select 2020 and 2021 models. As it turns out, these bikes ran into issue with the axle adapters of the 2017-current Wahoo KICKR and all version of the KICKR CORE. By issues, we mean that they could damage the carbon of the frame, and you definitely shouldn’t try to ride the old axle adapters.
To fix the issue, Wahoo worked directly with those brands to come up with new adapters. Going forward, these will be included with every trainer. Already have a trainer and one of these bikes? Wahoo is sending out replacement adapters at no cost. Just contact customer service.
Bikes Affected by the Incompatibility:
- 2021 Trek Emonda
- 2020-2021 Trek Domane & Madone
- 2021 Giant TCR Advanced Pro
- 2020 Cervelo S5
