Pure insanity !!
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In technical terms, wahoo screwed the pooch on this.
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I think that’s a bit extreme. I was only without a ‘working’ trainer from them for 10 days after the initial ESD failure. Every other trainer ‘worked’, just not to spec. Considering they spent several hundred dollars on shipping the behemoth back and forth when they could have tried to find a way to weasel out of it, I’ll give them credit where credit is do.
They cross shipped every time to make it go faster. Response time was generally same/next day. I genuinely felt like they wanted to get it right.
Am I annoyed this is even a thing on my $1200 trainer? Yes. Should they have done a bit more QA to catch these errors? Probably. Do I think they were trying to take advantage of their customers? Absolutely not.
If this unit stays good I’m leaving this experience with a positive opinion of Wahoo.
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Another victim of the ESD failure here. Really? A $1,000 machine that can be rendered completely useless by static electricity?? Hmm, smells fishy.
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I do really admire you. I will not leave my experience with Wahoo with positiv feelings. Im totally pissed. Three times carrying 25 kg to the post Office, Tons of mails and hours with the support and 4 weeks missed training within 6 months. So happy to have my money back from ROSE Shop Germany and did have my first ride on my new Neo today. Shame on Wahoo.
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Add me to the list. Got about 6 weeks of use out of my Kickr Core without issue until yesterday when power/speed stopped working. Super frustrating. I have contacted Wahoo and I’m currently waiting for a response.
At least I have an old “dumb” trainer and a power meter I can use in the meantime, although I already miss ERG mode.
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LOADS of issues.
Cassette that came with it was crunchy. I finally swapped with a matching cassette on bike from 105 to DuraAce and problem (mostly) went away.
Now the power readings are giving me issues. I can’t find anyone with the same problem.
Takes 5 seconds to spool up to read 54 when other 4iiii meter shows 250
then in erg mode it eventually gets up to 134 for warm up and then stays up unless i stop pedaling then goes to 94 then if I sprint at 500 watts it still shows 134
after 48 hours of attention this thing is a POS.
MUCH prefer my used $100 cyclops fluid 2 trainer.
I thought they fixed this static chart sensor issue! howwww can this still be happening.
they looked so nervous on the DC Rainmaker Video and now I’m finding out first hand why.
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Hi Chad. I’m currently without a smart trainer. Kickr 18 issues and then Neo2 thru axle solution didn’t work for me. Have you heard of any spacing problems with the rear disc brake caliper and the H2 ie. the rear brake caliper touches the H2? Thanks in advance.
I rode the h2 with no rear disc brake issues other than you can’t turn your thru axle 360 degrees to tighten it down. My thru axle has a spring tension, I had to pull that, turn back to tighten down. Complicated to explain and a pain to do but it works.
No issue with my rear disc caliper rubbing or touching the H2 when I had my bike installed. My suggestion is if you have the option, get a non fixed angle thru axle. My thru axle is fixed at a 90 degree angle which stops it from going 360 degrees. Wish I would have done a quick video or picks of it.
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I haven’t read any frame or brake clearance issues on the H2. There can be a clearance issue with some axle handles. If you have that, I’d suggest a lever-less design installed via Allen wrench.
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I just returned my (dead) unit. More than extremely frustrated that Wahoo shipped a product with known issues that could brick the unit. I don’t buy the excuse that it is a small sub set of units as I hear about this CONSTANTLY and none of my other smart trainers have had that issue in my basement, including previous Wahoo trainers.
Very frustrated, switched to Cyclops which was not my first choice but it does the 1 thing (so far) that I require more than any other: it works.
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It took me literally years to pull the trigger on buying a smart trainer and the Kickr CORE seemed to fit the bill exactly. I finally ordered one and loved it for about 6 weeks until it was struck dead by ESD. Fortunately, I was able to get a refund. I’m amazed that people would go through so many replacements. This wasn’t a cheap piece of tech and I was very frustrated that it failed so quickly. I agree that the D.C. Rainmaker interview with the Wahoo CEO didn’t leave me feeling like they had a handle on the issue at all.
Back to a dumb trainer for me- maybe I’ll try another smart trainer in a few years but the tech clearly isn’t ready for prime time.
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While I certainly don’t fault you for going back to the dumb trainer, smart trainer tech is ready for prime time. Wahoo has just royally screwed up their 2018 roll outs. CycleOps and Tacx, in particular, have direct drive smart trainers that are ready to go. While the H2 and Neo aren’t at the same price point as the Core (which is also why I purchased a Core), they’re good options. If my second Core fails, I’m seeking a refund and going CycleOps because their gear has never failed me (Fluid2, PowerTap, Saris racks).
Side note: my Fluid2 leak has gotten worse since I stopped using it after receipt of the second Core… might need to reach out to CycleOps and see if they will still honor the warranty even though I don’t have any of the original material since the trainer is 15 years old!
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Also keep in mind the prior generation Kickr’s, although not perfect, seemed to have been much more reliable than the current models. The change in design and manufacturing, when released on the masses, has resulted in all these problems.
My first gen Kickr, although inaccurate in terms of power readings, has held up well and works great with power match enabled. My Tacx Neo is also solid. Many others are also very pleased with the Hammer H2.
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Well add me to the list…
Wife purchased a Kickr 2018 beginning of Dec
(xmas gift - ya, she’s awesome). Began using it with TR starting Jan. Thought I was probably clear since it was after this stuff was a known issue. Everything worked great until 2 weeks ago when I started noticing increasing levels of noise and vibration. Took the belt cover off over the weekend, tried making sure things were tight/belt was tensioned correctly. My belt seemed excessively tight and there was a low RPM creak that was getting worse that I suspected might be due to belt tension putting too much stress on the bearings, so I loosened it a couple turns, tried some high watt sprints and made sure it didn’t slip. That ended up making my coasting spindown last a lot longer (no specifics, I didn’t time before/after, just noticed it spun a lot longer after), but didn’t make much difference in the noise. Hopefully prevent worsening.
Later that day, one of the videos I came across talked about the key on the drive spindle not being ‘pushed in all the way’, and in fact, the key on mine was sticking out just a bit when I removed the pulley bolt and washer, rather than being recessed. So lightly tapped it in (toward the flywheel side of the shaft) with a screwdriver until it seemed seated with about 2 mm recessed. I found that largely solved the vibration and noise that which was definitely associated with the flywheel rpm at ‘speeds’ of 5+ MPH. These noises/vibrations were flywheel RPM related, but would come and go depending on the speed, just like an unbalanced car wheel might. Certain factors of RPM were far more noisy/rough sounding than others.
I have a ticket open and starting warranty the process with Wahoo. Already decided that I’m going to consider ordering a Neo2 if this looks like it’s going to be a long-term issue. Support’s been responsive so far though, so hoping it doesn’t come to that. Main reason for the Kickr for me was success with other Wahoo products (brand name recognition & reliability), and second to that, someday using the Climbr. Turns out, I don’t enjoy zwift much, so the Climbr is quickly falling in appeal. Maybe after I get a rocker plate setup to help with the fatigue that the static bike has on me during the 2+ hour TR workouts.
Anyway, that’s my experience so far. For those suffering vibrations and ticking while riding, take a look at the key, may need to be pressed in just a tad more. Might even be worth putting a piece of soft-metal (copper, brass, something like that) to fill the gap between the key and the washer to hold it in place. I haven’t tried that yet, but will consider it if the noise comes back and I find the key has ‘popped out’ again.
I ended up buying an H2. It’s been solid so far.
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I thought Wahoo was supposed to be the best which is part of why I was so frustrated. It was their reputation and the price point that made the Core so appealing. I’ll be giving those other companies a closer look next time.
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Wahoo is undoubtedly the best marketed and first mover in smart trainers here in the US. CycleOps has been making great cycling tech products for decades.
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Thanks Chad. I have now purchased a second hand hammer. Keen to give it a try but waiting to get my hands on some thru axle end caps. We can’t buy them in Australia from the distributor or through the CycleOps website. The original owner misplaced them.
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