Looking at a wider lens and how other trainer makers may be planning for virtual shifting to counter this new offering, I wonder if any of them will take the basic approach already used on smart bikes? That being a fully “self-contained” control system vs the multi-step way Zwift does it with the Zwift app in the middle.
Seems like it should be possible for the trainer makers to offer something like an shifting remote paired by ANT+ (skipping BLE since there are 1:1 cons and limited vs unlimited ANT+), that connects directly to the trainer (like Wahoo does with the Climb to Kickr’s IIRC) and alters the resistance level like they do for stuff like the Kickr or Neo smart bikes and such.
Those smart bikes tweak their resistance level in virtual shifting in Zwift and most other apps. Perhaps part of the issue is the wider range of gearing as seen in the trainer setting vs a single and known gearing of the smart bike? That is part of what Zwift is doing in the initial steps by tracking rider cadence and wheel speed to set the base for the virtual shifting.
But if varied gearing aspect is an issue that can be addressed, I am curious to see if trainer makers take on a solution of their own vs waiting for Zwift to open their solution to other trainers?
I think you are correct. Wahoo / Tacx (Garmin) could mimic this solution by having their shift controller talk to their trainer, and their trainer talk to Zwift just like their smart bikes do today. They’ve + Zwift / Rouvy / FulGaz / etc. have already figured out how to mimic gearing with a single speed bike. Companies would just need to take the SmartBike solution and mimic it with their trainers.
The excess height isn’t actually touching the chain, so shouldn’t impact noise. And the width is still well narrower than the inner pitch of an 11 speed chain (a hair over 2mm).
It’s possible (I’m no engineer) the thicker teeth are quieter by reducing sideway chain movement?
Anyway, looks like it’s just a cheap stamped single-speed cog.
Assuming the “fake” get shifts work in Zwift races, I’m tempted to order one to replace my early Kickr. Right now, I usually have my SS cross bike on the trainer, and if I want to race, I have to swap not just bikes but also cassettes.
I can see both sides of this from the consumer perspective:
Good: hopefully more resources invested in improving / innovating trainers to make indoor riding better
Bad: potentially if this moved Zwift away from supporting open standards that any smart trainer could use. Bad if you are a Wahoo Bolt / Rohm user, as these would probably get killed off to just concentrate on indoor training tools
never gonna happen…while Wahoo is still the #1 trainer brand, to exclude other brands would be excluding a health chunk of the overall market and would only allow for the rise of competitive platforms as those disenfranchised users move elsewhere.
@mcneese.chad - I’m not sure if this is the right place to post this. Please move it if needed. This is an addition to the new Wahoo/Zwift bundle announcement. Key new piece of info,” Alongside this announcement is the discontinuation of the Zwift Hub smart trainer, a quiet removal that leaves just the Zwift Hub One…as the sole Zwift trainer option.”
The Cog will fit with no issues. It’s just an alternate cassette design that fits any Shimano HG compatible freehub (which includes the Core).
The real question is if Zwift will give support for Virtual Shifting to the Core via the Zwift Play, Click Controllers or another method. Signs seem to point to that as an eventuality, but we will have to wait and see. From the comments and speculation, it seems Zwift may be swapping partners from JetBlack to Wahoo for hardware collaboration.
But you could look at it as: they drove other manufacturers to drop the entry price point for wheel on smart trainers to below $500. This could be counted as “Mission Accomplished”
So I am stuck between a great deal on a wahoo kicker core and biting the bullet on a zwift hub one.
I am a mountain biker with a a trail bike (12spd), a gravel bike (11spd) and a 9spd cheap road turbo bike. I willing to pay more for the ability to swap bikes easily on the hub on, but would like a real world review of the trainer.
Anyone care to share their thoughts on their hub one?
I moved your post under the existing one on the trainer. We try to keep these grouped and despite there not being much (if any?) current feedback on the trainer, this is where it belongs.
At the risk of cross-posting, here are some Zwift forum search results since they seem to have a lot more activity related to the trainer over there (for obvious reasons):
Thanks @mcneese.chad , I had seen this thread but wasn’t sure as it was quite quiet from real world testing, although I have no doubt the pro reviews are accurate it’s always good to get some hands on longer testing from a user.
the times, they are a-changing… 
