Wahoo Cuts KICKR CORE Smart Trainer Price In Half: Incredible Deal at $449

REI has launched an incredible deal – the Wahoo KICKR CORE for a mere $449. That’s basically half the price of the normal $899 for the KICKR CORE, and clearly a test sale to see how it sells compared to the $499 Zwift Hub. But make no mistake about it – the KICKR CORE at $449 is a better deal/buy than the Zwift Hub at $499, no matter how you slice it. And – just to be clear before we get distracted, the KICKR CORE at $449 is simple an incredible deal all around – arguably one of the best smart trainer deals we’ve seen in years. If you want to jump on that deal, hit the REI link here, and then add it to your cart (you have to add it to your cart to see the deal).

We’ve never seen the Wahoo KICKR CORE anywhere near this price point. The company has experimented with some minor discounts over the last year, but usually nothing more than about 25% off, which is far short of this 50% off deal.

How it Compares:

First up though, where does the KICKR CORE sit in the realm of trainers? Well essentially it’s Wahoo’s mid-range price option. They’ve got the full blown KICKR V6/2022 at the upper end ($1,299), and then they’ve had the KICKR CORE at $899 at the mid-range, and then the wheel-on KICKR SNAP at $400ish on the low-end. I don’t recommend the KICKR SNAP these days, the accuracy and road feel just isn’t that great.

The KICKR CORE is a direct-drive based trainer, and capable of handling up to 1,800w of resistance. It’s got full support of Wahoo’s KICKR CLIMB gradient simulator, full support for multi-channel Bluetooth connections (plus unlimited ANT+ connections of course), as well as support for a variety of cassettes. Most critically, and most often overlooked: The KICKR CORE is essentially just an earlier version full-blown KICKR on a different leg stand. Thus, in terms of road-feel and such, it’s got all the power of an earlier-generation KICKR, but with the quiet operation of a newer KICKR.

I’ve long recommended it as the best buy out there in trainers, and you’ll find it often floating around the DCR Cave doing all sorts of tests, as it’s a dependable and very accurate option. The only real outlier feature that the new KICKR V6 has that the KICKR CORE lacks is WiFi (as well as wired Ethernet support). Beyond that, I’d guess most people would never notice the difference in operation/feel if I blindfolded them. The differences in inertia between the two are so small.

So, then – the far bigger question is what’s the difference between the Zwift Hub & KICKR CORE? Well, comparison chart to the rescue:

For fun, let’s distill this down into the things you might actually care about:

– The KICKR CORE supports the Wahoo KICKR CLIMB, the Zwift Hub doesn’t
– The KICKR CORE supports multi-channel Bluetooth Smart (meaning up to 3 concurrent Bluetooth Connections), the Zwift Hub is limited to a single BT connection (both trainers support unlimited ANT+ connections)
– The KICKR CORE has 15% more inertia feeling due to the larger flywheel, at 10.3LBS/4.7KG vs 12.0lbs/5.44kgs (for Zwift Hub)
– The Zwift Hub can rebroadcast your heart rate from ANT+ to Bluetooth Smart (somewhat useful for some Apple TV scenarios)
– The Zwift Hub includes your cassette, whereas the KICKR CORE you’ll need to buy/add a cassette (roughly $50-$70)
– Both trainers are equally quiet/silent

Now, to me the biggest item here is the KICKR CLIMB compatibility. If you want or ever plan on adding that, it’s only gonna happen if you’ve got the Wahoo KICKR CORE, and not the Zwift Hub. The second biggest item here is the multi-channel Bluetooth, namely if you’ve also got a Bluetooth-only watch that you want to record the data from while still doing Zwift/TrainerRoad/etc (such as ones from Polar, Suunto, Apple, or Samsung). For Garmin/Wahoo watch users, you can use ANT+ to connect to the trainer – so that’s a moot point.

The next question is the inertia (road feel). Here’s what I said in my Zwift Hub review last fall:

“However, unlike some endeavors, size isn’t everything – because flywheel weight is merely one factor – especially because it can be multiplied depending on the exact gearing internally. Nonetheless, the Zwift Hub to me feels like it’s in the same ballpark as the Wahoo KICKR CORE ($899 + cassette) in terms of ride feel. Accelerations feel good, decelerations feel good. I’m overall pretty happy and I’d have no problems riding it as my daily trainer from a ride feel standpoint.”

Then there’s the cassette item. With the Zwift Hub, it comes included, whereas with the KICKR CORE, you have to buy it. Generally speaking you’re looking at about $50-$70 for the cassette, plus another $10-15 for the tools if you or a friend don’t have a cassette tool.

And finally, about that Bluetooth bridging option on the Zwift Hub. That’s primarily useful if you need to conserve Apple TV connections (which has a limit of two concurrent connections). Since the trainer is counted as one connection (including power/cadence/controllable), and your heart rate is another connection – this broadcasting/bridging option was primarily useful to Apple TV users that wanted the Elite Sterzo Smart (or other steering block). It allowed the heart rate to be funneled in with the rest of the trainer data under a single connection. However, with the Zwift Play controllers announcing yesterday, and needing to use the companion app on Apple TV anyways, honestly, I think this is a pretty minor item in 2023.

Final Thoughts:

Now, does this signal some sort of new KICKR CORE in the future? Not sure. Eurobike is next week, but I don’t expect much from the show. I think it’ll be pretty quiet. Typically speaking, Wahoo (and most companies) would release new features in their higher-end products. In Wahoo’s case, that’d be the big-brother KICKR, with the most recent one being the V6/2022 from last fall. Again, the standout features it has that the CORE doesn’t is more inertia, WiFi connectivity, and wired Ethernet connectivity (via accessory dongle). I’d guess that adding WiFi to a KICKR CORE V2 would make a lot of sense. Whether or not that happens, I don’t know. Or when, for that matter.

Instead, I suspect what’s far more at play here is Wahoo trying to find the right price point for the KICKR CORE going forward. Given Wahoo’s injunction request to block the sale of the Zwift Hub didn’t go as Wahoo hoped, the company needs to live with the price disruption that Zwift introduced. As such, by Wahoo’s own admission in court filings and testimony, the existing $899 KICKR CORE price is no longer viable. I actually think Wahoo can get away with a slight premium for the Wahoo CORE brand over the Zwift Hub, but clearly Wahoo wants to try something different here (Wahoo would have had to approve this REI sale, per their retailer contract). Or, perhaps Wahoo’s recent buy-back and restructuring let’s them play a bit more here.

Either way, if you were thinking of a Zwift Hub, but really wanted KICKR CLIMB compatibility – or perhaps just wanted to say within the Wahoo family, then this is your chance. I can’t imagine we’ll see it lower. That’d be kinda more insane than this price already is.

With that – thanks for reading. Oh, and as usual, the REI links above/below do help out here supporting the site.