I don’t have a kickr climb nor have I ever used one but I’ve thought about it quite a bit. Is it simply an attempt to provide additional distraction to an otherwise monotonous activity or does it also provide genuinely enhanced training? I’m thinking mostly from the physiological perspective. Is tilting the bike indoors totally or partially similar to riding up an incline outdoors?
My n=1 is that it does add a little bit of realism on big climbs in zwift, but I dunno if that really helps anything in the end. I couldn’t care less about mine, usually just leave it locked. As far as novelties go, I liked the road feel feature on the Tacx Neo quite a bit more than the Climb.
Maybe a bit of both. I enjoy mine, it helps me move my position around a bit on the bike while riding, but I don’t think it will really contribute to additional gains, just adds a bit of realism.
watts are watts
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I have one. It reduces the overall size of the bike/trainer combination. Tilting is nice as it adjusts your sitting position. Also, a bit more stable in my estimation that a perpetually-deflated front wheel on a block. Winter is long, so anything to reduce the repetitive nature of being on the trainer is helpful.
This is the type of purchase I make using credit card points to get REI gift cards, so not out of pocket cash and I get a cool toy.
Having used one regularly for a couple months it’s definitely a novelty, but I like it.
Like an above poster, I keep it locked when I’m doing a hard Trainer Road workout. Unlocked doing climbs or a Zwift race makes it a little more fun and engaging.
Am borrowing my wife’s and using it with TrainerRoad.
I’m enjoying it and the variation in position it provides. With TR, at 75% ftp or above it raises the incline 1% for every increase of 5% ftp. Just remember to unlock the Climb or the TR app can’t do it’s thing.
Also, have an injured shoulder at the mo and for a simple endurance workout last night, I just manually increased the Climb incline and got good shoulder relief. Simple and effective. Could’ve done the same with a book, but would have had to stop/start to get it right.
cheers
There was one recent study done to ascertain whether or not there was some benefit to this. It turns out that as we climb, we activate our main muscle groups in slightly different ways vs when we’re on the flats (I think this makes intuitive sense for most of us).
The takeaway here seems to be that they’re useful if you’re training for a hilly race, but probably less so if you’re training for a flat one.
Here’s the post over on the wahoo forums explaining in plain english: https://systm.forum.wahoofitness.com/…-uphill-battle/12262
And the actual study: https://drive.google.com/...2CgeHGcV34MFg6R/view
Thanks. This is the line of thinking I’m looking for. It’s interesting that he uses “potentially” to describe whether there are benefits. More specifically I am wondering if the Kickr Climb actually replicates climbing or whether it just tilts your bike. The part I’m struggling with is how the forces of gravity act in a more dynamic environment (outdoors) versus a less dynamic one (indoors). Also, whether the fact that on a Kickr Climb the bike is fixed and cannot roll backwards and whether that changes the “potential” benefits.
I live in super flat Florida and traveled to a few VERY hilly races this year. I have never lived in a hilly place so my technical skills and climbing abilities are garbage. But, I wound up registered for some really hard races thanks to Covid deferrals.
For my long training rides, I did about 75% outdoors and then would come home and throw my bike on the Kickr + Climb for the last 25%. I personally feel like it helped me come race day just because it was literally the only way I could simulate any sort of climbing. Watts may be watts. But, I definitely benefitted from experiencing the change in position plus learning to shift while climbing. If you live in a hilly area and can experience some level of climbing outside, it might be more of a novelty for you. But for me, it was definitely worthwhile…even if just for gaining some technical skills that I otherwise would not have been able to experience.
I have found that I get better benefit from putting my KICKR on a Saris platform. This allows not only side to side movement, but also very natural forward/back movement during my pedal strokes. Most importantly, because my bike now has ‘give’, there is less saddle pressure and also less strain on my bike frame, etc. I have definitely found it to be a much more natural feel.
I personally love the climb as it adds another level of immersion and fun, which makes me want to ride all the more often. To subjectively quantify it, if having a smart trainer makes indoor riding 50% more enjoyable, then the climb adds an additional 25% IMHO.
As a biomedical engineer, I can tell you that there is never a downside to using different muscles, which the climb undoubtedly does. To what degree I cannot say as measuring such things within muscles is difficult. And even if you are doing a flat race, there’s still benefit in keeping your leg muscles more well rounded. Similar to the benefit of using free weights vs a machine which focuses on only one muscle.
While it is not at all essential, if you can afford it you should definitely buy it!
AS a biomedical engineer, I can tell you that there is never a downside to using different muscles, which the climb undoubtedly does. To what degree I cannot say as measuring such things within muscles is difficult. And even if you are doing a flat race, there’s still benefit in keeping your leg muscles more well rounded. Similar to the benefit of using free weights vs a machine which focuses on only one muscle.
That’s the part I don’t understand. Your position relative to the bike doesn’t change. You are using the same pedaling muscles no matter what angle the bike is at.
I understand it will change your position relative to gravity but that is only going to change the muscles you use to support yourself. You could hang upside down from the ceiling and you would still be using the same pedaling muscles. It might be interesting and engaging, but I have serious doubts that it will make you a stronger climber.
I disagree. With that logic when you are going up a hill you would not be using different muscles as your position with respect to the bike is the same. Here’s another way to think about it, for most people if they were to do a FTP test in an aero position or sitting upright you would get a different result (as slightly different muscles are being used).
Again I would highly recommend at least trying it. I think most would agree that while it is not 100% necessary, it is a welcomed addition to indoor training. For me, I would never want to go back to not having the climb feature.
I disagree. With that logic when you are going up a hill you would not be using different muscles as your position with respect to the bike is the same. Here’s another way to think about it, for most people if they were to do a FTP test in an aero position or sitting upright you would get a different result (as slightly different muscles are being used).
Again I would highly recommend at least trying it. I think most would agree that while it is not 100% necessary, it is a welcomed addition to indoor training. For me, I would never want to go back to not having the climb feature.
Aero position is completely different, that is changing your position relative to the bike. If you like it, that’s great, I just don’t think it will make you a stronger climber. I’m open to evidence otherwise.
What do you think about using a treadmill? If you have a treadmill on an incline or decline you use different muscles based on what in physics(or statics) is referred to as a free body diagram of the forces involved including gravity. It would be similar with a kickr climb.
As the incline goes up or down, I for sure change my position relative to the bike. Especially coming out of the saddle. At a 20% grade angle, I clearly lean forward relative to the bike. I may still be vertical relative to the ground, but muscles used relative to the bike do change. If not and I stayed in the seat, my back would need to be at a 20% backwards lean.
I was keen and tried one out in my LBS, but it was disappointing. Small to medium inclines the difference was imperceptible. Cool, but not worth the cost.
What do you think about using a treadmill? If you have a treadmill on an incline or decline you use different muscles based on what in physics(or statics) is referred to as a free body diagram of the forces involved including gravity. It would be similar with a kickr climb.
When the treadmill is inclined, you have to lift yourself with every step. Think about the guy with the treadmill inclined and supporting himself with his arms, he isn’t doing any additional work. I think that is equivalent to inclining your bike.
There may well be a minor advantage to it in adapting to slightly different positions, but it doesn’t cause you to do more work like riding up a hill outside. The amount of work you do on a Kickr is controlled by the Kickr.
I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure if it provided any measurable advantage, Wahoo would be measuring it and marketing it.
I have one. It reduces the overall size of the bike/trainer combination. Tilting is nice as it adjusts your sitting position. Also, a bit more stable in my estimation that a perpetually-deflated front wheel on a block. Winter is long, so anything to reduce the repetitive nature of being on the trainer is helpful.
This is the type of purchase I make using credit card points to get REI gift cards, so not out of pocket cash and I get a cool toy.
I hadn’t thought of the overall size of bike and trainer. That’s a good point.