Hi all, my other half is looking to get me a kickr climb for Christmas - it’s not something I’d considered and am wondering if it’s something I actually need (I know that sounds awfully ungrateful)…does anyone have any experience of using one and is it something you would or wouldn’t recommend?
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@meganherzog has one, so she may be able to provide some insights. Anyone else?
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I got a climb one month ago and so far my observations are:
- It really changes the ride dynamic and you need to shift A LOT more, which feels more like IRL experience. The fork goes up of course on inclines but also way down on declines.
- That said, I found easing into it gradually is best plan for me as riding at 100 percent trainer difficulty with the climb made me initially quite sore as it works the muscles differently. I ended up with sore back muscles from differing muscle recruitment. Moving the trainer difficulty to the middle of the range also decreases the intensity of the climb adjustments accordingly. (100 percent = full climb percentage, Zero percent = no climb percent/no movement, 50 percent = 50 percent of climb percentage)
- When you use the lab workouts/workout mode, the climb does not engage, much like the hill resistance does not kick in.
- I find myself standing a lot more while using it.
- I made the mistake of sitting up to check Strava on my phone while soft pedaling at the end of a lab workout once (cool down segment). The workout ended on the transparent bridge in NY course, at 17 percent incline. So when it spit me out of the workout, the resistance kicked in and my pedals became cement, and the climb shot my handlebars way up in the air, while I wasn’t paying attention.
Shoe clips now double as safety devices to keep me on the bike now.
I enjoy it so far and hope to see the benefit of the different ride dynamic, as I do typically longer rides outdoors IRL. It’s also quite entertaining and I’ve lovingly referred to it as “the bull”
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Thanks @meganherzog that is really useful. At the moment I think 99% of my time in Zwift is in workout mode so I may need to persuade Santa to look at an alternative present.
Megan, how have you found the stability of it when you are out of the saddle and really hammering up a climb? I tried one at an expo, but it was on the ground. In that case, it didn’t feel very stable, but I don’t count that as a fair gauge.
So far it has felt stable for me doing hard efforts up hill and also on flats, but it is a different feel than having a front wheel on. Keep in mind that I can’t put up the same watts as stronger guys hammering away on it. At the Zwift event here, some guys were really cranking up the KOM on it, it was rocking a little bit but never seemed unstable to the point of tipping.
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Update: In less than 4 months of use the belt broke on my Kickr Climb during a ride, which is very disappointing. I’m sure Wahoo will replace it but honestly I am not that thrilled to take another risk of damaging the forks on my bike taking another sudden drop like that. I was lucky this time it only fell from 5 percent grade to the bottom during a very easy spin. In hindsight I would pass on this, I regret spending the money on this and it breaking so soon. Also on my second Kickr trainer in 4 months due to it breaking too. 
Oh gosh Megan that is so disappointing for you; I’m glad you and your bike are both ok.
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Glad you and your bike were not injured. Seems like Wahoo has a quality issue in the design. If this was my former work, the mechanical engineers would be all over the issue and wanting the unit shipped back to inspect.
I went out to the Wahoo part. One person mentioned life of belt is rated at 16,000K. The failures were on far less mileage than the rating.
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Wow Megan, I’m so sorry and surprised. We have a first generation kickr. My husband and I both use it and we’ve had it for years with no issues.
I really hope the replacement one you get is reliable and I’m so glad your bike wasn’t damaged.
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We also have a Kickr snap and have used it for years without issues, totally reliable machine. I never thought twice about sticking with the same brand when we got additional equipment. So I was just surprised to have issues with both pieces of new equipment. I have replacements now for both, fingers crossed it is smooth sailing from here on out. 
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I’ve had my eyes on a new Kickr + Climb for a while. Sounds like I’ll wait a bit longer to see if they can fix some of their manufacturing issues on the new models.
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