Wahoo has the KICKR climb on sale for $499. Is it worth the $$$? They are advertising that these are their lowest prices of the year but wasn’t it on sale for just $399 just a few months ago? Maybe I’m wrong. Anyhow, is it worth the $$$?
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I absolutely LOVE my KICKR Climb! It really enhances the ride…
Rob
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I also really enjoyed my Climb, and agree it enhances workouts where it comes into play. But I was also able to give it up when I got my indoor bike w/o much sadness. To me it was an accessory. A fun accessory. If you have $500 to throw at your indoor experience, by all means - you’ll enjoy it. Personally I’ve much more enjoyed the $400 I recently threw at a 42" TV on a stand to run my workouts on.
And yeah - I also feel like it was recently offered cheaper as well. More and more I feel like these “sales” are a hustle.
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WORTH.EVERY.PENNY. and a whole lot more with some provisos. I’ve had one since late 2018 and would NEVER be without it.
Things to consider:
- The Climb really shines when riding sim type apps like Zwift, Rouvy, FulGaz etc so when you climb Alpe d’Huez and the grade changes, the front of your bike raises and lowers to match that and flows with the changes to make the experience much much more immersive. Take this from someone who, did 9 reps of Alpe du Zwift back to back, 6 reps of Ventoux, and 75 reps of Leith Hill. Without the Climb, I would have rather repeatedly punched myself in the face 1000 times. In fact, during one of my vEverest attempts, my Climb broke (wahoo’s exceptional customer service replaced it in just a couple weeks), and I could not bring myself to continue riding without it.
- If most of your rides are in SYSTM, and you NEVER or very rarely ride sim apps (or routes from your head unit) noted above, then the Climb, while still super helpful at upping the engagement (pun intended) it isn’t quite the game changer as it is otherwise.
- You need to be sure your trainer AND your bike are compatible (or you are literally wasting your money) Edited for clarity.
Almost all the new SYSTM vids have gradient changes encoded (think ALL of the Pro Rides, all of the OL with Sir Standsalo or Nicole Frain, the UCI Mtb and BMX vids are soooooo much fun with the Climb you might find yourself getting dizzy. Many of the SUF vids have had gradient encoded and it really does enhance your engagement in them. For me, even if gradient isn’t encoded, I sometimes find myself using the remote button to raise the front up a degree or two simply to make the ride more comfortable. I did this recently during a workout on Zwift (in workout mode on Zwift, gradient changes are not communicated) Here’s a list of all Climb compatible vids in SYSTM
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One other thing to consider - although I have a KICKR Bike not a Climb, there is one potential issue with gradient changes - if you have to take phone calls when you are training, you might be surprised and potentially knocked from the bike on some of the abrupt gradient changes if you aren’t paying attention.
This is a bit more serious than the embarrassment of getting caught in a public ERG death spiral when my spouse walks in and distracts me with a question just before a hard interval… the KICKR Bike has an easily accessible switch to lock the gradient, not sure about the Climb. I run SYSTM/Fulgaz/Indievelo on a second monitor on a windows system, so using software to change stuff mid-ride is a clunky, multi-click process at best.
But the gradient feature really is an important enhancement to the indoor cycling experience, it is a non-negotiable requirement for any future training set-ups. Also, once you get the Climb, you may as well start saving to buy or build a Rocker Plate, the indoor riding experience can be addictive - no worries about early winter sunset or weather or aggressive drivers or bad road maintenance
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There’s a “remote”* with a stretchy rubber attachment thingy you put on your handlebars. It’s got up/down buttons and a lock/unlock button.
*the remote is attached to a coiled cord (kinda like the old telephone cords) that hides inside the Climb if not attached to your handlebars.
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@Glen.Coutts So, if I am understanding you correctly, it’s WORTH.EVERY.PENNY >unless< most of my rides/workouts are in SYSTM and if so, I would literally be wasting my money, correct?
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Incorrect.
If your bike is not compatible with the CLIMB, then you’re throwing your money away and risking damaging your bike.
If you ride primarily in SYSTM, the question of whether it’s worth it to get the Climb or not, becomes more nuanced. There’s a ton of stuff in SYSTM where the gradient changes are encoded (including all the OL, Pro-Rides, A Week with, and most of the SUF vids) and I, personally, LOVE it and would highly recommend it to anyone considering the purchase. It helps with the mental engagement it’s just not gonna SHINE the way it does in a sim.
Edit: Sir Eric, I have edited my first post for clarity.
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I only use SYSTM, having never used Zwift and only twice used RGT while it existed. And I absolutely love my KICKR Climb also. There are a handful of SUF workouts where there seems to be no encoding for automatic raising and lowering of the Climb, but most of them have it. (Notably, in some cases, it’s clear that the storyline route is completely flat.) I think of my Climb as my second most indispensable accessory to my KICKR, after my rocker plate.
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@Glen.Coutts Thank you for the clarification Sir. Upon looking at the bike compatibility list, the only issue I see with Cannondale is any Cannondale with a lefty fork. My trainer bike is a Cannondale R600 road bike so, that shouldn’t be an issue, at least, according to the list. It also appears that my KICKR Snap is quite compatible with the Climb as well.
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@CPT_A Thank you for your input on the Climb Sir and yes, I’m almost positive that it was offered at $399 just a few months ago. I had in my cart at that time and almost pulled the trigger on it. I wish I had now.
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@Eric In addition to what has already mentioned I like to use the Climb just to alter my angle. Sometimes I get a bit more saddle fatigue when the bike is at grade so being able to manually change this during a workout so I can vary my positioning a bit has been a benefit for me. I haven’t had any negative experiences with the Climb.
It is definitely more of a nice to have purchase. I have the Headwind too. I run the Climb with a Kickr V6.
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OK yeah - this is very true. The first time I did each of these with the Climb I was fairly green about the gills.
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@CPT_A Ummmm…. 
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No worries there. I have Cannondale - both CX and road - they worked perfectly fine on the Climb.
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My only “negative” experience with the Climb was a la Sir Glen @Glen.Coutts - my first one broke. The belt failed. And support was great and had me sorted in a couple of weeks. Never had a problem with the second one. Think it was a first generation thing.
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Thank you @CPT_A
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I have a spare Kickr Core. I would gladly trade someone my Core for a Kickr Climb.
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Yay barter!
“I would gladly pay you Tuesday, for a cheeseburger TODAY.”
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I’ve had one for about two years, and would offer a couple of observations. First, it works only on free rides, not structured workouts, which are the majority of my indoor riding. And on free rides, you feel grade changes in the pedals anyway, where it counts. On rolling hills, it feels like I’m on a hobby horse, the kind you used to see in front of dime stores. I guess I’m the dissenting voice here, but I frankly find it a little annoying. If anyone wants to by a used Climb, I’d gladly let it go.
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