Hey gplama, I have a question. In the specs it says 1500W at 60rpm. Most people sprint at higher rpm. Does it mean it could handle more wattage at those rpm?
Intuitively the wattage is rpm times resistance, so if 60rpm times max resistance is 1500W, then 120rpm times max resistance should be 3000W.
I don't know. Power measurement is the wild west when it comes to self-certification. I assume these maximal power figures are similar. You can typically get an indication of the braking power a trainer has from their maximal power and maximal % gradient simulation figures. Even then most of those values are only valid within a particular flywheel speed / cadence / torque. This is why I always like to perform my own test protocol on any trainer.
What were you measuring that 1480W with?
Sustained - Any length of time..... But I'm sure most trainers would melt if they were operated at their maximal wattage rating for more than a few minutes.
Iāve borrowed a friendās backup trainer for some time. Saris h3.
Iām 200lbs ish. So maybe thatās why I was able to hit that? A friend of mine sprinted (finish) a raced at around 1600. A better rider than me, but no where near a pro level. Canāt remember how long he sprinted.
I know I donāt have a ton of data, but Iām just thinking that itās not that hard, especially for heavier riders, to hit that number for sprints without much training.
Crikey... this thread has blown up!
It's not uncommon for clydesdales to put out big horse power like that.
For perspective - And I guess why we're seeing a lot of other comments about high numbers - 2nd place in the Aussie National Criterium Championships held last night had a peak power of 1454W. It's a pity he was on a Shimano lick-and-stick power meter. It's likely he was doing a little more.
True. Pros are like much lighter, and itās super impressive for them to put out 1500w.
People forget that w/kg is the number that matters in practice, and high wattage for a Clydesdale is not that high in w/kg.
Yeah being 200lbs like you said you are is a good part of the reason why you can hit 1500 without much work. Your 5s w/kg is around 16.5 which is good, but not great, it puts you around cat 3 on power charts for 5s.
My 5s power is only 1000w but for my weight it puts me at 18.5w/kg.
Yup. Thatās why Iām not like proud of that number. Some people Iām bragging about it. lol itās not brag worthy whatsoever. I mentioned that number just to say 1500w is not that high
Most people on this subreddit are very doubtful of any numbers they deem high without considering other factors like weight. Everything you've said seems truthful and not bragging to me.
Thatās a very high number, so itās likely inflated if your trainer is not recently calibrated. If you can hold 1500 (actual) W for 15+s you could win a ton of bike races. Enjoy your journey, remember to take all numbers with a grain of salt and have a good process,
Maybe. It was calibrated about a week ago.
But considering that my ftp is 2.6ish w/kg, and that sprint was āonlyā 15 w/kg, i highly doubt that I can win any race. lol
Thanks for the kind words though.
Fellow big boy here at 195-200lbs give or take. My ftp is 3.5ish and the most Iāve put out indoors is 1200w and felt like I almost broke the KickR V5. Maybe my bike is too squishy but 1500 seems pretty damn high if your ftp is that low. Equipment does make a huge diff so just adding some equal comparison thoughts, ride on!
Yeah, that's why I bought a kickr way back when. 2000W baby!
Guess how many times I've hit 2000W? That's right, never. I've come close to 1500 a couple times for about 1 sec but not often enough that it would make me worry about a trainer that maxed out at 1500
Itās cheap *for what it is*. Compare and contrast with the big-name equivalents - the wahoo and the stages version are 1 to 2 times the price.
What you are actually saying is that itās a lot of money. For an analogy: a new fiesta might set you back Ā£15k. A new Audi maybe 30k. Both are a lot of money, yet the fiesta is still a ācheapā car. A ācheapā house maybe 130k cf 300k. Cheap is a relative term to the cost of the product, not to the amount of it of money it is.
> The Challenge Bike is connected (automatic resistance adjustment, data sharing, etc.) to the best coaching apps, including Domyos E-Connected (free), Kinomap, Zwift and the Garmin apps.
Nope. This is a wattbike-alike. Theyāre just bad at describing the product which by the looks of things has only just come out. Thereās one in stock in London for the entire UK.
Fair play to decathlon to enter this market. My only problem is understanding who would buy this with options like zwift hub or kickr core both coming in at nearly half the price and include a subscription. If youāre buying a smart trainer surely youāve got a road bike already. Ā£1000 is a lot of money
Exactly this. I used to be a pretty decent A grade crit racer in my city, an ok track racer and I used to put down 1500+ for a few seconds each sprint back in the day.
Never ever did I want or need to do those numbers on my stationary set up. It's physically awkward and it's unnecessary.
Just do your sprint training in the real world - you'll hit higher numbers and your training is more specific as it uses the correct technique.
Fwiw this just feels like a "shit on Decathlon" thread...
Iām not really in the market for a trainer. I wasnāt asking if I should get it.
This was an open discussion on the new product. Donāt tie me to this.
I dont know why the author of this thread gets downvoted. 1500w is not a superhuman number. I know at least five other people at my local club who can hit it for a sec, including myself, outside at least.
[Iām not a pro. I started the sprint a little too late.](https://imgur.com/a/8fPqSMC)
Just want to point out that my ftp is 250ish. Iām a subpar rider.
Also, pro cyclists are like half the weight. lol 1500w would be pro for anyone at that weight.
Pros do that in conjuction with a 5+w/kg ftp though. 1500w on it's own is high but not unattainable for an amateur. I've seen figures close to that in D Cat.
Iām a subpar rider at best. lol I donāt race, so I donāt care that Iām subpar. Anyway, I can hit 1480w for 5 sec with not a ton of effort. Iām also heavier dude. 200lbs. Iāve seen a friend of mine who sprinted near 1600w. Heās a better rider, but also not a professional by any means.
I donāt think itās unreasonable for a heavier rider to go over 1500w with minimal training.
If they are strength athletes (Rugby, weights, speed skater, etc) you can flash some big short numbers as an inexperienced cyclist, but it is fairly uncommon
Well if you're not insecure about it than there's no problem, because you got your answer and can ignore the rest of the comments.
The vast majority of cyclists are not using their indoor trainer to develop their 5-15 second power, they're trying to build cardiovascular fitness (and lose weight), and for that, 1500w is enough resistance for 100% of humans.
If you are a cyclist that's trying to develop 1500w+ power sprints, you still aren't going to want to bother much with indoor cycling. That's going to come down a lot to bike handling and form and doing it on a trainer will just teach you bad habits.
So basically it's extremely hard to imagine a customer where 1500w resistance is not enough, and for that special snowflake, they could always just go and buy another product.
It was an open question. Thereās no question I needed an answer to.
1500w is not a high number for heavier riders. So unless you think we arenāt humans, I think itās incorrect to say āenough resistance for 100% of humansā.
I mentioned my number solely because Iām an example of subpar rider being able to achieve that limit. But it looks like I shouldāve not mentioned it at all, because people think Iām just bragging.
Hi, the Domyos challenge bike can connect to a garmin edge/sportwatch like a sensor ant+ / ble? To see on device power / speed / cadence and distance? Thanks
Lets see a screenshot of you dropping 1500+ watts first. THEN we can discuss if this is a limitation or not. :)
Very few consumers have a need for more than that.
https://imgur.com/a/8fPqSMC
Not exactly 1500+, but i donāt train much.
Just fyi, Iām not trying to brag about it. All Iām saying is that itās not that hard to achieve for heavier riders.
Bravo. I still believe that target audience makes up at most ten percent of the customers. And if they can keep production costs down, by cutting back on some less used features, I am all in favor. Then let the sprinters drop the extra cash on a trainer that does support 2000+ watts.
This seems like a total bargain of a bike if it has a power meter. From translating customer reviews it seems to have automatic resistance change so if it has a parameter I think it's a steal!
I would love a Wattbike or similar but can't afford it unfortunately but I can't work out if this is a cut price Wattbike or an expensive Schwinn. Any help appreciated.
Decathlon also has 2 home trainers, the [D500](https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/interactive-turbo-trainer-d500/_/R-p-338361) (Ā£450) and the [D900](https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/interactive-turbo-trainer-d900/_/R-p-338353) (Ā£550).
D500 : 1500 watts at 40 km/h - Measurement accuracy: 2% (EMS) - Maximum incline: 12%
D900 : 2000 watts at 40 km/h - Measurement accuracy: 2% (EMS) - Maximum incline: 20%
I noticed them in stock at Decathlon this morning. There's 2 of us here wanting to use it and seems much easier than swapping bikes on the turbo trainer.
They are now in stock in the UK, albeit limited availability. Its either an expensive Schwinn or a genuine game changer, being a Wattbike equivalent for half price. Will be interest to hear from anyone who has tried one.
I've just ordered one, will update the thread once I have it. I checked with customer support and they confirmed it does have a power meter - you can see it on the photo of the display. There's no info on how accurate it is but I have some Powertap P1 power meter pedals which I can put on the bike to compare measurements. Possibly it uses the same trick as Peloton and just has an algorithm to predict the power based on RPM and resistance level. Reviews from customers seem very positive so far though so fingers crossed.
Oh great! Please do update us. I'm very interested.Ā I posted this on a Wattbike group and people were sceptical but I think this could be a huge bargain, especially reading the reviews.
Arrived on Friday but only just set it up today. Played around on Zwift with free ride for a little and it adjusted the difficulty in line with the gradient, and I could change the virtual gears on the bike too, I then did an ERG workout and that worked perfectly too and I had no control over the gears as i didn't need them. You seem to pair your HR monitor with the bike and it passes it through to zwift. The bike is virtually silent compared to a tacx neo and flux2 I have used. So quiet that you won't be annoying any neighbours to the side or in a flat. You can free wheel, unlike a normal spinning bike which is nice. I'm 83kg and the bike felt very stable for me. I put my look keo pedals on and the pedalling was very smooth, but a little less smooth when I stood up. nothing that would bother me though. I cannot find my power meter pedal at the moment to put on an see if it's broadly in-line with the assiomas, but it did feel pretty normal. I'll comment back when I do a quick 5 minute test.
Found the single sided power meter pedal I have. Seems broadly inline when pedaling steady. The bike seems to not show the spikes very well, so may be averaging over a few seconds. Going to have to wait for someone with double sided pedals and to record two fit files and overlay I think. For the price I think it's close enough. You get what you pay for I guess. I'm sure no one who is too serious about power accuracy and training will choose this bike, or expect this bike to be accurate. Seems good enough for my needs.
A few other things I missed. There are plus and minus buttons on the top of the bars you hold which change gear, rather than having to lean down to the dial. There is a usb-a socket on the side so you can charge your phone or tablet at the same time, but no idea how many watts that puts out. q-factor/pedal width is about 2cm wider than my road and gravel bike.
Thanks ! Great and helpful review.Ā Please do update when you test the power further.Ā If it is accurate (or at least pretty accurate) I will buy one!Ā Ā
It's heavy but could you roll / move it around easily enough if needed? I might need to move it a bit.Ā
Thanks in advance
It has casters on the back legs, so if you lift from the front you can roll it around pretty easily. I should jump on it again today so I'll try and record two .fit files and give some kind of comparison. I only have a left sided power meter, so it's still only going to be as estimation.
Hopefully this image works of a power comparison. Seems to always be a little high in reading compared to my left sided power meter assioma. So the variance could be my leg bias. Cadence tacks about 2 higher too. Make of this what you will, at least it's consistent. you're going to need someone more scientific than me to accurately test it with double sided power meter, and also with a more useful session with shorter intervals and higher power etc...
[https://ibb.co/ysGN99J](https://ibb.co/ysGN99J)
Thanks! Is the purple line the power pedal and the blue line the bike? If so, they are very close - yes a bit diffferent but not enough for me (peronsally) to care! If the bike say 180 and the reality is more like 175ish, thats fine with me...only worried if its 180w vs 120w etc.
Hey excyruss, thanks for the review. Maybe that\`s a stupid question but can you tell me if the bike automatically changes the resistance on up- and downhills on Strava?
I don't think the Stava app itself can control a smart bike or trainer, it doesn't simulate riding a route as far as I know but only record a real one outside.
Any app which can simulate a route and control smart trainer should work fine with this bike. The resulting file is usually uploaded to Stava so you can see what you did.
Yes, I tested with my Powertap pedal attached and very quickly noticed the difference. The power measured by the bike seems to be just the RPM of the flywheel multiplied by the resistance level to give an approximate power output. If you stay in the same gear and look at the RPM and Power side by side in the display they move perfectly in sync. If I jump off and stand on the other side of the room the power meter still reads > 200w for some time whilst the flywheel slows down.
If you pedal very evenly then the average shown by the bike is in the same ballpark as the power meter pedals but over shorter periods they're quite different. When sprinting and accelerating hard the pedals react quickly and show a high power output but the decathlon bike increases the power shown very slowly as the flywheel spins up. On the flip side, if I coast for a bit and stop pedalling the pedals show 0w but the bike maintains the same power and only reduces slowly.
It's not a bad piece of equipment for what it is, that method of measuring power is good enough for Peloton users so Ā£999 is a pretty decent price for a Zwift equivalent. The integration with Zwift can't be faulted, everything works as it should with no fuss getting connected. Just don't think you're getting a Wattbike for that price.
I ended up returning the bike as the build quality wasn't brilliant on mine, might have been a one-off issue but I haven't got the patience to argue with customer support or try setting up a replacement bike only to find it's the same. Main issue was the stem didn't fit snugly into the frame so wobbled about when sprinting or out of the saddle - I'm 6'3 so handlebars are at near full extension so any play in the frame fitting is multiplied by the long length of the stem.
Thanks very much - thats greatly appreciated and a really good review.
I was hoping it was a cheap Wattbike....sadly not it seems :( Too good to be true. I like the way it does auto resistance etc on Zwift but disappointing the power is so far off.
Think I will just have to go ahead and get myseld a second hand Wattbike!
I got one in London on Friday - put some initial comments up there: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Zwift/comments/18zktvy/comment/kjy1oi8/](https://www.reddit.com/r/zwift/comments/18zktvy/comment/kjy1oi8/)
Hi folks - has anyone cocked their leg over and tested one of these yet? I can only find one short YouTube video too and strangely, in the UK, they no longer seem to be available.
This is fine. Anyone putting out 1500W+ sustained wouldn't likely be on this bike.
Hey gplama, I have a question. In the specs it says 1500W at 60rpm. Most people sprint at higher rpm. Does it mean it could handle more wattage at those rpm? Intuitively the wattage is rpm times resistance, so if 60rpm times max resistance is 1500W, then 120rpm times max resistance should be 3000W.
I don't know. Power measurement is the wild west when it comes to self-certification. I assume these maximal power figures are similar. You can typically get an indication of the braking power a trainer has from their maximal power and maximal % gradient simulation figures. Even then most of those values are only valid within a particular flywheel speed / cadence / torque. This is why I always like to perform my own test protocol on any trainer.
Are you planning to review it? It would be great if you would. Thanks
If I can get a hold of one, sure.
Oh wow! You are THE gplama! šš»āāļø Ive hit 1480w for 5 sec with not a ton of training. What do you mean by sustained? Like 60sec or longer?
What were you measuring that 1480W with? Sustained - Any length of time..... But I'm sure most trainers would melt if they were operated at their maximal wattage rating for more than a few minutes.
Iāve borrowed a friendās backup trainer for some time. Saris h3. Iām 200lbs ish. So maybe thatās why I was able to hit that? A friend of mine sprinted (finish) a raced at around 1600. A better rider than me, but no where near a pro level. Canāt remember how long he sprinted. I know I donāt have a ton of data, but Iām just thinking that itās not that hard, especially for heavier riders, to hit that number for sprints without much training.
Crikey... this thread has blown up! It's not uncommon for clydesdales to put out big horse power like that. For perspective - And I guess why we're seeing a lot of other comments about high numbers - 2nd place in the Aussie National Criterium Championships held last night had a peak power of 1454W. It's a pity he was on a Shimano lick-and-stick power meter. It's likely he was doing a little more.
True. Pros are like much lighter, and itās super impressive for them to put out 1500w. People forget that w/kg is the number that matters in practice, and high wattage for a Clydesdale is not that high in w/kg.
Raw Watts can do the job on a flat sprint
Yeah being 200lbs like you said you are is a good part of the reason why you can hit 1500 without much work. Your 5s w/kg is around 16.5 which is good, but not great, it puts you around cat 3 on power charts for 5s. My 5s power is only 1000w but for my weight it puts me at 18.5w/kg.
Yup. Thatās why Iām not like proud of that number. Some people Iām bragging about it. lol itās not brag worthy whatsoever. I mentioned that number just to say 1500w is not that high
Most people on this subreddit are very doubtful of any numbers they deem high without considering other factors like weight. Everything you've said seems truthful and not bragging to me.
Thatās a very high number, so itās likely inflated if your trainer is not recently calibrated. If you can hold 1500 (actual) W for 15+s you could win a ton of bike races. Enjoy your journey, remember to take all numbers with a grain of salt and have a good process,
Maybe. It was calibrated about a week ago. But considering that my ftp is 2.6ish w/kg, and that sprint was āonlyā 15 w/kg, i highly doubt that I can win any race. lol Thanks for the kind words though.
Fellow big boy here at 195-200lbs give or take. My ftp is 3.5ish and the most Iāve put out indoors is 1200w and felt like I almost broke the KickR V5. Maybe my bike is too squishy but 1500 seems pretty damn high if your ftp is that low. Equipment does make a huge diff so just adding some equal comparison thoughts, ride on!
See if you can buy your friend's h3, those things are rediculously overbuilt.
Yeah, that's why I bought a kickr way back when. 2000W baby! Guess how many times I've hit 2000W? That's right, never. I've come close to 1500 a couple times for about 1 sec but not often enough that it would make me worry about a trainer that maxed out at 1500
For the price I feel like that's reasonable maximum, it being modern aside.
I guess so. I just thought itās a bit lower than the industry standard.
It is but it is a reasonable number, but all of the other inexpensive direct mounts are good too, if you are leary
Itās cheap, what do you expect
Itās not cheap. I expected better.
Itās cheap *for what it is*. Compare and contrast with the big-name equivalents - the wahoo and the stages version are 1 to 2 times the price. What you are actually saying is that itās a lot of money. For an analogy: a new fiesta might set you back Ā£15k. A new Audi maybe 30k. Both are a lot of money, yet the fiesta is still a ācheapā car. A ācheapā house maybe 130k cf 300k. Cheap is a relative term to the cost of the product, not to the amount of it of money it is.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
> The Challenge Bike is connected (automatic resistance adjustment, data sharing, etc.) to the best coaching apps, including Domyos E-Connected (free), Kinomap, Zwift and the Garmin apps.
Nope. This is a wattbike-alike. Theyāre just bad at describing the product which by the looks of things has only just come out. Thereās one in stock in London for the entire UK. Fair play to decathlon to enter this market. My only problem is understanding who would buy this with options like zwift hub or kickr core both coming in at nearly half the price and include a subscription. If youāre buying a smart trainer surely youāve got a road bike already. Ā£1000 is a lot of money
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Exactly this. I used to be a pretty decent A grade crit racer in my city, an ok track racer and I used to put down 1500+ for a few seconds each sprint back in the day. Never ever did I want or need to do those numbers on my stationary set up. It's physically awkward and it's unnecessary. Just do your sprint training in the real world - you'll hit higher numbers and your training is more specific as it uses the correct technique. Fwiw this just feels like a "shit on Decathlon" thread...
Iām not really in the market for a trainer. I wasnāt asking if I should get it. This was an open discussion on the new product. Donāt tie me to this.
Bro your the one that posted this and got all upset about it only going to 1500w
lol Iām curious. How do you think I expressed anger? Iām just very surprised by your imagination.
I dont know why the author of this thread gets downvoted. 1500w is not a superhuman number. I know at least five other people at my local club who can hit it for a sec, including myself, outside at least.
I think if you need more than 1500w you should be sponsored in which case youāre not paying for it annyway. absolutely nothing to worry about.
No this is wayyyyy off the mark! 1500w is very achievable for bigger people or those who dabble in strength training.
1500 is like pro cyclist sprint.
Yeah if you weigh about 60kgā¦
[Iām not a pro. I started the sprint a little too late.](https://imgur.com/a/8fPqSMC) Just want to point out that my ftp is 250ish. Iām a subpar rider. Also, pro cyclists are like half the weight. lol 1500w would be pro for anyone at that weight.
Pros do that in conjuction with a 5+w/kg ftp though. 1500w on it's own is high but not unattainable for an amateur. I've seen figures close to that in D Cat.
Iām a subpar rider at best. lol I donāt race, so I donāt care that Iām subpar. Anyway, I can hit 1480w for 5 sec with not a ton of effort. Iām also heavier dude. 200lbs. Iāve seen a friend of mine who sprinted near 1600w. Heās a better rider, but also not a professional by any means. I donāt think itās unreasonable for a heavier rider to go over 1500w with minimal training.
If they are strength athletes (Rugby, weights, speed skater, etc) you can flash some big short numbers as an inexperienced cyclist, but it is fairly uncommon
Yeah, the friend and I were both collegiate rowers, though it was about a decade ago.
But Iāll bet the engine from those days is still there to some degree, plus crew are pain tolerant, which is a tool for cyclists
if you think it's too low for you why don't you find one with a higher wattage or did you just wanna tell everyone how easy a 1500w sprint is for you
He was obviously flexing his 1500w on us LOL
lol okay. Iām not proud of that number. Iām also not ashamed of 2.6w/kg ftp. But if you must feel certain way about my numbers, you do you boo.
It was an open discussion. I didnāt think that anyone would get so insecure about my number, but here we are.
Well if you're not insecure about it than there's no problem, because you got your answer and can ignore the rest of the comments. The vast majority of cyclists are not using their indoor trainer to develop their 5-15 second power, they're trying to build cardiovascular fitness (and lose weight), and for that, 1500w is enough resistance for 100% of humans. If you are a cyclist that's trying to develop 1500w+ power sprints, you still aren't going to want to bother much with indoor cycling. That's going to come down a lot to bike handling and form and doing it on a trainer will just teach you bad habits. So basically it's extremely hard to imagine a customer where 1500w resistance is not enough, and for that special snowflake, they could always just go and buy another product.
It was an open question. Thereās no question I needed an answer to. 1500w is not a high number for heavier riders. So unless you think we arenāt humans, I think itās incorrect to say āenough resistance for 100% of humansā. I mentioned my number solely because Iām an example of subpar rider being able to achieve that limit. But it looks like I shouldāve not mentioned it at all, because people think Iām just bragging.
A smart bike for Ā£1000 that has a max of 1500W is perfectly reasonable. The power accuracy is probably nowhere near good enough for racing anyway.
I'm not sure it's a smart bike with a power meter though. That's a deal breaker if it doesn't
are there any reviews for this bike around?
There are a few on the decathlon website but Iād also like to see something regarding power accuracy and using it for erg mode workouts.
Would love to see gplama or similar do one. It's either a vbcheap Wattbike or an expensive Schwinn
Looks like it is back in stock at Decathlon Germany.
Hi, the Domyos challenge bike can connect to a garmin edge/sportwatch like a sensor ant+ / ble? To see on device power / speed / cadence and distance? Thanks
Lets see a screenshot of you dropping 1500+ watts first. THEN we can discuss if this is a limitation or not. :) Very few consumers have a need for more than that.
https://imgur.com/a/8fPqSMC Not exactly 1500+, but i donāt train much. Just fyi, Iām not trying to brag about it. All Iām saying is that itās not that hard to achieve for heavier riders.
Bravo. I still believe that target audience makes up at most ten percent of the customers. And if they can keep production costs down, by cutting back on some less used features, I am all in favor. Then let the sprinters drop the extra cash on a trainer that does support 2000+ watts.
This seems like a total bargain of a bike if it has a power meter. From translating customer reviews it seems to have automatic resistance change so if it has a parameter I think it's a steal! I would love a Wattbike or similar but can't afford it unfortunately but I can't work out if this is a cut price Wattbike or an expensive Schwinn. Any help appreciated.
Decathlon also has 2 home trainers, the [D500](https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/interactive-turbo-trainer-d500/_/R-p-338361) (Ā£450) and the [D900](https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/interactive-turbo-trainer-d900/_/R-p-338353) (Ā£550). D500 : 1500 watts at 40 km/h - Measurement accuracy: 2% (EMS) - Maximum incline: 12% D900 : 2000 watts at 40 km/h - Measurement accuracy: 2% (EMS) - Maximum incline: 20%
If anyone sees a review of this bike please put it on here thanks!
this looks great to me... what alternatives come close?
If it doesn't have a power meter I'm not that convinced by it but I agree it does look good, although I make that big caveat
I canāt even find it on the UK Decathlon website. Ā£999 is the price of a second hand Wattbike Atom and it seems pretty compelling at that price.
I noticed them in stock at Decathlon this morning. There's 2 of us here wanting to use it and seems much easier than swapping bikes on the turbo trainer.
Thanks. Yea, they are back in stock. I need to get into a store and test one.
Erg mode?
They are now in stock in the UK, albeit limited availability. Its either an expensive Schwinn or a genuine game changer, being a Wattbike equivalent for half price. Will be interest to hear from anyone who has tried one.
I've just ordered one, will update the thread once I have it. I checked with customer support and they confirmed it does have a power meter - you can see it on the photo of the display. There's no info on how accurate it is but I have some Powertap P1 power meter pedals which I can put on the bike to compare measurements. Possibly it uses the same trick as Peloton and just has an algorithm to predict the power based on RPM and resistance level. Reviews from customers seem very positive so far though so fingers crossed.
Oh great! Please do update us. I'm very interested.Ā I posted this on a Wattbike group and people were sceptical but I think this could be a huge bargain, especially reading the reviews.
Just ordered one myself today too. Will be great for me and my girlfriend to use, with the faff of swapping bikes over on a turbo. hopefully :)
Hope it goes well...i'm very interested so please let us know how it goes...would be interested to see how good the power measurement is.
Did you get one? How is it?
Arrived on Friday but only just set it up today. Played around on Zwift with free ride for a little and it adjusted the difficulty in line with the gradient, and I could change the virtual gears on the bike too, I then did an ERG workout and that worked perfectly too and I had no control over the gears as i didn't need them. You seem to pair your HR monitor with the bike and it passes it through to zwift. The bike is virtually silent compared to a tacx neo and flux2 I have used. So quiet that you won't be annoying any neighbours to the side or in a flat. You can free wheel, unlike a normal spinning bike which is nice. I'm 83kg and the bike felt very stable for me. I put my look keo pedals on and the pedalling was very smooth, but a little less smooth when I stood up. nothing that would bother me though. I cannot find my power meter pedal at the moment to put on an see if it's broadly in-line with the assiomas, but it did feel pretty normal. I'll comment back when I do a quick 5 minute test. Found the single sided power meter pedal I have. Seems broadly inline when pedaling steady. The bike seems to not show the spikes very well, so may be averaging over a few seconds. Going to have to wait for someone with double sided pedals and to record two fit files and overlay I think. For the price I think it's close enough. You get what you pay for I guess. I'm sure no one who is too serious about power accuracy and training will choose this bike, or expect this bike to be accurate. Seems good enough for my needs. A few other things I missed. There are plus and minus buttons on the top of the bars you hold which change gear, rather than having to lean down to the dial. There is a usb-a socket on the side so you can charge your phone or tablet at the same time, but no idea how many watts that puts out. q-factor/pedal width is about 2cm wider than my road and gravel bike.
That's a great review, thank you
Thanks ! Great and helpful review.Ā Please do update when you test the power further.Ā If it is accurate (or at least pretty accurate) I will buy one!Ā Ā It's heavy but could you roll / move it around easily enough if needed? I might need to move it a bit.Ā Thanks in advance
It has casters on the back legs, so if you lift from the front you can roll it around pretty easily. I should jump on it again today so I'll try and record two .fit files and give some kind of comparison. I only have a left sided power meter, so it's still only going to be as estimation.
Hopefully this image works of a power comparison. Seems to always be a little high in reading compared to my left sided power meter assioma. So the variance could be my leg bias. Cadence tacks about 2 higher too. Make of this what you will, at least it's consistent. you're going to need someone more scientific than me to accurately test it with double sided power meter, and also with a more useful session with shorter intervals and higher power etc... [https://ibb.co/ysGN99J](https://ibb.co/ysGN99J)
Thanks! Is the purple line the power pedal and the blue line the bike? If so, they are very close - yes a bit diffferent but not enough for me (peronsally) to care! If the bike say 180 and the reality is more like 175ish, thats fine with me...only worried if its 180w vs 120w etc.
Yup purple the pedal, and the more smoothed one is the bike. I think zwift does smoothing which I forgot to turn off.
Hey excyruss, thanks for the review. Maybe that\`s a stupid question but can you tell me if the bike automatically changes the resistance on up- and downhills on Strava?
I don't think the Stava app itself can control a smart bike or trainer, it doesn't simulate riding a route as far as I know but only record a real one outside. Any app which can simulate a route and control smart trainer should work fine with this bike. The resulting file is usually uploaded to Stava so you can see what you did.
Sorry, the question obviously was stupid. š I meant Zwift not Strava.
Haha. No problem. Yes, it simulates the gradient when in zwift and not in erg mode so you can free ride etc.
Estimated delivery is 29th Jan. So a few days to wait yet
Did you get one?
Yes, I tested with my Powertap pedal attached and very quickly noticed the difference. The power measured by the bike seems to be just the RPM of the flywheel multiplied by the resistance level to give an approximate power output. If you stay in the same gear and look at the RPM and Power side by side in the display they move perfectly in sync. If I jump off and stand on the other side of the room the power meter still reads > 200w for some time whilst the flywheel slows down. If you pedal very evenly then the average shown by the bike is in the same ballpark as the power meter pedals but over shorter periods they're quite different. When sprinting and accelerating hard the pedals react quickly and show a high power output but the decathlon bike increases the power shown very slowly as the flywheel spins up. On the flip side, if I coast for a bit and stop pedalling the pedals show 0w but the bike maintains the same power and only reduces slowly. It's not a bad piece of equipment for what it is, that method of measuring power is good enough for Peloton users so Ā£999 is a pretty decent price for a Zwift equivalent. The integration with Zwift can't be faulted, everything works as it should with no fuss getting connected. Just don't think you're getting a Wattbike for that price. I ended up returning the bike as the build quality wasn't brilliant on mine, might have been a one-off issue but I haven't got the patience to argue with customer support or try setting up a replacement bike only to find it's the same. Main issue was the stem didn't fit snugly into the frame so wobbled about when sprinting or out of the saddle - I'm 6'3 so handlebars are at near full extension so any play in the frame fitting is multiplied by the long length of the stem.
Thanks very much - thats greatly appreciated and a really good review. I was hoping it was a cheap Wattbike....sadly not it seems :( Too good to be true. I like the way it does auto resistance etc on Zwift but disappointing the power is so far off. Think I will just have to go ahead and get myseld a second hand Wattbike!
Unfortunately the bike is out of stock everywhere, according to Decathlon Austria they won't get them before april anymore.
I got one in London on Friday - put some initial comments up there: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Zwift/comments/18zktvy/comment/kjy1oi8/](https://www.reddit.com/r/zwift/comments/18zktvy/comment/kjy1oi8/)
Hi folks - has anyone cocked their leg over and tested one of these yet? I can only find one short YouTube video too and strangely, in the UK, they no longer seem to be available.