ATL Trip: Wahoo Fitness Headquarters

Two weeks ago I was invited to Wahoo Fitness headquarters to do a little test run on their soon to be shipped treadmill, the Kickr Run. The goal of the invitation was to get feedback on the set up process and ease of use of the treadmill. And can I just say, I might not hate the treadmill experience any longer.

The Experience

Herchel and I drove down to Atlanta on a hot and sunny Tuesday. Upon arrival to Wahoo headquarters, we were buzzed into their building and were greeted by Mike. Mike is their Beta Community Manager, and super nice guy. He took us through the building and into the treadmill testing area. Tangent. The office is the dream office set up. While there are workstations everywhere, there was also a wall full of bike racks with bikes employees had come into work on. They had hooks and cubbies for helmets and shoes and a room set up with Kickrs for that mid-day stress release. Once in the testing area, Mike gave me a rundown of what he was after with the process, and then handed me an iPad.

After watching the setup tutorial video via iPad, I was all set up to begin the run. The setup for the treadmill is super easy. Because it weighs A Lot, they have people come in, build the treadmill, and physically place your treadmill where you want it to go. From there, it’s pretty simple. Plug it in and away you go! One note, you’ll need a 120V plug in versus the standard 110V.

The tutorial is a few minutes in duration and gives an overview of each paddle or button on the treadmill (don’t worry there aren’t that many!) and how to use them. The paddle design is very similar to a normal treadmill except better. You can make your standard pace adjustments or you can make bigger pace adjustments. Same with the gradient paddle. Two big changes to this treadmill set it apart from your average treadmill. The first is the “Run Free” mode, which allows you to dictate the pace, not the treadmill. The second is the addition of the control buttons on top, which allow you to move through your workout when connected to the Wahoo Fitness app.

The Run

Mike set me up with Zwift for this run. Just like with the Wahoo Kickr smart bike trainers, you can pair your treadmill with Zwift (or a few other apps as well) and begin your session. You can choose your route or choose a workout and you’ll be lead along the route or through the session.

To begin the run, I left it on your normal treadmill mode to get a feel for it. This just means I had to adjust my pace manually like you would on a normal treadmill. After warming up, I selected the Run Free mode, and wow! The first couple of minutes were awkward as I almost forgot how to run! I had to remember that I was in control of the pace now and it took a second to get the hang of it, as well as where to run on the treadmill, as the treadmill sped up or slowed down based on what I was doing. In addition to learning how to run (haha!) the treadmill was also adjusting the gradient based on the route selected in Zwift, so as I came upon a hill, I could feel that I needed to work a bit harder to maintain pace as I climbed, and the same was true for the decent. The release of the resistance could really allow me to fly!

The treadmill has several sensors that track where you are running on the treadmill, and there is a “sweet spot”. If you begin to run outside the sweet spot the treadmill safety feature will engage and will slow the treadmill down because it thinks you are in trouble. After a few minutes it became completely normal to run this way and I was able to speed up or slow down in the way I wanted and follow the Zwift route well. I couldn’t even tell when the treadmill was “elevating” or shifting, it just felt like a normal outside run. If Mike would have let me stay for longer, I would have been completely content to do a Tuesday long run on the Kickr Run! Tangent: There is a safety feature that if the treadmill can’t sense where you are, it stops the treadmill so you won’t fall off.

While there is a workout feature, I did not get to test a workout on this trip. It seemed very straightforward when explained to me, and the addition of the buttons integrated right onto the top of the treadmill allows for easy scrolling through your Wahoo screens or making adjustments to the workout as it’s being completed. If you use Training Peaks, your workout can be followed right there in the Wahoo app, or up on Zwift if using it.

The Design

The Kickr Run has a simple design, which I like. It has the necessary features integrated into the treadmill, including a console that will hold a iPad, laptop, or all of your gels and bottles. It has your wifi connectivity, bluetooth connectivity, and USB-C charging. The run belt surface was firm but not hard, and seemed relatively quiet to me. While you run, the treadmill also displays your current pace and incline/decline, which if you are in the Run Free mode is changing frequently. The Kickr Run also notes your cadence, so you don’t need to run with a cadence sensor on your shoe.

The Takeaway

My initial impression was wow, this is a game-changer. As someone that in general will avoid the treadmill at all costs, I was impressed by the fact that I didn’t want to immediately get off of it. Being able to run “naturally” in the Run Free mode, combined with the ability to use Zwift in the same way I can using the Kickr trainer, allowed me to forget that I was on a treadmill and could just focus on the run.

While the cost of the Kickr Run seems high, I actually think it is fairly priced. It’s much less expensive than a Woodway, and has a lot more functionality and compatibility with apps.

If you want in on the Kickr Run, you can pre-order it now on the Wahoo Fitness website!

Have any questions? Feel free to send me a message! Happy Training!