terrymorse 

There was a thread recently about indoor trainer bikes, and wattbike was mentioned.

Well, wattbike is having a Black Friday sale. Tempted.

PeteHski

I’ve always wondered why the Atom has an aero seatpost?

terrymorse 

Um, stiffness? You can move the saddle fore and aft quite a lot, so a fat seat post makes some sense.

Not sure why it is tapered on the front, though. Maybe to keep your legs from hitting it? Or just because it looks cool.

PeteHski

It was a joke, but I find some stationary bikes uncomfortably stiff. This looks like it might fall into that category. One of the things I like about my Kickr Bike is that it feels more like a real bike with a little controlled compliance. We have another gym bike (Matrix U50) which is rock solid and makes for a harsh ride. Just something to consider with stationary bikes.

Hermes

The Team USA sprint team has numerous Watt Bikes at the indoor track at Velo Sports Center in Carson. Every time I have seen them use them, it is for puke intervals. One can push oneself harder on the Watt bike became if you become sick, you puke and do have to worry about crashing.

Looking at the literature, it looks like any other integrated indoor cycling bike but maybe more accurate and set up for training. If it does not workout out, it has a lot of places to hang you clothes after an outdoor ride to dry.

PeteHski

The Atom is comparable to other Smart Bikes like the Wahoo, Tacx and Stages. They all have their pros and cons. DCRainmaker has done the most comprehensive reviews on all of them at some point. IIRC the first gen Atom had some major flaws, but I think the gen 2 was much improved.


https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/10/...rt-review.html

RChung

I wonder: do they have the Wattbike Pro, or the Wattbike Atom? I would think most track sprinters use the Pro.

Hermes

It is probably the pro version.

Hermes

Yeah, it is the pro version. Here is a former Team USA and 6 day race sprinter on the Wattbike. Note the guy that has to HOLD the bike. I think Terry can probably forgo the holder.

RChung

1. The bucket is a nice touch.
2. I'm not sure the Atom is designed/built for the same target audience as the Pro.

PeteHski

The Wattbike Pro is a much older gen standalone commercial gym bike with its own console. There are a lot of them here in UK gyms. The Atom is designed more for home use as a Smart bike with Zwift, Rouvy etc.

Hermes

We have the Stages bike at the Lifetime Fitness. In general, most of the bikes work but some do not. They seem to need a lot of maintenance.

If I were going to get a stationary bike, my concern would be reliability of the electronics. Of course, one could say the same thing about smart trainers. Although, the Stages bike seems to have more trouble with the screen. Many times unplugging the Stages bike and reconnecting fixes the problem. But it is a pain in the ass.

And there is bike fit. At least when I put my road or TT bike on the trainer, the fit is perfect.

RChung

Yup. The Pro was designed to be very realistic in capturing the acceleration component and aero drag component of cycling, and ignored the slope component: for this, it has a big flywheel and a (shrouded) wind turbine, and they work very well, very realistically. That's why they're popular for track athletes, who don't usually worry about slope. Most smart bikes and trainers really really wanted to capture the slope component so they could simulate climbing and they do this with electronically controlled load generators rather than big flywheels and propellers. Flywheels and turbines are a "passive" way to control load, while smart load generators are an "active" way to control load. However, the load generators in smart bikes and trainers don't tend to mimic the change in kinetic energy very well. Different audiences, different purposes, so different designs.

I've occasionally wondered whether the dearth of sprint segments in the original Watopia but lots of climbs had to do with the difficulty in getting the accelerations right.

(Anecdotally, I've heard some recent grumblings about Stages' customer support, both for their cranks and their SB20 smart bike. I have no first hand experience with either).

PeteHski

The Stages SB20 also uses a passive heavy flywheel, which limits its response in slope simulation and ERG mode. But some people like the feel of it and I believe it is popular with Zwift crit racers.

The Wattbike Atom V1 also used a conventional flywheel, but the V2 moved to an active system like Wahoo and Tacx use on their bikes. Although it doesn’t have a motor to simulate descents like the others.

Hermes

Well, since I clicked on the Wattbike link in this thread and now I am seeing ads in my Facebook feed. To be fair, I am building Porsches on line and seeing Porsche ads as well.

terrymorse Did you buy one?

terrymorse 

No, I decided to keep using my Zwift Hub for another season. My rational brain said I don't do enough indoor riding to justify the expense. Also, the 160 mm cranks that can't be changed gave me pause.

Stupid rational brain.

Hermes

At that price point, if Wattbike is targeting more serious riders they should offer more crank length options. I think they are targeting Peloton customers that may or may not care about perfect fit or even ride on the road.

PeteHski

I agree it is a very odd limitation. But I really doubt they are targeting Peloton customers with this bike. Their marketing is more toward dedicated cyclists in two minds about a high-end smart trainer vs smart bike. They actually market the Wattbike Pro more as a general fitness machine these days. Probably because it has no smart features, making it unsuitable for Zwift etc.

pdlamb

which bike?

terrymorse 

The wattbike Atom.

pdlamb

Yes, that's what I'm asking. Which bike?

RChung

No, wattbike.

pdlamb

Next you're going to tell me which is on second.

RChung

Naturally.

Hermes

PeteHski I just find the Wattbike Atom odd. It would not appeal to me for the reasons I have stated before. I have a Garmin Smart trainer and I can put any bike on it and do intervals / ride endurance being in my own head or hook it up to a platform such as Zwift. I can store the smart trainer easily versus a complete exercise bike.

Here is an article from Forbes detailing a guy during the pandemic that chose the Atom. https://www.forbes.com/sites/paullam...h=7c4e1cd56bb3. He says it will also work with the Peloton platform although he did not recommend it. Did not say why. However, Peloton must have been in the mix for his choices but he preferred the broader capability of the Atom accessing other 3rd party platforms.

Here is another article comparing Peloton and Zwift as Aps. https://www.garagegymreviews.com/peloton-vs-zwift How to connect to the platforms then is the choice of stationary bike Peloton, Atom or other and of course a smart trainer. I suspect branding then plays the important role as well as friends to determine if one buys a Peloton bike or Wattbike.