PaulJack

Hi all, thinking of getting the Wahoo Kickr 2018 or 2020 and pairing it with my 2001 Kona Jake the Snake cyclocross bike to do some Zwift rides.
The Kona appears to have a 9 Speed cassette and I believe the Wahoo comes with a 10 and/or 11. What I'm struggling with is finding out if you can alter the 10/11 speed cassette the Kickr comes with to a 9 speed through the removal of some of the gears and/or addition of spacers etc. or do you need to swap the one on the unit with a new purchased Cassette. Been searching all over but it's never made quite clear.

Any help/advice gratefully received.

sarhog

I don’t know the answer to your question, but if there is availability in your area, the Kickr Core is less expensive and comes without a cassette.

unterhausen

The most sensible approach would be to get a 9 speed cassette and a spacer. 1.8mm spacer, IIRC

spelger

Agree with above. I ride an 8 speed and just bought a new cassette.

base2 

It's a standard Shimano/Sram 11 speed compatible freehub.
The Kickr comes OEM with a Sunrace 11-28 11 speed cassette. The Core comes with no cassette. But is also a less capable unit. If I were in the market for anything other than the full blown Kickr, I wouldn't bother with the Core & would instead go with the much more capable Cyclops & pocket the hundreds of dollars difference. The more capable Cyclops is the better deal than the Core & every bit as good as the Kickr unless you also intend to get a Kickr Climb. (Full disclosure, I own a Kickr & a Cyclops.)

With the proper 1.85mm spacer (usually OEM included) you can run any Sramano 8, 9, 10 speed cassette. I may be wrong, but 11 speed mountain will not work because the big cog has an interference issue.

8, 9, 10 speed cassette spacing is different than 11 speed & if you have indexed shifting, mix & match of cogs & spacers to effect a different speed cassette is not going to work. You are better off just buying the proper cassette. Of course, if you happen to have friction shifting, run whatever is in the spare parts bin.

Sunrace cassettes are often less expensive & just as good as Sramano.

Maybe less relevent:
The non-drive side end-cap is reversible. So you can run either 130 or 135mm drop outs it you desire. Useful if you have a secondary or less preferred bike you'd like to use or you'd want to switch between bikes of differing standards regularly.

I find that unless I set up a bike specifically for the indoor trainer the shifting is never quite the same as the proper wheel. It always at least needs a check of the derailleur limit screws & barrel adjustor. Worthy of mention if you intend to also use the bike outside on the nicer days & inside on the not-so-nice days. Your experience may differ.

msu2001la

Just to clarify, you cannot "alter" a 10 or 11 sp cassette to make it a 9 sp by removing cogs. The spacing on 10 and 11sp is different, and the drivetrains use narrower chains.

You'll need to buy a 9 speed cassette and install it on whatever direct drive trainer you buy. This is no big deal though, you can buy a cheap 9sp cassette for like $25, though if you don't have tools to swap you might need to buy those too.

PaulJack

Thank you all for the input.... I'm stuck between the Kickr, kickr Core and the Elite Suito - however problem I'm running into at the moment is getting the correct cassette.

My Kona uses the Shimano 105 system paired to a 9 speed 12-25 cassette (forgive me if some of the terminologies is incorrect - I'm new to all this) - my local bike shop tells me the 105 is no longer available and the only 9 speed cassettes that are commonly available are something like 11-36, 11-34 etc. etc.. and these wont work on my bike/trainer. Can anyone advise?

I guess I could take the cassette off my rear wheel and fit that but would that work.. I belive for an 11 to 10 speed there is a 1.8mm spacer required - but what about for a 9 speed?

If anyone can recommend a 9 speed cassette that would work from amazon.ca or otherwise comment on the above I would be gratefull :-)

unterhausen

Your cassette will work with your lock ring. I would definitely go 11-25, they are more available that 12-25

base2 

Why do I type these things?

Barry2 

Ive seen sub-mm shims online. They are used to shim the Trainers cassette and eliminate the trainer/wheel difference.

Now if I could only remember where I saw them.

Barry

pennpaul

Go to eBay and search for "Sunrace 9 speed cassette". Plenty of sellers. If you get the Core, it comes with a spacer that you slip onto the hub before sliding on the cassette to allow your lockring to tighten up to your 9 speed cassette. Easy peasy.

hirudo 

To put a 9 speed cassette onto an 11 speed freehub you need a thin spacer on the inside... any bike shop should have it.