Turn your ordinary bike into an indoor trainer with this Wi-Fi connected smart base

While the summer months are great for putting in the miles on your favorite bike, it can be frustrating to have to hang it up when the weather turns. This smart bike trainer turns your road bike into an indoor exercise bike, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to connect to your PC, iOS, or Android device, and support for a wide variety of interactive and training apps. Multiple retailers have the Kickr Core 2 on sale for $399.99 (usually $549.99) in both the Cog and Click version (Wahoo, Amazon) which fits 8-13 speed bikes, and the version with an included 11-speed cassette (Wahoo, Amazon).

One of the main advantages to a trainer like the Kickr is access to dynamically adjustable resistance, which can work in concert with training apps to tune your workout, or interact with riding apps to replicate inclines and group rides. If you use heart rate or cadence trackers, the Kickr Core 2 can connect directly to them with ANT+ support, and the Cog and Click version includes controllers for changing your virtual gears that hook to your handlebars. I use mine to keep pedaling during the winter months in the Pacific Northwest, joining other cyclists from all over the world for group rides, challenges, and races using Zwift.

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