Wahoo Kickr Poor Build Quality

[DynaplateRocker]

Hi Hubbers,

 

I purchased a Wahoo Kickr Snap 2 during the lockdown indoor cycling craze around June 2020. 

 

I rode it roughly three to four times a week since then. At the beginning of December I started noticing it getting progressively noisier. Then around Christmas I could start feeling a vibration in the back wheel and a clunking sound every few rotations. The noise/vibration also seemed to catch a resonance at a certain rotational frequency. Running okay one moment and suddenly whirring loudly thereafter. 

 

I suspected one of the bearings had gone. I read up on the problem and found that some other folks had a similar problem. They sent it back and had to wait ages for feedback, or they simply were told to tighten the roller wheel grub screws or flywheel bolt. This is not the cause of the problem. 

 

I decided that I wasn't going to wait months from the useless Wahoo service department and decided to open the thing up. What I found was pretty horrific. 

 

As soon as I opened the housing opposite to the flywheel side a mass of black soot fell out from the bearing. See photo. 

 

I completely disassembled the unit, investigated and made the following discovery:

 

The tolerance on the bearing housings are machined incorrectly (too large for the bearing to sit snugly). It seems Wahoo knew this and added what seems like Loctite or similar to the outer bearing race to fill the gap. This worked fine for a few months, then after the filler faded and the bearing gradually started loosening in its housing, vibrating around like crazy and generating enough heat to burn the filler thus causing the soot. 

 

It doesn't stop there though. The shaft the bearing is mounted on was also badly worn due to the loose bearing, with chattering and a large indentation on it. See second photo. 

 

The flywheel side bearing seemed to be all fine, although there was evidence of green Locitite type filler there too.

 

The bearings used were also of a brand I've never heard before.  

 

I cleaned out the unit and bough SKF replacement bearings and fitted them instead. I used a punch to punch a few small holes in the aluminium bearing housing with some small burrs sticking out around the holes. This causes the bearing to sit much more snug in it's housing. I actually had to give it a few good taps to go in. Although the shaft was worn, it seemed to now sit snug on the shaft too.

 

I re-assembled and gave it a test spin. It rotates under it's own inertia much smoother and for much longer than even when new. The true test comes when I put the bike on it though as well as a few months down the line.

 

Thus a word of warning thus when buying a Kickr as I'm unsure if this quality issue affects any other Kickr trainers. 

I've submitted a support ticket to Wahoo but am yet to receive a response. 

 

Truly shocking and disappointing from a company as well known and expensive as Wahoo in my opinion. Something I would expect from a cheap Chinese off-brand trainer.

 

Your thoughts welcome.

 

 

 

 

[DR ◣◢]

 

 

I decided that I wasn't going to wait months from the useless Wahoo service department and decided to open the thing up. What I found was pretty horrific.

 

I stopped reading right about here... 

 

If you are in South Africa (hope not) you will know that the SA agents for Wahoo are without a doubt some of the most helpful people in the industry. 

 

Did you contact Ikhambi/Wahoo South Africa?

[DynaplateRocker]

Hi DR,

 

Unfortunately from South Africa. 

 

I have indeed reached out to Ikhambi via email. No feedback as yet and would love to get their opinion.

 

I should mention that my Tickr 2 HR monitor has also decided to stop working recently after a month of use. 

[DR ◣◢]

Try phoning them as well: 087 654 1940

 

I had a problem with my Kickr Core last year and it was replaced within a couple of days. 

Received excellent service.

[JohanDiv]

SNIP

 

Nice fix.. but I agree with DR. I've only had excellent aftersales service from Wahoo/Ikhambi.

 

Sucks that your ticket slipped through a crack, but that is definitely a 1 in 10 000 case of that happening at Wahoo/Ikhambi. They genuinely have the best aftersales service I've ever experienced.

 

I've had two Kickr 4's and three Tickr HR monitors replaced. The last HR monitor they even replaced well out of the warranty period. Every time within two days from reporting I had my new Kickr or Tickr delivered to my door.

[eddy]

I stopped reading right about here... 

 

If you are in South Africa (hope not) you will know that the SA agents for Wahoo are without a doubt some of the most helpful people in the industry. 

 

Did you contact Ikhambi/Wahoo South Africa?

 

When my Kickr Core died I was offered a couple of convenient to me ways of getting it back to them but as I was due to travel past their offices, I dropped in with it and expected to hear from them in a day or two.

 

They tested it then and there, apologised for the inconvenience and put a new one in the boot of my car before I could even sign the service card. 

 

Excellent service

[TheoG]

Well ... Both good service and a good product are important.  I'm hearing about to many "technical issues" on Wahoo Kickr.

 

If the time come to fork out a lot of bucks, I might rather look at other brands.

[shaper]

Hi DR,

 

Unfortunately from South Africa. 

 

I have indeed reached out to Ikhambi via email. No feedback as yet and would love to get their opinion.

 

I should mention that my Tickr 2 HR monitor has also decided to stop working recently after a month of use.

 

Tampering and changing things as you have done will void any warranty.

[madmarc]

I stopped reading right about here... 

 

If you are in South Africa (hope not) you will know that the SA agents for Wahoo are without a doubt some of the most helpful people in the industry. 

 

Did you contact Ikhambi/Wahoo South Africa?

 

The OP point is more about build quality then Wahoo SA service - although i do agree they are good - not perfect but good.

 

As a Core owner I've had my runins with Wahoo and also resorted to opening things myself and as a Mech Eng can say they are actually junk considering the price you pay for them.

[PhilipV]

Tampering and changing things as you have done will void any warranty.

Well the thread is more about Wahoo's terrible quality. The OP could have closed it back up and wait for a warranty fix or replacement. But his repair is probably better than what Wahoo would have offered judging by the initial build quality.

 

also resorted to opening things myself and as a Mech Eng can say they are actually junk considering the price you pay for them.

I'm also one of those guys who will open something to find the problem. The replace and throw away culture irritates me.

[sirmoun10goat]

It is still a biased rant, blatantly calling Wahoo out on quality, and iKambi on service.

 

Before making these accusations, it needs to be verified how many other products are affected by this issue, versus how many other products are general operating without fault. Likewise, how many happy iKambi clients versus unhappy.

 

Most people can make/build/items to a higher level of quality than that is available on the market, but can they do this at the same price point, on scale?

[Muttley]

I had my Kickr 3 for a couple of years now and it's been a dream to own.

 

Haven't had any issues with it and when I've had a query or 2, iKhambi were awesome.

 

Seems like OP should've reached out to iKhambi instead of Wahoo themselves.

[Andreas_187]

Most people can make/build/items to a higher level of quality than that is available on the market, but can they do this at the same price point, on scale?

It's a crazy world when you think R25k for a basic piece of kit is cheap

[PhilipV]

I had my Kickr 3 for a couple of years now and it's been a dream to own.

 

Haven't had any issues with it and when I've had a query or 2, iKhambi were awesome.

 

Seems like OP should've reached out to iKhambi instead of Wahoo themselves.

OP did reach out to iKhambi.

 

Post #3

"I have indeed reached out to Ikhambi via email. No feedback as yet and would love to get their opinion."

Edited January 15, 2021 by PhilipV

[TheoG]

The OP point is more about build quality then Wahoo SA service - although i do agree they are good - not perfect but good.

 

As a Core owner I've had my runins with Wahoo and also resorted to opening things myself and as a Mech Eng can say they are actually junk considering the price you pay for them.

 

I can sort of deal with poor service (we got used to that over time in SA) but, also as a Mech Eng, I cant stand inferior quality, there is no excuse for it unless its cheap and marketed as such.

 

So like I said in my previous post, I will think twice about buying a Kickr based on the quality issues mentioned here.

[Vetplant]

I have two close colleagues that had to go to iKhambi with faulty units, they only have the highest praise for the team and their customer service. Won't go into too much details, but they went way beyond the call of duty for the one colleague specifically who had a very unique situation.

 

OP might have been an unfortunate support ticket that slipped through the cracks, it happens in the best of organizations.

 

In the same breath, there is a slight concern with regards to the issues raised by the OP in terms of build quality of the Kickr Snap.

 

The Original Kickr was rock solid by all accounts. Progressing forward over time, it seems like some of the newer units don't have the same robustness for some reason. It is good to hear though that anyone that had an issue with a Kickr was helped with a fix/replacement very quickly. Hopefully the products have now matured over time as the inherent manufacturing issues were ironed out by retrofits or replacements.