Hedgehogs. These cute little animals became a pet craze around 2019, and it’s easy to see why:
This season, a fresh hedgehog craze is sweeping the Zwift community. These hedgehogs are larger, brighter-colored, and much less cuddly than the hedgehog you see above. They also require no feeding or maintenance!
Zwifters are using the hedgehogs (better known as “balance pods” or balance balls”) to bring motion to their otherwise static trainer setup. Put a pod beneath your trainer’s legs and viola!, it can bounce and jiggle. Here are a few setups I’ve seen:
With rocker plates costing hundreds of dollars (anywhere from $150 for a basic trainer-only plate to several hundred dollars for a full-length one with fore-aft movement), some Zwifters report that balance pods (~$25 for a set of 4) offer an affordable alternative.
I recently acquired a set of hedgehogs (better known as “balance pods” or balance balls”) for the purpose of testing. This set of four arrived for $25 to my door, thanks to Amazon. They quickly infested my pain cave:
I spent a few hours with these hedgehogs, testing them on a KICKR Core in various positions and levels of inflation.
Initial Tests
In my first ride, I had the balls flipped upside-down (so the flat side is up) because I liked the idea of my trainer’s legs being on a flat surface. I didn’t inflate or deflate the balls at all – just used them as they arrived.
My initial reaction was that the balls felt better than expected when spinning along in zone 2 with Coco. A bit of side-to-side motion, even a bit of fore-aft movement, and not a lot of noticeable bounce or other unwanted movement.
But then I tried upping the power, hitting 300-500W while staying seated. Things started feeling a bit more bouncy.
Then I stood up and rode around 400W for a few seconds… until my trainer fell off one of the pods, and the whole setup came falling down like a house of spiky blue cards!
I flipped the pods over (the spikes, I discovered, were hard and sharp and would quickly chew up my foam gym mats) and tested things that way. Much better. Less unwanted fore-aft movement, thanks to the pods being stable and flat on the floor. Progress! I made a quick video:
Continued Tests
Things were still too bounce for my taste, so I deflated the pods until they were just about as squishy as possible, without my trainer legs bottoming out when moving side to side.
This was less bouncy, and came with the added benefit of allowing my trainer legs to “sink into” the spiky top of the pod, so there was less chance of my trainer coming off the pod, even in a hard effort.
I tried some hard efforts: seated and standing sprints and out-of-the-saddle climbs. I couldn’t get my trainer to come off the pods, which was good.
But there were two things I didn’t like:
- Uncontrolled Motion: the pods allowed/enabled too much undesired motion. Too much bouncing, especially when out of the saddle and really stomping on the pedals. It felt like I was losing power, like climbing on a mountain bike with a bouncy rear shock.
- Restricted Left-Right Motion: yes, the pods allow more side-to-side movement than a static setup, but they only allow for 2-3 inches of left-right movement (measured from my stem), which isn’t anywhere near the natural range of outdoor movement or the ~10″ you get with a rocker plate.
Conclusions: Static vs Hedgehogs vs Rocker Plates
So, are balance pods a better experience than a static setup? And are they an affordable alternative to pricey rocker plates?
My conclusion is: it depends. If you’re a rider on a static setup who doesn’t get out of the saddle or hammer high watts, a few low-psi balance pods may give you some extra movement that adds a bit of comfort and realism to your ride. If you ride a lot on Zwift, it may be worth giving them a try.
But for riders who get out of the saddle, sprint at high watts, and/or want a really stable setup, balance pods aren’t the answer.
I’m firmly in the second camp. But I’ve also been spoiled by using quality rocker plates for years, so I know what I’m missing when I go back to balance pods or even (*gasp*) a completely static setup.
Perhaps hedgehogs are simply “gateway rockers” providing an affordable way to test if you like a bit of motion in your setup. I can get on board with this. But if you find you like the movement, I’d recommend giving a rocker plate a try. Because a set of balance pods adds nothing to your setup that a rocker plate doesn’t do better.
Your Thoughts
Have you tried balance pods on your setup? Are you using them now? Share your thoughts below!
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