It’s the news many Zwifters have been waiting for: today Zwift begins selling the Zwift Ride smart frame as a standalone item.
They’ve announced additional hardware news as well: the official launch of the Zwift Ready program, more Zwift Ready trainers coming soon, global availability of the Zwift Cog + Click upgrade pack, and more.
Let’s dive into all the Zwifty hardware news!
Zwift Ride Smart Frame Available as Standalone Purchase
The Zwift Ride frame is available now in the US, EU, and UK priced at $799.99/€799.99/£749.99. It can be ordered exclusively from Zwift.com.
The frame ships with the latest version of the Zwift Cog for installation on your smart trainer. This Cog features built-in adjustability, which allows Zwifters to perfect their chain alignment to provide the quietest ride experience. The frame also includes multiple front feet to help ensure the frame is at the correct height for the trainer it’s paired with.
Which Trainers Are Compatible With the Zwift Ride Frame?
The Zwift Ride frame can be mounted on any smart trainer that supports Zwift’s virtual shifting. Here’s the current list of compatible trainers:
- Elite Avanti
- Elite Avanti with Zwift Cog and Click
- Elite Direto
- Elite Direto X
- Elite Direto XR
- Elite Direto XR with Zwift Cog and Click
- Elite Direto XR-T
- Elite Justo
- Elite Justo 2
- Elite Rivo
- Elite Rivo with Zwift Cog and Click
- Elite Suito
- Elite Suito T
- JetBlack Victory
- JetBlack Volt V2
- Tacx NEO 2
- Tacx NEO 2T
- Tacx NEO 3M
- VAN RYSEL D100
- Wahoo KICKR CORE
- Wahoo KICKR CORE 2
- Wahoo KICKR CORE Zwift One
- Wahoo KICKR Gen 6 (2022)
- Wahoo KICKR Move
- Zwift Hub Classic
- Zwift Hub One
In addition to the list above, two more “Zwift Ready” trainers will be arriving soon:
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“Zwift Ready” Program Launch
The Zwift Ready Program was soft-launched a couple of months back (see our post for program details), but today Zwift officially launches it. Basically, this program certifies trainers which support virtual shifting and ship with the Zwift Cog installed and a Click controller. These trainers have also undergone significant testing in order to be certified – you can read more about that here.
Zwift Ready trainers available from September on include:
- Wahoo KICKR CORE Zwift One
- JetBlack Victory with Zwift Cog and Click
- Wahoo KICKR V6 with Zwift Cog and Click
- Wahoo KICKR MOVE with Zwift Cog and Click
The Zwift Hub One would also be considered Zwift Ready, but it is no longer for sale. Additionally, in the next few months two more Zwift Ready trainers will become available:
Zwift Cog+Click Availability
Virtual shifting is going global!
The Zwift Cog+Click upgrade pack will be available starting in September from Wahoo dealers globally for $79.99. If your smart trainer supports virtual shifting, you can purchase this pack to enable the simplicity of a single-cog setup with virtual shifting.
KICKR CORE Pricing and Availability
Wahoo and Zwift are now offering the option of purchasing the Wahoo KICKR CORE Zwift One trainer without a 1-year Zwift membership, decreasing the price by $150US:
- USA: $499.99
- EU: €499.99
- UK: £449.99
- Purchase via Zwift.com and WahooFitness.com
Additionally, the KICKR CORE Zwift One is now available to purchase via Wahoo retailers globally, bringing virtual shifting capabilities to more countries.
Zwift Play Controllers Available in Canada
WTRL, organizers of Zwift Racing League and other major events, have partnered with Zwift to handle fulfillment of Zwift Play Controllers for Canadian Zwifters! WTRL tells us these are now available to pre-order via the WTRL Shop until stock arrives in Calgary, AB in approximately 2 weeks.
Pricing is a reasonable $140CAD, and WTRL tells us shipping is typically around $14CAD.
Order Now (Canada only) >
Order Now (US, UK, EU) >
Wrapping It Up
Whew… that was a lot!
To summarize: the Zwift Ride frame can now be purchased as a standalone item in the US, UK, and EU. Plus there’s more virtual shifting coming to more people thanks to more trainer support and Wahoo selling compatible trainers plus Cog+Click upgrade packs through their global retailer network.
That’s all good news as far as I can see. Ride on, everyone!
Questions or Comments?
What are your thoughts on all this hardware news? Share below!
As an Aussie V5 KickR owner, I really missed out here lol.
Same with Aussie Volt v2 owners. Still waiting on that firmware update for virtual shifting and now a place to buy the frame.
it’s like our dollarbucks are not good enough.
Nice Bluey reference 👌
V5 here as well. Sell it, take a loss and upgrade.
I asked Wahoo about a trade in program, NOT. Seems like a little hardware is all that would be need to convert to a V6. Thoughts?
Aussie here as well and still waiting on the option to just buy the frame. I have a V6 Kickr and would really love the ability to buy the frame on its own but it’s now February 2025 and you still can’t get it here in aus and it’s really disappointing (cries in Australian)
Still no virtual shifting for Wahoo Kickr v5… 😩😭
Compatibility pages now show “Kickr with cog and click” along with the v6 on a seperate line. Is that the new one coming or does an old kickr work now? Not the clearest messaging since they don’t mention versioning. I first read it as v5 and below will work as long as you throw a cog on but with Wahoo’s “Zwift ready” release maybe it’s that one they’re talking about?
Only the KICKR v6. v5 and earlier do not support virtual shifting (and it sounds like they never will, sadly).
I was going to up-grade my older Kickr V? (Not Compatible).
Think it is bad that Wahoo seems to be trying to get their older
customers to upgrade to the Kickr V6… I still don’t understand why
the older Kickr Core will work, but not the older Kickr V series?
But for now I’m going to wait for the new JetBlack that’s been
talked about… Seems like it is going to be a good Trainer, for a
good price?
The Jet black is now available for preorder to the US. I just put down my money, it says shipping late Oct, so I am hoping to see it by December.
I’m m testing the Jetblack and in my opinion it’s better than my V5 and over the last few dual recordings I’ve been at 1.5-2% accurate!! For the price and how smooth and accurate it is It’s definitely a better option than the Wahoo. The transition from zones in Erg mode is fast as well.
That’s Awesome Kevin… Getting excited about getting one!
Perhaps because the whole legal bun fight between zwift and wahoo meant wahoo selling trainers with zwift and cog included and vice-versa and the jet black rebadged as zwift disappeared. So the Core had to support virtual shifting – although they probably drew the line at adding race mode, but these weren’t technical decisions.
Let’s face it, the core + zwift included deal, for anyone who wants to use zwift all year around, was a no-brainer and pretty much makes all the other products not worth buying for the vast majority of cyclists.
I looked at Neo 2t and kickr and even smart bikes and thought “And I still have to pay on top to get zwift? Meh, get the kickr core deal, see how it is”
Even buying the zwift ride + kickr core offer made no sense because it didn’t come with a year of zwift – and what else are you going to use it for? You can’t even use many of the features with other training software or virtual software.
So wahoo and zwift really outcompeted themselves. They made their kickr core + zwift included more attractive than their more expensive products. Usually customers are supposed to think “Maybe I should spend more and get the next tier” – but they made the higher tier worse – everything included with the kickr core needs to be included with the zwift ride + core or your customers are just going to spend less. You could see they realised that when they knocked £250 off the price of the new kickr v6.
But with the V5 there’s no real requirement for them to make it work with zwift. Zwift don’t have them by the short and curlies as they did with the core+zwift package, so, maybe they release new firmware maybe they just figure the people who want the kickr ride will take the hit and upgrade.
Is it likely thay the Kickr v5 will ever be made compatible or are they trying to force sales through upgrades? I also note the Kickr bike doesn’t get mentioned as being considered certified “Zwift Ready”?
Not likely, based on what Wahoo is saying. See https://zwiftinsider.com/virtual-shifting-support-status/
“Zwift Ready” is a program specifically dealing with Zwift virtual shifting and the single-speed cog instead of a cassette. So it wouldn’t make sense for the KICKR Bike to get that label. Read more: https://zwiftinsider.com/zwift-ready/
KICKR Bike is its own kind of virtual shifting, not the Zwift kind, and there’s nowhere for the Cog to go, so it wouldn’t fit in the “Zwift Ready” classification.
Zwift needs to design an add-on adapter for the front of the Zwift Ride, so it can be used with the Wahoo Move without having to lock the latter in place.
Don’t you have an old pair of roller-skates? You only need one!
Before I knew about the Zwift ride, I bought an old frame my size for very little and fitted it out for Zwift. Luckily despite expecting virtual shifting for my V5 trainer I fitted 18 speed gears. It’s good enough for me, so I’ll stick with the V5 for now.
It’s worth noting that although the Kickr Move can connect to the ride, you’ll probably have to lock out the forward/backward movement.
i have a Direto XR-T, will it support virtual shifting or only new models?
My guess is yet… that Elite will roll out a firmware upgrade for all Direto XRs. But we’ll see what they do!
Here’s the response I received from Elite support team:
we are already sending the Direto XR with the Cog (already assembled), but until now there isn’t a kit to upgrade your Direto XR to be compatible with the Cog, because the problem is in the mechanical part and not in the firmware. The freehub of the Cog is not the same of the freehub of the Direto X
What if I’m having an tac X neo2t!?
Then you need to bug Garmin about releasing a firmware update! 🙂
Does anyone know if the Saris H3 will be supported?
Saris is so dysfunctional that I doubt you’ll be seeing any meaningful updates to existing hardware. I’ve reached out to them to inquire, but never heard anything back.
Its impossible to find the hardware on the Zwift site.
Why hide it if you want to sell something?
Seems pretty easy to me. The Zwift Ride is literally on the homepage, with a giant button! Plus a banner across the top: https://www.zwift.com/
You may be seeing a different view if you’re in a different location, I suppose… the actual shop is at https://us.zwift.com/collections/all for me, from the main “Shop” link in the main navigation.
Kind of interesting that it doesn’t support the Neo 2/2T.
I think it’s more accurate to say the Neo 2/2T doesn’t support Zwift virtual shifting. It’s up to Garmin to make it happen.
Zwift could have made an open protocol, but they went proprietary so maybe don’t point fingers?
LOL. Gotta love the downvotes.
It’s not a question of open vs proprietary. Regardless of which path Zwift chose, there would have to be a firmware update. Hence me saying it’s up to Garmin.
(Some day I’ll write a post about why Zwift went the path of creating a new shifting protocol instead of just mimicking shifts by changing existing trainer settings like gradient, like IndieVelo does. It’s kind of a complex question to answer, but suffice it to say Zwift’s engineering team decided it would make the experience better to do it that way.)
I’d be interested to read that post. I’ve not tried virtual shifting on IndieVelo, so don’t know how well it works, but on the face of it, it seems odd for Zwift to design virtual shifting as a system such that every trainer needs new protocol and a firmware upgrade. I look forward to hearing an explanation.
Firmware update sure, but open protocol vs proprietary. It’s the zwift protocol, not the virtual shifting protocol. It’s the difference between creating something while inviting everyone into the room vs creating your own thing that benefits you to the detriment of others. It’s designed by zwift to ensure lock in, not designed by zwift to bring the whole trainer industry forward. Open protocols are what made zwift possible in the first place, but now Zwift is turning their back on them. Dc Rainmaker asked Erin Min about this, he gave an empty answer.
The question of why a new protocol at all is separate from this, please don’t conflate them.
I was wondering how far down I’d have to scroll to find the Tacx Neo comments- further than I thought. With everything you’ve said thus far about Garmin’s reluctance to release firmware for virtual shifting- what are the chances do you think that it will actually happen in the future?
Eric,
My current setup is my 2010 Trek Madone with Sram Red, Kickr V6 & the Kickr Climb.
It would be great if Zwift sold the controllers that are on the Ride separately. I tried the Zwift Play controllers but couldn’t get them in a good position because of my Sram shifters. I’d like to convert my setup to Zwift controllers (from the Ride), with the cog & virtual shifting.
And something for the future:
V2 of the Ride, with an adapter for the Kickr Climb. I’d be all over the Zwift Ride if I could use it with my Climb, but because I can’t the Ride is a non-starter.
Zwift is so close, but so far away with some their hardware offerings
Crossing fingers that virtual shifting comes to the elite suito…. But I’m not holding my breath
I have a Direto XR, the compatibility list says “only Zwift Ready Direto XR with Zwift Cog and Click is compatible”. is the direto compatible? I have to buy the Zwift Click if I buy the frame?
Yes I basically have the same question. It says Zwift Ride smart frame comes with Zwift cog, but then it’s compatible with Direto XR with Zwift Cog and Click. Do we get everything we need with the Zwift ride smart frame to be able to use it on a Direto XR or we need to buy anything (and what) separately??
The “Direto XR with Zwift Cog and Click” is the name of the product Elite will begin selling in the next week or so. It’s a Direto XR that supports virtual shifting out of the box and ships with the Cog installed.
This is the ONLY trainer from Elite that will support virtual shifting (and use with Zwift Ride) at this time. Based on an email I have from Elite this morning, they are not promising support for any other trainers in their lineup at this time.
Maybe a dumb question, but is it possible to use the Zwift ride on the Kickr V5 if I only use ERG mode?
Ummm… yeah, I guess so? You wouldn’t have virtual shifting, but you could pair the Ride’s controllers and get steering, handy buttons, etc. Then ERG would control the resistance automatically.
Yes, finally I can order the frame without the Kickr (I have). But Zwift wants to have 100 Euro extra for the shipment. That’s now 900 Euro in total. Ouch! Are they any resellers in the EU?
When u use Wahoo Kickr with Zwift Ride frame, do u still have the advantage of the side-to-side movement?
Yeah, the bike will still rock a bit as allowed by the KICKR.
Thanks Eric! Was almost sure to go for Wattbike Atom (next gen), but now the Ride frame is available I’m thinking to to combine that with the Kickr and still have money left for example a Garmin watch. Any thoughts anyone?
@Eric Schlange I always wondered why the need of Trainer compatibility, when in theory Zwift (or any other cycling app) could include the gear change into the calculations before telling the trainer how much resistance to pedalling has to apply. In fact, with the option of setting the Trainer Difficulty is akind to a virtual change. For example, if you are riding in a flat with a 1 gear bike, changing the Trainer Difficulty from maximum to less say 90 %, is going to have a similar effect as if you change the chain-ring of the bike with a smaller one. Thanks for all the work you are doing in Zwift Insider.
Some day I’ll write a post about this. Got some documentation/interaction with Zwift’s hardware team about why they went this route. Suffice to say, they have their reasons, and the reasons are technical/user experience related…
I will look forward to that. Thanks. And I suppose they have their reasons for doing it the way they did, I would have guess some comercial reasons as well.
Ridiculous to say 799$ as your paying 12.5% on shipping costs. Should advertise everything with free shipping to show a more honest projection of price
I’m happy with the QZ app handling the virtual shifting for my Kickr v5
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/17dQaeU286/?mibextid=K35XfP
With the Zwift Ride including the trainer I thought $75 for shipping was steep but at least it’s two big packages and a small one.
For the frame alone, it’s only the lighter of the two big packages. Charging $75 for shipping feels like a rip-off to a degree where Frame + tablet holder are sitting in my shopping cart on Zwift.com right now waiting for me to pull the trigger. Total cost including taxes is going to be close to $1000. Combine that with the fact that I’m slowly questioning if I really want to be locked into using just Zwift and I’m just not sure anymore.
Fun fact: If the Frame was $849 + $25 shipping I’m pretty sure I’d have bought it by now.
Just got a message from Zwift that they’re reducing shipping costs effective immediately:
EU (EUR) 100 -> 60
US (USD) 75 -> 55
UK (GBP) 65 -> 45
Hi Eric,
Are you sure this is the case? because I ordered it on sep 4 but still paid 100 euro for shipping 😦
Same here. I contacted Zwift to see if there is a chance of getting a refund. Has anyone else tried this and been successful?
Zwift just confirmed that they will refund me for the shipping reduction. 40 Euros in my case 😀
Zwift ride smart frame is 150 to 200 euros overpriced
Hi Eric
I love the Zwift ride concept, as I get through a lot of cassettes, chains and gear change parts using my old race bikes whilst sweating through Zwift on the Tecx Neo Smart.
A key question for me as a Tacx Neo Smart user – when is the Zwift bike and electronic gear change going to be made compatible? Or is Garmin deciding to not cooperate on this venture?
I do love my Tacx,……but…..
If that is the case should I simply ditch my Tacx and go for the the complete Zwift Ride + Kickr Core package?
Regards
Sorry, read down and just saw Sam’s comment. I will bug Garmin ,….but frankly based on previous experience, Tacx service has been swallowed by Garmin,…and hence gone downhill. Also they want to protect their own complete bike package – which is too expensive.
Word on the street is, Garmin is talking to Zwift regularly about hardware stuff. So hopefully that means they’re working on a firmware update to support virtual shifting, at least for newer models of the NEO.
@eric, if you use Zwift Ride with Kickr Core + APPLE TV, will I still need to use Zwift Companion for all of the bluetooth connections (eg including HRM). Thx (and love your work BTW)
No, you can connect your KICKR via Wifi, a HRM, and the Ride’s Play controllers all directly via AppleTV.
It doesn’t work this way with the standalone Play controllers, however. Not sure what the difference is, but my guess is the standalone controllers are independent of each other while the (newer) Zwift Ride controllers are somehow being combined into one channel.
Are you sure, Eric? The Kickr Core is the first connection, HRM is the second connection. How do I connect the Ride´s Play controllers? What do I miss?
Yes! The Ride controllers will only use one Bluetooth connection, they are bridged to each other so that you can use it with ATV with your trainer. You can use the Zwift Companion app to bridge all though so youre not limited on connections
We are talking about a Kickr Core. The Zwift Hub can bridge the signal from the HRM, but the Kickr Core can´t.
So, again, I don´t think I can connect the Kickr Core, a HRM and the Ride Controllers (left and right) at the same time to ATV. So Eric´s post is wrong in my opinion.
We’re both right… well, sort of. 🙂 I figured out after poking around a bit why it easily all connected for me – because I tested it with my KICKR v6, which was connected via WiFi and not Bluetooth!
See https://youtu.be/ag-pUgYaB30
So this won’t work with KICKR Core (which doesn’t support WiFi connections). But it’ll work with any trainer that can connect to Zwift by WiFi.
I have a Direto from 2018 before the XR naming came out. Any idea if this is supported or is it just the newer models?
Yours definitely won’t get virtual shifting any time soon (if ever). Elite just told me today that they have no plan to roll out support to older XR’s, although that could happen. Just the new ones they’ll start selling soon with the Cog installed. (Shakes head…)
Is it possible to switch the setup between two riders constantly? Currently me and my wife wants to share a bike, but for sure our size is different.
Yeah, it doesn’t take long to adjust things for different-sized riders. I think once you got used to it and knew your adjustment numbers for each rider, you could make the necessary adjustments in about a minute.
You would want to both be using the same pedals, though.
Will this support the Tacx NEO trainers?
That’s up to Garmin. Hopefully they’ll issue a firmware update and bring virtual shifting support to the NEO some day.
Thanks!
Any news on backwards compatibility, allowing virtual shifting to work with older trainers, including the Saris H3, either with the Cog, or by leaving the chain in one place and using Zwift Play or Zwift Click?
the zwift website says the original zwift hub is not compatible with zwift frame. I already virtual shift on zwift hub via the play controllers so I am having trouble understanding why it is not compatiable.
Your site says it is, zwift site says I need a cog + free hub which makes no sense to me. I feel your right they are wrong given I can already virtual shift.
i can’t wait to buy this either way. Price is about $100 higher than I expected but I imagine shipping this is a considerable expense.
The original Hub is compatible, as long as you’ve got the Cog installed instead of a normal cassette. The Ride’s chain is too wide for a standard cassette, so you need a Cog for it to work smoothly.
Thank you for that info eric!
zwift should put that information on the page
I see that the shipping has been reduced in price 🤩👌🏻I ordered my frame yesterday and paid full shipping but it’s not been shipped yet , will I get a refund on the shipping charge to reflect the immediate change
With the core being reduced in price, it’s now the same price to buy it and the ride separately as it is to buy the bundle with them together. I assume you don’t get the clicker with the cog if you buy the bundle either. So, it looks like they should reduce the bundle price in line with the core price reduction.
Also, the core proposition still looks poor Vs the jet black victory when they starts shipping. More functions, 50 dollars/pounds cheaper.
In my opinion it is a great move from Zwift to come out with an own frame compatible to the rest of its hardware.
But I do wonder: Shipping cost of 100 € ???????
Why do they have fake reviews on the Zwift Shop website?
Does the zwift ride come with its own chain? I’ve got a kickr core and thinking of buying the frameset only but can’t find anything about the chain. Also is it the v2 version of the Zwift Cog?
Yes, comes with chain and v2 (orange) cog.
Not that $20 less shipping really matters but the gesture counts so I pulled the trigger and ordered 🙂
@Eric Schlange I made sure to use the affiliate link on here. I hope you’ll get a commission through Zwift too, not just Amazon/Wahoo/etc?
I do! Thanks for taking the time to click, sir.
How about Wahoo giving us V owners a trade in on the new equipment?
Sounds fair to me.
Are there any news/rumors on a new kickr core +cog v2 bundle?
The pick above shows the Core with a V2 Cog. I believe once Wahoo sells out of Cores with the original Cog they’ll all be V2s… that might already be the case in fact.
Thanks for the answer.
I asked their customer support last week but they did not answer yet.
I’ll think I hold off until the bundle is official.
KICKR v5 is a must. Why the older KICKR Core is OK and not the V5 which is higher end 🙁 Wahoo is taking us for big money pockets ????
As not ‘the many in use’ indoor trainers will get any ‘Zwift Ready’ label. Any thoughts on this ‘hack’ option Eric? Sounds like a new article material… Would be very interesting to read about other’s their experience with such hack
https://www.hackster.io/jmlopezdona/virtual-shifting-for-everybody-43a90a
Hey Eric, any idea if they plan to sell the frame only in Oz in the next 12 months, or is this never going to be an option over here?
Cheers Matt
Will Saris H3 be compatible to Zwift ride? – It works fine with Zwift software and I don’t want to change
I have my doubts, since Saris doesn’t seem to be investing much into the smart trainer side of things these days, due to their struggling business.
Do we know when the frame-only Zwift Ride will be available in Canada?
No plans that I know of, because it would have to go through Wahoo for that to happen, and Wahoo isn’t selling the standalone frame.
Is this the same issue with frame only sales in Australia? Why does Wahoo have a strangle hold over this Zwift product in some regions?
I believe so.
It’s not about Wahoo having a stranglehold, as I understand it. It’s that they have a distribution network that Zwift doesn’t. So Zwift is leveraging that network instead of building their own out.
Problem is, the Ride frame alone doesn’t make Wahoo any money. So they’re not going to sell it without a trainer.
When the frame-only Zwift Ride will be available in EU?
I already have the Zwift Hub 1. Do I need to adjust anything to attach it to the Zwift Frame? Many Thanks and Happy Zwift New Year…
Nope!
If I were to purchase the zwift ride frame, would delivery to South Africa be possible? What would the costs be?