The Wattbike Atom has often been associated as a purchase for the serious cyclist. However, with the rise of brands such as Peloton, indoor cycling has become mainstream. So, we have taken a look at how the Wattbike Atom weighs up for cyclists of all levels.
An Introduction to Wattbike Atom
The Wattbike Atom is an indoor exercise bike that has been specifically designed to offer a cycling experience similar to that of being outdoors. It was developed by the Wattbike team, which is a UK based company. In 2000, when they met with Peter Keen, Performance Director at British Cycling, and sought his help to create an indoor bike that could offer a realistic experience for cyclists.
The first Wattbike, the Pro/Trainer, was first launched for elite sports teams, athletes, and testing labs. However, in 2012 the Wattbike went mainstream in the UK, but it wasn’t until 2017 that the Atom was born. The next generation Wattbike Atom was released in July 2020 and that’s the model that’s available now and that we are reviewing in this article.
Wattbike Atom Specifications
The following outlines all the key specs of the Next Generation Wattbike Atom:
- Bike weight 47.5kg
- Dual-sided pedals with toe cages and cleats
- Resistance type: Direct drive flywheel with Wattbike’s patented “Dual Brake Technology”
- Wattbike resistance range of 0 to 2500 watts
- Maximum simulated gradient of 25% (measured at the flywheel)
- Zero Lag power measurements – measures power from both legs simultaneously
- Bluetooth & ANT+ connectivity for use with apps such as Zwift or TrainerRoad etc.
- Includes Wattbike Hub app for cloud storage of data, online programmes and training plans
For more information on the Wattbike Atom dimensions click here
How to Set-up The Wattbike Atom
Setting up the Wattbike Atom is a relatively straightforward process. The Wattbike has an adjustable handlebar, saddle and pedals as well as dual-sided pedals with toe cages and cleats. It provides enough adjustments to find a comfortable and efficient position on the bike. However, if you are a serious cycle you may find it difficult to replicate any of your road or TT bike set-ups.
It also has Bluetooth & ANT+ connectivity for use with apps such as Zwift or TrainerRoad, so you can start your indoor cycling journey straight away. Additionally, the Wattbike Hub app provides over 100 routes and training plans to help keep you motivated.
What Are The The Wattbike Atom Best Features?
Design
The Wattbike Atom boasts a stylish and modern design, which won’t look out of place wherever you decide to use it. Its sleek black frame with red accents gives off a professional and contemporary vibe.
The Wattbike Atom has been designed with the user in mind and features a compact design and works fine for smaller spaces. Compared to a turbo trainer, the Wattbike Atom will take up less space in your room. Also, you don’t get the hassle of having to take the bike on and off the turbo and calibrating the turbo before use.
Set-up
Furthermore, the set-up and adjustable sizing allows for realistic aero riding and good training for TT riding. Although, it has to be said the Wattbike Atom is not ergonomically designed identical to a road bike. Partciularly if you compare it to Wahoo Kickr Bike and Tacx Neo Indoor Bike. For less serious cyclists the different riding positions can help to stay comfortable, reduce saddle soreness and workout different muscle groups.
Riding Experience
From a functional point of view, the bike is stable and can handle sprinting and standing on the pedals without fear of toppling over. Also, the ride itself is self is smooth. The electromagnetic resistance helps to smooth out the ride and allows for a quiet ride. Although, it has been reported that the next generation Wattbike Atom is slightly louder than previous models. However, it’s still quiet enough not to create any disturbance at home or interfere with any audio you are listening to from other devices. There are also 22 gears to shift through, which have responsive mechanics for changing gears on virtual platforms like Zwift.
The accuracy if the Atom is excellent. The Atom reads your data 1000 times per second and delivers ±1% accuracy with a power range of 0-2500w. This means that performance data is updated in real-time with a high level of accuracy.
Connectivity and App Integrations
Also, it has all the connectivity you would expect of a fitness smart device. It has seamless connectivity via bluetooth, ANT, ANT+, Polar and wattbike’s heart rate strap. In fact, customers report excellent synching with devices in many of the customer reviews I have read. Also, it integrates with all popular training apps such as Zwift, Trainer Road, Sufferfest, Fulgaz etc
However, Wattbike provides their own app and I like that the Wattbike hub is free to subscribe. This bucks the trend as many smart devices that work in combination with an app want you to pay a monthly subscription.
When you make an investment that’s as sizeable as smart indoor bike trainer, you’d expect any apps provided by the company to be free.
What We Least Like About the Wattbike Atom
The Wattbike Atom is a top-of-the-line indoor cycling bike, but this comes with a hefty price tag. It is priced on their website at £2,399 but when you compare it to other indoor smart bikes they are not the most expensive. Often, it’s compared to the Wahoo Kickr Bike (£3,499) and Tacx Neo (£2,299). So, if you’re in the market for a top of the range indoor smart trainer then you will have to be prepared to allocate the budget.
As mentioned previously, the Wattbike Atom second generation is a slightly noisier version of Wattbike’s first indoor cycling bike. However, for people comparing the Wattbike Atom to Peloton, it’s worth noting it doesn’t come with a screen for indoor home experience. Although, it does have a placeholder for devices such as smart phones and tablets. So, there is a reliance on apps and smart devices for screen and workout features.
Also, many reviews I have read will state that the Wattbike is fairly light and manoeuvrable. The Wattbike Atom weighs 46kg, so in my view, it isn’t the lightest piece of equipment. To move the Wattbike requires lifting and carrying so this isn’t going to be easy for all users.
In terms of the ride experience, there are a number of forums where customers have reported the connectivity and resistance drop in ERG mode. Also, if you are riding in gear mode then you can easily forget what gear you are in as no obvious visual cue or display on a screen.
The Wattbike Hub
The Wattbike Hub is Wattbikes, online platform where users can access a range of features, routes and training plans. It is designed to make indoor cycling more enjoyable, while also providing the user with useful data about their performance.
The Wattbike Hub is Wattbike’s online platform that makes indoor cycling more enjoyable for users and provides them with useful data about their performance. The Wattbike Hub provides a range of features and tools, such as route creation and customised training plans. It also allows cyclists to build up their skills over time, by offering challenges and activities designed to improve endurance, power, strength and form.
Performance Data
The Wattbike Hub offers real-time tracking of heart rate, cadence, power output, speed, distance and calories burned. It also monitors your progress with metrics such as functional threshold power (FTP) and Pedal Effectiveness Score (PES). This helps cyclists better understand their cycling effectiveness over time and make adjustments to their training accordingly. Cyclists can also access detailed performance reports that show how they have improved over time and how well they are performing compared to other Wattbikers across the globe.
Training Plans
In addition to tracking performance metrics, the Wattbike Hub offers customised training plans tailored to individual riders’ needs. These plans allow cyclists to set goals for themselves in terms of distance or watts per kilogramme (W/kg). The Wattbike Hub also provides challenges that test different aspects of cycling fitness such as hill climbing or sprinting ability.
Coaching and Feedback
Built into the Wattbike Hub is a coaching system which provides video tutorials on technique and advice on how to get the most out of each workout session. The Wattbike Hub also allows riders to join virtual communities where they can compare their results with others. This helps them gain motivation from peers while competing against one another virtually.
For coaches using the Wattbike Atom indoor bike trainer, the Wattbike Hub allows them to easily monitor multiple riders at once from any location in the world via the app. Coaches can track progress in real-time from multiple devices across multiple locations simultaneously on both mobile devices and desktop computers alike. This makes it easy for coaches to provide guidance remotely with every rider during a session or workout routine.
Is Wattbike Atom Worth it For Non Serious Cyclists?
If you’re evaluating the Wattbike Atom as a non serious cyclist, you’ll most likely be comparing it to Peloton.
The main difference between the two is that Peloton offers a range of interactive classes and community rides thanks to its large library of instructor-led video workouts that can be streamed live or saved for later viewing. The Peloton bike has a built-in screen to view the workouts and is purely set up for the in-home cycling class environment.
Peloton is also cheaper than the Wattbike Atom priced at £1,345. Although, bear in mind the app does require a paid subscription of £35 per month to access all the interactive classes.
Ultimately, both Wattbike Atom and Peloton are impressive indoor bikes that provide immersive cycling experiences within the comfort of your own home. But the Wattbike Atom is more suited to the serious cyclist who wants a realistic road bike training experience. Peloton is better suited for a non-serious cyclist who wants an immersive instructor-led class experience.
Our Verdict
There is no doubt the Wattbike Atom is a great piece of kit for in home cycling training. The price is hefty but it is no longer the most expensive on the market in its category. So, if serious cyclists want to move away from turbo training sessions to a realistic indoor bike then the Wattbike Atom deserves your consideration.
It records data with high accuracy that a serious cyclist would want to monitor such as FTP, PES, Watts and Watts/kg. The free Wattbike Hub
The Ergonomics could be slightly more akin to emulating a road bike. It’s still a little to ‘upright’ and the Wahoo Kickr has entered the market with a bike very close to road bike simulation.
I’d favour the Wattbike Atom is suited better for serious cyclists. But having said that, there is no reason why a non serious cyclist can’t still get good use and fun training sessions from the Atom. Particularly, with the integration of various training apps that can offer different training experiences.
Pro’s
- Realistic indoor riding experience
- Convenient versus turbo training set ups
- Accurate resistance and data collection
- Slick design
- Stable and can handle different riding positions
- Free app subscription
Con’s
- Hefty price
- Some drop out issues in ERG mode
- The ergonomics do not quite mimic road bike cycling
What Can We Establish From the Reviews
Customers have praised Wattbike’s customer service team for being quick to respond to inquiries and resolve issues quickly. Customers have also praised Wattbike for its generous warranty period of three years, providing extra peace of mind when it comes to protecting their investments in the Wattbike Atom.
The only common genuine negative that we can find from the reviews is that some users experience drop out issues in ERG mode. Particularly, we have found various discussions on Trainer Road forums that express this issue.
