Zwift has unveiled its Hub One bike trainer, a new version of the original Zwift Hub Smart Trainer.
Most visibly different about Zwift Hub One, compared to the original Hub trainer, is the Zwift Cog. In a departure from all previous direct drive trainers, Zwift Hub One replaces the standard bike cassette with the new Zwift Cog.
According to Zwift this is… ‘a revolutionary single cog component that comes pre-installed and allows the trainer to work with almost any 8-12 speed bike. Thanks to its unique design, riders can put chain drops in the past as sides act as a chain retention device.’
The new Zwift Hub One is now available for purchase. Zwift Hub, with a choice of a traditional 8-12 speed cassette, will continue to be sold under the new name, Zwift Hub Classic. Both trainers are priced at US$599/€599/£549 and include one year of Zwift membership.
Zwift Hub One also enables cyclists to take advantage of virtual shifting. Zwift adds that this is normally only seen on smart bikes, and is now available to those who prefer the value and convenience of a trainer…
‘With virtual shifting, cyclists will enjoy shifting free of lag and chain skips, even when shifting under load. Modern smart bikes are now so quiet, the loudest noise when riding actually comes from the bike’s physical drivetrain. With virtual shifting, much of this added noise is eliminated, leaving the rest of your house in peace while you sweat it out in the virtual world of Watopia.’
Zwifters can control virtual shifts with the included wireless Zwift Click which mounts to any type of handlebar (road, flat, and TT) via two rubber O-Rings.
Shifting is via plus and minus buttons to shift the gear up or down. From launch, Zwift Hub One comes with 24 virtual gears.
To ensure consistency between bikes, Zwift Hub One is able to detect the gear ratios on a user’s physical bike which allows it to set the virtual gears accordingly. It achieves this through a process called ‘real gear ratio calibration.’
Here, the bike trainer does this automatically within the first few seconds of every ride. In addition to delivering benefits to those with multiple bikes, real gear ratio calibration offers new benefits to riders using smaller chainrings, like those found on gravel and mountain bikes – helping to prevent those riders from spinning out on flat or downhill terrain in Zwift.
Zwifters who already own a Hub will have two options that will allow them to unlock the benefits of virtual shifting. Once updated to Zwift Hub Firmware version 5.2, or newer, Zwifters who own Zwift Play can turn Virtual Shifting on from their setting menu. Side buttons on the Play Controllers allow for virtual shifting and also bring added benefits of improved game navigation plus steering and braking controls. Zwift Play is compatible with drop handlebars only and is available to purchase separately for US$99/€99/£99 via Zwift.com.
For those wishing to upgrade their existing Zwift Hub units, a Zwift Cog + Zwift Click upgrade package will be available for purchase. Zwift Cog comes pre-installed on a freehub and installs with the tools included with Zwift Hub. The upgrade bundle will be available for US$59.99/£59.99/€59.99 for a limited time after launch, to allow existing Zwift Hub owners to upgrade, down from the full MSRP of US$79.99/£79.99/€79.99.
The Zwift Play and Click can both be paired with Zwift at the same time, giving riders the option to shift from multiple locations on the handlebar.
In order to use Virtual Shifting, Zwifters will also need to make sure Zwift is updated to version 1.50, which will be rolling out between Wednesday October 11 and Friday October 13.
