Yummy Monday · Body joy · Reading time: about 7 minutes
Last Monday I told you that a KICKR CLIMB was on its way to my house. Things have happened since then. Another package has arrived – this time in Zwift’s unmistakable orange – and on Thursday I opened the package. The cassette is removed, a single little orange cog sits on the trainer, and two small new remotes have moved onto the handlebars. The setup is complete. Let me tell you what I did, and why.
What is Zwift Cog?
The Zwift Cog is a single cog that replaces the entire cassette on your trainer. Yes, you read that right – instead of ten, eleven or twelve cogs in the rear, there is now just one. The chain is always straight, always in the same place.
But how do you switch? This is where the smart thing happens: the switching takes place virtually, inside Zwift. The trainer adjusts the resistance electronically instead of the chain jumping between cogs. From the perspective of the legs, it feels like a regular gear change – but mechanically, nothing happens at all on the bike.
And Zwift Click?
Click are the buttons that control it all – two small controllers that attach to the handlebars. Plus and minus for shifting up and down, plus buttons for steering, responding to ride-ons, and navigating Zwift without having to let go of the handlebars or fiddle with your phone in the middle of an interval. They talk wirelessly to the game, and installation was done in no time.
Why did I replace a fully functioning cassette?
Three reasons, in my order:
1. The silence and wear and tear. With the chain permanently in perfect alignment, most of the drivetrain noise disappears – and the skewed chain wear. No more chain working on the skew in the outer positions. My Bianchi Via Nirone 7 now lives on the trainer, and I want it to be fine there. (The Right to Repair heart rejoices: less wear means fewer parts that need to be replaced.)
2. The gears are better than the mechanical ones. Virtual shifting provides 24 steps with no deadlocks and no overlap – and the shifting is smooth even in the middle of a steep hill under full load, something every cyclist knows a mechanical gear would protest loudly against. Combined with the new CLIMB, this means that when the hill gets steeper in front of me and the front of the bike rises, I can click my way down step by step without the chain squeaking or jumping. These are exactly the positions I’ll be training in this winter.
3. Simplicity. One cog. No rear derailleur adjustments, no indexing, no chain whipping the next time something needs to be changed. The trainer cassette now sits neatly packed next to the Cog box along with the spacers – ready to be returned if or when I want. I like to keep my stuff organized. Storage is part of the Swift design.
An important thing
One thing should be made clear, for those of you considering the same approach: the virtual exchange works. only in Zwift. Do you run other apps? For me, it's not a problem – Zwift is my indoor living room – but it's worth knowing before you buy.
My indoor cycling, summarized
This is what it looks like now, my little indoor workshop for body pleasure:
- Bianchi Via Nirone 7 – the bike, the soul of it all
- Wahoo KICKR CORE – the trainer that provides the resistance
- KICKR CLIMB – the slope, up to 20 % slope
- Zwift Cog – one gear, zero hassle
- Zwift Click – switching and control in the buttons
Each part has a function, and together it creates a wonderful flow: when the hill starts on the screen, the front fork raises, I click down a couple of steps and can then get out of the saddle. It's as close to real climbing as I can get in my studio – and it's exactly the training I need during the winter, heading towards the Viking Tour in Norway 2027. Norwegian hills are not negotiated with. You prepare for them. If I decide now...
Tour de France – The Tourmalet decided
And the Tour then? What a week! After the time trial in Barcelona we had some wonderfully unpredictable days: the Norwegian Torstein Traeen (Uno-X) wore the yellow jersey through the Pyrenees, and Olav Kooij took his first Tour stage victory in a chaotic sprint in Pau. But on Friday came the first real mountain race – over the very Tourmalet – and then stepped Tadej Pogacar ahead, won the stage and took over yellow with a little over two and a half minutes ahead Jonas Vingegaard. The duel everyone has been waiting for is in full swing, and behind it lurks Del Toro, Evenepoel and young Seixas.
I saw the climb over the Tourmalet and thought: that hill is probably in Zwift. The difference between me and the pros is of course astronomical – but at least now we have the same slope in our legs. Whatever it takes, and that's good enough for me.
Movement of the week
The first real workout with this setup will be a soft start: a hilly Zwift ride where I just let my body get used to both the new gearing and the new incline together. No musts, just making new friends. Then I start adding climbing to the schedule.
Have you tried virtual shifting – or do you still have your cassette?
Please tell me in the comments, I'm curious about what you think. And I'll of course let you know in the future how it goes...
Move with joy – see you on the slopes!
// Mary