Wahoo KICKR RUN Hands-on: The Most Insane Treadmill?

As a general rule of thumb, I avoid running on treadmills as much as humanely possible. I save the dreadmill for only the most miserable of sideways almost-freezing rain windy of winter nights. Usually, I make a point of going out on the road when at all possible.

But it’s quite possible the new Wahoo KICKR RUN might change that.

I got the chance to do some test runs on it, getting an initial look at things from a hardware and software standpoint, as well as testing out all the new smarts inside of it.And it’s clear, this is unlike any treadmill we’ve seen before. Sure, it’s got a belt, and goes round-de-round, but it’s not time of flight sensors to detect your exact position on the treadmill, allowing you to control the pace merely by moving your body within the belt. It can tilt left and right, to simulate curves in the virtual terrain (or, simply to deal with uneven floors).

And it’s got integration across virtually every type of connectivity possible: WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, ANT+, including both control and passive recording. It’s effectively the holy grail of tech treadmills.At least, if Wahoo can pull it off. Which, as always, may take a bit longer than they expect.Still, for this post (and honestly, you should just watch the video above), I dive into the hardware and how everything works. With that, let’s get started.

#KICKRUN #WahooKICKRRUN #WahooTreadmill

[Kevinwalker]

As a winter indoor runner for 6 months of the year, I’ve been waiting for a game changer in the treadmill space. And holy cow this looks like it. I’m excited.

[DoctorTim]

I’m a cyclist who doesn’t like running much at all - and even I think this is killer. Nice reviewish Ray.

[ZOB]

This is very cool, I’m very impressed. I’m equally impressed with having a casual chat at 4:30/mile or running 5:00s up a 10% grade.

[playteles]

I'm in awe of how well you could explain everything while your heart rate is 175+. Great job and cool product!

[ColinWatts]

Ray, YT needs to incorporate a secondary "like" button for anyone who can narrate a video with a 180 BPM heart rate. Anyone who does that definitely deserves their own button!

[Trump_FJB.]

This is the coolest treadmill ever. The free run feature looks amazing! $5000 though is way above my budget :(

[tkbuz]

“It’s monitoring my package to see where I am” 😂😂

[Jaden_Drews]

I was just on my old rickety treadmill last night and thought about how cool it would be for Wahoo to introduce a smart treadmill. I think it was meant to be. It'll look dope next to my kickr bike.

[danmckenzie]

As someone who has essentially completely transitioned to non- motorized treadmills because of the lack of an upper speed limit and the simplicity of doing short intervals without any acceleration lag, this is awesome. To hear the free run seems to work so well is so attractive and especially for the price point, makes it competitive with the high quality non- motorized treadmills.

[ronalddelacruz]

Never heard of this treadmill until today and this review is impressive. It got my full attention

[paulsslightlyactivelife]

What a great reveal! I love the 'auto pace adjust' and the decline seems to work brilliantly. Just as I was thinking that Zwift Run was going nowhere, their biggest tech partner unleashes a true immersive treadmill. Definitely a wish list item 'cause it's not going to be cheap!

[collinvine]

This was helpful, I ended up purchasing the RUN in large part because of this video.

[feezee]

The only thing I didn’t like about this review is that as someone from Europe I have to wait at least 1.5 years to get this. Amazing review and great product.

[chuny_]

Thank you for another amazing review. I've been anticipating a treadmill like this for a while. The concept of how the free-run mode works is truly marvelous!

[mrbjorndekker]

Yes, I would like to see more reviews like this (treadmills for home use). Thanks

[covboy]

never use this phrase, but genuinely game changing for indoor running and Zwift!

[bcage]

Great review and impressive to have a casual conversation @ 180bpm 😀

[christianbaun]

These tech treadmills are getting so cool. I would love to hear your thoughts on testing more treadmills in the future....More or less the higher performance ones like this. Great video!

[tnan]

That run free mode is really cool! Great product from Wahoo. Would love to see the price come down eventually when they mature the product a bit more.

[jaywilliams]

This is an awesome piece of equipment. I love it. Hope that connectivity is smooth. Love the Review.