What you need to set up the Wahoo KICKR CORE (1st gen)
To ride the Wahoo KICKR CORE (1st gen) you need the following parts. No separate cassette is needed. The thru-axle adapters are included in the box.
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Your parts checklist
Cassette
Not needed — this trainer uses your existing wheel and cassette (or virtual shifting).
Freehub body
Ships with a Shimano/SRAM HG (HyperGlide) body fitted.
Other freehub bodies you can fit (sold separately) if your bike uses a different drivetrain:
- SRAM XD Driver Body
- SRAM XDR Driver Body
- Campagnolo
Thru-axle adapter
Included in the box — no separate purchase.
Freehub body compatibility — Wahoo KICKR CORE (1st gen)
Every freehub standard, including the ones this trainer has no body for. The cassette mounts on the body, so the body decides which cassettes fit — not the trainer.
| Freehub standard | On this trainer | Cassette speeds |
|---|---|---|
| Shimano/SRAM HG (HyperGlide) | Included | 8/9/10/11/12-speed · smallest cog 11t |
| Shimano HG 11-speed road | No body for this trainer | 8/9/10/11/12-speed · smallest cog 11t |
| SRAM XD Driver Body | Sold separately | 11/12-speed · smallest cog 10t |
| SRAM XDR Driver Body | Sold separately | 11/12/13-speed · smallest cog 10t |
| Shimano Micro Spline | No body for this trainer | 12-speed · smallest cog 10t |
| Campagnolo | Sold separately | 9/10/11/12-speed · smallest cog 11t |
| Campagnolo N3W | No body for this trainer | 12/13-speed · smallest cog 9t |
| Zwift Cog (virtual shifting) | No body for this trainer | 8/9/10/11/12-speed · smallest cog 14t |
No body for this trainer means exactly that: no part exists to mount that cassette here. Use the compatibility checker to find trainers that take yours. Smart-trainer compatibility checker
Mounting your bike
What the Wahoo KICKR CORE (1st gen) actually asks of you, in order — resolved from its own spec, not a generic manual.
- Take the rear wheel off the bike. A direct-drive trainer replaces it entirely.
- Fit the end caps or thru-axle adapter for your frame. This trainer covers 130 mm quick-release, 135 mm quick-release, 12 × 142 mm thru-axle and 12 × 148 mm Boost thru-axle and ships the adapters in the box, so nothing extra to buy.
- Fit a 12-speed cassette on the Shimano/SRAM HG (HyperGlide) freehub body, torque the lockring, then lower the bike on and engage the axle. The cassette must match your bike’s drivetrain, not the trainer.
- Spacer rule for the Shimano/SRAM HG (HyperGlide) body: an 11-speed cassette needs none, a 10-speed one needs the 1.85 mm spacer behind it. Getting this wrong is the usual cause of a cassette that will not seat or a lockring that bottoms out early.
- On 12-speed: Shimano road 12-speed fits this HG body, but Shimano 12-speed MTB needs a Micro Spline body and SRAM 12-speed road needs XDR — check which your bike uses before buying a cassette.
- Spin the cranks by hand before you clip in: the chain should run quiet and straight. Noise here almost always means chainline or cassette spacing, not a faulty trainer.