Zwift Hub increases in price in line with new features and Watopia expansion

As a lot of riders in the northern hemisphere head into autumn, the idea of indoor training starts to flicker in the back of our heads. The reality of what awaits us over the next months triggers a gut-wrenching feeling that has all but the hardest of riders looking to spend a large portion of their winter kilometres inside.

Within the press release last week the brand announced a rollout of a smorgasbord of software updates. This included an expansion to Watopia, a new race categorisation method called Race Score and an all-new climb portal. Amongst this was the news that the Zwift Hub trainer would see a price increase up to £549 / $599 / €599 this is in part to accommodate a one year subscription to the virtual cycling platform as standard.

Since its release in late 2014 Zwift has arguably become the driving force behind the indoor cycling revolution, turning monotonous turbo trainer rides into an immersive and engaging experience. The brand made the leap last year to release its own trainer that entered the market as one of the cheapest direct-drive trainers retailing for £449 / $499 / €499, including a cassette of your choice.

© Zwift

The Zwift Hub will now come as standard with a one-year membership to Zwift

This price increase comes just after Wahoo announced a slash in price of its cheapest direct-drive trainer, the Wahoo Kickr Core. Interestingly since this announcement, Wahoo has added a one-year Zwift membership to the compulsory bundle pushing the price from £549 back up to £639.

• Read more: Wahoo drops price of Kickr Core indoor trainer

The inclusion of a compulsory bundle package is not something that is just new to the Wahoo Kickr Core. Zwift is now including a year’s membership to its virtual riding platform with every purchase of the Zwift Hub trainer. This does work out cost-effective and the increase to the new pricing is 100 (£/$/€) of your chosen currency, however, a year's Zwift membership equates to £12.99/month, $15/month or €15/month.

This does mean that if you are looking to use Zwift as your virtual riding platform, the new increase in price is beneficial, however, for those looking to use another platform such as MyWhoosh, the increase and compulsory inclusion of a year's membership might not be an option that best suits.

• Read more: Zwift to be replaced by MyWhoosh as E-Sports World Championship host

Although the Wahoo Kickr Core is only available to purchase with the inclusion of the up-sell Zwift membership directly from the Wahoo site, it will still be available at the lower price point without the year's membership from third-party stockists meaning the Wahoo Kickr Core is available at a comparable price point to the Zwift Hub, albeit with the Hub coming with the year's subscription to Zwift.

On the surface, the increase in price seems to deviate from the original appeal of the Zwift Hub, however when the full picture is considered, it actually works out beneficial for the end user, so long as they intend to use Zwift.

Be sure to let us know your thoughts on the price changes in the indoor trainer world and how you feel about the compulsory bundle packages that both Wahoo and Zwift are offering in the comments section below this article.