Zwift Ride V2: what changes on the smart bike, and what's new this season

The Zwift Ride is back in a second version, and its most important change isn't the one that jumps off a spec sheet: the smart bike now fits riders from 146 cm, down from 152 cm, and it ships with five crank lengths instead of one. Zwift didn't redesign its indoor bike. It fixed what was keeping part of the cycling population from getting comfortable on it — smaller riders first. Alongside the hardware, the platform is rolling out its 2026-2027 season: a power lock, a bigger Watopia and a bridge to WHOOP. Here's what actually changes, and what you need to make use of it.

The Zwift Ride V2 frame attached to its trainer: no wheels, no derailleur, and the controls built into the handlebars.

The short version

The Zwift Ride V2 keeps the price and the logic of the first version but widens its fit range: riders from 146 to 198 cm, five crank lengths included as standard (160, 165, 170, 172.5 and 175 mm), a redesigned seat post offering an extra 3 cm of fore-aft adjustment, and bars that drop nearly 4 cm lower. On the software side, the season brings Watt Lock, WHOOP integration, roughly 18 km of new roads in Watopia and a new race format with no drafting. At Bicycles Quilicot, you'll find the Zwift Ride V2 with KICKR CORE 2 package in our online store.

So what exactly is the Zwift Ride?

The Zwift Ride isn't a complete bike in the usual sense, and that's the most common source of confusion. It's a training frame — a fixed structure, no wheels, with a saddle, handlebars and cranks — that attaches to a trainer. The frame provides the position and the controls; the trainer provides the resistance and the power measurement. Neither works without the other.

Compared with putting your road bike on a regular trainer, the appeal comes down to three things: you don't tie up your bike for six months, the setup stays assembled year-round, and the bar-mounted controls drive Zwift directly — virtual shifting, PowerUps, menu navigation. The cranks carry a single sprocket, the Zwift Cog, because gear changes are handled electronically. We covered how that works in our article on the Zwift Cog.

What actually changes on the V2

The list is short, but it lands. The fit range drops from 152 to 146 cm, which opens the door to riders who until now had to settle for an over-stretched position — or give up on the bike entirely. Minimum saddle height goes from 60 to 57.1 cm, and the bars can sit nearly 4 cm lower than before. Those are exactly the two measurements that were shutting out smaller riders.

The five positions engraved on the crank arm: you pick your length by threading the pedal into the right hole.

Second fix: the cranks. The V1 came in 170 mm only, a length that suits most riders but gets genuinely uncomfortable below a certain size. The V2 ships five lengths as standard — 160, 165, 170, 172.5 and 175 mm — which you select by threading the pedals into the position you want. Add to that a redesigned seat post with four rail positions, worth another 3 cm of fore-aft adjustment, and bars that are oversized along the tops for a more comfortable place to rest your hands.

	Zwift Ride V1	Zwift Ride V2
Rider fit range	152 – 198 cm	146 – 198 cm
Minimum saddle height	60 cm	57.1 cm
Crank lengths	170 mm only	160 / 165 / 170 / 172.5 / 175 mm
Seat post	Standard	4 positions, +3 cm fore-aft
Handlebars	Constant section	Oversized along the tops
Price	—	Unchanged

The fit card that ships with the bike: the table now goes down to 146 cm, and has room for two riders on the same setup.

Should you replace your V1?

No, and Zwift had the good sense not to push you toward it. The two parts that make the difference — the adjustable cranks and the new seat post — will be sold separately to owners of the first version. If your position suits you and you ride 170 mm cranks, there's nothing to do here.

The upgrade earns its place in one specific case: a shared setup, where riders of different sizes take turns on the same bike. That's where short cranks and the wider fore-aft range pay off, because they remove the permanent compromise in which nobody is quite properly set up.

Watt Lock, WHOOP and the software updates

The most useful addition of the season is called Watt Lock and arrives in October. The idea: you set a target power, and the trainer holds it no matter what you do with your cadence. It's the behaviour of a structured workout, made available during a free ride — handy for holding a precise tempo without programming a full session. You control it from the Zwift Ride, Zwift Click or Zwift Play controls.

Zwift is also opening a bridge to WHOOP: the platform reads your recovery score and dials its workout suggestions down on days when your body hasn't recovered. The in-game home screen was rebuilt on September 22 to show your scheduled sessions and your weekly progress the moment you open it, and the Zwift Companion app follows in October with a redesigned weekly summary.

Watopia grows, and racing gets reorganized

On October 26, Watopia gains roughly 18 km of roads, inspired by the California coast and Catalina Island. The new archipelago links Jarvis to the Jungle and opens up around twenty new routes. Two criterium circuits come with it, along with a flatter option that bypasses the Epic KOM — useful if you're after rolling terrain for threshold work. The Tour of Watopia, in four stages, runs from October 5 to November 22.

On the racing side, the Zwift Racing League returns with beginner races and a new format, the Race of Truth: a mass start, but with no drafting. Everyone rides their own race inside the pack, which cancels out the tactical advantage and rewards raw power.

What you need to ride this winter

The Zwift Cog, in orange: it's what links the frame to the trainer and takes the place of a cassette.

A Zwift Ride frame on its own isn't enough: it needs a trainer that works with the Zwift Cog. The most common package pairs the frame with a Wahoo KICKR CORE 2 trainer, sold as a complete solution: that's the Zwift Ride V2 with KICKR CORE 2 package. If you'd rather keep your road bike on a regular trainer, several Elite, JetBlack and Wahoo models ship with the Zwift Cog and Click set, and conversion kits exist for trainers already in place.

Trainers go quickly in the fall — it's the time of year when everyone thinks about them at once. You'll find the full range in our trainer collection. At Bicycles Quilicot, we've been building these setups since the first connected trainers, and we've been selling bikes in Montreal since 1915: it takes us a few minutes to confirm that your bike, your cassette and the model you're eyeing all work together — a check that saves you a return.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Zwift Ride V2 work without a Zwift subscription?

The frame broadcasts speed, distance, cadence and power over Bluetooth, ANT+ and Wi-Fi, so the trainer can be read by other training apps. But the virtual shifting and the bar controls are built for Zwift: without a subscription, you lose most of what sets this bike apart from a regular trainer.

What's the difference between the Zwift Ride and a stationary bike?

A stationary bike is self-contained and generates its own resistance. The Zwift Ride is a frame without wheels that has to be attached to a trainer: the trainer supplies the resistance, measures power and simulates gradients. What the frame gives you is the position of a real road bike and controls that drive the game directly.

Can I fit V2 cranks to my V1?

Yes. Zwift has confirmed that the adjustable cranks and the new seat post will be offered as separate parts, specifically so owners of the first version can gain the wider fit range without replacing the bike.

What rider heights does the Zwift Ride V2 fit?

From 146 to 198 cm, with a maximum rider weight of 120 kg (265 lb), according to Zwift's official specifications. The V1 stopped at 152 cm at the bottom of the range. As with a road bike, height is only a starting point: leg and torso length matter just as much, and that's what we check with you in store.

Is the Zwift Ride V2 available in Canada?

Configurations and lead times vary with each shipment. Write to us or drop by the store to find out what's actually available in the model you're interested in before you plan your winter setup.

The bottom line

The Zwift Ride V2 reinvents nothing, and that's precisely its strength: Zwift listened to the criticism about adjustability and fixed it without touching the price. Smaller riders and households where the bike gets shared are the ones who gain the most. The rest of the season — Watt Lock, WHOOP, the Watopia expansion — enriches an already solid platform without changing what it is.

If you're building your first indoor setup this fall, the trainer matters more than the frame. That's where power accuracy, quietness and compatibility with your current equipment are decided.