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Cycling apps

Wahoo reviews

What users love and hate, from real reviews

A free app for recording workouts and controlling Wahoo trainers and sensors — powerful and highly configurable, yet stripped of its basic reliability after a string of updates.

500reviews analyzed
3.3average rating
15findings
Strengths

What users love

Pairs any third-party sensor straight to your phone, for free

For those it works for, this is the draw: it freely connects heart-rate, cadence and power sensors of any brand — Garmin, Polar, Coros, Scosche — directly to the phone, no separate bike computer needed.

The fact that it allows me to pair a power meter and heart rate monitor directly to my phone makes this app 10/10 for me

connection with polar and cadence sensor super fast, hassle free

easy setup, easy data collection. works with all my Garmin sensors. hrm, speed, cadence

A serious free alternative to paid subscriptions

For many it's a full fitness hub with no subscription or ads: customizable screens and HR zones, support for many activity types, .FIT export — it even replaces Zwift and dodges Strava's data "tax".

Extremely comprehensive FREE fitness app 🤯 Highly configurable screens that show all possible sensor data. Zwift is no longer necessary

Really good and simple app to track workouts. I use a HRM and didnt want any subscription or ad annoyance

I have to say that it is nice to have something that collects my readings without a subscription premium

Custom HR zones and profiles for every sport

A real strength for zone-based training: custom zones, voice cues, separate profiles for cycling, running, strength, even a wheelchair, plus big readable numbers and zones that light up in real time.

It's so easy to connect my wahoo cadence sensor and Coros HRM. Having 1 full page just for heart rate zones is so nice especially how the current zone will light up making it easier to see

Like the ability to make my own profiles, own heart rate zones and the fact that it can connect with any heart rate sensor

custom workout cards let me customize the metrics that matter to me

Seamless auto-upload of workouts to Strava

Many keep the app for reliable auto-export to Strava (plus Garmin Connect and Fitbit) — especially those on a stationary bike that Strava can't track on its own.

I actually sync The data to my Strava app. that way I can combine it with all my outdoor activities

Started using the app when my tickr wouldn't connect to Strava. Now I'm enjoying it just as much or more, and workouts sync to Strava afterword

connection to any senior I have tried is super easy. Uploads to Strava is seamless. No Strava tax on data

A long-hauler that just works for years

A substantial group of loyal users have kept it 5–10 years without major issues; some even note responsive support that genuinely resolves things over email.

love this app. been using it every day for a decade

Well it's been 5years now and the app is still working well for me

I have been using Wahoo Ticker Fits and the Wahoo app for about 4 years now

Weak spots

What users hate

Minimize the app and the workout pauses

After recent updates, recording stops the moment the screen locks or you switch apps: a nagging "resume" button appeared, and workouts come back fragmented or reset entirely.

the app refuses to continue the workout when you open and switch to other apps

as of approximately 2 weeks ago the app is unable to record in the background or with the screen off

now it constantly goes to sleep during the workout and pauses the tracking. After reopening, it asks if I want to resume the workout

Recorded workouts vanish without a trace

The app says "saving" but the history stays empty; it crashes mid-ride and loses the whole result, sometimes hours of it. For people who use it precisely to log workouts, that defeats the entire point.

It stopped saving activity today. I mean it shows savjbg in progress, say out loud workout saving and then nothing in history

Crashes and loses entire workouts

The app will record a session, but then fail to save it about 10-20% of the time

You pay for the trainer, then pay again to control it

After buying expensive hardware, basic functions — erg mode, resistance control, routes — got locked behind an $18–25/month subscription. Users see it as blatant double-dipping.

Erg mode is gone! I'd don't want a subscription I want to use the trainer I paid a small fortune for

25 dollars a month to fully access products paid for in full is disgusting

Nothing working without a subscription. Why sell hardware if you do not have free basic software for it?

An update yanked heart rate and cadence off the workout screen

The "simplified" interface stripped heart rate, cadence, power and calories from the live screen — sometimes leaving just a clock. Those readings were the whole reason people used Wahoo.

It no longer shows cadence and heart rate during workouts. I'm looking for an alternative training app

the most recent update removed the heart rate and cadence from my display and there doesn't seem to be a way to change it back. I really don't need a clock or to know how long I've been active

My Wahoo display now shows time of day instead of heart rate and I can't change it back

Health Connect sync was suddenly cut

The autumn 2024 update removed Google Health Connect / Google Fit sync that many had built their routine around; some manually rolled back to an old version. At times the sync even corrupted other step data.

BRING BACK HEALTH CONNECT SYNC! Rolling back the app to early October version where option is still there

Newest update (Oct. 24th) removes Health Connect sync. I had to uninstall and download previous version (Oct. 5th) and all is well

Every time it syncs with Health Connect it tells Google I've taken hundreds of thousands of steps and obliterates all of my health connect data

Simply pairing a sensor or trainer became a lottery

The app fails to find or connect its own Wahoo gear — Bolt, Roam, Kickr — even when it shows up in system Bluetooth. Connections drop mid-ride, and some models are flatly declared "not supported".

The app will not pair with my Wahoo Element Bolt 3. No error messages. Just pretends like nothing happened when I try

Wahoo app, wahoo kicker core, they won't connect, pathetic

App disconnectsfrom Kickr Snap D299 regurarly during a session of indoor cycling. Usually 2-3 times in a 30 minute session

Demands location permission just for a Bluetooth sensor

To connect a trainer or heart-rate monitor over Bluetooth, the app insists on precise location access; users read this as data harvesting and refuse, losing the ability to use it.

Bluetooth is on. It wants me to allow location access because they do not care about users

Needs location access to connect my trainer? What kind of dumb nonsense is that?

won't let me use for exercise bike with out location permissions. I think you for get some people want privacy and not their data harvested

The home screen is clogged with junk widgets and social features

Once-simple, the app bloated: a home screen littered with suggestions, extra taps before starting, AI "mental fitness" check-ins, constant browser pop-outs. Setting resistance now means navigating a maze of menus.

the home page is clogged with suggestions and social features

The home page is filled with junk info

now it is slow to open with useless functions trying to be like peloton

Endless prompts to rate the app, even mid-ride

The app aggressively begs for a rating and won't let you skip surveys, interrupting the workout. After hundreds of dollars on hardware, that pestering stings.

One star because I can't go 5 damn minutes without being badgered to rate the app

wouldn't stop asking me to rate it. I spent over 600 dollars on a trainer, I feel like that deserves a free app that doesn't pester me

wouldn't let me skip the survey until I acknowledged it

Deleting your account is nearly impossible

Just to request account deletion you must hand over extra personal info, and the account still isn't deleted. Users suspect the app's main purpose is harvesting data for marketing.

Impossible to delete account. Requires you to provide additional personal info to REQUEST account deletion, but does not actually delete the account

the workouts are behind a subscription wall and account deletion is a nightmare

Their account deletion process is absurd and aptly called by them The Sufferfest

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