I replaced this KICKR Core 2 as a replacement for the KICKR Core I purchased less than a year ago where the frame was misaligned.
It does not come with the QR adapters. You have to ask for Wahoo to mail the QR adapters to you which takes about a week.
The Kickr Core V2 requires a bit more assembly work than other trainers, but it's intuitive and there are plenty of online tutorials. Updating firmware requires installing the Wahoo app on a mobile device (and thus, creating a Wahoo account, which I find a bit intrusive and annoying). Pairing the trainer with Wahoo head units was seamless for me, and the machine is about as quiet as my Saris H3. This trainer is a good deal if you buy it at a promotional price/discount. Note: I bought the version with the cassette so I can't comment on the Zwift cog, and don't use the Wi-Fi bridge because I don't race or train with Zwift. If you just do your own workouts, controlling erg mode via your head unit is easy and trouble-free..
I use my Kickr Core v2 trainer with Rouvy software. I've had the trainer just over a month and have ridden about 400 miles. I purchased it $150 off the normal $550 price. The Kickr and Rouvy work flawlessly together. I did replace the Cog & Click gear with a standard Shimano 105 12-spd 11-34 cassette. I'm old school and struggled a bit with the Click for changing gears. It worked fine with a slight, about :01, delay between hitting the button on the Click and experiencing the change is resistant on the flywheel. I just could not find the buttons quickly and fluidly enough to fully mimic my road riding experience. The Kickr with the normal cassette fully mimics my road experience. The Kickr was very easy to assemble, and setting up wifi for access to Wahoo was pretty straightforward. I did have to download the Wahoo App, eventhough I already had the Wahoo Elemnt App, which was a little frustrating. After setup, downloading the latest software, and linking to Rouvy, it was good to go. The Kickr is very quiet, even with a standard cassette. The flywheel is very smooth and coasting is also very quiet. Overall, a great product that works just as advertised.
The Wahoo fitness Kickr Core V2 is the best smart trainer I've tried among the budget conscious range of smart trainers. The direct drive has a better feel and less worry about wearing out you rear tire than the wheel-on trainers. The Zwift direct drive further reduces wear and tear on a cassette and your rear derailleur. It does feel a little weird using the + and - controls for e-shifting but after I got used to it, it became much more intuitive. There is a seamless feel and it lets you maintain momentum which is especially useful if you are doing Zwift racing events because you can carry your power on the downhill sections to make up time. I'm happy to have an indoor cycling experience that does a pretty good job of replacing outdoor riding when the weather is bad or if I don't want to share the road with cars.
