In September, Wattbike, a UK-based company that specializes in high-performance indoor cycling equipment, launched their newest smart bike called the “Proton.”
The Proton has been specifically designed for home use, where multiple people may want to train using a shared household smart bike. Consequently, the Proton is Wattbike’s most versatile smart bike. It caters for those looking to undertake casual training as well as for more serious athletes. It is fully and easily adjustable without tools, including connecting to all major apps such as Zwift, Rouvy, MyWhoosh and more.
Design and build quality
The Proton has been purposely designed to be smaller than the Atom, with a footprint that is just 57cm x 102cm. It is noticeably shorter than having a bike connected to a smart trainer and has been engineered to fit into smaller places.
The more compact design and all-black, powder coated finish, means the Proton has an elegance that its predecessor, the Atom, seemed to lack. The styling is reminiscent of exercise bikes found in gyms and, because there is no top tube to step over, it is easier to get on and off than other smart bikes.
The Proton is sturdy in both design and build and comes complete with the essentials you need to start training immediately. Such essentials include flat pedals with toeclips, two bottle holders and a tablet holder. There are even wheels at the front to enable you to move the trainer into position, which you will need. This is because, being sturdy and made from steel, the Proton is heavy, weighing in at 48kg. Plastic casing at the basis of the seat post safely houses the electromagnetic resistance and chain drive and ensures the bike has a sleek look.
Key Features
Like the Wattbike Atom, the Proton uses electromagnetic resistance alongside an 8.05kg flywheel, that provides a 25% gradient simulation with an accuracy of +/-1%. The maximum power it can accommodate is 1800 watts, which is a reduction from 2500 watts compared to the Atom. However, at 1800 watts, this is more than sufficient for all but the Olympic champions among us.
Gearing is electronic and controlled via push-buttons on the handlebar. The set-up can be configured using Wattbike’s Hub app. As Wattbike explains, “The app gives you three additional pre-set gearing options to choose from: compact, semi-compact, climbing.” This allows you to optimise the set-up to one that is most appropriate for your style of riding.
Technical Specs
The detailed specifications are as follows:
| Description | Information |
| Height | Max. 127cm |
| Frame width | 57cm |
| Frame length | Max. 125cm |
| Footprint | 102 x 57cm |
| Bike weight | 48kg |
| Boxed weight | 50kg |
| Gears | 1 – 22 |
| Cranks | 170mm |
| Handlebar height adjustability | Range 51 – 80cm |
| Handlebar fore / aft adjustability | Range 0 – 23cm |
| Seat height adjustability | Range 49 – 83cm |
| Seat fore / aft adjustability | Range 0 – 20cm |
| Accuracy | +/-1% |
| Power Range | 0 – 1800w |
| Resistance | Electromagnetic |
| Third Party Connectivity | ANT+, Bluetooth, FTMS |
| Gradient | 0 – 25% |
| Max rider weight | 135kg |
| Rider Height | 4′ 6″ – 6′ 6″ |
| External Power required | Yes |
Setting Up
The smart bike comes shipped in a box that requires assembly and weighs in at a total of 50kg. Help may be required to move this into place. Once assembled, as noted earlier, there are raised wheels at the front allowing the bike to be tilted and manoeuvred into position. The bike is equipped with a long power lead which is connected at the rear of the bike, meaning the cable is not in the way or a potential tripping hazard when you get on and off the bike.
Adjustability
Setting up and adjusting the bike to optimise your riding position is very easy and does not require any tools. Everything is locked into position using levers or large threaded knobs that can be loosened and tightened by hand. If you have previously had a bike fitting, my recommendation would be to use your measurements from that as the basis to start from.
There are multiple points to adjust; the seat post for height as well as the saddle and handlebars to optimise your riding position.
The seat post is easily adjustable. To facilitate quick and easy adjustability between riders in a household, simply mark the various seat post heights using coloured pens.
The position of the saddle can also be adjusted forward and back and locked into position via a lever. When I initially set up the saddle position, I found that my inside thighs sometimes touched the bracket holding the saddle. To overcome this, I moved the saddle forward, which in turn meant moving the handlebars into a more forward position.
As just mentioned, the handlebars can be moved forward and backwards to ensure you have the most comfortable riding position and that you are not over stretching.
The ease of adjustability can be compared to exercise bikes commonly found in gyms and will allow multiple users to simply customize it quickly for their requirements.
Features
Pedals – the Wattbike comes with flat pedals with toeclips. These can be removed and replaced with clip in pedals if required. However, if the bike is being used by multiple users, you will need to ensure that they all share the same cleat configuration otherwise you will be forever swapping pedals. I tried both configurations and the flat pedals with toeclips performed adequately.
Saddle – the saddle I found to be too hard and, overall, uncomfortable. However, this is a personal preference and can easily be replaced with one that suits you.
Tablet holder – the bike comes with a tablet holder. However, this was a point of concern, because there was nothing to secure the tablet in place, and I was fearful of it getting knocked out of position when I was out of the saddle.
No charging points – there were no charging points to connect your tablet to and given the limited battery life, an extension lead was required to plug the device into. An included USB port would have added real convenience and value.
Drink bottle holders – the bike comes equipped with two drink bottle holders. These are positioned underneath the handlebars and allow for easy reach.
Apps
Wattbike have their own training analysis platform made up of a mobile / tablet app, cloud storage web app. This is called the “Wattbike Hub.” For Android and iOS users, you can download it your device. It is a necessary tool for anyone riding a Wattbike.
The Hub is easy to use and the top buttons on the handlebars allow you to navigate between menus. In addition, it is where you can configure the gearing configuration most appropriate for your style of riding.
It also contains multiple workouts to tackle, as well as a variety of training plans to follow. And, if you simply want to jump on and ride, there is that functionality too.
A range of data is displayed, as you would expect, but the one interesting bit that is worth highlighting is your Pedalling Effectiveness Score (PES). This highlights how efficient your pedal stroke is. It is based on a scoring system from 0-100, which quantifies how efficient you are with your pedalling technique. Between 70-80 is desired, with 75 classed as the optimum score.
Because the Proton supports ANT+, Bluetooth, FiTness Machine Service protocol (FTMS-, which is the latest Bluetooth standard used to control fitness equipment). It is compatible with the latest 3rd party apps such as Zwift, MyWhoosh and Rouvy, to name but a few.
When testing these apps, the only point of contention was that the gearing was not displayed, so I never really knew how many gears I had remaining at my disposal, which was unfortunate.
Ride experience
How does it feel?
The Proton is incredibly rigid and strong. When riding, there is little to no “flex” with the bike. When I say flex, I am referring to the small “give” in the frame when you cycle on a normal bike. The Proton’s build is quite inflexible, and has a different feel to riding a road bike outside or one attached to a smart trainer. It feels more like riding an exercise bike found in a gym. That’s not to say there is anything wrong with that, it’s just different, which interestingly, you quickly become accustomed to.
If you like sprinting, then you will find the Proton to your liking. This is because of its rigidity; you will be able to put in an all-out-effort. What I did observe as a consequence of this rigidity is that after long rides (2-hours), especially with a lot of climbing, I was unusually sore. This was reminiscent of the Wattbike Atom, but to a much lesser degree. It is worth noting that I didn’t experience this in shorter races or Ergometer mode (ERG) sessions that lasted up to an hour.
How Does it work
Once you connect the bike to the power source, it is ready to ride. Simply get on and connect to either the Hub or a 3rd party app and away you go. It couldn’t be simpler. The only thing to worry about is changing gears.
Gear Shifting
On each side of the handlebar, there are 3 buttons. One on top of the hood and two on the drops. The ones on the top of the hood only work in the Hub app and controls the movement of the menu, left and right respectively.
The buttons on the drops, control the gears- up and down. If you configure the gearing to be like a traditional bike, then the left-hand buttons will control the front cassette, whilst the right controls the rear.
Back when I tested the Wattbike Atom, the gearing could be set from 1-11 or 1-22. However, this has evolved with the Proton where you now have three additional pre-set gearing options to choose from: compact, semi-compact, climbing.
- Compact (12 Speed endurance group-set, 50/34T chain-set, 11-34t cassette)
- Semi-compact (12 Speed racing group-set, 52/36T chain-set, 11-30t cassette)
- Climbing (11 Speed gravel/adventure group-set, 46/30T chain-set, 11-36t cassette)
This allowed me to configure the bike to what I was used to (50/34T chain-set, 11-34t cassette) enabling me to have a much better riding experience, especially when climbing.
The issue that I experienced was that when climbing and racing I have the tendency to grip the handlebars really tightly, and I start twisting the hood grips. This meant that when I went to change gear, the hoods had shifted, making it difficult to find the buttons to change the gear. I consequently found myself frantically tapping everywhere to find the buttons, which is not ideal.
Ergometer mode (ERG)
ERG mode is a setting that fixes your power output by automatically adjusting your resistance of the smart trainer and use when undertaking structured training sessions and is a feature I used extensively.
My observation is that the function performed better when the intervals were longer. I noticed that in shorter intervals, less than 30 seconds, there was a minor delay whilst the resistance changed, and I would not always hit the required parameters. With longer intervals, I experience no such problem. The key takeaway is that, despite the lag in shorter intervals of less than 30 seconds, it is perfectly functionable and doesn’t impede your training session.
Noise
The Proton is on a par with the Atom in terms of noise. When casually cycling, it generates noise levels measured at 70 decibels (db) at 70 rpm, which increases to slightly above 80 db when sprinting flat out. In real terms, 70 db is the equivalent to the sound level of a regular smart bike. Therefore, it is unlikely that you are going to disturb anyone if you are doing an early morning ride. In fact, a powerful fan is more likely to generate greater noise.
Accuracy
The trainer is accurate within its defined parameters of +/- 1% watts. Whilst undertaking a series of sprints and a steady climb, I dual recorded using my Garmin Vector 2S pedals and the results can be seen below.
Sprinting
| Time | Wattbike Proton | Garmin Vector 2S Pedals |
| 1 Second | 899 watts | 905 watts(+0.66%) |
| 5 Seconds | 873 watts | 881 watts(+0.91%) |
| 15 Seconds | 781 watts | 786 watts(+0.64%) |
| 30 Seconds | 537 watts | 542 watts(+0.92%) |
Climbing
| Time | Wattbike Proton | Garmin Vector 2S Pedals |
| 1 Second | 453 watts | 450 watts(-0.67%) |
| 5 Seconds | 427 watts | 422 watts(-1.18%) |
| 15 Seconds | 409 watts | 409 watts(0%) |
| 30 Seconds | 394 watts | 393 watts(-0.25%) |
| 1 Minute | 378 watts | 378 watts(0%) |
| 5 Minutes | 347 watts | 347 watts(0%) |
| 10 Minutes | 287 watts | 287 watts(0%) |
The differences in power readings are minimal. The one observation worth noting is that over a longer period (5-10 minutes), once I had settled into my rhythm, the power readings were identical.
Reliability
In numerous hours of testing, there were no technical issues experienced. The early issues that plagued pretty much all smart trainers and smart bikes in terms of stability around connection to 3rd party apps has vastly declined to the point where I can’t recall the last time that I experienced a dropped connection when training or racing.
Cost
Priced at £1,795.00, the Proton is cheaper than its competitors such as the Wahoo KICKR BIKE Shift which is £2,199.99. Wattbike are offering a package that includes a free floor mat and free trial of Rouvy. The Wattbike Proton is currently available exclusively through wattbike.com in the UK. Further expansion into other markets is planned in the near future.
Find out more via their website.
Summing up
I like this smart bike for many reasons. The smaller design, simple black paint scheme, adjustability and price point means that it has positioned itself in the market where, if you wanted to buy a reliable exercise bike for the family household, this would be the one I would opt for. It connects to the leading 3rd party apps, but if you don’t want to pay for those, Wattbikes’ Hub app is packed with features to enable a solid training session.
Overall, the Proton is compact and designed for home use, catering to both casual and serious athletes, with adjustable features that enhance its versatility. Its sturdy build, connectivity to various training apps, ease of use, and competitive pricing make it an appealing choice for families seeking a reliable, single piece of equipment indoor cycling solution.
