Tech friction is never much fun, but it’s especially irksome when it gets between you and your runner’s high. Exercise experts Wahoo and Coros have decided to do something about it: the pair have teamed up to make workout tracking between its GPS sports watches and treadmills seamless.
From today, anyone with a Coros watch will be able to connect directly to a Kickr Run treadmill (which Wahoo would rather you call an “outdoor run simulator”), with live data shared between the two over a bespoke Bluetooth protocol. That means accurate heart rate data courtesy of the watch, plus realtime pace and ground contact time via the Kickr Run – something wrist-worn devices have never been as good at tracking correctly – without the need for additional sensors like foot pods.
The new two-way API also lets activities recorded on either device upload to both the Wahoo app and Coros’ training platform, meaning no need to double-record anymore. Workouts still feed each service’s bespoke training metrics, so you can stick with the one you prefer the look of and know you’re not missing out. That includes the Kickr Run’s accumulated elevation gain if you’re training for inclines.
I got to try out the new features with a Coros Pace 4, but they’re backwards compatible with other Bluetooth-equipped Coros models. After the initial pairing process, tracking feels largely seamless: the watch finds the treadmill in seconds and instantly shares live data to the Wahoo companion app. After ending the workout, it appeared in both the Coros and Wahoo apps almost immediately.
It’s super convenient, and means you don’t have to manually splice two GPX files post-workout if you want both heart rate data and more accurate ground metrics. That’ll be a big win for social athletes who share their runs to Strava. It’s something I can see Kickr Run owners buying a Coros watch for specifically to track recovery metrics and stay within the Wahoo ecosystem – though I doubt there’ll be much traction in the other direction, given the Run costs an eye-watering $5000/£6000. Either way, this kind of cross-brand data sharing just isn’t a thing in big rival Garmin’s walled garden.
Coros has also developed new Wahoo-specific digital watch faces for its two flagship watches. There’ll be two to start with, available for all Coros watches via the Coros companion app’s watch face library. They’re colour-matched to Wahoo’s signature blue and have a bunch of at-a-glance stats like heart rate, steps, calories burned and recovery hours, as well as the time.
Custom Wahoo watch bands designed for the Apex 4 and Pace 4 will then arrive later this year, for fitness fans wanting to really fly the flag for the two brands.
“This partnership strengthens what we’ve built with Kickr Run, providing runners with tools that simply work together,” Wahoo Fitness CEO Gareth Joyce said. “Indoor and outdoor running now live together, giving athletes a complete view of their performance, wherever they workout.”
As part of the tie-up Wahoo will also now stock the Coros Apex 4 and Coros Pace 4 fitness watches on its WahooFitness online store.
There was no word at the event on whether the data sharing could extend to bike computers, given the two firms are more direct rivals in that particular market.
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