Wattbike Proton

The Wattbike Proton is the latest in the company's three-strong smart bike range. It's also the cheapest model, and is aimed at the 'fitness enthusiast' market rather than designed with the dedicated cyclist in mind. Having been a long-time user of a Wattbike Atom I was keen to try out the Proton and see how it differs from the top-end machine, and I've been impressed: it's hugely adjustable, making it a good investment for a household with different users, and it's versatile too, catering for everyone from beginner to seasoned athlete.

> Buy now: Wattbike Proton for £1,595 from Wattbike

For more indoor training options, from budget buys to money-no-object, check out our guide to the best turbo trainers.

Setup

Out of the box the Proton is super simple to set up. It's just a case of attaching the two stabilising feet with the hex key and spanner provided, fitting the bars onto the adjustable stem, and screwing on the pedals provided.

All you need to do is plug it into the mains using the power adaptor supplied and you're good to go.

Made to measure

One of the main boasts of the Proton is its versatility; it caters for everyone from athletes through to general fitness fanatics and right down to beginners. Its flexibility doesn't just cover your fitness ability either, the vast adjustability means it can be adapted for a range of body types and heights too. Wattbike claims its rider height range is 4ft 6in to 6ft 6in, covering a larger range then either of its other offerings.

This versatility makes the Proton a real winner if you're looking for a smart bike for a household with multiple users, or a family or couple wanting to share a bike.

The saddle height and bar height are easily adjustable, and the bar and saddle are both on adjustable fore-aft sliders so you can adjust your saddle position and reach. All of this adjustment is made using simple ergonomic clamps and the handy measurement scales printed on the frame, so the bike can be set to your own requirements in a matter of seconds, requiring no tools at all.

During the testing period we had a household with three different users and found that marking the measurements with a bit of tape on the frame was an easy way to save time readjusting between riders.

The step-through design of the frame is also a big win; there's no fixed top tube to swing your leg over, like there is on the Atom or a standard bike frame, meaning it's that bit easier to hop on and off, also helpful if you're using the bike to rehab from an injury – I was recovering from a back injury during the review period and this made life a lot easier while my mobility was limited but I still wanted to keep active.

The vast range of adjustability means you can set your riding position as you would on your regular road bike, or you can really lower the saddle and raise the bar so that you're in a position more akin to running than cycling. This ability to simulate a running position is something that Wattbike actually highlights as a key feature of the Proton, something that's not possible on similar smart bikes with a fixed top tube.

Contact points

The bike comes supplied with standard flat pedals and toe-clips, which are absolutely fine for use with trainers, but the cranks and threads are standard sizes so you can swap in your choice of road pedals easily if you'd rather ride clipped in. The saddle is also a fairly standard off-the-shelf affair, which can also be swapped out if you have a preferred style – although this is slightly more fiddly to change, so if you're sharing the bike you'll need to agree on something you can all get on with, or be prepared for five minutes of fettling pre- or post-workout.

The Proton has a standard 31.8mm road bike drop bar wrapped in comfortable (lightly padded) bar tape; again, it can be re-wrapped if you have a favourite bar tape or want to include padded inserts for extra comfort. The bar has electronic shifters with an 'action' button on top as well as up/down shifting buttons underneath. The shifters run off two CR2032 batteries, which generally last for months, even with regular use.

Unlike the Atom, there are no integrated tri-bars on the Proton, meaning you have slightly fewer options for hand positions. For me, having tri-bars is particularly handy for longer sessions, but it's not a deal breaker by any means.

There is also a tablet mount on the handlebar. It's basically an easel with some foam cushioning to aid friction, but it doesn't clamp the tablet in place (unlike the clamp/mount on the Wattbike Atom), so you need to be careful if you're leaving your tablet on the bar while moving the bike around.

Riding experience

Once you're set up properly then the riding experience on the Proton is really smooth and stable. The bike feels absolutely rock solid and there's no noticeable flex even when putting down some decent power on the pedals. It's also pretty quiet while riding, and there are no creaks or squeaks from the frame or any of the moving parts, which can be an irritation with indoor trainers.

The Proton (like the Atom) uses electromagnetic resistance which can be used in 'ergo' mode, which automatically applies resistance, or 'simulated gears' mode, which works just like standard bike gears. When I say 'just like', take that with a pinch of salt – there's no satisfying noise or sensory feedback that you'd get from a traditional gear change, just a change in resistance half a second after pressing the shifter button.

The hardwear of the Proton is great, but it really comes into its own when used in combination with the Wattbike Hub, Wattbike's indoor training app. You can download it onto your phone or tablet, set up a profile and you've got your own personalised training platform ready to go. If you know your FTP (functional threshold power) then you can input that, or you can take a quick test to set your baseline fitness level so your training and workouts are tailored to you. The bike measures cadence and power, and also has Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity so you can link up your heart rate monitor too. It's also easy to connect to other training apps you might be using like Strava, Apple Health, Zwift and more.

The Wattbike Hub is free and has hundreds of workouts to choose from, with a huge range in terms of difficulty, duration and type of workout. It's easy to find a 20-minute HIIT workout that you can fit into your lunch break, or if you've got more time on your hands you can start with one of the 20-minute warm-up rides before tackling an iconic cycling climb like Alpe d'Huez or Box Hill. There are also sets of workouts specifically to work on your endurance or speed, and a range of tests and benchmark workouts if you want to check out your progress, all of which are logged in your Wattbike hub account.

During the workout you just have to pedal and the ergo mode sets the resistance for you, but if you do want to toggle the resistance or switch into simulated gears mode you can do that mid-ride by using the shifter buttons. The on-screen instructions give you information on targets for power and cadence that you need to be hitting, and when a change of resistance is about to happen. It's not quite as engaging as more immersive training apps such as Zwift or Rouvy, but there's plenty of info on the screen to keep you occupied.

You can use the shifter buttons to toggle through various screens as you ride, all giving you different types of real-time data on your performance. Wattbike claims to measure 37 different metrics while you're riding, so there's plenty for the data nerds out there.

It also works offline – useful if you're out in a shed or garage with little or no internet connection; you can do your workout offline and the app will sync your data the next time you have a connection.

The free version of the Wattbike Hub has plenty to offer, but if you do want that little bit extra then there's the Wattbike Hub+ which costs £7.99 a month. This offers some extra workouts and training plans, allows you to share and export workouts and also access to a custom workout builder. It's a nice extra for some users, but definitely not a required subscription for most.

My usual indoor training platform of choice is Zwift and this works really well with the Proton. It automatically detects the bike when you open the app and then you can crack on with your usual Zwift rides or races as you would normally. I did have one compatibility issue where the gears wouldn't display on the Zwift interface but this was a Zwift issue and resolved with an app update.

My only niggle here was that on some longer Zwift rides the lack of tri-bars was noticeable – I was intuitively searching for an extra bar position when I wanted to hunker down and knock off the miles. Maybe not a problem for all users, but for me it's an area where the Atom just pokes its nose ahead of the Proton.

Space saver

The Proton is fairly compact for a smart bike. Its footprint is just 102x57cm, the smallest in the Wattbike range, so if you've got limited space then it's easy to stow it away in the corner of a room when not in use. There are small wheels on the front stabiliser foot so you can lift it by the back foot, tilt it forward onto the wheels, and then easily manoeuvre it across any flat surface.

The bike weighs 48kg (it needs to for stability), so if you're thinking of moving it over any non-flat surface then you're going to need a second pair of hands.

Value

The bike is currently retailing for £1,595, which is an 11% saving off the full RRP, but if you want to spread the cost then Wattbike is also offering a decent 24-month interest-free finance deal at the moment, starting at £67 per month. It offers free delivery on all its smart bikes and a comprehensive two-year warranty service: if your bike develops a known fault then Wattbike offers a free-of-charge visit from a technician in your region; anything more complex and it will deliver a replacement unit and come and take your faulty machine away. I actually experienced this first hand during the reviewing period, our test unit developing a small unknown fault, and this was swapped out for a new unit in a matter of days. A fault is never welcomed or expected for a high-end product like this, but having top notch customer service is good for peace of mind when shelling out the big bucks.

Not that it's as big bucks as some. The Atom, which we reviewed back in 2022, currently retails at £2,395. It's more overtly aimed at cyclists, with a more classic cycling geometry and more of a focus on peak power training, and is less versatile as a household or shared bike.

Or there's the Wahoo Kickr Bike Shift, available for £2,199 at the time of writing, cheaper than when we reviewed it a year ago but still more expensive than the Proton, and the frame design is slightly less accessible.

It's perhaps not quite as good value as Zwift's Ride with Kickr Core, which comes in at a slightly cheaper £1,199.99, but again that's aimed at a cycling-specific audience and ties you into the Zwift ecosystem, and it doesn't offer the same fit versatility as the Proton.

None of these alternatives really offer the same kind of experience to the wider fitness audience or match the huge range of features offered by the Wattbike Hub app.

Conclusion

Overall, it's a great performing smart bike whose size and versatility is perfect for a household with multiple users, combined with a superb app that offers almost as much flexibility as the hardware itself.

> Buy now: Wattbike Proton for £1,595 from Wattbike

Verdict

Great performing smart bike whose size and versatility is perfect for a household with multiple users, plus a superb app