JetBlack's $649 VICTORY Frame Undercuts Zwift Ride on Price and Flexibility

JetBlack's new VICTORY Frame costs $649 standalone or $999 bundled with their VICTORY trainer. That bundle undercuts the Zwift Ride + KICKR CORE combo by $300 in the US — and by $600 in Australia. For a steel smartbike frame with adjustable cranks and a threaded bottom bracket, that's aggressive pricing.

The spec differences matter more than they first appear. The VICTORY uses a standard Shimano external BB interface, which means you can service it yourself or swap in your own cranks if the included 3-position bear claw setup doesn't suit you. Zwift Ride owners are locked into their cranks unless they buy Zwift's $99 adjustable arms. The VICTORY also ships with integrated mounts for Zwift Click controllers rather than baked-in Play-style buttons, which sounds like a downgrade until you realize it means any handlebar configuration works — clip-ons, drops, whatever. If you're chasing a proper TT position for triathlon training, that flexibility has real value.

Saddle setback gets its own dedicated rail here, allowing more aggressive positioning than the Zwift Ride permits. For riders who've struggled to replicate their outdoor fit on a smartbike, that's the kind of detail that separates "tolerable" from "actually usable" over a two-hour Zwift race.

The tradeoff is rider height range. JetBlack lists 5'1" to 6'4", while the Zwift Ride claims 5' to 6'6". If you're at either extreme — or if multiple family members share the setup — check those numbers carefully before committing. Steel construction keeps weight manageable for stability but won't win any portability awards if you're shuffling the bike between rooms.

Presales open in October for late-November delivery. For the dad who's tired of mounting and unmounting a road bike three times a week, or the data-obsessed rider who wants a dedicated indoor rig without spending $4,000 on a Wahoo KICKR Bike Pro, this lands in a useful spot. Whether JetBlack's build quality matches Zwift's at this price point is the open question — but the specs, at least, suggest they've done the homework.