Using kicker bike shift, doing workout on Zwift. Seen quite a bit of power fluctuation, despite maintaining steady cadence and effort. Have gone through several kicker trainers, including 2017, and would always get very steady power output when doing workouts. Power fluctuates +/-10 to 15 W throughout a steady effort. Erg smoothing is set “on”.
Bike is brand new.
Latest firmware.
Same on both BT or Ant+ connection
Strong WiFi/ gigabit internet
Not see drops with cadence,
Attached is workout on Shift, will also post workout from Kickr (forum limits me to one image)
I believe that DameLisa is correct. The first graph looks very normal when trainer-level smoothing is turned off. The second graph is definitely with trainer-level smoothing turned on.
I double checked, and smoothing is definitely turned on. I agree, it looks like the first one is not applying smoothing, but according to the Wahoo app it should be.
Are you looking at the software/application level smoothing, or at the device level? The perfectly straight lines are only “available” when you do an ERG workout, and you need to set the “Erg mode power smoothing” option ON in the Wahoo app. See below.
That said, I prefer trying to work on smoothing my pedal stroke rather than seeing an artificially smooth power.
Can I/we expect a reply from Wahoo for issues raised?
I understand that Power Smoothing whether turned on or off will have zero impact on the ride experience, it is purely for display purposes when analysing ones ride afterward. Wahoo please confirm…
I have identical issues with my Kicrk Shift bike as Hondokm. When in an interval (workout) the power swings and lag in ERG “kicking in” is vast.
Does anyone know if we can expect a reply/remedy from a Wahoo representative to explain how to resolve the issue?
Erg intervals using Bluetooth is usually nearly instant. But when using Ant+ the signal often can get missed from interference and ends in 5 second delays in power lag. This is a know issue with the Ant+ protocol and the solution is to use Bluetooth for connecting the trainer.
Wahoo support sometimes but rarely comments directly in this forum. There are a few threads from the past where Erg delays and Ant+ has been discussed.
If that’s the case then support will likely first have you check for distance between your trainer and your device and for interference from other devices.
Beyond that you should contact support directly as they won’t comment on specific cases here in the forum.
After extensive research, the problem I have is that I am switching from a turbo with a tried and tested flywheel (that smooths power through inertia), to a cheaper to manufacture system that will never replicate the power smoothing of a flywheel. Wahoo have admitted this fact, but alas you are unlikely to discover this until after purchasing the Kickr Shift.
