Hello!
I had and still have my wahoo kickr core and what I remember from when it was working well was that it only increased resistance after I started a race or a workout on zwift or if if switched the resistance by using the wahoo app for a workout for example.
Once after stopping using it for a couple of weeks I cameback to workouts and races and I updated the kickr and I felt that it became very heavy… I kept trying and improved my shape again but always felt that I could not improve to the point that I was before stopping those 2 weeks because I couldnt sustain the resistance (it seemed to me that the trainer was producing at least 30-50w of resistance).
I explained to wahoo and did tests etc but nothing changed. Also as a result of that I can only sustain pedalling in the 3rd and 4th gear (of the smaller plate) and it is already very difficult for flat and makes me pedal at a higher cadence to sustain those gears on flat…it doesnt feel normal specially comparing to what I felt before. And after trying for a while I also start feeling pain on my knee because pedalling on 4th gear on flat at a cadence between 75-80 to reach a bit over 150w makes me force the knee more than normal.
After losing motivation for pedalling like this and stopping and trying to comeback more than once I noticed today a thing that seemed weird.
When I pedal on the bike with the trainer turned OFF I feel resistance according to the gear that I am using (for example the 4th) and it seems normal but when I turn the trainer ON (no wahoo app or zwift turned ON) it adds immediately significant resistance ( which seems kind of the extra amount of watts that I have been feeling in my races or workouts).
Well, I don’t think this makes sense because the trainer should only add resistance if it is controlled by an external app like zwift or on its wahoo app (if we go there and choose to increase the resistance) or am I wrong?
Please if anyone can help I will be very thankful!
No, in the situation I mention when I turn On the Kickr and it immeditaly becomes heavier I have computer off, and also my phone was not paired with kickr.
I forgot to mention in my initial post that I already did spin downs in the wahoo app.
Ive got a Kickre Bike, not a Core. Sometimes the resistance feels really heavy for a few seconds when I start riding and then settles back to normal. Does yours just stay on impossibly hard the entire time?
I know about what you explain… usually when the trainer worked well I used to feel some heaviness in first seconds and then going normal.
But what happens now is different… as soon as I turn ON the kickr without anything connected to it, he increases resistance.
I feel it clearly because I even pedalled with it turned OFF and asked for other person to turn it ON while I’m still pedalling and I immediately feel like more 30-50w resistance.
As a consequence, I believe when I race or workout on zwift for example I’m producing for example 120w in reallity but it the zwift is only receiving information of 80-90w.
That difference are the watts that the kickr is adding simply by being turned ON.
And that didnt happen before and it doesnt make sense because the Kickr should offer resistance only if you configure it on wahoo app for that or if it is being controlled by an external app like zwift (but just according to information of the inclines from zwift etc and not with some resistance before even turning on the app).
In conclusion the kickr is giving me its own resistance just by turning it ON (like 30-50w) + the resistance according to the routes on zwift which means that if i’m racing or working out for an hour I have to sustain what the zwift is demanding plus that extra resistance from the kickr alone. And I can also see the real watts are higher than what is displayed on zwift because even by pedalling at 140/150w on 4th gear forces me to pedal at a much higher cadence like 80-85rpm so I dont put so much pressure on my knees…anyway at a certain point I have to decrease cadence because I cant go at 80-85 for 1h. So I reduce cadence but im forced to go to 3rd gear…and produce like 115-125w… when im talkink about watts im considering no inclination as reference.
Yeah I’m unsure unfortunately. I can only think to uninstall and reinstall all trainer co trol software you have on any device. Re-pair it, chrck firmware up to date and try again. If its still failing get hold of customer service, if its still within warranty perhaps they can swap for a refurbished one?
The Kickr will always offer some resistance at first simply based on your gearing and the flywheel weight. But once you connect and start a workout it should even out to the exact targets of your workout.
Definitely make sure nothing is connected to it. Close all your apps on all your devices and disconnect the Kickr from them all. Then open and connect only the app on the device you want to use.
If this is still an issue definitely contact support directly. They don’t read or respond to messages in the forum.
Yes, when it is turned OFF I feel the resistance of the different gears and the wheel I guess. But when I turn the kickr ON the resistance increases.
If the wahoo app is OFF and Zwift is OFF from where is coming that resistance after turning the trainer ON? I guess it is the trainer itself.
Can you or someone else here tell me if this happens to you?:
pedalling with the trainer with it turned OFF and having a certain resistance according to your gear.
then while pedalling, turning the trainer ON…
(Consider that all apps are closed wahoo, zwift or others)
Does it happens a sudden change of resistance after the trainer ON, like more 30-50w?
If anyone can tell me if this happens it would be very good because I think that is where the problem is.
It’s happening here AND then"Death Spiral" back in a really bad way. There’s no release of tension that is supposed to be there if I stop pedaling and then decide to start again before the flywheel completely spins down.
I reported this powering up torque problem to Wahoo a couple years ago. My kickr goes into needless erg mode at power up even though there’s no app in control. It really isn’t fun especially when you aren’t warmed up.
Can anyone else verify:
Turn on kickr
Pedal up to normal speed, 90 rpm whatever
Stop pedaling.
Wait for flywheel to almost stop
Start pedaling again. Careful with your knees because kickr now has stupid high torque.
I have the exact same issue, new Kickr Core purchased with Zwift Ride. I confirm that with following your steps the resistance is super high (max?), even when nothing is connected to Kickr. Several users seem to have that issue, I haven’t seen a solution yet. I tried doing the “Factory Spindown”, I’m running the 1.5.5 firmware. I opened a ticket with Wahoo support.