Hi,
I recently purchased a Wahoo Kickr Core. After the installation of my bike on the Kickr, and giving it a first go, I noticed the resistance was pretty high. The resistance did not match at all with the feeling I have on the road with this gear.
Is there some setup in the Wahoo that causes this?
Thanks in advance,
Maarten
First you’ll want to be sure you’re on the latest firmware by pairing your Kickr to the Wahoo Fitness App. THere’s one for iOS and Android.
Second, you might need to do a spindown calibration following the protocol here.
Check back in if you remember and let us know how you got on.
Welcome @maartenVD !
After you’ve done what Sir @Glen.Coutts suggested, you should also check what mode the KICKR is in. Level mode has settings which will vary the resistance you feel, and ERG mode will allow the trainer to control to a power setpoint (either set through the Wahoo app or from an external application like SYSTM).
The level mode settings can be thought of as like the gradient on a hill. So at Level = 0.0%, it should feel similar to pedaling on the flat.
When I’m starting to ride and shift to the fourth gear from the left (and from then on all the gears), there is:
Here is a youtube URL to a short recording of the sound.
Kickr Core test 08/12/2023 - YouTube
From 0:07 I shift to a heavier gear and you’ll hear this creaking sound around the bottom bracket. At the same time, the jump in resistance is much higher than the same jump from those gears on a road ride.
As a test, I was just following the data in the Wahoo fitness app via ‘record’ and then checking the date in ‘Passive’ and ‘Level’. I was not in ERG mode.
Firmware was updated V1.1.3
Spindown was performed
What level are you using in Level mode?
FWIW, I get some creaking from the BB/crank area when I do very low cadence/high torque intervals. I probably need to do a quick service on the BB, and make sure the threads a greased and it’s tight in the shell.
It sounds like it might be worth contacting Wahoo customer support about the resistance issue. They may have some other suggestions.
Are you using a thru axle? I mistakenly forgot the spacer insert that goes on the right side so the hub was dragging. I put the spacer in and that was a good start. The core will bog down if the setting is high and you start peddling. Give it a few seconds and it seems to reset so you can ramp up.
Also, something that I found is to use the right set of Thru-Axle spacers. Mine had two sets. Had to use the newer ones. Also, I had to adjust the limit screws to make sure I was in the right gear.
Concerning the noise, any chance it is a brand new cassette on your kickr core, and the chain has been used on your bike already with a different cassette?
Got the same issue, bought my wahoo Kickr in November 2023 to replace my Elite Direto XR, because the direto is not allowed for some e-sports. But it feels like I am always riding against a hill, the 12 and 6 o’clock positions are terrible and on flats at 40kph on zwift I ride in 53x20 gear. I think I have never been lower than the 15 sprocket, except for the low cadance high torque drills. Did you get some feedback from Wahoo support?