Hi, I’ve been struggling for a while now using the Kickr with Zwift on anything other than ERG mode because of an issue with running out of gears and spinning out at 110rpm+ just to hit my FTP. It makes races (and certainly sprint finishers) all but impossible. For reference I’m using a road bike with a pretty wide gear range so it really shouldn’t be an issue.
Having just seen Zwift have released the Cog and Click upgrade kit which solves the issue for any bike, I’m seriously considering selling my Kickr and switching to a Zwift Hub, which seems insane given I know the Kickr is fundamentally a better turbo trainer. Any chance we could please please please have a similar virtual shifting upgrade kit for the Kickr?
I’d much rather keep my Kickr as it’s brilliant aside from the gearing issue, but without virtual shifting it’s getting harder and harder to justify in light of the Zwift Hub that’s now available.
To clarify, which Kickr are you using? I’ve got a Kickr ‘18 and can use Level mode or ERG on Zwift without issue.
That said, there can be interference with other apps so I do have to be aware of what else may be connected to the Kickr when on Zwift as well as which app I want to control the Kickr when I’m on there (sometimes I’ll dual record, ie do a ERG SYSTM workout where SYSTM controls the Kickr while still allowing Zwift to display power passively).
I’m using a road bike with a 52/36 chainring, which is fine for outdoor riding but for whatever reason, I can go above 200W on Zwift without needing to put out 100rpm+ in top gear. ERG mode isn’t a problem as all as Zwift controls the resistance, but a free ride or race just results in spinning out. Would be amazing if they could bring virtual shifting to Kickr as it would solve the issue as well as bringing more of a level playing field for all bike users (i.e. in case there are any mountain bike users out there struggling with the same issue).
Zwift does supply resistance which is roughly appropriate to virtual speed and slope in non-ERG mode for me. Unless your FTP is pro level, spinning out doesn’t sound right unless you are headed down a steep virtual hill.
Zwift has a slider that affects response to slope and thus resistance as a function of speed in User Settings, and it defaults to 50%. Try setting that to 100%. I haven’t messed around with that, I just set it to 100% because of some odd experiences with a similar setting in other programs.
I’ve tried experimenting with the slope slider and 100% is ok unless there are any downhills, in which case anything more than -1% and I’m spinning like crazy, while 0% fixes the downhills, but then means I’m back to having to put out 100rpm+ to hit 200W on the flat. Agree it definitely shouldn’t be happening, but it’s unfortunately pretty common and there are a load of threads on Zwift dedicated to it (e.g. this one). There hasn’t been a fix until now but with the virtual shifting it would seem a no brainer to bring it the Kickr as well as others.
The Zwift Click is quite appealing. My KickR works great and reasonably quietly in ERG mode but on Zwift it gets really noisy and impossible for me to avoid some degree of minor chain grinding which makes the experience overall less pleasant. The Zwift solution would seem to improve things and hopefully Wahoo looking into it.
I would really like to have the ability to use virtual shifting in Zwift! They (zwift) says that wahoo needs to update their firmware to make this possible.
So please, pick up the phone, call Zwift and talk to them about how to implement virtual shifting in Zwift!
+1 for this. I would really like to see this functionality come to the Kickr Core. Would happily buy some wahoo “buttons” if they don’t want to make it work with the Zwift banded stuff (assuming of course the price for said buttons isn’t ridiculous).
