Hi everyone,
I just switched from my Wahoo Kickr Core and my Canyon Aeroad CD SLX to my new Kickr Bike Shift. However, starting from my first round my FTP dropped by around 30 Watts.
Does anyone had a similar experience?
Both trainers are around +1/-1% accurate, so I just have no idea how this can happen.
Very interested in hearing your thoughts. I can still send the bike back.
Best,
MM
without a 3rd data point it is impossible to know which is correct. Do you have another power meter you could check the core with?
the core is +/- 2% so the difference could be up to 3% if both are as claimed. but that shouldn’t give 30 watts unless your FTP is 1000 Watts.
Hi Chris,
I do have a third on my outdoor bike (canyon aeroad). Watts average the same as the kickr core. FTP is round about 265 Watts. My FTP on the kickr shift is 230 max.
You see others facing the same problem - so it cannot be completely rare. But literally no idea what to do now.
Contact Wahoo support and explain everything you’ve done to validate your power numbers.
I have exactly the same issue. Coming from a Technogym Skillbike to the Kickr Bike Shift and experience a power difference of 30-50 watts!
Any more information about this?
With only 2 data sources it is impossible to know which is incorrect. Do You have a power meter you could dual record to see which is closer?
As Chris said if you want to figure out which is correct you will need a powermeter to dual record and with both being bikes you will need a pedal based power meter like the Favero Assioma’s. It might be you know someone you can borrow them from.
However, i would guess that the Kickr has the highest chance of being correct. Making an accurate powermeter is very hard and something Wahoo has focused on for a decade. Technogym is a gym equipment company. Even though the Skill Bike is very expensive, their main focus is making durable and easy to use products, not accurate powermeters. Nowhere on the skillbike product page does is mention the claimed accuracy and thats a bad sign. Because either they haven’t tested it or know its bad so won’t write it
Thanks for your reply guys.
I will try to test it properly as you suggested. Will look around for a power meter and report back here if I have any update.
Id be delighted if the Kickr shift was running 30 watts below what it should be.
Ive had the shift since it launched and i been doing my best ever power…if its 30 under…Booom!!!
Can anyone help out on how I can measure the watts at the same time using powerlink pedals and the wahoo bike shift in zwift? I do not know how to set this up to get comparable numbers. Thanks!
The problem is I tested witv two wahoo products and the numbers are way off.
The problem with 2 sources of power, while an interesting comparison, is you don’t know which is correct.
If you go for a hike with 2 compasses, and they read differently, which is correct?
Go with either one. Be happy with it.
Ride on.
Put the pedals on your KICKR Bike Shift. Dual record using a bike computer connected to the pedals and Zwift connected to the Kickr Bike Shift.
If you do as Oliver says, you can then use the analysis tool on zwiftpower to compare the data. If you don’t have a bike computer you can use the Wahoo app with the Powerlink, to record them.
Before anything else power accuracy if one unit measures 5-10 % higher than another does not matter to most people. If you are not someone who really cares about this sort of thing or produce watts where its expected to provide proof of legitimacy, i would not spend a lot of time on it. Of course if something is actually 10 % different it also points to one of the product probably being defect and should actually be warrantied if possible.
Comparing data between different trainers and power meters, even from the same maker or the same model is a massive rabbit hole. Its always going to be a guess as to what is the closest to your real wattage, but the more data you have the more accurate the guess it.
Taking your two units, from the known data we could probably say a chance of 70 % towards the shift being the most accurate and 30 for the core. That is simply just the shift being a newer more expensive unit with more features. Most notably it has a better claimend accuracy and has autocalibration. Now that has also arrived on the Core in the latest update but dont know if you have tested it with it activated yet.
Then you have your powerlink as well. When you end up having done some testing with them, you might see they line up with the Shift or the Core and that of course changes things. If it ends up aggreeing with one of them the chance is of that those being correct is maybe 80-90 %. This is not a guarentee thats its correct, as there is still some chance of two units being wrong or the power link might show something completely different than either as well. It may also be that they agree with one of them at 200 watts and another at 300 watts and on and on. Thats why its such a rabbithole to go through, and you can sink almost infinite time and money into it without being completely sure.
Or the DCR analyzer
DCR requires a payment I belive, so for most Zwift Power is going to be the most reasonable.
$5 for a “day pass”