Is it possible to make virtual shifting just a keyboard shortcut?
With an existing wahoo kickr core, the only option to use virtual shifting is spending 80-100.
Or at least just offer the button at the much lower price…
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A third to this request! I’m running an MTB set up so the play controllers wont work with my set up. I just want to buy the click by itself since my Kickr core got the virtual shifting firmware upgrade.
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I primarily Zwift on my TT bike, so add me to a click only request list in readiness for when the feature launches on v5 kickr
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Just an FYI there are some hacks to use Play controllers on flat bars. Maybe not pretty but functional…
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Time to make it world wide as well. In Norway we are still waiting for an official way of buying the Zwift Play!
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It’s interesting that Indievelo makes virtual shifting work with any smart trainer, no firmware anything needed (or other specific hardware, a keyboard is enough). I presume they just do some magic with the gradient simulation instead to accomplish this.
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24 gears are fine but not enough I find. The jump between gears is too big. It’s like switching from the 18 sprocket to the 20 sprocket. 19 sprockets are missing. For example, 36 gears would be better
Would be cool if Zwift were to add some settings to configure the gears to have a wider or smaller range of gears, or simply more gears.
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I appreciate your valuable interest in our app and products. This is Juan again. Please note that we are constantly developing improvements in every aspect of our shipping service. If there are changes in this regard, we will inform you by official channels like the Zwift shop and zwift.com. We care about your Zwift experience. Ride On.
If there has been an agreement with Wahoo, why not let them supply play controllers. Being located in Canada we are right next door and Wahoo Canada is 1 day shipping away for me.
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BEWARE - If you use Zwift Play to virtual shift and do NOT exit virtual shifting before ending your ride, you will NOT be able to perform a spindown in the Wahoo app. No amount of cadence will get you above 17 mph. No matter how many reboots of Companion, My iPhone, Kickr Core, waiting over night so it could cool down… nothing worked. It wasn’t until I thought MAYBE Zwift has my Kicker locked into a lower gear. I opened a new ride and Bam, my Kickr was in 12th gear. I shut of ERG and closed Companion, Zwift and BINGO, Wahoo spindown worked as it should. Zwift needs to correct this so they let go of the trainer on exit or end of the ride before others have the same issue.
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I hope, V4 (2018er) is counted under „existing Wahoo KICKR range“… at least, in my pain cave, V4 is existing…
I believe it is
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Shane’s video suggests 4,5,6 and move
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Hi @Rick_Cushing
Shuji at Zwift HQ here. The Zwift app doesn’t keep your KICKR Core “locked into a lower gear.” That’s not how it works. Simply ending your Zwift session by saving-and-ending (or trashing-and-ending) will disconnect your trainer (any trainer) from Zwift.
Once unpaired from Zwift, its Bluetooth signals are available to pair to the trainer manufacturer’s app for spindown calibration. These are the instructions on Wahoo’s support site.
How virtual shifting does work: once your VS-enabled KICKR Core is paired to a game OVER BLUETOOTH and also paired to a Zwift Play or Click, you’ll spawn into a world and route of your choice. As you begin pedaling - your trainer will determine what physical gearing is on your bike by reading your pedaling cadence and the trainer’s flywheel velocity. Doesn’t matter what physical gears are on the bike. Then it’ll set you in a virtual 12th gear - in the middle of its range. This happens during the first 15 seconds or so after your avatar spawns in the world - not while you’re looking at the pairing screen and not on the home screen. The real gearing calculation feels like resistance stutters for a few seconds. That’s because your trainer is figuring out how much resistance to give you.
Once it puts you into that virtual 12th gear - this calculation of your physical gearing ends. It happens one time when your avatar spawns in world. Meaning - if you change from the big to the small chairing or vice versa, it’s not going to reset your virtual middle gear.
Sidebar for you specifically @Rick_Cushing - I noticed your Play controllers are on firmware version 1.2.1. Please update to the current v1.3.0 when you get a minute. Here’s how to do that using Zwift Companion.
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Can we hope for a version working on Kickr v5? That could be a major improvement for the setup I use for the kids as they are very limited in term of gears.
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Hi,
First of all, thanks for all the great work behind Zwift. I’ve been riding on it for years (level 53 now) and IMO it’s the biggest thing to happen to cycling since gears!
As an tech enthusiast and early adopter I have a couple of requests and feedback for virtual shifting.
One, keyboard shortcuts are indispensable to making this viable for racing. I tried the Zwift Click and it’s simply too unreliable for race settings. Anything wireless is going to have this problem in some settings I suspect due to range/protocol/interference issues. Adding a shortcut will allow me and others to use my custom USB controller to shift which should be super reliable.
Second request is for tighter/custom defined gearing. From 12 to 11 or 13 is too big of a jump compared to physically shifting from the 14 on my 11 speed cassette (I have an 11-23 with 53-42 front). I end up in one or two gears for the entire race, with my cadence sometimes going out of range.
I understand there’s a tradeoff to accommodate everyone out there so some kind of back door setting would be fine. At the very least, a knob to control the fraction of gear per click or something like that.
Thanks and keep up the good work. Looking forward to using virtual shifting with my Kickr Core in the future as the implementation is fine tuned. It should be a killer feature for Zwift/Wahoo.
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Yesterday, February 22, the update for V6 was released. They also added race mode!
I’m now waiting for my V5. Please WAhoo update v5
KICKR v6 Firmware 5.2.15 – 22 February, 2024
Added: Virtual shifting on Zwift with Zwift Play controllers.
Requires Zwift game version 1.59+
Added: Race Mode over BLE (Zwift only)
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Dear @shooj,
Why aren’t you selling the click separately? That makes no sense to me. Seems to be purely a profit issue as the bundle can be sold for more. And I get that. Making this is an investment for you and I guess you don’t think you can recover the cost if people are not willing to pay enough for the click button alone. But there must be some middle ground.
I already have a setup that works and I simply want to add virtual shifting on the current cassette I use. The cassette matches exactly to the 10-speed and allows me to pick the most silent gear (there is pretty significant variation even after adjusting carefully). In addition, the plastic casing around the cog one seems to make more noise. Noise is extremely important where I live which is also why virtual shifting has been on the top of my wish list for years…
Note: Zwift play doesn’t work for me. Primarily because I absolutely need a thick towel over the frontend of the bike. Other people might not be able to use zwift play because they are on a MTB.
Best regards,
Michael
PS. Please also fix the clogged garage issue. Some long-term storage feature of simply deleting wheels and bikes you once bought and never use anymore can’t be so hard to implement. I will never ask for another feature!!
This, directly from Wahoo:
Will virtual shifting be available on other KICKR models?
We are working on enabling virtual shifting for KICKR v5 (2020) and KICKR v4 (2018) in the near future. KICKR v3 (2017) and earlier models use a different chipset and will not receive virtual shifting"
It’s clear that virtual shifting will be available down to the Kickr v4, which I have, yay!!! I like the wording “near future” as well. Hopefully soon!
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