Can't calibrate Kinetic Road Machine

Hi guys,
I’ve just joined Zwift and cannot calibrate my Kinetic Road Machine. I’ve searched for help online but Zwift just suggests there should be a wrench symbol under ‘Power Source’ when pairing. There is no wrench for me on my Samsung Android phone.

Surely I don’t need to calibrate on the Kinetic app then switch to Zwift? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Dan

Hey Dan!

We recommend calibrating through 1st party apps if possible, meaning the one from Kinetic in this case. Since it’s their trainer, they will probably be more active, and in many cases, we’ve removed calibration options from Zwift for many trainers cause we no longer get the information needed to calibrate the trainers in app, so if there is no wrench, you have to go through the manufacturers app. Sorry for any confusion on this matter.

Hi Seth,
That’s disappointing but many thanks for your response.
Dan

I don’t really understand calibration. If the trainer is calibrated accurately Kinetic, will it be calibrated accurately on zwift when I close down the Kinetic app?

Kinetic Road Machine isn’t a power source. You need to set it up as a virtual power source and it doesn’t need calibration.

Thanks for your response. I’m afraid i don’t understand though! Aa far as I’m aware you ought to calibrate each time unless you have a direct drive. How do i set my Kinetic up as a power source???

Interestingly I can calibrate my mate’s Wahoo Snap trainer on my Samsung but i can’t calibrate my Kinetic. However, I can calibrate my Kinetic on my old iPhone 6.

Why can my old iPhone 6 calibrate my Kinetic trainer but my new Samsung Galaxy A70 can’t? Is this a problem with Android?

First you need to set up a speed source so Zwift can calculate your power based on your speed.

Configure your speed source.

Then it will take you to trainer selection page.

Then you’re good to go on virtual power.

Then only configuring you even need to do is making sure your speed source is configured correctly. Say you change from a 23 to a 25 tire for example.

I just realized you’re talking about being able to calibrate on your iPhone. So I’m guessing you actually want to set up Kinetic inRide?

Yes it may be that the bluetooth wont work for all devices on Android. I have an inRide available and tested it. It would connect to PC through both direct BT and with the companion app. However could not connect through BT when running Zwift on my phone.

I installed Kinetic on my phone to check and it connectes to the inRide. The problem appears to be Zwift BT on Android.

Thanks for your responses Nicholas. I don’t have the inRide sensor and as far as I’m aware I shouldn’t need one as I have a smart trainer. I’ll contact Kinetic to see if they have a solution. Thanks

I do product testing with Kinetic and have ridden a fair amount on the Kinetic InRide (name of the sensor that estimates power and broadcasts it) so let me help out here. The in-game calibration from Zwift isn’t setup to do this specific calibration. There are some confusing aspects of this for end users and manufacturers alike.

The advice to calibrate in the Kinetic Fit App is spot on though. If you warm up for 10 minutes with tire pressure to 100 psi you get good results. The calibration will guide you if you need to increase or decrease roller tension. In my tests the power values are frequently in the 5% or better match with a direct force power meter and quite consistent. In fact, if you leave the bike on the trainer you can just keep your tire pressure pumped up to 100 psi every few days and calibration becomes an infrequent matter only required if you move the bike on/off.

I hope this helps and it should be easier than the instructions to use it as a classic trainer. Happy to answer any other questions.

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Hi Duane, thanks for your response. I’m getting support from Kinetic but unfortunately none of the advice I’ve had works so Kinetic think the magnet may need replacing. I’ve tried calibrating in Kinetic and switching to Zwift several times now on my Samsung, my old iPhone 6 and my wife’s iPhone 8 but it doesn’t work. I tried twice in the same day last week. For my morning session I could easily sustain 800w. In the evening I struggled to maintain 105w. It’s wildly different everytime I use it and Zwifts training programmes are un-usable for me at present. Also, I do not need inRide as it’s a newer model smart trainer.

I see, I was keying off the road machine in the title and figured this was the fluid trainer. It sounds like Kinetic is working with you, which is good and should get matters sorted but I can understand how that is frustrating.

Thanks. It’s full name is a Road Machine Smart Trainer T-6400. It would be easier if they changed names when they upgraded models! Very frustrating but to be fair, Kinetic’s customer service has been very good. They are very responsive to emails.

Hi Dan,

Did you ever get this sorted? I seem to be having similar issues. I’ve got Kinetic Smart trainer too, and after successfully calibrating in Zwift once, I haven’t been able to do it again. It “times out” or I just get the “maintain your speed” prompt…for ever.

Thanks,
Joel

Hi Duane,

I’m having similar issues calibrating My T-6100 Kinetic Road Machine Smart trainer in Zwift. I can successfully calibrate in the Fit all. I can successfully calibrate in the Trainer Road app. I have successfully calibrated in Zwift once (and that gave me some suspiciously high power numbers, but that’s another issue). Each time I now attempt to calibrate, the process gets stuck on the “Maintain your current speed” prompt. OR it just times out waiting for the device to respond.

The trainer pairs to the app just fine. I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled the Zwift app, reset my modem and wifi router and done a unplug/plug in on the trainer all with no luck. I’m running Mac OS and the Zwift companion app on an iPhone 6s

Any ideas?

thanks,
Joel

Hi, I can’t get the Kinetic road machine trainer to calibrate either. It tells me (if it works at all, I have to go in and out the Fit app several times before it works) to speed up to 25 mph. But the default setting is so strong, I can’t reach that. When I ride in Zwift, my speed is half of my typical speed. It needs to be calibrated. Can you calibrate in any wheel size? How does the trainer know what wheel size you’re using? The app doesn’t ask for wheel size like zwift does.

I use a Road Machine with an InRide 3 sensor (the green one).

  1. It must be calibrated to broadcast correct watts.
  2. The Kinetic App was very flaky 2 months ago.
    I uninstalled it from my phone (Android) and reinstalled it and now it connects easily. (5-10 secs).
  3. The InRide sensor does not care what size tire you are using.
    It only knows that the speed of the roller and it knows how much power it takes to spin the roller at a given speed.
    This amount of watts does vary based upon the temp or viscosity of the oil in the mechanism and the resistance of the tire.
    By calculating how fast the wheel and the roller slow down, it fine tunes the reported power.
    Your speed does not need to get all the way to 25 mph, just stop pedaling when it tells you to and it will measure the slow down and get the reading it needs.
    If I calibrate on a cold day then ride on a warmer day, my power numbers are significantly increased because the oil is less viscous.
  4. If using the InRide sensor, do not select “Pair as a classic trainer” unless you have a magnet on your spoke and a speed sensor.

I connect the InRide 3 sensor to Zwift via Ant+.
My phone (android) connects to the InRide 3 via Bluetooth.
I don’t know if connecting both Zwift and the Kinetic app via Bluetooth would cause a problem.
I saw that was suggested as a possible issue and it may be.

When connecting the sensor to Zwift, try to use Ant+ , if you have a Ant+ dongle.

Otherwise, you can first pair to the Kinetic app via Bluetooth, warm up X 10-15 min, do a calibration, close the Kenetic app and then start Zwift.

I have kinda the same problem here, I just got a rock n’roll smart 2 trainer, with InRide 3 (the green one)

I am able to pair with kinetic app and I calibrate just fine, the speed seems really accurate.

Then I log to Zwift, pair via ant+ and I am over 1200 W and 180km per hour in just 2 secs… this is not right at all.

There is no option to calibrate in Zwift, I rebooted, recalibrated 3 times already, it seems hopeless :frowning: