Yesterday I tried to do a short (20 minute) FTP test. It felt like there was a significant (total?) disconnect between the program and my Wahoo Kickr Trainer. I am connected via Apple TV 4K. Whether I was in the warm-up mode, or in the test itself, I couldn’t get the trainer to respond to what was asked of me. Asked to increase my Watts to 180 or 190, I couldn’t get above 90 for what seemed like 2-4 minutes, even if I brought my cadence to 120 and increased to the highest gear on the trainer to try to increase the resistance. Then, once it began to respond (again, 3-4 minutes later), the watts would rise to 280 and stay there for several minutes, even if I was asked to rest and bring the wattage to 80 or 90. It was also difficult to affect the resistance. The program didn’t respond effectively to increasing the gear. Is the problem with the Kickr? Is it with the Apple TV? Is the problem with the time of day (too many people taking the test at one time)?
I feel that my test is invalid. Not real keen on doing it all over again, but perhaps I have no choice. How do I ensure that the program respond appropriately and I can get an accurate test?
@Arndt_Braaten Hi Arndt, I am sorry to hear about your technical difficulties with the ramp test! It is so frustrating when things don’t work the way they should. I also took the shorter FTP test yesterday (Ramp Test Lite) and used the Wahoo Kickr Snap and AppleTV. The first thing that leaps to mind is whether you have recently calibrated your trainer? I did a spin down on mine after a workout two or three days ago just to be sure it would be giving me the best possible data. I’m guessing everything has been fine and wattage and resistance seemed reasonable when you’ve been riding recently and that everything looked ok on the pairing screen when you started up? I ask that because just this past week my setup stopped recognizing my Garmin heart rate monitor, giving me a “no signal” message on the pairing screen, so I ended up pairing that with my bike computer instead.
When I took the test yesterday (for the second time ever), I had an 8 minute free ride/warm up and then the test started me with 1 minute intervals that increased by 10 watts each minute. Is that what yours looked like? If the watts were so all over the place, it doesn’t seem like you would have been able to complete any of the segments of the test (displayed on the left side of the screen with a star as you complete each one).You describe a part where you were asked to rest, which doesn’t sound like what should happen in an FTP test. Did you do the Ramp Test Lite too? Did the test end at some point and give you a new FTP? I also think that the test automatically puts you in ERG mode, which means that you shouldn’t have to shift at all. The trainer should adjust to the required wattage on its own and you should just have to pedal. Hopefully some of this will help point you in the right direction, or others will chime in with ideas. Good luck!
Thanks for your thoughts! I have not calibrated, or done a “spin down”. I’ll have to look that up. Program seemed better today in terms of cadence and speed,more like my outdoors experience. Thanks again!
I did the spindown (calibration) thru Zwift, as it was not available on Wahoo (for the Kickr Trainer 811A. Supposedly, the Wahoo spindown happens automatically on this machine. I then did the Ramp Test today (recall that the first test I did was the 45 minute test, 20 minute average). After performing the spindown, the same thing happened. The resistance really did not increase much until after the cooldown began, then it got difficult very rapidly. The test was over, then it got tough. I road for over 15 minutes and eventually stopped the test when I realized that the only thing increasing my wattage was my cadence. This is disappointing. What are my next steps? I can’t get an accurate FTP on this setup, as it stands. Please advise. --Arndt Braaten
Did you try to increase the resistance using the incline button on the companion app during the 20min free ride test block?
You can also use the arrow buttons on the bottom of the screen or the ± button on the keyboard.
Also try to go to your biggest front chainr5and smallest at the back.
@Gerrie_Delport_ODZ Hi Gerrie, does that mean that when you do the tests that are not the Ramp Test Lite (the only one I’ve tried), you have to input the wattage increases manually? Is ERG mode off? If that is the case, then I would suggest that @Arndt_Braaten does the Ramp Test Lite because it walks you through the test (with some cheerleading even) and increases the wattage for you.
Ooh, I was just poking through the forum to see whether there is any other information under a different heading and found this: https://forums.zwift.com/t/ramp-test-resistance-fail/506281
Only for the 20 min free ride block and only if you don’t have enough resistance.