Gradient Change between Neoyko and Makuri Island almost throws me off the bike [May 2022]

I have noticed this issue since the last upgrade, a momentary extreme resistance hit as if suddenly going up 15% even though on flat road or going downhill. First noticed during last weeks WTRL TTT which was the Watopia Beach Island Loop and has happened on a couple of rides since, can’t remember where exactly.

Using Wahoo Kickr Core.

BT Connection through IPAD

Kickr Bike, with newest (1.27) firmware
Windows 11
BT connection through Windows 11

I get the same effect in both directions on the gravel road, with rapid transient tilt up after entering, rapid transient tilt down when exiting, believe also have transient discontinuity of my avatar each time, with a lateral position shift.

Hadn’t ridden this course for about 2 weeks, so the last ride was prior to the first of the two new updates.

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Hey gang - thanks for reporting this. We’ve been looking into this one, and have some solid leads. I’ll update this thread as we make headway.

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@shooj thanks for the update. But here’s the thing: this issue did not exist prior to the 1.25 update. What was changed that could cause something like this? And why can’t you just ‘put it back’?

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Also, there is a crazy side to side motion at the same spot in Neokyo.

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The side wobble zig-zag thing is happening on every map now. I’ve noticed it with Cat.D pace rides in both Watopia and Makuri, always in the same spots. No other effect - no resistance change - just a visual bug as far as I’ve experienced.

I had a dream a while ago that when you get to level 50 in Zwift, you get an extra control that performs the wild zigzagging we sometimes see…

i’ve felt this in two places now:

  • in makuri, when you leave the main loop to go to neokyo
  • in watopia, going up the dirty sorpresa and turning right towards the 360 bridge

not a catastrophe, but definitely not a pleasant experience.

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Conspiracy theory time: one of the 150-200 employees planted a bug on the way out so that zwift riders would become (more) disappointed with the service and try a competitor, which aforementioned employee now works at. :joy:

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Any updates on this? I hit the invisible wall last night just after the dirt transition to the tunnel back to Neokyo. Neo Bike on AppleTV both up to date on app/firmware versions.

Common denominator seems to be BLE.

Yup, using BLE and getting this effect on Wandering Flats with Denise Drops while using a Wahoo KICKR 2018 and Win 10.

Can’t be bothered to try ANT+ for a relatively small effect like this, myself, but I can imagine it is jarring if using equipment that changes bike pitch.

This could be why I haven’t noticed it recently, I have switched to using my old Tacx flow for a bit and use ANT+ to connect to that as the bluetooth is pretty rubbish on it. I had thought it just wasn’t quick enough to change the gradient quickly up and down again.

Hey all - update on this issue - we have a handle on the root issue here and are reviewing the work. It therefore did not make it in today’s 1.26.0 release, but we hope to release the fix as soon as we can.

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Just did the Castle to Castle route, and the transition from Neokyo to Yumezi and back feels smoother than the ride I did this morning. So no weird spike in power/gradient feel.

Edit - forgot to mention the devices I used:

  • Tacx Neo Bike Smart
  • Windows 11 PC
  • Bluetooth only (no ant+)

FWIW: I rode the Wandering Flats route in Makuri yesterday and today. Yesterday: gradient issue. Today (following the update): no issue. The only potential difference I can think of, outside of the update, is that today I rode with a PP. So perhaps this did get corrected?

Seems fixed based on a couple of rides

Are you bluetooth or ANT+?