Hard resistance at beginning of activities

As I mentioned, I agreed the trainer was not the issue after testing.

My apple TV is the older model with the black remote (not the 4k model). Believe it’s the 4th Gen 32GB version.

I can only assume when I had the initial problem when testing with my mobile device I had forgotten to turn the trainer off. I found that when testing if I had the resistance issue and didn’t turn the trainer off, it didn’t reset the stepper motor and kept the resistance on.

So it is only when using the Apple TV that I now have the issue.

I’ve had another email from Zwift support this morning, although they seem to have missed the fact that I mentioned it was working on my phone now and have ignored the Apple TV problem. Oops.

I’ve seen issues noted when using the newer version as well, so although I’d be happy to buy the newer unit, the bugs I’ve seen put me off a bit.

I’m on a totally different setup to discussed here (Neo 2T over ANT+ to Windows 10) but I sometimes get harder than usual resistance during the pairing/route selection screens.

I’ve always assumed it relates to where my avatar has spawned on world 0 - the temporary holding area in the background which is a section of road that’s flat then goes up a massive hill. So if I randomly spawn onto a flat bit, resistance is normal/nil. If I spawn a bit further forward, resistance will be unexpectedly x% (greater than nil). My avatar doesn’t change position or move in the background when pedalling, so my theory was always that the game just sends that resistance as a static percentage until I enter another world and the trainer starts to receive accurate/variable resistance levels.

Thanks for sharing it. I have same issue, only with Apple TVs ( I’ve tested the older and current 4K of apple TVs models ). The sudden hard resistance comes up after some spinning if ZWIFT Training mode, not happening on other Zwift events ( Races, Group Ride, etc ). Only training mode. It really sucks when someone pays to all the products ( Zwift, Apple TV, Trainer ) which is supposed to work but doesn’t. As I was expecting to train indoor during Winter ( June/July/Aug in South Hemisphere ) I need to sort out what to do now. I don’t expect issue fixed this time soon…very unfair …

So my issue is still ongoing. To be fair to Zwift technical support they have been great.
Apart from a recent experience, where I replied to my ticket email after a month (as I was actually enjoying riding outside!) and it bounced back to say the email no longer worked. I then got a supposed “representative” on the Zwift website who wouldn’t put me through to the actual technical support team so I complained via Social Media. Quickly got back through to them after that and they have been fantastic.

I only ever use the general ride feature on zwift (no training, etc), but it is on every ride regardless of when I start pedalling (in the menus or when my avatar loads). After exhaustive testing, the issue is the Apple TV itself so I’m going to bite the bullet and get a new one.
We’re guessing that the unit has a faulty Bluetooth module which is causing it to drop out at points in the ride.

Adding my $0.02 to this. I’m on a M1 Macbook Pro, Wahoo Kickr, Kickr Climb, bluetooth. I have the same issue every time when I enter the main screen after pairing. I start pedalling to start warming up, and the resistance is initially easy, but very quickly I have to shift into my lowest gear because the resistance quickly ramps up. It becomes quite difficult to pedal. Once I start riding a route, everything is fine.

FYI, this was occurring on a previous older Intel Macbook as well.

Just to add I have the exact same issue with my Elite Direto XR. I run Zwift on PC with an ANT+ USB dongle from Garmin. Zwift has been fine for a couple of years (only use it over the winter TBH) but in the last few weeks its started playing up in the same way. Installed the Direto firmware, hasn’t helped. Tried both not pedaling before starting a workout and light pedaling as I pass through the menus… again no difference. I have found simply rebooting everything and trying again will sometimes help. Otherwise, I normally have about 4 mins of 300w while I let it let it calm down. Its fun in a workout, when it wants me to warm up at 150w I have to do 30rpm.

I am actually awaiting a replacement turbo.
Opened another ticket in September and just in time as it was just before the end of the 2 year warranty (although I had evidence of issues well before this as documented here and with Elite and Zwift support).

Elite sent a new board which actually made things worse.
The issue is with the motor which drives the magnet back and forth. It basically gets stuck and doesn’t run freely and when it should say; return to 0% gradient, it gets stuck when winding back in. Then when you hit the next bump, it feels like 10% instead of 3%.

In the end the issue could be reproduced at my friends house (after it having worked previously - putting this down to the journey there in my car loosening the motor in the turbo!?).

The change of Apple TV made no difference, and the issue just slowly got worse as the motor gave up the ghost.

I’ve been testing and monitoring the issue on my set up for the last couple of weeks and found its only happening in a Workout. I also tried what someone has suggested where it helps if you are already pedaling when the Workout starts - this really helps and in the last few tests its pretty much 100% reliable that if I’m pedaling before starting the workout its fine - if not, the issue will occur. If I have the issue it sometimes helps to take it out of ERG mode for a while but more often than not is that I have to power off everything and try again.

I have the same problem with a Direto XR-T. I’ll try to limit the Bluetooth connections in my room or change device to see if that help.

Keep us update on your journey with this if possible.

I hope it will be all good soon.

I have the same problem with my new Elite Direto XR-T trainer. When I load a Zwift workout, the trainer adds a huge amount of resistance. If I manage to get the cadence up, the resistance eases up to what the workout calls for and the ERG works fine. This morning I actually broke a shifter cable from putting so much strain on the bike. I am managed to tweek my knee after pedalling concrete. I also connect through an older Apple TV box. I’ll switch to an HDMI cable and see if this resolves the issue.

My replacement turbo arrived, and all my issues were resolved.
The only thing I’ve found (which I believe others have also encountered), is increased resistance at the beginning sometimes when you pedal during the loading screen on zwift.
Nothing near as bad as my original problem, and an issue resolved by simply not pedalling until the workout/ ride starts.