Inconsistent cadence reading with Wattbike Atom

Bugs and Support
1

Have been using Zwift on my ipad with a Wattbike Atom for about a year now mostly without any problems. However, in the last week in three of my workouts the cadence reading keeps randomly jumping up or down by about 20-30 rpm every 3 or 4 seconds. This has a knock on effect on the resistance when using ERG mode particularly when the the RPM reading drops as the resistance increases accordingly to match the required watts. This quickly becomes very tiring when doing workout intervals at threshhold because the resistance suddenly jumps equivalent to about 100 watts.

Anyone else having this issue? It appears to be only related to Zwift because it doesnā€™t happen when iā€™m using the Wattbike app or on Sufferfest.

I re-installed Zwift on the ipad but that didnā€™t seem to make any difference, any suggestions to fix the issue?

2

Hi, have been using an Atom for a couple of weeks now having previously had an Elite Drivo. Found it very easy to maintain steady cadence with little varition on the Drivo. With the Atom I am finding the reported cadence in bouncing around by 5-10 rpm either side of what I believe my true cadence is. Does make doing a workout with ERG very challenging! Is there a way of raising this with Zwift and Wattbike.

1 Like
3

I have the same issue
Cadence jumps between 80 and 96 every second or so
Power bounces around 10%
I tried ā€œbeta firmwareā€ option on the wattbike but it hasnā€™t helped
This issue has been unfixed for over a year so I would recommend the Tacx Neo 2 instead (which I also have which doesnt have this issue)

4

If the cadence is jumping around its likely to be one of 2 things:
You are connected to a secondary device like the Hub as it hasnt shut down properly so check you have turned everything bar zwift off.
or
The order you started the devices in is out of sync - It can be temperamental if you start the atom after zwift for some reason.

Normally, its the first one and there are multiple devices trying to connect\control the atom

Cadence jumping tends not be linked the erg power movement as these are separate ā€˜issuesā€™

5

Hi all, this is an old topic now but I have the same problem. RPM constantly changing by large amounts, actually seems to only like the numbers 60-69-80-96 and never really displays anything else, this affects everything I try to do and workouts are practically impossible. Itā€™s doing my head in, Iā€™ve been on to wattbike support about it but it seems to have gone very quiet.

2 Likes
6

Iā€™ve not had the issue for some time now. I took the advice posted above and made sure there were no other bluetooth devices connected to my ipad apart from my HRM.
I aso noticed that when it happened it usually happened after hearing an audible clunk on the Wattbike when i turned it on. It seemed to sort itself out if i turned off the Wattbike, waited for about 10 seconds and turned it on again.

1 Like
7

As mentioned above, its normally Bluetooth is trying to connect to multiple apps - such as Zwift and the Wattbike hub at the same time, or you have started them in the wrong orde.

If both of those are good, then it will need Wattbike to pull them thumb outā€¦

Im currently waiting on them as my seatpost has started slipping, been waiting about a week for a response at present.

8

I have had similar problems on the Wattbike atom v1 and agree that cycling power is at least a temporary fix

9

This is the solution provided by Wattbike which worked for me.

Wattbike will require you to set zero states.

Set zero states, sometimes called zero offset, resets the force value of the strain gauge of your Wattbike. This value is used to calculate Wattbikeā€™s proprietary power metrics including Polar View & PES when pedalling.

IMPORTANT: No pressure should be applied to the pedals when pressing ā€˜Set Zero Stateā€™ to ensure the most accurate values.

To set zero states, follow these instructions carefully:

  1. Unplug the Wattbike from the mains for 2 minutes, then plug it back in and turn it on.
  2. Open your Wattbike Hub app.
  3. Go to Settings
  4. Go to Known Wattbikes
  5. Select your Wattbike and ensure that you are connected - the circle next to your serial number will turn green.
  6. Enter the Advanced Settings
  7. Whilst off the bike, rotate your pedals back 1 full rotation, set your right pedal to the 6 oā€™clock position and ensure no pressure is applied to pedals.
  8. Under the Set Zero state section, press Set - Note that you will not be notified of the reset happening, but this will have occurred.
1 Like
10

I Ian, I just wanted to say this worked for me straight away with accurate pedal cadence, no jumping around and a much better workout!

Thanks very much.

1 Like