Just “started” on ZWIFT.
After seeing some reviews I cided to buy the Zwift Ride with KICKR CORE combo.
It arrived in a few days and after setting all up ( easy with provided youtube videos) I got into the frame to test the “bike”.
All good, but somehow I feel like a “vibration” or a “rub” when I am pedaling specially when the pedals are like straight vertical so for each revolution i am hearing that only when passing that vertical position.
I was the entire morning looking for similar issues and only foind this one short on youtube with similar symptoms.
/shorts/ncLAFR2FLmY
Can anyone comment?
Tks all for the support and feedback.
Br,
Pedro
Looks cheap as chips that crank set. Haven’t seen it in real life so would he interesting to know what people who own it think as I had been considering buying one.
I had a closer look and some thing pop out (not sure if related)
When i try to put some more efford on the pedals, the chain starts to whooble up and down…
In somw way, the chain is not tensioned at all, maybe longer chain than it should ?
anyone? With a finger, the chain whoobles a lot, not like tight at all.
I think my two 2wheel bike has chains more tentioned than this
The chain replacement support doc talks about how to engage or disengage the chain tensioner. I’m not sure if that’s the issue but you might have disengaged it.
Hi @Pedro_Claro and welcome to the forums! Alejandro here from Zwift. Appreciate you took ownership of the situation by recording the noise on the video. I would like you to contact us at support@zwift.com so that one of my Support Colleagues can take a look at your situation and help you.
So, after beeing a bit unconfortable with this situation and alot of internet digging and some bike hardware check I made my peace with it… but I would like to leave some notes for future reference…
So, to sum up:
When I put some load on the pedals I feel a slight rythmic vibration/rumbling through my pedals. Never when soft pedaling, only when loading pedals a bit.
There is no rubbing of the chain anywere where it is not suppose to. The chain is straight and everything is alligned. Crank set spins staight with no visible resistance (when without chain)
It is hard to describe exactly what happens, but small up and down movement of the chain as it exits the cog forward can set up a standing vibration in the tensioned part of the chain, that is, the part between the top of the rear cog and the top of the chainring.
I believe that this is what I am percieving as this vibration/rumbling sensation in the pedals.
(not related to the topic but as I was also earing the bealt seam ritmic along the pullies I decided to loosen it a few twists. I know that with use the belt will teoretically be less noisy with use,but still. I will reajust it in the future if needed.)
I took out the cap from the Wahoo kickr core to check tensioner and I saw something “interesting”
Bolts of the drive and tentioner had the marks, the drive looked OK, the tentioner NOT OK.
It had like ~180º turn on it, so i decided to “fix it”.
When trying to unscrew the tensioner locking screw, I notice that it was completly loose, not even a slight contact with tensioner bolt to avoid it from moving.
This bealt seam ritmic “problem” was “fixed”.
With this I started wondering if pedal cranks bolts would also be tightened.
I do not know the tightening specs for those but after poping the caps I noticed that the bolts
were tigtened like if my 5 year old would be tightening them.
A few twits in and i believe that now the setup feels more natural and secure.
I have made a few rides and I am confortable with it as is.
I believe that this chain vibration/rumble cannot be “fixed” as it is “part” of the design with a low gear cog. Eventually this could only be fixed with a belt instead of a chain…
I bought a decatlon 9 speed chain and replaced it for the original chain that comes with the Zwift ride (i wanted to keep the original just in case).
I also shorttened it by 2 links, so now it is much more tighter and less sloppy than before (original chain).
The chain tentioner is applying a higher tension as it cannot fully deploy to the upper position (normal as the chain is smaller) and that 3/4 of the rumbling/vibration noise is gone.
Hey Pedro! Are you working out or just DIY-ing the heck out of your setup? Well done! I do the same thing—finding the right chain is definitely an art! I found that, on my 1x-11 speed Shimano setup, SRM 12-speed chains work much better than expected (despite what the so-called cycling experts say).
This was really frustrating me out…
Initially I just wanted to test if a shorter chain had any effect, because I felt it very sloppy. Then
eventually move on into testing some good different chains.
On the end, this “cheaper” chain that almost “fixed” the issue.
Now, I don’t feel the need/efford of going through more expensive brand of chains to fix that 1/4.
Quite happy now
Off the records (I don’t want to start an argument with the experts around here and just as an FYI, if you ever want to do a bit of tinkering, for most chains (outside of a few proprietary ones), the inner width generally remains the same across different speeds, while only the outer width gets narrower as speeds increase. This means that potentially an 11-speed or even a 12-speed chain could help reduce friction and noise (got to be tested with your setup) and chain brand matters a bit.
Well done! I do the same thing—finding the right chain is definitely an art! I found that, on my 1x-11 speed Shimano setup, SRM 12-speed chains work much better than expected (despite what the so-called cycling experts say).
and just as an FYI, if you ever want to do a bit of tinkering, for most chains (outside of a few proprietary ones), the inner width generally remains the same across different speeds, while only the outer width gets narrower as speeds increase. This means that potentially an 11-speed or even a 12-speed chain could help reduce friction and noise (got to be tested with your setup) and chain brand matters a bit.