Just tried the trainer for the second time, this time just as a test for vibration… and oh boy does it have a problem. I can’t just feel it, I can hear it (last time I had headphones on). I can only imagine how bad it feels for people who are clipped in (I use flats on the trainer due to a previous injury).
As for drivetrain, I put a brand new chain on the bike when the trainer arrived, so I doubt it’s got anything to do with that.
I’ll be contacting them tomorrow. Can’t use it like this, might as well just return it.
Received mine today. Set up was quick. App had no issues connecting to the trainer via ble for the initial set up. Updated the firmware to version 4.9 with no issues. No problem connecting to wifi either. Connected my forerunner 265 as a heart rate monitor on the jetblack app via the trainer. Fired up Zwift in the companion mode, and viola. The trainer and the forerunner all showed up as wifi connection, and connected the zwift click via the companion app. I am actually surprised that I could use wifi connection for the trainer while using the companion app for the virtual shifter.
A few negative things I’ve noticed none of the reviewers mentioned:
This thing is significantly lighter than a Kickr Core. I get on my bike from the left side, and noticed the trainer lift up as I was getting on the bike first. It was unsettling. You don’t notice any imbalance when on the bike, but need to be careful while mounting.
The LED is ridiculously bright. It’s traffic light bright, not exaggerating.
There is no option to turn of race mode. Had to turn on 3-sec averaging to not feel dizzy from power readings.
It’s quiet, but not whisper quiet. I would say it’s as quite as a Kickr Core or any other decent trainer. You need to find the best combination of gear and cog setting to avoid excessive drivetrain noise. Once done correctly, it sounds fine. Freewheel is noisy, but you can put some extra lube to quite it down if you prefer.
Mine does not have any vibration issue others have experienced. Not sure if I got a lucky one, but so far I am happy. I haven’t tried riding more than a few minutes, so I can’t attest to stability of connection or any power accuracy. Time will tell.
I dont think the reviewers were paid off or anything silly like that - i just think they had pre-production units.
To be honest alarm bells started to ring for me the moment Jet Black made it clear that they were struggling to meet there production targets. Either they were just inundated by demand or they were struggling with technical production issues.
Hopefully they have just been a victim of their own success and they will get on top of production to a point where they can swap out these failures quickly.
Lets hope there is enough wiggle room in their profit margins to account for a 5%ish return rate.
I had vibrations on my Giant TCR that i use on my Neo2T without any issue.
When i was checking from where the vibrations are coming from i had same conclusion as you guys did that it’s coming from the belt…but as the JB Victory was NEW and I’m not the owner i didn’t want to open it.
Just go back through DCRainmaker/GPLamma videos on other products. Neither has been afraid to call out products they’ve reviewed as crap or not fit for purpose. GP gave Wahoo’s new GPS unit a serious kicking last month, and Shimano no longer talk to him after his opinions after testing their power meters.
The only risk with their reviews when its pre-release versions of kit - is that the manufacturers would be stupid not to fully check the sample kit before shipping it for reviewer (plus its pre-production so there may be changes between that kit and what finally ships en-masse).
Sorry to hear people are having problems, certainly after the rave reviews. Just to add my mixed experience so far…
The order arrived without the Zwift Click so the single speed rides in Zwift were fun - they responded in the Christmas break and I should have that soon (with the Zwift Play on sale at £50 I bought that anyway), so check on arrival, don’t leave as I did
WiFi setup was a pain - I kept receiving the password error message, I updated the GA software, when I went back to the device after a reboot it had picked up an IP address, for anyone yet to receive theirs, the JetBlack the is confusing, you enter the WiFi password and it seemingly does nothing and says ‘not connected’ - that message is connection to the computer not that it isn’t on the WiFi network, an IP address shows you’re on the network.
In use sideways rocking caused one of the rear rubber feet to come off, that made everything worse, I think I’ll just add a dab of sealant.
There was some play / knocking noises when peddling hard, turned out to be my fault, originally I just guess tightened up the through axle when setting up, I later used the torque wrench set to the through axel spec (as if the wheel were on the bike) and all’s working smoothly now.
Some positives (for those with devices in transit that may be regretting their decision):
I unplug the Victory after use and it picks up the WiFi and connects to the PC flawlessly, and with 3-4hours riding has had no dropouts so far
Using the Zwift cog (need it on my 1x drivetrain for gearing) it runs quiet and smooth - running a basic, worn in Shimano chain, with fresh Silca Synergetic lube, no problems
The Zwift Play controls while a little unintuitive have worked with the trainer without any problems
One note: I connect my bluetooth devices direct to the PC, Zwift Play, HR, and Garmin cadence sensor, I know there is a bridge through the trainer, but that would likely make troubleshooting harder, e.g. the Garmin cadence sensor dropped off Zwift. It’s a useful feature but it not needed I wouldn’t bother.
I agree everything feels a little early-adopter-beta release at the moment, hopefully there’s a fix for the vibration problems and soon! Otherwise, enjoying the world of Zwift.
I got my trainer yesterday, set it up and I loved my first ride.
Two things – my wattage is reading higher for similar effort vs. my old Wahoo Kicker v4. Not sure which is correct. I’m borrowing a friends bike with built in power meter to test. Either the victory is wrong, or i just graduated from a D rider to a C rider. Haha. Sticking my wifes bike on the “harder” trainer!
I have not figured out how to use the Play controllers on appletv without “connecting through my phone”. I connected the 3 components in the jetblack app, added the heart rate monitor too, did standard firmware upgrade, turned on wifi, closed jetblack app, connected via zwift and connected the 4 primary devices through Victory wifi (the ethernet logo). But if I’m not in the “connect through phone mode” i can only connect one of the play controllers. When i connect another one, one of the Victory connected items drops.
Not a big deal as I use the companion app anyway. But my connection was perfect, ride was way quiter than my kickr v4, none of the vibrations others have experienced.
1 ride in, but looks like I got lucky and received a “good build”. The vibration part from a potential physical defect I understand why people would be getting different results. But on the firmware/software side, the inconsistency is weird.
You are correct, the Play controllers need one connection each, so with the trainer as well that’s too many for ATV, hence you need to pair via Companion.
As others here have already said, warming up the Victory first (15-20 mins) results in better accuracy. I’ve ridden several rides now from 40 mins. to an hour but still the trainer is reading higher than my Assioma Duos. Do I need to warm up the trainer separately before a ride? Hopefully this won’t be the norm when the new firmware update drops.
Sorry I keep overlooking the trainer being connected via wifi as an option. In theory it should work then, but each Play controller will need its own BT connection to the ATV.
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by probability.
Say 1% of these trainers are bad. If that’s the case, what are the odds that Shane and Ray both got perfectly good trainers? 98%. Even if 10% of these trainers are bad, there’s still an 81% chance that Lama and Rainmaker both got good ones. I know you’re upset, but there’s no reason to start dragging people though the mud here.
Hey Tom, I am happy with my JBV and I am happy to work with JB support in order for them to address issues customers experience. I have experienced WiFi drops and low cadence readings. It is frustrating at the time but I am hoping JB support will address these issues in time.
I ordered my unit before GP Lama & DC Rainmaker released their final review. As you said these two guys praise products that they deem great and they slate products that are bad. It was reassuring to see they had positive reviews.
This made me more excited to receive the JBV - thinking a €450 trainer will be as good as or even better than my previous €1300 Neo 2T.
Today my ride went without a hitch. I did a 30 erg “warmup” followed by Zwift “flat is fast” race. All went well in both sessions and I did not experience wifi drops outs or low cadence readings. Looking forward to soon to be released firmware updates.
I can’t speak to how GP Lama works in this instance, but DCR often gets loaner test units from the companies whose product he’s initially reviewing. While his testing is thorough, I will tend to find suspect findings until a product is launched, in the marketplace, and the test unit is off a store’s shelf.
Ray’s review was of a loaner machine at a point when JetBlack had been shipping out machines for “a month or two”. Shane’s review came out a month before Ray’s.
The review I’m looking at says the product was ‘launched/announced’ in the summer, and started shipping “a month or two” prior to November 14.
And if no one on this forum says they own one from back then, we can take that as evidence that we’re being lied to, or we can take that as evidence that this thread on this forum is a quite small fraction of Victory owners. Whatever makes you feel better.
Just to really be pedantic, Ray says “From my testing over the past few months, it appears they’ve delivered on doing exactly that.” Review was published in November – a “few months” earlier would be August? I just suspect that the media loaner(s) that made the reviewer circuit, could well have been basically prototypes.
