I found this mildly amusing, but maybe that’s just because I work in tech. Yes mathematically 4.9 is > 4.12, but in general in software products the first number would be the major release (4 in this case) and the number after the “.” is the minor release number and 12 is > 9 so in this case 4.12 is > 4.9
ahh… so when eventually 4.90 comes out some day, that’s a much later version than 4.9 (eg. 81 versions later).
Similar thing happened to me during tiny races today. In the midst of my sprint in the final 500m, trainer suddenly lost WiFi connection entirely and pairing screen popped up. It was so sudden that I almost fell over the trainer, similar to snapping your chain when sprinting. A few secs later it connected, but then same thing happens as soon as I cranked the pedals. Had to limp through the last 500m. This issue disappeared after disconnecting the trainer from zwift, unplugging it, forgetting the WiFi settings in the JB app, and connecting it through the zwift companion app over Bluetooth. Did 4 rides after that with no issues. I also use play controllers and have firmware 4.12 installed. WiFi connection is still unreliable. At least Bluetooth seems to be working. I think they used the cheapest WiFi module they could find and it’s easily getting interference when there are other Bluetooth devices nearby (such as a play controller). In all instances of WiFi disconnections, I was rapidly up shifting and increasing power. It never happened during steady state riding.
I have been able to trigger a wifi disconnect by rapidly shifting up and down gears. Add another bug to the list.
This confirms my theory that the culprit for wifi issues is simply 2.4ghz interference. I think this is a hardware issue, not a software issue.
Recently picked up a JBV as well, as my first indoor trainer. I upgraded the firmware to 4.12, and connections are mostly stable. Had some issues initially, but chalked it up to my computers Bluetooth adapter and moved it closer to the trainer.
Comparing against my Rally RS100 pedals (Left side only, so don’t expect to 100% align), am also getting a 10-20% difference in power measured (Rally higher, JBV lower).
Here’s an example. Really not what I expected with my first trainer…
Don’t think I’m getting any vibration…
Re: sound levels, it does sound louder than I had expected, but mostly chain related.
When free-wheeling/coasting, is there supposed to be a clicking sound from the trainer, similar to the freehub on a normal wheel?
It’s not quite that sensitive, especially if kept upright. I’m more concerned over the 4.7kg (10lb) flywheel slamming down and pitting bearings, knocking belts out of place, warping drive pulleys, and changing gap distances should the trainer be dropped on its side from off the ground. Obviously that’s not common practice for your average Zwifter, but is in fact standard operating procedure for overworked delivery workers lugging around heavy, awkward boxes during the holidays.
After much hassle I put my road bike on the trainer to do a comparison with my Assioma Duo Shis. I just did a 2 or 3 minute ride, no calibration before hand (this is what I do normally) and to my quick analysis they pretty much look inline. The victory line is way more jagged than the assiomas which I guess could be race mode, but the overall lines follow each other and the averages are 1.3W apart (victory higher). It’s good enough for me, I’m just starting a training plan so I wanted to make sure any gains I make are real and not purely trainer gains!
My LEDs disappeared after I ran the firmware update.
I wasn’t sure if a new thread or this was best but I received the Jetblack Victory on Jan 2nd and have also experienced many of the issues mentioned here but probably my biggest gripe is with virtual shifting and I’m not sure if those issues are the fault of the trainer or with Zwift. I would like to get some insight from others with experience with virtual shifting with other trainers to know if some of these are either user error or will be addressed with software fixes as I’m highly leaning toward just returning this trainer, I’m coming from a Saris H3 that is working just fine right now.
My Setup
- Jetblack Victory with Zwift hub via Wifi (one of the main benefits I thought was wifi connections reliability over BT)
- Zwift play controllers via BT
- AppleTV
I have tried 4.9 and 4.12 firmware
Issues
- I use ERG mode workouts in Zwift often, with virtual shifting + erg it makes sense the shift buttons would change the bias, nothing wrong there. However with short “sprint” efforts that are not free ride I still like to turn off ERG for those to hit higher power, then turn it back on. With a normal cog on my Saris H3, when I turn off ERG I will be in the gear I last left off, and in that sense I can even “preload” the gear I want to be in when I turn it off for the sprint. For virtual shifting I can’t even see what gear I’m in and I’m spinning out it’s so low. I think this is described here and seems to be a Zwift “default gear” issue: https : //forums . zwift . com/t/set-default-virtual-gear-for-workouts-free-ride/640015
- After workouts I frequently free-ride for some time in the world. However when my workouts finished I was not given the gears again, no gears number was showing in the hud, hitting the gear change buttons did nothing and I could not get this back until fully hard-closing the app on AppleTV as described here:
https : //forums . zwift . com/t/virtual-gearing-shifting-not-available-after-starting-another-session/639427
which lead to another issue that is for sure on the trainer:
- When restarting after closing it would show “no connection” to the trainer. Sometimes when I switch to “pair with phone” then switch back to “pair with BT” it would “revive” the connection and sometimes not. After finishing a warm-up workout, then having to fully force close, re-open, fiddle with reconnecting, I’m spending over 5 minutes whereas my old trainer would allow me to join a race immediately.
- While I don’t have power pedals to compare definitively, from a perceived exertion standpoint I found it harder to hit target power numbers on the JB, my HR was more elevated than normal at all power levels, and the one race I did I my 15/30 second sprint numbers were about 15% down, and its not fitness thing as I hit new 30 second PR just yesterday back on the Saris
- I updated to 4.12 firmware after that race, I couldn’t tell if power was better but then I started running into the Wi-fi connection drops others have noted here and I also ran into the cadence bug that required 3 seconds of free-wheeling to resolve in game, I only knew to do that reading this thread
- my other gripe with virtual shifting was some gear changes seemed normal but others near 13/14 seems hugely large jumps in resistance, like I could never see how I would need gears above 15/16
- Mine also has the slightly “off-balance” feeling and weird vibrating feeling, my foot was numb after one ride which I’ve never experienced on the Saris
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Oh wow, that’s not good. I’ve put mine back in the box, just waiting for further instructions where to send it back for replacement.
One thing I Noticed when I did Power to Tower race(never again) the other day, I noticed that coasting is basically non existent no matter what speed you’re going on the flat. I was stopping relatively faster than on my Tacx neo.
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Same thing I’ve experienced with the Victory coming from a Saris H3. The flywheel on the H3 is a beast so I expect there will be some differences. The Neo is in a different class as well.
Starting to wonder if I just need to get a tac x neo?
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I’m with you. I really wanted this to be a great trainer. But I’m just wasting time trying to see if it’s going to work.
Watts are off. Cadence is wrong. Shifting doesn’t make sense. Ride is not smooth. I don’t believe they can fix all these issues before the return period runs out and just not hearing enough from them to make me believe they can fix it with the existing hardware.
I’m sure all the other manufacturers are breathing a sigh of relief that this is not working.
Agree with you there Brandon both on choice of course (never again) and freewheeling is non existence. Descending/freewhelling on Neo 2T was great but I also find if you free wheel using JBV your avatar slows faster than it should.
Neo 2T was an amazing trainer but I wanted to embrace virtual shifting so decided to sell to buy a trainer that supports virtual shifting, wifi, race mode etc.
It the Neo series supported virtual shifting I would have 100% kept it.
-I also had some questions about the power of the victory at the beginning, and as I used it the power got closer and closer to my assioma duo. And I repeat, the power is really not good for a few minutes I would say up to 8’ 10’, for my case 10 15w less than the assioma and then I do a freewheel where I no longer pedal for 15 seconds and when I come back to pedal the watts are very close to the assioma. For those who have a lot of difference I strongly advise you to do a test like this, after 10’ of getting off the calibrated bike the pedals or the crank or the crankset, to do the same thing with the victory via their application in manual calibration and then to see if there really is a problem with a big difference in power.
-for the rolling sensations I don’t think it’s crazy either, with my wahoo kickr I had a better difference between easy moments and a moment when it was hard. I have adjusted the sensations to 100% on zwift
I had another wifi connection dropout yesterday whilst racing the Power to the Tower ZWS race. This is the second wifi dropout in two days. Before the latest Zwift update a few days ago, I didn’t have any wifi connection issues throughout all of December and that included the Rapha 500 and lots of racing. I can’t trust the wifi connection now, especially with ZRL starting tomorrow, so will have to use the BT connection and hope that works until the wifi issue is resolved either by Jetblack or Zwift.
Hardware and software
I believe they will resolve the software issues, but I’m more concerned about the hardware. I contacted support, and they mentioned that a unit is being returned to them this week for inspection, as some issues are hard to diagnose remotely. I requested the 4.12 update since I can’t access it, but they advised waiting for a better update scheduled for release this week.
So far, I’ve had no connection dropouts. I’ve used both iOS and Windows 11 via Bluetooth without issues, though I don’t connect to the JB app simultaneously.
Virtual shifting
Regarding the gears, I noticed a significant gap between certain settings, like gear 12 and 13. When shifting up, the wattage spiked by 40–80 watts before going down again and stabilizing below the previous level. I adjusted the settings in Zwift (Hardware > Gear Range > All-Arounder), and it felt much smoother—making it easier or harder to pedal incrementally. I use the Zwift Frame and Cog, and this adjustment made a noticeable difference. Perhaps it could help others too?
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