I noticed my kickr was reading roughly 30 watts lower than my power meter pedals and in an attempt to correct this I calibrated the kickr on the wahoo app. There was minimal difference when comparing the power recorded by the wahoo app and my power meter pedals, but when I tested the kickr on zwift it was again reading low versus the power meter pedal readings. I then tried to calibrate the kickr through the zwift app and it failed multiple times. I tried deleting the app and reinstalling it, but that did not help. This is seemingly a zwift software issue as the wahoo app gave similar data to my pedals. Has anyone found a fix for this?
Don’t calibrate via Zwift, always use the manufacturer’s app for this. The calibration data is stored on your trainer so Zwift will use this when you’ve calibrated in the Wahoo app.
I suggest starting a support ticket with Zwift so that they can work through this with you.
Hi @Sean_McCullough_WPA Welcome to the Forums! I’m Norman from Zwift.
When using third-party trainers, I heavily recommend that you keep the calibration from the manufacturer and avoid the calibration in-game. Are you using both the Wahoo Fitness App and the Zwift App on the same device? Make sure you don’t have the two open at the same time, as they will “fight” each other for your trainer’s signal.
Zwift only reads your wattage and doesn’t change it, let’s try and check this article to remove any possible signal interference. If you’re using ANT+ for one app and BLE for the other that may also be the reason for the slight difference.
If issues persist, feel free to contact us! Ride On.
I suggest adding an in-game warning message advising users that they should prefer the manufacturer app. This is one of those things that people often waste time on due to ignorance. Many of them also calibrate both in the manufacturer app and also in Zwift, which is usually pointless.
Norman, thanks for the reply.
I did not use the wahoo app and zwift app at the same time, I tested them separately and that makes sense to only calibrate on the wahoo app. I also followed all the guidelines to reduce interference.
The issue is I have is this: the wahoo app reports the same power as my power meter pedals (tested at the same time on a separate head unit) while when I use zwift, (which should be getting the same data from the kickr) zwift reports approx 30 watts lower than the power meter pedals.
I don’t understand how the wahoo app is corresponding but the zwift software is not.
Hi @Sean_McCullough_WPA. Thanks for your reply. I’m Juan from Zwift. I appreciate you confirmed that you haven’t used both apps at the same time.
Although a difference of 30 watts is high, there will always be a difference. There are a few reasons that may cause the discrepancies. Taking your pedals as a reference, they measure on the cranks, Zwift receives the data transmitted from the hub of your trainer and there is a loss of mechanical power between the two points.
On the other hand, if your power readings in the Wahoo app reports the same as your pedal, keep in mind the factors that could affect your Zwift power readings, such as current road gradient, for example.
Another reason for the difference would be if one program received more/fewer packets than the other (for instance, its signal drops on one of them). Zwift doesn’t adjust your power, it simply reads it.
I hope this information has been useful. If you have any other questions, please contact us to provide you personalized assistance.
Is the device running Zwift the same device that you are running the Wahoo app on? Have you tried uploading a Zwift log file to zwiftalizer.com to visualize any dropouts?