I discovered that you can use the Wahoo Fitness App to override the resistance of the KICKR while still using Zwift.
Open the Wahoo Fitness App and start a workout while paired with your KICKR. Go to the “sim” mode and watch Zwift modify the “Slope” in real-time.
Now switch over to any other mode, like “erg” and now you can control the KICKR resistance and Zwift won’t.
If you go back to “sim” mode, Zwift will take over controlling the KICKR.
Michael, thanks for the post. I have also used the app to override the Zwift settings.
However, I think how this works is it stops getting updates from Zwift. For example, when the wahoo app has a setting it will be in liu of any setting Zwift is providing. It’s not a Zwift+0.9% option, it’s just 0.9% regardless of what Zwift is sending out.
Has this been your experience as well?
@Jake, I don’t know. I’ll have to try it out tonight. When not using Zwift, I have used the Wahoo App and Sim mode to control my KICKR and change both Slope and Wind Speed together for a cumulative resistance effect.
I have also used Zwift and the Wahoo App and switched between resistance modes to either control the KICKR myself say for example with ERG mode and then return to Sim mode to allow Zwift to solely control the resistance. Going back and forth all during the same Zwift session has worked every time.
Tonight, I will try using Zwift and the Wahoo App and then add some Wind Speed while Zwift is actively modifying the Slope (based on the in-game gradient) and see if it affects resistance cumulatively, which I hope it will.
More info and updates about this issue here:
Hey Michael, thank you for the information! I tried switching to ERG via the wahoo fitness app; however, it did not seem to switch over from SIM mode. When starting a ride, is there a process that you use to sync Zwift, Kickr, and Wahoo Fitness app to switch the control from SIM to ERG?
there’s two ways to do this and I’ve used both.
(1) you can turn-off your KICKR as a controllable trainer from the (A) pairing screen. then after starting a ride with Zwift, open the Wahoo Fitness App on your iPhone/iPad, make sure it’s connected to your KICKR, then start a workout in the Wahoo App. now you can use any of the resistance modes (e.g. Level, %, ERG, Sim) in the App to control your KICKR.
doing it this way means you totally control the KICKR and Zwift will never control the trainer.
(2) let Zwift control your KICKR as a controllable trainer but then use the Wahoo Fitness App to override resistance. start up Zwift and start riding, then open the Wahoo Fitness App, connect to your KICKR, and then start a workout in the Wahoo App. When you go to the Sim mode screen, you’ll see the Slope % change in real-time as Zwift controls the trainer based on the gradient in-game.
You can +/- Wind Speed and this will affect the resistance significantly while on the flats. Don’t try to use Wind Speed to affect resistance on hills, it won’t have the desired effect. I’ve generally used wind speeds of 10-20 mph to add/remove resistance. If you go too high (e.g. 50 mph) things start to get screwy and the KICKR seems to get confused. I’ve also had the Wahoo App crash while experimenting with high wind speeds.
You can also switch to any of the other modes, such as ERG or Level and then control the KICKR. _ I think the trick is to switch to one of these modes and then change the resistance quickly before Zwift sends a command to the KICKR which will kick it back to Sim mode. _ Once you’ve successfully taken over the resistance, Zwift shouldn’t be able to force the KICKR back to Sim mode. If Zwift does force the KICKR back to Sim mode, just try again until it works. When you are ready to let Zwift take over again, just go back to Sim mode and Zwift should start to take over and control the resistance. I’ve successfully gone back and forth this way many times during a ride.
@ Michael
Amazing. Thank you for the insanely prompt and detailed reply!
@Andrew, no problem. I’m here for the Zwift community!
I suspect that this “hack” could one day be taken away from us with either a KICKR firmware update or something that Zwift does.
Hopefully Zwift will make this a non-issue by integrating with the KICKR and other controllable trainers more and allow us to fine-tune resistance on-the-fly using the Zwift mobile app.
I just got a Kickr Snap This is good information. The real question is why Zwift doesn’t add the wind resistance. This would certainly make a better simulation.