I’m not sure exactly what my issue was, but with the last couple rides it appears to be fixed… I use the kicker snap connected to an Apple TV via Bluetooth . This is my first week with Zwift, a few days ago I did my first TDZ ride in the D group, and I found that I was having a huge struggle keeping my speed up, and was last of around 250 riders that didn’t drop out in the D group, I was peddling at a decent cadence at a good amount of resistance but it just seemed I was not going anywhere. I am not a racer, but ride my fat tire bike daily to work in the winter, go on road bike group rides in nice weather (I know this isn’t really applicable, but I’m just showing that I’m it someone who keeps a bike in my garage for years). I’m not expecting to be a class anything top finisher, but it just seemed something was off.
I do not ride in real life with a power meter, but for the ride I was mentioning my average power was only 66, with a max of 214. I weigh 170 pounds. I rode again two days later (today) for a similar distance and had a max of 356 watts, and and average of 156 watts and it seemed like a much easier ride even though there was more elevation (both rides were mostly on my own. )
Has anyone seen anything like this happen before? I doubt I’ve magically increased my average wattage threefold in two days. Is it possible I was having an issue with my spin down(after the slow ride I had difficulty getting it up to 23 mph), Bluetooth connection, Apple TV, or the KICKR snap? If it’s hardware issue I hope I’d be able to figure it out before returns/exchanges become impossible.
I’d bet a substantial sum that you had pushed the tyre too far into the roller the first time. I used a Snap for 3 years and saw the same thing a few times early on before I realized what was happening - it puts so much compression into the rubber that its very difficult to make the tyre spin the roller. I recommend ignoring the “official” number of times you turn the blue knob after first contact, and just figure out by trial and error the point where the tyre has JUST enough contact to not slip if you try to accelerate quickly, or go up a steep incline. At that point, eyeball how much compression you can see, and each time you ride make sure you’re at the same level. Make sure you always free the tyre from the roller after each ride, otherwise you’ll leave a permanent “dent” in the rubber. Also, make sure you keep the tyre properly inflated.
Finally, you’ll know if you’ve been pushing the tyre too much into the roller when you see you’ve worn a flat spot all round the tyre due to the extra heat and friction you were producing.
I hadn’t thought that this could be an issue. I have been trying to do two and a half spins after contact since I saw this was recommended. I’ve been making sure my tires are close to the maximum recommended (~100 PSI on 700x23 tires). I’ll try to lessen the contact and see if this makes a difference.
I experience random and noticeable changes in performance with my tacx trainer and zwift. This has been going on for a couple of months. Never noticed it last winter .
When the problem is present the resistance is too high for the current incline. Always starts off ok, as most rides start on flat or decline …however as soon as I hit an incline the resistance is too great…thereafter the resistance stays too high even when going down a -6% !! This obviously impacts my power output, I can normally average over 170 watts…not great but that’s me… when the fault is present it drops to about 120 watts and of course my speed too.
Frustrating thing is that somedays there is no problem… I haven’t figured out the cause yet
Well I did not ask about connections, BLE or ANT+ (some interference?) and device you are using for Zwift. But you did not mention dropouts, so I think your connections are OK.
But I would check some log files with zwiftalizer (but I do not believe connection issues can be the reason, just to be sure) and contact Tacx support. I have a Neo (1st gen, old boy) and never had issues like this.
Thank you, no I’m not having connection dropouts.have tried zwiftalizer to verify that .
Using ipad and Bluetooth. Feel pretty helpless …
Today I double checked with tacx app…resistance was ‘feeling’ correct for all slope grades …but back on zwift, problem reoccurred. I am pretty sure my trainer is working correctly and suspect the problem lies with Zwift. Hard to prove this though!
So out of curiosity…I just ventured out to garage again, in my slippers …
Powered trainer back up, launched zwift and went for a quick spin around Yorkshire…everything was back to normal …correct resistance on different grades
