Hi There
I got a kickr core a few days ago and have been trying zwift. I really enjoy it so far but i’m not sure if it’s working properly. I just did a lap of richmond and the resistance at times felt completely random. +10% inclines felt quite easy and at times the resistance on flats felt worse. I get that there is going to be momentum going into the incline but even when i stopped dead on a hill it seemed quite easy to get going again. Also the watts on zwift companion compared to zwift don’t match. they are usually within about 30w of each other but they are never the same. Is this normal?
Whilst i’m enjoying zwift and indoor cycling it is really hard to know if i’ve got everything set up correctly or if the core is behaving itself. It all feels quite complicated at the mo.
thanks in advance
Have you calibrated the Kickr Core? Please ensure you ride for at least 10 minutes before doing the calibration. I would recommend doing it first with the Wahoo app and thereafter you can do it in Zwift.
Let us know what happens.
Also, be sure you have updated your Kickr to the latest version of firmware (using the Wahoo app). Regarding the wattage differences, I would say that is normal. The Companion app and Zwift app aren’t in perfect sync, so there might be some slight differences in timing.
Hi, yep i’ve done the spin down with the app and zwift and updated the firmware. I did an FTP test yesterday where during the warm up i couldn’t even reach 150 w without spinning out at 120 rpm as the resistance was so low and then during the ftp test it was insanely high and i could barely get to 45rpm . I’ll do the wahoo and zwift calibration again just to see what happens.
Hi Ollie
There is sometimes a lag between what you see on the Zwift Companion app and the screen. I find the app is slightly ahead, by a second or two of the screen.
Regarding the resistance on climbs, have you adjusted the trainer difficulty setting. I think default is 50% and you need 100% for the full ‘real world’ experience.
How do your watts compare to outdoors?
when you first log in to zwift, and it connects to all ur kit, is it connected to anything under “controllable”? as this is the part that changes the resistance settings automatically.
it definitely should not feel easier on the flat than on a hill if you are set up correctly 
check trainer intensity setting in-game too (click menu in bottom left once loaded up into a world) if this is set to 0% (slider all the way to the left) then you won’t feel any change in resistance. 100% is a bit hardcore and has you changing gear for every little bump in the road. 25-50% is usually best if you don’t want to faff around too much with gears, but want to feel the hills a little bit.
Sounds like it could be a lag in connection. I had this happen to me once while riding New York for one of the tours. All the 5-8% hills felt like flats and then on the downhill trainer resistance would kick up like I was climbing when I wasn’t. At the time I was running my trainer through Bluetooth. Haven’t had it happen ever again and now run through ANT+.
You can try rebooting your modem/router before the next time you ride and this may help.
Thanks i think this might have something to do with it, Ive noticed that the ipad connects perfectly over bluetooth when i’m not on the bike yet when i get on the bike and get in the way it seems to lose signal so i’m guessing this is happening as i’m cycling around and affecting the resistance. the bluetooth really is awful. It barely ever connects to my macbook and somehow just starting zwift means my macbook weirdly disconnects from my wifi.; i don’t understand how but its happened too many times to be a coincidence (although that might be zwift rather than the core).
I also had a weird moment today getting off the bike only to see my little man still happily cycling around watopia at a very constant 156w.
It would be great if this all just worked. I don’t have any other issues with anything bluetooth so i’m not sure why the core is being so difficult.
I had this exact situation with my Tacx Flow during my very first ride in Yorkshire. Turned out that after doing the spin down calibration using the Tacx Utility app on my phone, I had neglected to disconnect the trainer from the phone which meant that it couldn’t properly connect to Zwift and the thing that was missing was correct response to resistance changes … like you the uphills felt way too easy and it would seem overly hard on the downhills and flats.
Disconnected from phone reconnected properly to Zwift, problem solved.
Might be worth double checking that you are definitely not connected to another app (or device) while connecting to Zwift … Bluetooth can be picky like that.
Similarly, I’ve had both my Garmin head unit and Zwift connected to my Kickr via ANT+, and the Kickr decided to take its cues from the Garmin (which wasn’t even in workout mode). In the end, I just told the Garmin to “forget” the Kickr. Much better now.
So i used my laptop instead of the ipad and i connected via the Zwift companion and it was absolutely perfect. Like night and day. Changes kicked in instantly and they felt proportionate to the incline shown on screen.
Kickr cores seem to have had so many issues it is hard not be paranoid and also with no real experience of indoor cycling to work out what feels normal. My new worry is a thrum that seems to be coming from the trainer that i feel in the pedals when the resistance cranks up. It’s quite noticeable but seems to lessen after riding for 20 minutes. Again i have no idea of this is normal or not? Anyway thanks for all the replies and help. Now it’s working properly it’s good fun flying around on Zwift. Its quite addictive .