I have recently started using a Kickr 6 on Zwift with virtual shifting. It has been working great and virtual shifting is super.
From the weekend I noticed that the power graph on Zwift looked like a saw tooth profile with many many spikes for the entire ride. It was doing this for both pace partner and free ride.
Has anyone faced this issue before and know what is causing the spikes?? I have attached a picture showing the saw tooth profile of the power graph from Zwift
That seems normal, whatbare you expecting it to look like?
you’ll get that from not keeping a steady wattage
here is a screenshot of the power profile with no spikes. the power number was just steady with no jumps every second or so.
I was keeping steady wattage for sure. it was from a ride with coco pace partner where my wattage is always steady
Try putting the log file.through zwiftalizer.com and see what you see
ok will do. says I need a .txt file for the analyser tool. where can I download that from?
I save my files to both strava and garmin. For example I have attached an image of the strava file, which you can see both the power and cadence are very spikey. Its not normally this spikey. Normally it is more smooth like the speed and heart rate data.
It depends on what you run the game on. It wants the log file.
I have been having the exact same saw tooth profile for a while now. Virtual shifting is why as it goes back to normal when i dont use it. Try spinning at high revs 95+ and see if it smoothes it out, it does a little for me.
More power less rpm and the spikes are worse going from grey to yellow every second or so. I thinks its something to do with resistance but not sure.
What i do know is its not normal.
OMG, I wonder wtf it is! driving me insane not knowing what is causing the spikes all of a sudden! really not sure why this started since last weekend. It was perfectly fine from the first time I started using virtual shifting.
Can you please share what is your setup with Zwift
please let me know, thank you
loaded the log file into zwiftalizer and doesnt show any issues. only seeing many attempts being made to connect to companion app, but I have never run that app with no issues, attached the pic of these attempts.
is there anything else I should check in the zwiftalizer??
The Companion reconnects should be harmless. If it doesn’t show Bluetooth or ANT+ disconnects, then you have ruled out dropouts as the cause.
definitely not drop outs that I am experiencing
rather more like small spikes in power reading every second and only when using virtual shifting
Windows
Virtual play controllers
Normal cassette
No clicks
Was fine for me when first got the controllers then a few weeks later its doing huge swings of 40+ watts every second or so above and below what i would expect the power to be in a steady smooth cadence on flat terrain.
yup, exactly the same for me! are you on 11 or 12 speed?
what number gear do you have it on the cassette?
since you started using virtual shifting have you always used the same number gear?
I am on 12 speed and have used both the 5th and 6th gear from the smallest sprocket
Using 11 speed and use middle of the block and inner ring. Dont think it matters which physical gear we use, i just use that as its less noisey. I may test other gears today. I use a kicker core too.
Try low cadence [60] and high power [threshold] for 2 mins on tempus fugit and see if the graph shows even bigger waves.
If i sit in a group ride doing say 3.5 wpk and i go to the front my wpk fluctuates from 4.4 to 2.6 etc, its all over the place. I been on zwift many years and know how to hold very steady watts. It doesnt seem to cause problems, i think it evens it out. But its off putting.
yup OEM cassette is much quieter than the cog for sure.
are you using small or big ring on front? I am using the small again it is quieter but I have heard from a youtuber they think big ring will resolve it (i tested and it doesn’t resolve, just noisier
i agree about the resistance being disrupted some how by the virtual shifting but yes it does average out in the end but still annoying
I think from what I have tested so far higher cadence does mean smaller spikes, but I could be wrong. will do some more testing when next training session
yup same, I can easily hold 180 watts so when it jumps between 150 and 180, there is something wrong there
I just want to chime in here and say I’m having the exact same issue. 20-40watt power swings every 1-2 seconds.
I’ve now seen it on a Kickr Core, a replacement Kickr Core, and now a Jetblack Victory, using both a regular cassette and a Cog. I’m running Windows 11 and using the Play controllers.
The issue goes away entirely when I turn off virtual shifting and comes back when I turn it back on.
You are not alone here.
hey! what on earth is going on?? I am basically using Zwift with only erg mode as virtual shifting is stuffed and I dont want to back to mechanical shifting - virtual is just much better/smoother, etc IMO.
When did the spikes start occurring for you? Or did it start immediately when you started using virtual shifting?
it only started spiking for me from 16th July and I have used virtual shifting since April
Is this still happening? I’ve had the same issue with a Kickr Core for a long time. Firmware up to date.
