Ramp Test - Help please

Hello all,

I tried a Ramp Test today for the first time. Unfortunately I had to stop the test as even when using the highest gear on my Wahoo Kickr Bike the pedals were just spinning and spinning. My legs were moving at 1,000mph just to get 100 watts! Is this normal?

I’m sure this is because I’ve done something wrong as the bike is brand new and I’m an absolute beginner when it comes to Zwift workouts.

Can anyone help please?

I don’t own a Kickr smart bike so I am not familiar with the setup process but something is definitely not working properly. Did you pair the device properly with Zwift with the bike providing the power and control? Is ERG mode on? Have you tried to use your bike with the Wahoo app to see if it is working as intended?

Hi are you using the ERG mode when doing the test , if not use it to get accurate result and allow the smart turbo to adjust the power not you

Yep. I did a normal route (no workout) on Zwift immediately before the ramp test. I was also able to cycle through the gears and feel the resistance changes during the five minute warm-up before the ramp test.

The bike is working as intended and I was using ERG mode for the ramp test.

Rob, the first thing which you need to test is if your connections between Zwift and the bike are set correctly. When you open Zwift, you see the connection screen. Your Kickr Bike should appear on three tiles, top left and two on the right-hand side in the second row: power, cadence, and controllable. The name of the connected device should be the same in all three tiles. (KICKR Bike can connect via ANT+ or Bluetooth, and the name under which it appears depends on the chosen connection). If something on your connection screen looks differently, reconnect. The controllable tile is the most important, if your trainer is not connected as Controllable, Zwift will read power but will not be able to control resistance.

The second thing to consider is to make sure that your ERG mode is turned on. On the screen where you pick a workout there is a radio button at the bottom of the window next to the word ERG. I would guess, ramp test should automatically turn on ERG, but who knows. If you do not turn on ERG, you would have to adjust resistance by changing gears on your trainer, but this is not how you take the ramp test.

The last thing, when you start the ramp test, keep your cadence at an average comfortable level, say between 80 to 90. As power increases along the ramp, go to a higher cadence, probably to a 100 or so. Do not start spinning like crazy at low resistance during warm-up or early in the ramp, this may confuse the algorithm of the trainer or Zwift, and ERG mode can get disabled. If you feel that you start spinning out, drop the cadence to like 50 or so, and wait until your trainer and Zwift reingage ERG mode.