Ride won’t pedal/go forward

Bugs and Support
1

I’m hoping someone has run into this before because I’m stumped.

Bike/Trainer Setup

  • Zwift Ride frame
  • Wahoo trainer with the Zwift Cog
  • Thru-axle bike
  • Using the correct axle and everything clicks into place securely.

The Problem
The pedals will not rotate forward when everything is assembled.

Here’s exactly what happens:

  • If I try to pedal forward, it immediately feels like it hits a wall.
  • Pedaling backward works normally and the chain moves.
  • The drivetrain rotates smoothly backward only.
  • There was also a noticeable clunk during troubleshooting.

Things I’ve Tested

  • Wahoo sent me an entirely new Zwift Cog.
  • Installed the new Cog.
  • Exactly the same issue.

I also tested with the chain off:

  • With the chain removed, I can rotate the Cog/freehub forward normally.
  • Once I reinstall the chain, it locks up again and won’t rotate forward.
  • The chain doesn’t appear excessively tight.
  • I can move it up and down a little, so tension seems normal.

I also found:

  • I can rotate the black circular part of the Cog by hand.
  • I can move the orange adjustment ring if I hold it while changing positions.
  • Everything seems to seat correctly.
  • The axle fully clicks into place.

Interesting Observation
When the chain is not on the Cog, everything spins forward.

As soon as the chain is installed, forward rotation stops completely.

Other Things

  • I wondered if I was missing a thru-axle spacer because the installation videos don’t show the orange part that’s on mine.
  • I’m not sure if this could be a spacing/alignment issue or something with the freehub engagement.

Questions

  1. Has anyone seen a Zwift Ride behave like this?
  2. Could a missing spacer or incorrect spacing cause the drivetrain to lock only in the forward direction?
  3. Is there another component besides the Cog that could cause this (freehub, trainer internals, chainline, etc.)?
  4. Is there anything else I should test before contacting Wahoo again?

In contact with Zwift support but it’s been 3 weeks of back and forth and they are stumped as well.

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2

Maybe a dumb question but at least it’s a question a day later;
What exactly are you doing to test its motion?

You don’t mention Zwift running or any software, or what you’ve done as far as actually using it as intended.

If I’m not mistaken, some of these types of trainers hold a decent chunk of resistance when just sitting idle and powered.

Without stating loading into Watopia or wherever and trying to do a free ride, I agree I’m at a loss besides this situation where it’s not connected, and just holding a lot of magnetic power for perhaps a safety reason when not connected to software.

Evidence of this not being a mechanical issue would be de-powering it (unplugging it), and seeing it move forward then. It won’t take as little effort as going backwards, but should spin with some amount of ease.

Again this is only a dumb question and train of thought; but it’s something for now.

3

I think I’m answering this correct - it won’t push forward at all even when it’s not plugged up to anything/any system. I’m giving it a good amount of force but afraid of breaking it even more. In the set up video seems pretty easy to turn forward but when I test it out like on the set up video, nothing happens. It’s completely stuck. When I take off the chain and even try moving the cog forward it won’t. When I put on the chain it won’t go forward at all. Replaced the cog and core kickr too - and no improvement at all. Chain is lined up correctly. Updated software.

Zwift support hasn’t answered by latest email (2 days ago and they normally get back to me within 24 hours - been going back and forth every day for the last 2 weeks) so I’m assuming they are stuck too.

4

Can you post a photo of the whole drivetrain, showing from the cranks to the trainer? I’m wondering if something not routed or tensioned correctly. And what happens when you manually spin the flywheel on the trainer?

5

I don’t know if this is an option for you, but if it were mine I would stick a bike on it to see if the behavior changes. Based on your description it sounds like something about the frame but hard to guess without actually seeing it. The photos make it look like the adapters are correct, and that’s the most common explanation for binding.

6

All definitely sounds really weird.

One other test I’d try is trying to spin the flywheel by hand (THIS IS DANGEROUS for the record). Don’t really grab it, just see if you can maybe kick it forward wearing a shoe and see if it spins.
The flywheel being the smaller wheel with the gray arrows on it; the arrows point in the direction it spins.

I would never typically recommend this to anyone as I don’t think anyone would, but that’s where all the magnetic force is. If it doesn’t want to spin… then at least we’re getting somewhere in terms of the “what”.