I bought the Favero Assioma pedals and found out that my power readings prior to the pedals weren’t all that far off (except on steep inclines). The pedals are 100% worth it for me because I will be using them on all my bikes now (super easy to swap them from bike to bike).
Hi Donovan
So if I read this right, your power output from the IC4 in the Zwift app is about on par with the Favero Assioma pedals in Zwift when used at lower resistance?
I got the IC4 (IC8 in UK) just 3 days ago and it didn’t feel all that easy to me but I’m also not in great shape and quite heavy. I’ve used Wattbike and Keiser M3 a couple of years ago but too long ago to compare the power output vs effort.
Did you recalibrate your resistance on the IC4 since you bought it? And if you don’t mind me asking, did you purchase it recently or some time ago?
I’m ok with the settings for now as I usually train within heart-rate zones (I’m not an enthusiast cyclist, purely a beginner) so I wont be winning any races or overtaking people any time soon… but it would be good to know if I need to make adjustments in the future that I won’t ever be “millions of miles away” from the right values. Ultimately its just about matching power curves and with the amount of play in the resistance on the IC4 im sure some shifting and scaling will allow me to achieve close to real power.
Ravi,
I received my IC4 in late December, so relatively recently. Immediately I could tell that my power on Zwift was a little generous, so I bought power meter pedals since I wanted them anyways. In the Zwift App when you are selecting an option to record your power with it shows your real time stats, so it would show the IC Bike and Assioma’s at the same time. I did some testing and found that the IC4 was giving readings of 10% to 15% higher than the pedals. 10% when power was low and 15% at the extreme high end of my power. It was consistent. I’ve never calibrated my IC4 because now I go strictly off the power of the pedals.
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What power pedals and how much were they? I’m looking at cheaper options (that’s still an adjustable indoor bike and not a trainer booked up to an outdoor bike since I’ll want to switch back and forth with my wife easily) to see how much I keep it up before splurging on something more expensive.
It seems like this might help since I could then re-use the power pedals in the future…
I bought the Favero Assioma power pedals. The one sided version is around $400, and the dual sided pedals are around $730ish. I bought the one sided pedals personally. The best thing is that you can easily swap them back and forth between your outdoor bike and indoor bike. They are also incredibly accurate. Most pros are using the Assioma’s.
Well, I stand corrected. I decided I wanted power meter pedals for my outdoor bike, and so I decided to first give them a try on my IC4. Mine are the Assioma Duo, though I did modify them to use a different pedal body (the power meter is in the spindle, there’s videos by GPLama and others about how this doesn’t affect accuracy).
It turns out even though I thought my IC4 purchased in August or so was pretty accurate out of the box, it actually is under-reporting for me.
I can’t include links, but if you go to ZwiftPower and add analysis.php?set_id=125530 you should be able to see the comparison between the IC4 (tagged as Zwift, because it was directly connected to Zwift), and the separate fit file which recorded from my pedals to my phone.
(Ignore the low overall power, as I just recovered from an ankle sprain suffered off the bike which I took a break for.)
Hi Joe,
I’m thinking of doing the same as you - thanks for your post and the comparison.
When you converted the Assiomas to a different pedal body, did you buy the M-Force 4 pedals or were you able to re-use the stock IC4 pedals?
And was your IC4 bike calibrated when you compared the values?
Do you think the Assiomas are worth it?
I used iSSi Flip III pedals, so I can use the SPD side or the flat side depending on the ride I’ll be taking.
There’s a thread on TrainerRoad which has a ton of other pedal options too. I had to slightly modify the shoes too, so you might be better off with some of the new Garmin SPD pedals, though they’re more expensive.
My IC4 bike was still using the original calibration when I compared the values. I never bothered recalibrating the IC4 because per my previous posts it seemed pretty accurate to me.
If I was only using the IC4 indoors, I’d honestly still be perfectly happy without the Assiomas. It’s just because I wanted a power meter for outdoors use that I really bought them.
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I’ve been following this thread ever since I bought an IC4, that I was using for Zwift, which I returned for a refund.
The main thing here is that the device is marketed as made for Zwift, but not really. It will move a person through Zwift inaccurately with no controllable. It sucks. Then, even if you buy a power meter, you’ve almost spent the money to get a proper trainer, that has cadence, power meter and controllable.
My advice. Get a proper trainer.
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Having done some G*ogle searches to understand the potential issue of the Schwinn IC8 giving false readings within Zwift, and finding a vast number of opinions, methods of calibration & levels of success, could someone point me towards or perhaps provide an “idiots guide” to the correct calibration process for ensuring any such readings on Zwift would be more fair and accurate?
I am yet to take delivery of the bike (due in 4-5 days) and have only signed-up for Zwift, yet to take-on the paid membership, but fully intend to. Am also considering another AR (paid) app too.
TIA for any assistance, to a complete newbie trying shed some lockdown timber and enjoy the world of at home riding.
This post seems to provide some answers and instruction:
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I wanted to share my experience about adding power reading to the IC4.
I was able to use the Schwinn calibration instructions (the infamous process you can only do three times) and on Zwift got around 250 Watts average. I knew it was off so I got in touch with Tempo Power Meters at tempopowermeters .com/
(you can write to them at tempopowermeters @gmail.com).
I ordered an extra left crank arm from Schwinn and got it shipped to Tempo. They installed their Bluetooth & Ant power meter and sent me the crank arm. I then installed it, as you can see from the photos I attach. The price was very very competitive; actually I think you cannot do better in the US. They were also featured in dcrainmaker in the past.
As Zwift software for Mac cannot calibrate power meters (only smart trainers), Tempo have their own smartphone app, which I used to calibrate. I now have an average of 155 watts on Zwift and am feeling much better about competing there and having a better idea of where I stand with my training.
From the photos you can see the clearance off the crank arm. Let me know if you have any questions.
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Hi All,
TL:DR: power output is inaccurate by a significant margin compare to a trainer.
I have seen several threads in this forum related to the power output of the IC4. Instead of replying to each of those I just rather create a new post with my findings. I initially bought an IC4 to introduce myself to Zwift and cycling in general but after getting so quickly to A cat I decided to buy a Kickr Core trainer and the number could not be more different. Data:
FTP test with IC4: 350
FTP kick core: 217.
In my races I was averaging over 330 with the IC4 now I can barely get to 200 Watts. In turn I moved from an A racer to a middle pack C (no regrets).
Wahoo:
IC4:
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This is a great idea. I wish I’d known about this company before going all in on the pedals!
I proposed this to Zwift, hope they can consider it and I’d like to get your votes to support it (add an h to the url):
ttps://forums.zwift.com/t/setting-to-reduce-your-spinning-bike-watts-output-to-zwift/555659
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I have one friend with this bike going from 280w to 190w after changing it to a stages bike (with accurrate PM values).
I just ordered as well. Tempo gave me the address to ship the crank arm to. I called Customer service at schwinn. I told them what I was doing (getting a power meter put on the arm) and the set the order up to ship to Tempo. Super easy process, probably take 2-3 weeks.
Quick Followup - Tempo is really easy to deal with, very responsive. Their power meter works great, I’ve done several rides on Zwift with it and can’t be happier with this solution. @Francesco_Tonin thanks for the recommendation.
Hey Neil, agree they are one of the best kept secrets for IC4 owners.
After some months of use, would you still suggest this as a solution? Looking to get a Schwinn IC4 and am not quite willing to spend $2k on a stationary bike.
Thanks