Switch off ERG during free ride

Can someone tell me why ERG mode comes on during a free ride? I see the full benefits of ERG during workout mode but when you are riding in a group ride, you get no draft assistance and are limited to your FTP. I know you can turn it off on workouts but there isn’t an option for free ride so how do i turn it off when it happens? Seems to be intermittent. 

Hi Gordon - 

We don’t enable ERG during free rides, only workouts. If you feel you are being put in ERG during a group ride, can you open a support ticket and please include your log.txt file from that ride in the ticket? You can find it by navigating to Documents/Zwift/Logs and matching the timestamp to the end of your ride.

Thanks, and ride on!

This is happening to me as well. Erg mode is on during a non workout “just ride” and I can’t turn it off. Trying to just ride around and hit up kom’s and sprints but the trainer won’t change resistance on hills, it’s annoying. Do I need to open a support ticket like you said here a couple years ago? No easy fixes?

Aaron, 

What trainer do you have? 

I’m on a Wahoo kickr

Hmmm…

I don’t know if I can help with that. Your problem sounds similar to one that I’ve encountered with my Elite Direto.

It’s never stayed in ‘ERG mode’ during a free ride, but it has failed to adjust resistance & simulate hills - so I’d guess the effect feels the same (or, at least, similar).

The cause? Using the Elite trainer app on my phone (Bluetooth) to calibrate the trainer.

I normally connect to Zwift on my laptop using ANT+ (and ANT+ FE-C for control of the Direto), but any connection to the trainer w/ the app via bluetooth overrides Zwift’s FE-C.  The spindown calibration works fine, and everything *appears* to be properly paired in Zwift, but trainer resistance never changes.

The fix? 

Any time I calibrate the trainer w/ the app (or use any other Elite trainer app features), I cycle the trainer’s power off/on before connecting to Zwift.

Not sure if the same applies in your situation, but I’ve had zero issues once I realized what was happening.