I recently bought a new bike and switched it out with the old bike I had been using for the past 5 years. I have a CycleOps Powerbeam trainer. On my last 2 rides, I am averaging 40W less than normal (dropped from 180w to 140w avg on a 1 hr ride) I tried to run a calibration using the Saris app, but got a message that my Powerbeam is an older communication standard (I use Bluetooth) and there is no modern device able to calibrate it.
Both are trainer tires at 700 mm and fully inflated.
Is there another way to calibrate the unit? Just seems like 40W is a steep drop. Any advice is welcome.
Any chance that the new bike has a substantially wider (or narrower) tire than the old bike? Tire height changes along with tire width. With a wheel-on trainer, a change in tire diameter will have an effect on speed / distance as well as power displayed in game.
Zwift recommends you use the manufacturer’s app to calibrate trainers. If Saris (formerly known as CycleOps) says that their app doesn’t support that model - there may not be much that can be done in terms of calibrating that trainer. It may be more productive to set a new performance baseline with the new bike over the coming weeks, and gauge your fitness progress with the new setup.
I would also add that the gear ratio of the new bike may be different than the old one. Is the front chain ring smaller (less teeth) on the new bike? What about the cassette on the rear wheel of the new bike, is it different? A smaller chain ring and smaller cassette in the rear would decrease your power at the same cadence.