Is there any risk that the Wahoo kickr that came with the Zwift frame bundle shows significantly inaccurate watt numbers in game? I am asking since I am considering switching from running to cycling, due to the good results I have had on Zwift since I begun. But I would like to have them verified before I switch, and an external power meter is quite expensive just for doing that. Is there any other way to check if I really am producing the watts that the game say I do?
Thank you for posting your question in the Zwift forum. I’m Alejandra from the Zwift support team—great to have you here!
That’s an excellent question. The Wahoo Kickr is known for its high accuracy, typically within a ±1-2% margin for watt readings. However, like any trainer, slight inaccuracies can occur due to factors such as calibration, environmental conditions, or general wear and tear.
To ensure your trainer provides accurate data on Zwift, it’s important to keep it in top condition. This includes ensuring the firmware is up to date—great news, I see your Wahoo Kickr Core is already updated! These trainers are designed to auto-calibrate, so manual calibration isn’t usually needed.
If you’d like to verify the data, you can perform a test using the Wahoo app to compare results.
Let me know if you have more questions—I’m happy to assist further!
Thanks for your answer. My Wahoo Kickr is only 7 weeks old so there should be no issues with the wear and tear.
In reality, any two trainers and any two power meters will be different, and will drift unless regularly calibrated to a reference standard. No one does this with cycling power meters because it’s ridiculous. The auto-spindown calculations done by the Kickr are pretty good. So are the auto-calibrations done by most on-bike power meters.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
If concerned, do a factory spindown
It has been reported some kickrs reporting too high, there among my own.
That was with the introduction of the virtual shifting, could be that, but after the factory spindown it went back down to matching my different powermeters
When I do a factory spindown, will it show me how much the output has changed (or if it hasnt changed)? Otherwise I would rather try to find someone with a reliable power meter.
No. Just reports how many seconds the two spindowns take.
So that wont tell me if anything has been changed and by how much?
I did that because your answer wasnt clear. You wrote “No. Just reports how many seconds the two spindowns take”, which doesnt explain if that data, of how long the two spindowns take, can be used for anything. If they cannot be used for anything ose has to wonder why they are shown.
Now when you see that there are a logical reason for me asking you that different question, maybe you can answer it. Is wahoo displaying numbers that are totally useless or can those numbers be used for anything practical?
I really hope that my power meter is showing to high values as I would otherwise be forced to give up running for cycling not to miss this opportunity. But I need to know for sure then. If I do a factory spin down and it doesnt tell me anything I will never know if my 380w 20 min and 440w 5 min are real even if I get a trusted power meter installed.
You do the factory calibration, then followed by a new ramp/FTP and voila, you have your numbers.
Your numbers can very well be real, but your development is very atypical and I would definitely do a factory spindown to make sure……if it matters to you
I rather try to borrow a reliable watt meter from someone as I dont want to redo my 5 or 20 min in some time (as I only do zone 2 sessions 6 days prior and since its extremely painful for me to do it), but if I cannot find that I will do a factory reset.
I want able to rent a watt meter so I did a factory spindown. After this it feels the same, or almost easier to get watts. I havent done a 5 min or 20 min all out effort (as I want to taper for 4-7 days before them) but I sett new records at top end power, 5 second, 15 second and 60 second power by quite a lot.