Hi James,
Its all very annoying isn’t it. I think the bottom line is, they all seem to have issues.
I also noticed my power had decreased hugely since using the atom, also by about 20w at least. I put this down to it being more accurate than my previous “wheel on” trainer which was possibly/probably being over generous…
Ive actually just had my atom replaced by wattbike, and i am still getting the same problems. So dissapointing and a massive waste of my time.
Update
I have just done an 18 mile ride, but used the missus’s iPhone (instead of Windows 10).
On ride mode, everything worked great. Gear changes show on screen. The watt meter was smoother. The pedal action actually felt smoother, and i was able to push out an extra 20-30watts (average). It felt alot like my previous turbo trainer which I had become used to.
Down side - work out mode is still terrible, and if I stop pedalling, I cannot engage the pedals again (and have to quit work out).
Luckily I don’t use work out mode much. Still annoying, and will have to hope zwift/wattbike fix the issue.
This is still a faff, as I need to but an ipad now when ideally I wanted to use Windows 10.
I am glad to have found some sort of solution though.
I’m using an iPad and the app crashes in races. When I come back I’m no longer in the race.
Same problem with workout mode. It’s like it has two gears, the highest and the lowest.
I’m having the same problems with my Wattbike Atom, massive power fluctuations in erg mode, regardless of Bluetooth or ANT+ connection and having tried PC and iOS, regular firmware and beta. Wattbike is a massive disappointment vs my wahoo kickr set up that worked great.
I’m having the same issues. The only way I can seem to correct it is to begin the ride and then pause, get off the atom turn it off, go into settings and then re pair the devices and resume the ride. Not ideal but has worked several times for me.
The power seems to fluctuate along with the cadence reading. It’s so frustrating. I’ve reported it to wattbike but as it works fine in the hub they say it’s a Zwift problem
Hi Greg, James,
Have you been able to fix this?
My Wattbike atom arrived last week and I have exactly the same issues. I’ve lost 20 to 30 watts vs. my Wahoo Kikr and it just feels like I am having to put in so much more effort to even get to that lower output. I logged a ticket today with Wattbike support so waiting to hear back. I actually don’t see any difference when using the Wattbike hub or Zwift, the power feels considerably lower than both but I’ve not tried a Zwift workout on the Atom yet where you seem to be having the most issues.
Thanks,
Tobs
Hi all. I totally get the dissapointment and frustration. I had quite a journey with this myself.
The guys at wattbike and zwift are simply unable to solve these problems. There are too many variables with different devices for them to assess it properly.
Re. Lower Wattage - i actually had my first bike replaced, as it was confirmed as faulty when they read the diagnostic report.
I believe my previous tacx vortex trainer was giving me a generous watt reading, although the drop in power on the watt bike still felt too big.
However my power on the wattbike is now at a level I’m pleased with. I’m not sure if this is because of
A) new watt bike,
B) the fact I’m using ios (not windows 10)
C) Just because it took my body a while to adjust to the feel of the wattbike.
D) combination of the above.
Interestingly, I did set up my road bike on a tt (a few weeks after owning wattbike) as I was thinking of going back to a tt due to my dissapointment with the watt bike workout glitches with zwift etc.
What I realised was - I had actually become accustomed to the wattbike and the turbo trainer set up now felt harder on my legs. My wattage was now lower on the turbo trainer.
It also made me appreciate that the convenience of the wattbike setup did outweigh the turbo trainer and road bike set up.
I am now using wattbike with apple tv 4k. And I am enjoying the wattbike. Its not perfect, but i have learned to accept that, and not many setups are totally perfect.
Workout mode is okay. It’s a bit tempremantal, but I don’t use it that often.
Apologies that all of the above is quite vague and doesn’t give a definitive answer. Hopefully it helps in some way
Thanks Greg, that is helpful and pleased its working a lot better now. I’m still in the 30 day returns window so sending mine back, they are going to send the new one they are about to release so I will try that and see if any better otherwise just return that too
Hi Tobias - I’ve the same issues as described above by lots of people. Also thinking about swapping to the new gen version of the Atom - are you able to hold onto your existing bike until the new one arrives, and have they given you an idea of lead time on the new version?
I might try to swap but I can’t do without a trainer if I have to return one and wait for the new one!
Hi Nik, yes you can keep the old one and keep using it until the new one arrives. Don’t know specifics but they indicated it would be a bit of a wait - probably 7 or 8 weeks I think
Thanks for the super quick response Tobias - that’s good to know. Will see how they can help me in the first instance with the issues I’ve got.
For the record I’m mostly using the Atom / Zwift for workouts at present. Frustratingly it can just about work ok on one day, then the next the cadence and power jump all over the place and it keeps dropping Erg mode. Disappointing as I’ve just moved from a Tacx Neo 2 (I wanted a dedicated smart bike, not a TT set up) and that was flawless at all times.
No worries - yeah exactly the same for me. I never had any issues with my Kikr snap but wanted a dedicated smart bike. Did a ride earlier in ERG mode and the resistance is just all over the place, I’ve not even tried a workout on Zwift as will have to change my FTP as Wattbike FTP feels like it would be about 30% lower!
I’m having exactly the same issues as people are describing here.
For the last 10 weeks, I have been cycling almost daily on Zwift using a Wattbike Trainer. The experience has been fantastic and I have completed the FTP booster workout plan and am now half-way through the Gran Fondo workout plan. I am now on level 15 and a happy customer…
I have found that with the Wattbike Trainer, I had to concentrate really hard to maintain a pretty consistent power and because I’m pretty focussed on sticking to my workout plans, I always try, in each interval, not to fall below the set level. As a result, I typically ride almost the whole session at 10-15W above target - ie half the fluctuation above the target level. So I decided that ‘upgrading’ to the Atom, with its Erg mode would solve the problem and presumably magically keep me pretty close to my target power for each interval.
I took delivery this morning. To make matters worse, I found out yesterday about the new Atom and so first thing this morning (before delivery) I rang Wattbike and entered the upgrade plan for the Atom for a further £360 - giving me a new Atom in, apparently, late August.
I rode it for the first time tonight and am crushed with disappointment. I upgraded the firmware on launch to 1.02.01 and re-booted. I then tried to do a workout. My observations match so many of yours:
I have NOT tried the Beta Firmware and I guess it’s possible that the Firmware version I’m using 1.02.01 isn’t the latest. Anyone know? I can’t find the actual latest number on their site. I have deleted and re-installed the Wattbike app.
The other real disappointment on the Atom is that the power curve is much more granular than the one on the Trainer, which is really smooth.
Would welcome any feedback before I call Wattbike to complain! And any tips on how to do so most effectively, because right now I feel I’ve completely wasted my money.
Thanks!
I personally haven’t found much difference when switching to the beta firmware, possibly marginally better but not by much.
My FTP numbers are almost identical to you and I agree 180w should be easily a ride all day level but feels ridiculously hard on the Atom.
The support team haven’t been able to figure out any issues with the data so far and just suggested to take a new FTP test… I’ve just upgraded to the new one now though so will just wait and see how that is and if similar return that.
Pleased I am not the only one experiencing this though!
Sorry to hear all the issues people are having with their Atoms but please bear with it.
I was a very early adopter of the Atom, in fact I had one of the first one’s they made. Back then the firmware was pretty shoddy and I hated the bike. Wattbike did offer to take it back but I stuck with it as my wife and I used it and it was much more convenient than the Tacx Ironman we had.
I had all the issues people raise above. My workouts felt harder, my FTP was lower, the resistance changes were killers etc.
However, the Atom isn’t like any other trainer. Firstly the accuracy of the power output is really good, and I’ve compared it against my Vector 2 pedals fitted to the bike. Identical to within a few watts. The Tacx was always way too high and again this was confirmed when I got my Vectors. Having used the Atom alot now with Trainerroad and Zwift I can say I’m happy with the FTP and power readings I get from it.
Regarding the resistance changes, all I can say is you need to get used to the bike in ERG mode and work with it. It is true, that if you crack during an interval and stop pedalling for a second it’s really tough to get work against the resistance as the slower you pedal the more resistance you’ll get. After a while you get a feel for it and you know how to ride this out. The trick is to not stop pedalling 
Joking aside, if you are going to stop then stop fully and let the power drop to zero (a few seconds) then restart again and it’ll be fine. The resistance motor in the Atom takes a little while to get back to your target power (again a few seconds) but it’s easier to let the power drop and then start than try and grind your way back to your preferred cadence. One issue that Wattbike haven’t managed to iron out over previous firmware updates is say 30s sprinting in ERG mode. It takes a while for the motor to get to the required power by which time usually you’ve burned through the interval time. Again there is a learned trick to this and that is to not sprint ‘ahead’ of the trainer but build up your cadence through the interval.
Once you master the nuances of how to work with the trainer then Zwifting isn’t so bad actually. Quite often I race in Zwift using ERG mode and try and maintain a power output I’m comfortable with. This is so much better than using gears even on a normal bike on a trainer as you have a massive range of gears if you think about it. Climbing road races are expecially good in this mode as you can find a nice rythym going up and then keep on the power when descending, something not many normal trainers can do.
Bottom line, stick with it, you’ll get to understand it eventually and when you do it’s a decent piece of kit.
Thanks James for the review.
I have to say I think you have put that rather well, and I agree about needing to “get used to the nuances”.
I believe the atom feels especially weird if you have been used to a Turbo Trainer, as it does feel different, and you will constantly be comparing it to the Turbo trainer (which is what I did).
It did take a lot of getting used to, but now I feel at one with the wattbike and love it (even with its slight imperfections which I am not discounting).
It can also feel demoralising when the watts drop from what you are used to, but I think my tacx vortex TT was giving me crazy watts before.
I will try your suggestion of using erg mode for races. Sounds good.
Hi all, I have had the wattbike atom for over 2 years now. Had a few niggles but nothing serious, until today it seems. Tried to ride in an event on zwift today, but no matter what gear I was in my Watts went no higher than 130ish (even going at over 140 rpm in gear 21). I then tried a trg program with ERG turned on and again Watts would. Not go above 130ish, so could not even reach the warmup watt target.
Has anyone else come across this problem before? Checked my firmware and that is upto date.
Thanks in advance.
Very interesting to hear this. I had a TACX Ironman for 4years and an FTP of 335w. I switched to a 2nd Gen Atom a month or so back, this coincided with a really heavy cold and I struggled to hit the power. I am now back to full health but have dropped my FTP to 280w.
I have to conclude that the Wattbike is far more responsive and you really need to be smooth to maintain power. This does make it much harder to maintain a higher FTP but I have changed Zwift power setting to 3second average. I have also reduced the trainer difficulty setting, this reduces the wild swings in resistance which I initially experienced.
Summary, I have to accept that I might have to race B cat for a while but ultimately the end result will be better performance in the real world.
I hope this helps but if anyone has additional info then please let me know. Thanks.
I realise this is a late reply. I have been using an Atom on Zwift for 20+ months and to be honest have just got used to it being very unrealistic compared to a road bike. BUT and the reason I wanted to comment on here to you was the bit about it seeming harder.
I did contact WattBike about built in ratios - I ride a 52/36 and 11/28 set up in reasonably hilly terrain so am used to pushing gears - yet despite this my Atom feels like it is geared to 53/39 and 11/22. I can be in my easiest gear grinding up a hill when someone creeps past me but spinning madly. Atom claimed the ratios was tailored by the bike to your riding style and did not have ‘set’ ratios?
Finally of my riding friends they are 20/30 Watts higher in Swift FTP - tend to use Wahoo - yet I routinely lead them out on rides…
Thought you might appreciate this extended insight - I tend to use the Atom in Swift for specific work outs that I know help me manage the 'Issues" that are endemic in my direct experience