Part 1. I have a new Kickr and connect via ANT+. On the pairing page I’m shown two choices: Kickr 9145 and Wahoo FE-C 9145. What is the difference and is one better than the other.
Part 2. I have a Quarq PM on my trainer bike. On the pairing page I’m shown three options: Kickr 9145, Wahoo FE-C 9145, and Quarq PM. What do I choose and why?
Pt 1 wahoo fe-c 9145
Pt 2 - quarq
You can pair the wahoo in the event of quarq has a dead battery. But quarq will give you best result.
I understand I may choose whichever I like. I want to know what the difference is between the signals and why one might be preferable over another.
if i had to choose between kickr and quarq for power measurment.
I would choose the quarq, because i would use that outside.
You would be silly not to choose the quarq.
but really the fe-c is just the long name for the kickr in terms of trainer.
still uses the same ant+ id.
More background on ANT+ and ANT+ FE-C:
Thank you, Bastiann. After some research with tech support at both companies I’ve discerned that “Wahoo ANT+ FE-C” does not yet play well with Zwift or Trainer Road, at least compared with the other Wahoo choice available in the pairing screen (“Wahoo Kickr”). And indeed, the two choices are NOT the same. Zwift tech support does not recommend the FE-C and says “Wahoo Kickr” is better, which after some trial and error I concur with. Also, in the power pairing screen I found that using the Quarq as the power source is not nearly as stable as using “Wahoo Kickr”. I was concerned that since I’ve used a Quarq for many years the Kickr would not return the same power numbers I was used to. That has not proven to be true. I recorded several workouts on my Garmin using the Quarq as it’s power source while simultaneously performing a workout on Zwift, and later Trainer Road. The power numbers are, in essence, the same across all three platforms, within 3 watts + or -. I’ve settled on using Wahoo Kickr for both Power and Trainer pairing, using the Quarq only for Cadence. This works very well and I’m satisfied I’m getting accurate numbers.
This confirms my suspicions about the trouble I’ve been having. In the past, I’ve successfully run TR on iOS controlling my Kickr via Bluetooth while also riding Zwift on a laptop connected via ANT+. Recently, went for the same setup/workout and had issues with TR and Zwift fighting for trainer control. After lots of troubleshooting, I found that in between workouts, I had re-paired Zwift selecting the “ANT+ FE-C” option. Sure enough, this seems to be where the trouble lies. When I unpaired Zwift and paired once more without FE-C, the problem was resolved. Success once again with Trainer Road on iOS via Bluetooth and Zwift with ANT+ (no FE-C).
I concur 100% with M. Kane’s last post—in terms of the issues with using the ‘Wahoo ANT+ FE-C’ device when pairing, using the Quarq for reporting power (I have an ELSA+), and the accuracy of the KICKR’s power data compared to the Quarq.
I’m very glad to have found this thread. For me this thread confirms what I have been experiencing and thought to be true. If only the folks at Wahoo tech support—or at least those I’ve been communicating with—knew this too!
After more testing with this I’ve that what works best—at least in ‘SIM mode’; i. e., not in a Zwift workout—is to set ‘KICKR FE-C xxxx’ for the controllable trainer and ‘KICKR xxxx’ for power. Using the ‘KICKR FE-C’ device for the controllable trainer is much more responsive to changes in grade and seems to have greater resistance in general.
I’ve heard many complaints about not being able to keep-up with dumb trainers on the downhill sections. From the albeit limited testing I’ve done when using the ‘KICKR xxxx’ device for the controllable trainer I’ve found the responsiveness to grade changes much poorer and a LOT less resistance on the downhill sections.