Wahoo and Zwift IDT disappointment

[Christian van Zyl]

Our Wahoo support team is pedantic about world class service. Please reach out to any of the iKhambi team members if you have an issue. We also keep all spare part should servicing be required. 

Sean is our in house expert on ANYTHING Wahoo and our relationship with the international support teams are also first class. 

Any issues, simply call or drop a mail. Everything can be fixed or resolved.

[BicyclePower]

Hey guys so wireless interference may be a result of a number of outside factors. Below is a cut, copy and past off the PerfPro web page which we have found helpful when trying to assist clients.

 

The known lack of calibration within Zwift has to be worked around by calibrating your trainer (CycleOps, Wahoo, Tacx etc.) via the brands own smart phone application as mentioned above. i suppose Zwift are all about offering a simple experience (plug & play) and should users wish to calibrate their trainers then this is best supported via the brands own application. 

 

Dropout and Interference Issues

ANT+ technology is not magic. Because it is wireless it is prone to the same interference issues as anything else wireless. And no two home locations and studios are alike and are prone to different issues based on many factors. 

Do your best to limit interference issues by doing all the following:

• Make sure your ANT sticks are out in the open and have a clear line of sight to your riders. A very narrow room with several rows of wireless trainers is not the best setup for a studio. A single row, wrapping around the PC location where the sticks are located is best. 

• ANT technology does not really like water so if the signal has to pass rough a human body than you may see dropouts.  

• Get those ant sticks out in the open using a USB extension cord. You may even be able to elevate them so they are positioned directly over the riders. An level of 3-5ft is optimal.

• For WASP usage, they should be above ground level as well. Up in the ceiling is not necessary as that may hinder line of sight if the ceiling is too high. As long as it is not low to the ground you should get a better signal.

• Computer Battery/Performance Settings: Some computers have variable battery settings. If your battery is set to "balanced", your computer may not be allocating enough power to the USB ports for the ANT+ stick to work well. Switch your power-management setting to "high performance".

• Try not to cross the USB cables the ANT+ sticks are connected too. This can sometimes cause issues with the ANT+ signal. 

• Limit Bluetooth (BT) usage from rider's smart phones and anything else going on in the room.. Have them turn off their BT on their phones if you're having dropout issues. Especially DO NOT try to control a trainer with both PerfPRO Studio and a phone app. This tends to confuse the trainer.

• If you are experiencing dropouts then look to update your router's WIFI channel from it's default channel “4” (typical setup) to channel “1” or “6” or whatever channel is not being used by other routers in the area. This pertains to the 2.4ghz frequency. This tends to help. You can download Nirsoft's WifiInfoView utility to see what routers are in the area and what channel(s) they are set to. 

• If your WiFi router is capable of running at the 5GHZ frequency then have as many devices as possible connect to your 5GHZ network rather than the 2.4 network. ANT+ runs at the lower 2.4ghz frequency so switching devices over to the other network will help with interference. All WASP WiFi units run at 2.4ghz as well so it has the same potential interference issues as ANT+ sticks. 

• If possible, try to avoid pairing up wireless trainers like KICKRs with other bike head units like a Garmin Edge, etc. Some head units may over-communicate with the trainer and bog down the ANT sticks used by PerfPRO to talk to your trainers. If you feel you need to pair it then experiment to see if any dropouts occur.

• Make sure the room is well circulated. As the room heats up and humidity builds interference increases. As mentioned, ANT+ does not like water. With a room heating up, you may not experience dropouts or loss of wireless trainer control until later in the ride. A well circulated, air-conditioned, and/or dehumidified room decreases the chance of this happening. 

• Avoid running a microwave oven during class. As silly as this sounds, if there is one in the area running it will certainly cause dropouts (e.g., business next door during your lunch time ride).

Other articles to read on interference:

• List of 2.4 GHz Radio Use: http://ppst.co/1pMKxzQ

• 20 Myths of WIFI Interference by CISCO: http://ppst.co/1BklYCG

[Furbz]

Our Wahoo support team is pedantic about world class service. Please reach out to any of the iKhambi team members if you have an issue. We also keep all spare part should servicing be required. 

 

Sean is our in house expert on ANYTHING Wahoo and our relationship with the international support teams are also first class. 

 

Any issues, simply call or drop a mail. Everything can be fixed or resolved.

 

agreed, i called and was assisted immediately.

30min after the call a full email with instructions was sent out.

 

very impressive service levels at iKhambi

[Henley 1]

Wow! Thanx all! I said it before: this forum is incredible!

 

It rattles me though why they make these things run on Ant+ or Blue tooth and not connect/plug in directly. Now you have this USB extension cable running from pc to the kickr - it might as well be plugged directly into the kickr somehow!!! Surely a direct connection with copper wire would sort out all of this, hey?

 

Thanx again.

[Furbz]

did you come right?

[Job]

I also bought a KickR Snap about two weeks ago and I experienced the same power deeps. Yesterday after seeing this topic I sent Sean an email and within 10 minutes he called me and explained the advanced spindown. I will have to monitor it sometime next week when  get to zwift to see if the problem is gone. I was quite impressed with their prompt response.

[Henley 1]

Sean came back to support me! ten out of ten for service!

Will do all the stuff he advised and see how that goes

Thanx all again 

[Harryn]

There is an extremely long discussion on this very topic on dc rainmaker's review of the SNAP. Quite a few people complained about the power broadcasting out of the claimed 5% range, but old dc rainmaker just did not seem to buy it after running a range of tests on a host of different devices. And boy, that oke is anal.

 

I too have experienced vast power variations, which have seemed outta whack. and often I feel that my true power output is not correctly reflected. Then again, I also feel that my 4.5 hour Argus times are not truly reflective of my ability, all of which is a crock of ****.

 

The truth is that I am lazy with spin downs, and I feel certain that I would improve the power accuracy if I did this more often. And pumped the tire now and again.

 

In summation: The Kikr SNAP is a great piece of kit. I am grateful for mine every time I ride it.

[Pusher]

Have a read here re the Snap calibration...

 

http://athletictechreview.com/2016/12/12/wahoo-kickr-snap-spin-down-calibration/