Hypno Toad

I'm having an issue with my Kurt Kinetic smart trainer on Zwift.

The issue has randomly appeared over the 2-3 years I've had it. Last night's Zwift ride was up London's Box Hill; on the climb, I'm shifting to a small gear ratio and everything seems good. But on the descent, the trainer stays high resistance and I can't get out of my small gears. It appears the trainer doesn't get the message to reduce resistance on the descent. I ended up shutting down the ride early since it was basically unusable.

Please let me know if you have any experience with this kind of error and know how to resolve it. Thanks!

I updated Zwift app on my laptop last month. The trainer is Bluetooth and connects to Zwift via the Companion app (v 3.12.0).

I bought my Kinetic smart trainer second hand without manuals. I don't know what model this trainer is, and not clear if that would help or not. The trainer was calibrated last month.

faulker479

Instead of ending the ride, why didn't you unplug the trainer and plug it back in?

Also, shouldn't you calibrate a wheel-on trainer more frequently?

Hypno Toad

I ended the ride because I was in the last 10-15 minutes of the ride ... and kinda rushed to get done with the ride too. Next time, I'll try power cycling the trainer.

Not sure how often the trainer should be calibrated, I typically calibrate when I've changed something in the set up. I can't image calibration should affect this resistance issue, but I'm very n00b about the processes.

Hypno Toad

I figured out that my cadence sensor needed a new battery ... could that cause the issue I had with Zwift last week? I'll plan to test this on Wednesday night for my clubs (virtual) hills ride.

bmcer

Make sure you use the trainer as your power sensor. I found out the hard way that if you connect to so me other power meter, Zwift doesn't send resistance changing signals to the trainer.

spelger

I see another bike in the background, does that mean another trainer too? with wireless you really need to be careful that the trainer your controller is connected to is really the intended trainer.

Ant+ or Bluetooth?

i have no trouble shooting experience with Bluetooth and little with Ant+ but I am developing my own controller with my trainer, cadence, HRM and communicate over Ant+ so i have a bit of experience here. the Ant+ protocol stinks, There are lot's of problems with it. that said, even after a successful pairing your controller (slave in Ant+ parlance) should receive the trainer's (master in Ant+) serial number. it is a required message in order to be Ant+ compliant, that is, the message is required, not too sure of the content.

what i would do is in an isolated environment and using some mundane app (like the Wahoo fitness app) pair up to your trainer, look at the serial number provided and jot that down. the message containing the serial nubmer may not appear immediately upon pairing so be patient. it should not take more than a minute though. also, after pairing go into erg mode and set a power rating of like 50W, it should be easy to peddle, then try something like 150W. should be more difficult. bump up to 250W (getting harder), then go back to 50W, it should get easier. (for my trainer (Kicker) there is a 3 second lag between the time i set the power level and the trainer responding, annoying but i am pretty sure that is the trainer) this is just to make sure that ERG mode is working. there is also a simulation mode where you control the grade and the wahoo fitness app has that too. simulation mode is what zwift uses to...simulate your ride. try these settings when you are alone and no other trainers/controllers are around.

also, Ant+ frequencies operate near microwave oven frequencies which are common place. interference can occur. my setup is 50ish feet away from the nearest microwave oven source. placement of the Ant+ dongle in relation to your sensors and trainer will have an impact on signal quality. i keep mine about 12" from cadence, 24" from trainer, and 24" from HRM.

it is not uncommon for data transmissions to fail in either direction.

-scott

edit: I see you said connection is over Bluetooth, some of what I wrote is still relevant.

Hypno Toad

The second trainer is Cyclops basic trainer (fluid resistance) and wasn't being used when my trainer flaked out.

Right, my trainer is Bluetooth paired via the Zwift Companion app on my Android phone.

If this continues, I will try this option with the Kinetic app.

I have the ANT+ dongle on a cable, getting the sensor right under the bike. The microwave is relatively close, up one floor and roughly 30 ft over. I'll keep that in mind if someone is using microwave when Zwift gets flaky.


Thank you for the detailed reply and all the helpful information! I'll be Zwifting tonight on a virtual club ride and will report back tomorrow.

Hypno Toad

Last night had a couple issues.

During the warm up I lost display for my ANT+ sensors (HR & cadence) - that's the first time this has ever happened. When I check for paired sensors, they both showed but wouldn't display. I was warming up for the group ride, so I ended the ride and restarted. That fixed this issue.

8 minutes into the ride, my Kinetic started flaking out. I got it going again, and I'm not sure of the root case - in the end I found that the power cable wasn't fully connected to the trainer. This has been a problem in the past. I need to find a way to secure that power cable, it's always loose. It is possible that the cable has been the problem all along. I'll report back after I fix it with some bailing wire and duct tape.

bmcer

Be careful with that power cable connection. My first Kinetic smart control unit just died after a couple weeks use. No green flashing LED, no sounds indicating it was booting itself up. So I called Kurt customer service, and they sent out a replacement unit no questions asked. They told me they've had an on-going issue with the PCB going south due to defects in the power connector. They recommended that the power supply be connected to a power strip with an on.off switch so the device can be turned on and off with that switch instead of plugging and unplugging any of the electrical connections. They also recommend that the unit not be left on between sessions.

I've experienced some of the same sort of drop-outs you describe since replacing the PCB, but I'm inclined to think it's a matter of inadequate bandwidth from the Microsoft Surface Pro that's currently hosting the Zwift application. It's not what you'd call a high performance machine with a lame Intel Core i3 1.2 GHz CPU and a sluggish Intel graphics chip set. I've got a more muscular system on the way. With a 2.4 - 4.4 GHz i5 CPU and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 video card. I have high hopes for Zwift running on the new box, but we'll see. Worst case scenario, I get a hot-rod laptop and my wife inherits the MS Surface which will be a significant upgrade for her too.

bmcer

Follow up; Just took delivery on a little hot rod of a gaming laptop with a far more capable Nvidia graphics board installed. I got Zwift running on that box, and the difference is quite impressive. Much smoother graphics, better response from my trainer, and absolutely no drop outs. I do think Zwift low-balls their system requirements. At least my experience indicates it does best with some computing horsepower behind it.