I’ve had a Wattbike Atom [connected to Zwift] for a year and i really love it. I was on the point of upgrading to the new Atom, but have decided to stick with the Original version. Despite Much welcome improvements to the gear shifting, they have also increased the max wattage from 2000 to 2500 [a 25% increase] so I posed the question “Does this mean that each gear increment is now 25% greater?” And eventually it was confirmed. Why did they increase the power.? Probably to out-do Wahoo and Tracx who are both at 2250. I think I’m correct to say that no cyclist has ever recorded 2000w. André Greipel has recorded an incredible 1903w, so at 2000w the original Atom had the bar set realistically. To me this is just another case of rival companies so focused on out-doing their competitors that they forget reality. Yes the Atom has to cater for the best, but in adding [an unattainable] 25% to the max power, from my viewpoint they have made it less attractive to the average user because of larger gear steps and thus less gears effectively usable. What a shame they didn’t a) make the max power selectable and b) add the required motor for downhill as Tracx did.
Can you confirm where you had this info & what they actually said, not doubting you but something doesnt sound right there with the gearing increase ratio etc…
im an average 80kg rider & can hit 1600watt on a Pro, there are plenty of people who can surpass 2000w. I get its a fairly specific upgrade but it has its usage for specific users especially when Wattbike target a pro user group.
Exacerbated by the short cranks too… not an issue for me at 6ft though.
I might order one now…I’ll surely be able to buy and move into a house big enough to store it by the time it is delivered.
I asked Wattbike Sales/Support if the 22 gears are spread across the power range in a linear or log arrangement ? the answer was “Linear” i.e. equal steps. I then said "So if the max power has gone up 25% [and the gear count is still 22] then each gear step must be 25% larger ? " the reply was yes that follows. If the responses that I received are correct then the resistance encountered at gear 12 on the original Atom will occur at gear 9 on the new Atom - for me [69 on Saturday] that was the [upgrade] deal breaker. I suggested that they should make the max power selectable via their App with the 22 gears spread across the selected power range - that would taylor the gears to suit the rider’s ability.
As to max riders output, the source I quoted is Velon.cc via Cycling Weekly :
re: [quote=“Hoppy, post:42, topic:38278”]
there are plenty of people who can surpass 2000w
[/quote]. please quote your data source.
Road cyclists are trained to produce high watts at the end of sustained efforts or long days in the saddles, track cyclist produce huge watts for a short time span from fresh.
Chris Hoy produced 2500-2800watts in his prime. Many other track guys will get above 2000
From the UCI:
At the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC) in Aigle, Switzerland, trainee athletes complete a Power Profile Test on their arrival using the centre’s Wattbikes. It consists of two 6-second peak power tests, a 30-second sprint test, and a 4-minute aerobic test. Using this protocol enables coaches to determine the athletes’ ability and whether they are better suited to sprint or endurance racing. Repeated tests throughout their stay monitor their progress.
As a useful bench mark, the UCI WCC coaches expect elite male sprinters to be able to produce 25 watts per kg (of body weight). That means from a peak power during a maximal sprint a 90kg male would be expected to hit over 2250 watts (This calculation shows that Chris Hoy used to produce more than 27 watts per kilo). For Elite women the figure is around 20 watts per kilo.
https://www.uci.org/news/2019/track-sprinting-a-question-of-watts
Im also not sure the thought process of each gear must be 25% larger if it can now handle 500 more watts, as an increase in speed\cadence can produce more watts rather than just pushing a big gear. Im happy to be proven wrong, but it still doesnt ring right with me.
I’m also struggling to get my head around the link between gaps between gears and max resistance.
Gears are different to resistance levels - if the the wattbike had 22 discrete resistance levels spread from 0-2500 then I’d get it but that is not the case - it must have so many that its almost analogue for ERG mode to work…
You can push 150w and still use all the gears.
However, the replies from wattbike do definitely suggest that the increase in max resistance has effected the gear spread somehow.
Suppose the analogy would be that they have increased the slope of the hill you are climbing and have given you a wider range rear cassette to get you up it?
I stand corrected re the Max rider wattage output
As to the new Atom gear steps:
The Wattbike blog states “maximum resistance is increased to 2500 watts at 130rpm”
Assuming that 130 rpm is the cadence then I can’t believe that the original Atom’s 2000w was not claimed on a similar [if not the same] cadence.
The laws of dynamics are very simple here: Power [watts] = applied torque x speed of rotation [cadence]. To up the power output by 25% at the same cadence the applied torque has risen 25% i.e. you push 25% harder in the pedals
I get that at the same rpm there will be increased in watts if the applied force or resistance is increased.
I’m thinking more at the lower end of the scale and how that is applied especially in gears 1-3. I can’t get my head around the increase being applied to those ‘bail out’ gears in a linear fashion.
I also get the comments about erg mode and the bike has to be able to facilitate 200w at both 50rpm and 110rpm which would take a multitude of gearing options.
I’m just confused by the statement by wattbike and it’s application.
Ergo Mode – This mode allows you to set a target wattage and your Atom will resist your training to that wattage regardless of your cadence
We are talking about Gear Mode
Power [watts] = applied torque x speed of rotation [cadence]
if the cadence is constant [for example a fast 130] then in gear 22 you’ll hit 2500w
you can’t cheat that equation
NOTE: I specifically asked Wattbike if the gear spread was linear OR Log and they answered linear
It makes sense to be able to spread the gears over your capable range, since we don’t all have Hoy’s power - but we are all potential Atom customers
Recognize the difference between the two modes - suppose my point was that as the gears in gear mode are virtual why don’t they just add more so they can keep the difference between steps the same?
Do you find the jumps between gears on the original atom too big at the moment? I was under the impression that as they are 22 sequential gears that the steps were actually smaller than a bike with a 2x11 setup?
On a side note, has anyone worked out or had confirmation of what the gear ratio is on the Atom?
Well I got my Atom thinking that I would major on the ‘Polar view’ to improve my pedal torque but in reality I got hooked on using Zwift.
Moments ago I just got Wattbike support to confirm that ERG mode cannot be used in Zwift - its gear mode only there. Then I was asked if anyone had got back to me re my gearing question [they had not] and now they tell me [ contrary to what was said yesterday] that it’s not a linear spread and that the real hikes are in the gears around 15 and above. ''Below 15 it’s pretty much the same" Now that makes a LOT more sense [ as per Hoppy’s post] you don’t want an increase in the lowest gears.
Accordingly I’ve asked for reply by email - I’ll share it when it arrives.
Do you find the jumps between gears on the original atom too big at the moment? <
No they are fine for me [69y old on Sat]
I was under the impression that as they are 22 sequential gears that the steps were actually smaller than a bike with a 2x11 setup?<
You can’t compare the two; the Atom has 22 steps up a curve [they now say] . On a 2x11 road bike its not a case of going all the way through the cassette and then just stepping on by changing the chainring. there you have 3 distinct zones a) the highest gears only attainable on the large chainring with the smallest cassette cogs b) the lowest gears only attainable on the small chainring with the largest cassette cogs c) the mid range gears attained by both chainrings with the mid range cassette cogs where the increments in gearing are all over the place and in some cases get virtually duplicated. And on a 2x11 in practice you haven’t got 22 usable gears - apart from the duplicates; you should not be using the small chainring with the smallest cogs nor the large chainring with the largest cogs - that results in excessive chain and tooth wear due to the gross mis-alignment of the resulting chain line. So 22 is reduced by 5 or more, whereas the Atom has 22 and they are all usable without any duplicated and they are sequential.
has anyone worked out or had confirmation of what the gear ratio is on the Atom?<.
see the above
Reply as just received from Wattbike:
Further to our calls please find the response from our product designer:
We have a larger resistance capacity, complete control and programmability of the resistance. This combined with the smart electronics and improved firmware features we can be finer and more prescriptive in how we supply resistance to the rider, we even take into account the rider’s weight to make a real bespoke riding experience. What this means in terms of gears → The gears are not necessarily bigger or have larger jumps between them, they have more capacity at the lower and higher ends of the cadence profile, finer stratification of the resistance profile so all amount to the ‘same gear set’ yet a far greater rider experience.
For reference, Erg mode will work in zwift, you need zwift to drive the erg control rather than the hub.
So a training session in zwift workouts will run in erg mode, plus you can then use the zwift controls to turn erg on or off for say sprint intervals.
I do run zwift via Ant+ and have not checked if this is the same via bluetooth.
Thats what i meant I inferred from that the gears would be closer together on the atom than a 2x11 bike hooked up to a trainer - i’m probably over-simplifying…
Much better
Er… why 
i.e the actual ratio between cadence and flywheel speed? I’m not sure if the actual speed of the flywheel is reported anywhere 
I meant more as a compatible to a road bike, so based on a 52/36 11-28 or something along those lines…
Do you know I never even noticed this - I’m 6’3” and my road bike has 72.5mm cranks.
I imagine I should have noticed 
Ahh… yeah i suppose the nearest it would be is a 1x22 setup - if it existed.
If they wanted to they could probably simulate whatever they wanted if they had controls for virtual front gear shifts?
So whilst we are all atom users in here (Probably worth making this the official Atom thread)
To get around the erg\resistance mode changes does anyone run TR run from their PC via Ant+ and then use the hub via bluetooth?
This is how I get zwift to control erg on the atom and I havent got round to testing the set up via TR.
I was thinking of a possible solution to the sprints\spin up issues - The simple workaround would be just set the atom as a power source and use the hub in erg mode and set the wattage via the shifters and then click in & out of erg for the sprints.
The better way would be for TR to see it as a any old trainer controlled by Ant+ FEC and control the atom and then use the erg on\off function to drop in out of erg for sprints combined with the hub to then change the gearing.