The price of progress 
2 Likes
Iāve been in that purgatory for over a year. My Kickr 2017 is still working perfect. When I bought it, Wahoo learned it wasnāt compatible with my thru-axle bike (Domane gen1). If I had returned it and bought a Tacx Neo, I could buy a XDR freehub and be using it with my (year old) 12 speed bike. But no, I waited a month while Wahoo designed and machined and tested a new adapter. And 4 years later its main competitor from 2017 has a XDR freehub for their 2017 Neo, while Wahoo told me sorry you need to buy a new trainer. Sigh.
1 Like
I wonder if zwift can handle support of a smart trainer when they cant even get reporting stats correct for the zwift academy baseline rideā¦100ās of users did the ride then got a blank email (like mine)
4 Likes
Yup, totally valid concern based on the multiple flubs in the ZA this week. Stuff that should have been considered and corrected well before now.
1 Like
Yeah 
. Added to that their pathetic customer service afterwards. Very little communication and quite a few promises that were not fulfilled.
I thought this looked great but honestly I couldnāt buy it knowing that Zwift isnāt good at after sales. So important for a trainer purchase.
Iām really surprised theyāre isnāt a thread about the ZA debacle on here.
1 Like
Mine also like that
- I thought about starting one, but am just following the official one on the Z forum.
1 Like
So I dont follow the Z forumā¦what are we supposed to do? Wait for a corrected email or repeat the baseline ride?
No need to re-ride unless you got burned with the Banding ride to start. If you finished the BL ride properly, they may be sending out corrected emails today, from what I read.
I had no problems finishing and the w/kg for the segments are in zwiftpower but wasnt sure if you could cotinue on without results.
1 Like
Yup, you can do workouts with no issues. The BL info and phenotype is more for general info and final comparison. That all seems in place despite the email snafu.
Guess I donāt understand the focus on the word āpromises.ā According to DCRainmaker July 2021 review of the JetBlack Volt it had good accuracy:
"Overall, Iām pretty darn happy with accuracy here. While there were some early firmware reports of very small amounts of drift, I donāt see that at all on current firmware, or during any of my testing. Accuracy appears to easily be greater than the claimed +/- 2.5% figure that the company has for their tech specs, and seems to be closer to the +/- 1% variants we see on many higher-end trainers.
As with any trainer, there are some minor quibbles that I discussed above. But I can find those same quirks on a Tacx NEO 2T or a Wahoo KICKR 2020, and donāt even get me started on the $2,500-$3,200+ smart bikes that have worse accuracy quirks. So for $850USD all-in, accuracy is really strong here."
A firmware update changed that, as the latest Zwift Hub hands on said this:
āThen, just a few hours ago (yes, today), they sent over an e-mail confirming they found two items that contributed to the accuracy issues I and others were seeing on recent firmware, and believe they have them fixed for the next firmware update. That firmware version isnāt yet available to me, but likely will be within the next few days. Once I get that, and go back and put it through its paces over the course of a number of rides, Iāll circle back with a full in-depth review.ā
Having worked in the embedded software industry for 30 years, have seen over and over and over and over again that regressions can slip into releases. And then they get fixed.
Power accuracy was working well in 2021, so I guess the promise is they are going to fix it? Why wouldnāt they? Are they lazy and want bad reviews? 
1 Like
At this point, Z has not delivered a final FW that meets DCRās bar for rating a āreviewā and offering a thumbs up on it. Despite the history of the Volt, Z apparently mucked it up recently, so an open question / promise IMO.
No different that Zās well earned reputation for screwing up some parts of the app with new releases, this seems a similar example in their first trainer. Sure is likely that they can fix the power, but they have to do it, and not mess it up with future releases.
Adding to that, GP Lama mentioned concerns based on issues he had with the Volt that are still not resolved. I have to revisit that review to understanding more.
Anyway, the history of JB is small-ish and Z as a firmware developer are still green (current issue as evidence). I am betting they will get it all sorted, but they arenāt theyāre yet.
1 Like
Do we actually know that Zwift hired firmware developers, wrote a contract to have JetBlack continue with the hardware but turn over the source code to Zwift? Having written similar contracts over many years, Iām inclined to believe Zwift had JetBlack modify the firmware. But anything is possible.
I donāt think it is even clear (at least to me) what kind of deal there is between Zwift and Jetblack. I assume it is some kind of license to re-brand and re-sell the Volt?
But the deal could be much more involving.
1 Like
The way I read the Zwift Insider and DCR articles, it sounds like Zwift has their own FW programmers as well as separate testing group. Minimal details on most of that, so hard to say what really is the case.
The ZwiftInsider one in particular is interesting, where it was stated that firmware is being managed on the Zwift side. All that is required for that statement to be true is that someone at Zwift is managing the work being done by JetBlack, one of JetBlackās sub-contractors, or another 3rd party. Having a project or program or product manager be responsible for 3rd party development (both hardware and software) is really common in the electronics and software industries. The testing group at Zwift is independent of the firmware.
I have no clue what Zwift is doing, however it is clear they want to grow their subscription business by making it easy for new users to connect a trainer with minimum hassle ($ and time). Zwift doesnāt need to own either the hardware or software to do that.
1 Like
That was my gut reaction as wellā¦.the press releases claiming they did the firmware just read like, wellā¦press releases to me.
Nothing to base this on at all, just how I interpreted what was released.
1 Like
Circling back to the firmware issueā¦.the more I think about it, the odder it seems.
Basically Jet Black is saying āyeah, there are issues with our own firmware, so Zwift decided they need their own. But we are going to keep selling our own trainer with the firmware that Zwift thinks is crap. Please buy our trainer.ā
Sure they are betting on a huge volume increase for the hardware by partnering with Zwift, but for all intents and purposes, they just chopped their branded business off at the knees. Which is probably another good indication of how tough the trainer market is right now.
4 Likes