Well we know you do…and Ray…have the software bugs been fixed? Just curious.
Yup. I posted earlier in the thread… bought Monday October 3rd (first day it was on sale.). It was on my doorstep at noon on Friday October 7th. Random notes about it:
- Setup was generally a breeze, but my I needed to adjust my rear derailleur a mm or two inboard. The cassette (10 speed) didn’t line up the same as on my previous setup. I think because my wheel had a spacer behind the cassette, the Zwift Hub cassette was installed without a spacer.
- I was coming from a “left-crank PM + dumb fluid trainer”. Used that setup for four years with no issues, but got sick of swapping my crank all the time and wanted to train in ERG mode.
- A few rides with my left-crank and my Zwift Hub running at the same time showed the general trend of “Zwift Hub reads a bit low for ~10 minutes, then reads more or less the same as my left-crank”. Close enough that I’m not going to sweat the differences. This is after calibrations after a warmup.
- The Zwift Hub is super-quiet. Drivetrain and fan dominate the noise. Quieter than my wheel-on Kurt Kinetic for sure.
- This is my first smart trainer. Zwift feels much more realistic with it, and ERG mode for workouts is awesome.
I obviously can’t speak to reliability or anything long-term, but so far I’m quite happy with my Zwift Hub. The DCRainmaker/GPLama reviews were spot on.
1 Like
I decided to go with the H3…got it for $400 from Saris…so far its been flawless. But with the sale of Saris I wonder how tech support and warranty issues will be handled. If I had gone with the Hub I wonder what will be the effects of the lawsuit?
yup. spacer was in the parts bag. didn’t dawn on me that it was the source of the shifting issue until after i had already adjusted the limit screws on the rear derailleur. the documentation (which was quite good in general) was silent about the possible need to install the spacer if your previous wheel/hub/cassette had one. i think their install video only mentioned derailleur cable tension, which is irrelevant if the limit screws don’t match the cassette position.
not a big deal for me because the bike on my zwift hub is used only for indoor training, and i had no problem adjusting my derailleur. but i have to think some folks will get bit by the same issue. the zwift hub setup is easy and well-documented, but folks coming from a 10-speed-with-spacer setup will need to know to install the spacer (no way to know from the install docs, and requires tools) or they will need to adjust their limit screws (also not in the install docs requires basic wrenching skills.)
Dont they all come setup for 11 speed by default now therefore requiring the fitting of the spacer when using the old 10 speed cassette?
Plus don’t you order the zwift hub with the cassette you plan on using pre-fitted?
1 Like
if the spacer is required for 10s, then having the cassette “pre-installed” without it is a huge oversight. users will have to remove the cassette, install the spacer, then reinstall the cassette. which is more work than having it come not installed, and requires tools. not nearly as “plug and play” as Zwift is promoting.
i’ll look tomorrow, but i don’t think the cassette has any lateral play in it, so the spacer shouldn’t be mandatory. i could be totally wrong about that.
[EDIT: just looked at it, and my cassette is firmly in place, so i’m just going to leave it as-is, with the provided spacer in my parts bin and my rear derailleur adjusted to work with the Zwift Hub instead of my wheels]
4 Likes
If theyve missed fitting the spacer prior to shipping with a 10 speed cassette thats a big gap in their QA.
4 Likes
I have a 3 year old Elite Direto (the original model) which is getting a bit tired. It got hammered during covid and I prob still put 5 hours a week on it. Ive replaced a few bits through its life and now it has a swueaky noise.
Debating if it would be worth getting a Zwift hub? It’s the same accuracy and has slightly better max wattage (not that I am that bothered or ever going to reach it!). The big thing for me would be a noise improvement as it is in the lounge.
It has been said before, but it bears repeating….get an H3 from Saris while they are blowing them out. You can get an H3 for less than a Zwift Hub….and it is a better trainer. Check the H3 thread for the code.
I don’t think that is an option in the UK unfortunately.
I bought a Jetblack Volt. Afaik the Zwift hub is a slightly newer version of the Volt (there are very small differences). I really like it, it is really silent and just works. I think the H3 is louder.
Found the Volt on Amazon for £449 inc cassette and shipping, which was less than the Hub, plus I didn’t have to tie myself into the Zwift world.
The zwift hub doesn’t tie you in to zwift at all. It works same as any other smart trainer.
1 Like
Do you not need the companion app for things like spindowns? I also like having a separate trainer app for just riding. (Even thought the Volt app is pretty crap!)
You do need the Z Companion app, but it’s free and doesn’t lock you in in any way. I’d rather have that app than the typical trainer app that is flaky and not easy to use (a bit like you described the JB app).
I don’t think you can control the trainer from the companion app though? Load a workout or set resistance levels?
Correct, those are not included right now.
But you could do that with just about any other free app.
1 Like
Just read a really good review of the Zwift Hub customer service over on Facebook and thought I’d share it here. It’s not me and I don’t know the poster.
It’s been a few months since they’ve released the Zwift hub. In a hindsight, those who bought it - would you buy again having used it for some time now?
would buy again. no regrets yet. long term durability is if course still an unknown. caveat: i don’t use trainer road. only zwift.
1 Like
Thanks for your comment. I’d be interested to hear from TR users though - how is it handling the workouts. And if it works with TR/Zwift concurrently via Ant+ and Bluetooth