The reason for most of us to prefer the non-smoothed power info is because it is more “real”. We are not machines and do not make power as smooth as the Wahoo settings show.
When you use a real power meter, you will see power fluctuations just like you see on the Neo. Again these are real variations that we all do.
The Wahoo setting is misleading at least and a lie at worst. I realize some like the super smooth look, but I’d rather see the roughness and be able to work on making my real power more smooth. It’s not possible to do that with the Wahoo smoothing.
Turn smoothing all the way up in the settings. During the ride it will make it like the wahoo. After though it will show the actual graphed power.
I felt the same when I went to my 4iiii left crank as the power source and got used to it. I still use the kickr snap with it but know what you mean initially
about the smoothing.
I just moved to a Tacx neo 2 from a kickr snap. I love the new trainer. Direct drive makes a huge difference to me in the quirks I didn’t like with the kickr snap.
Power on both with power match fluctuate sometimes more than I like but the kickr at times would need a quick hard acceleration but the tire would slip a bit. No slip with the neo.
Kickr was a rigid set up. No movement at all. Neo has some movement so I like the ride better. More comfortable on a longer ride.
The power smoothing I Really noticed when I had a power meter put on my bike for outside. It just took time to get used to. Yes it looks like your power fluctuates a lot but once you just ride at a steady cadence it smooths itself out.
Wahoo default power smoothing is not a feature in my opinion.
Two questions and yes this might come across as a bit harsh:
Do you want to live in Wahoo’s fantasy world of artificially smooth power, possibly causing you to start thinking that “jagged” power is inferior (inflating your opinion of Wahoo)? Leave power smoothing on.
Do you want a real estimate of power? Turn power smoothing off.
I’m a Kickr owner and honestly as an engineer am ashamed of having fallen into the trap of believing Wahoo trainers were better because of the smooth power. Then I learned the truth. Wahoo smooth power is an illusion, it is not real. Power in the real world is jagged and messy, both on trainers and on the road.
The issue here is I have never trained with a power meter (that’ll be next year) and only ever used my kickr snap so it’s all I know.
What you are saying also goes a long way to explaining why I am so useless on Zwift - the power fluctuations just send me for a loop because I am used to thousands of miles with wahoo power smoothing engaged.
It sounds like getting used to the tacx will be much better preparation for training outdoors with a power meter next year and probably means I will eventually try racing on Zwift again.
In a few hours I’ll be hitting my first real trainerroad workout on the tacx and I’ll approach it with a more positive mindset than I had last night.
Once you get used to it you are going to love the Neo.
I hadn’t thought about Wahoo’s power smoothing for a long time until it came up again in this thread. You won’t miss it once you get used to the “normal” way.
This. Additionally you might want to play with gearing, especially in ERG!
You will find that the soft gear (small front, big back) will be much smoother (and you will feel to put the power through the whole circle) while going hard gear (big front, small back) will be less smooth but have more momentum.
Absolutely brutal - I lasted 5 minutes before I had to knock 10% off my ftp just to get through the 10 minute sweet spot intervals.
I’m gutted.
I feel like I have paid a small fortune for the privelage of having my ftp decimated and feeling like I need to learn how to ride a bike all over again
I had this feeling too when I upgraded from a Tacx Vortex to Kickr18. The vortex’s power drift and apparent power inaccuracies led me to think my FTP was higher than it actually was. The Kickr showed me the true story though.
@mcneese.chad yeah an ftp test will be my next port of call.
I understand results will vary between trainers but I never in a million years thought we’d be talking more than 10%.
Even just from a psychological standpoint, it’s depressing to see my numbers go from a hard-earned (and calibrated) 310 to what looks like being around 280. Crossing back over that 300 mark in the wrong direction again (I suffered an injury a couple months ago and fought tooth and nail to recover my ftp) is a bitter pill to swallow!
I love road feel and always have it on when I’m on Zwift. I just don’t race. I admit it’s just my brain at work, but I get no enjoyment from racing when the playing field is not equal.
I keep meaning to go back and give Zwift a go just to see what that’s like on my Neo. It was beyond my old PC. My son has donated his laptop now that he has built a HAL9000 to frag his brain cells on super wide UHD max frame rate Fortnite. So that might work. Anyone know how to get a trial for Zwift? Burned my one finding out my PC couldn’t do it
Unlike your good self I had no real idea of my ftp when I stared on my Neo. It was the sheer relentlessness of it compared with my old cyclops. Your expression like learning to ride again is justified. I felt like I had ridden my bike all wrong all my life. The revelation for me was going from thinking I was smooth to really learning how to be smooth and under load too.
