I have a kickr I bought in November('21) so it is the latest version and I experience the same very light vibration that starts at gear 5 and gets a little worse as it goes into the smallest ring. Same happens on my wife’s bike. It isn’t the worse for me but I was wondering if it was a quality issue. Based on this thread it seems to be expected.
It makes somewhat sense, the further away you are from the bearings, the greater leverage force on the bearings. The belt pulley width reduces the distance between bearings which reduces the support. I have never been on other similar trainers, I wonder if the same thing happens since they still need to stay within the same chain stay width. Not that it matters since I am not trading in my Kickr, just curious.
I also have vibration issues with my Kickr Core, since the very beginning. In the beginning I thought it is normal so I kept using it as it is. I recently tried to contact Wahoo to see if it is a known issue and if they maybe can support me with the problem but nothing really could be done. In their oppinion it has to do with poor meshing between drivetrain components and said it should eventually go away. I have replaced the chain and cassette in the meantime but the vibrations are identical. For me it happens always when the cadence is below 80 RPM and when the power is 200W+. It is more pronounced on the big chainring. It was kind of like grinding feeling and sound and I can feel it in my handlebars.
My workaround is to shift to the small chainring when I have intervals over 200W, then it feels better. It is also a constant reminder to keep my cadence up. (My natural selected cadence is around 80-85, which also helps). I only ever use ERG with my smart trainer, Zwift will be way too loud with my Kickr so I don’t bother.
I bought a new mat from Leeze for Christmas, which is quite thick to put below my trainer, which dampens the vibrations well and the trainer feels a bit better. (My neighbours haven’t complained and my noice cancelling headphones do a good work, so it is thankfully not a problem for anyone at the moment).
At some point I considered just selling mine and getting me a Tacx Neo, so I borrowed one from a friend and I actually experienced the same vibrations, so Wahoo support may be actually right in my case. They also wrote that this happens on the road too but we don’t feel it due to road vibrations.
Sorry to bump old thread, but having same issues albeit with a Zwift hub. Has anybody tried dampers o. The axle either side of the dropouts? I’m thinking 0.5-1mm dense rubber washers. If no response, I’ll give it a try and let you know
I recently purchased the Kickr Core along with the Zwift Cog and Zwift Ride. Unfortunately, I can confirm that low-frequency rumble is a serious issue with this setup. Despite building a layered isolation system using stall mats, plywood, and anti-vibration pads, I believe the vibration is still transferring into the unit below mine.
It’s clear this is a design limitation of the trainer itself, and not something easily resolved in an apartment setting. I’ll be selling this setup as a result. It’s extremely frustrating that this kind of issue isn’t made more transparent before purchase. Prospective buyers should be aware.
I have the same noise issue with a Wahoo Kickr V6 in a Zwift Bike setup. I recently moved from a house with concrete floors and no noticable sound issues, to a flat in a multi story wooden building where noise and vibration resonnating through the floor has turned into a concern for my neighbours welfare.
I have been wondering if the issue simply could be related to how the magnetic brakes apply resistance. If the electronic design is using pulse width modulation (PWM) to apply reistive force it could explain the noise, and its increasing strength at certain resistance watt ranges. PWM is a cheap way to provide a ranged ouput from simple on/off control, but at the cost of noise issues.
To put it in context, when breaking downhill, a cyclist can select any break force between no break and full break to smoothly regulate speed. Similarly, a trainer could use a gradient force to create gradient resistance. With WPM, however, there is only full break or no break. Repeating this over very short periods of time, however, will produce the same result as gradient breaking, Simpler and with less parts, but very noisy (like ABS breaking for cars).
Perhaps, if vibrations from WPM resonnating through the trainer and bike is the underlaying cause, can the manufacturer tune it in firmware? It would be interesting to know.