wattbike atom

jpower

UPDATE: They want it back before making a decision on repair or replace, so looks like it will be a double trip regardless. I do wonder with shortage of atom, if the replacement will be a trainer or pro, it is what is :-) Will get there in the end.

ck101

Considered the Atom as an upgrade for my Kicker 1, ended up getting the latest Kicker which has been faultless.
I’m not in the UK so the problems you have had would have been compounded.

Good luck getting it sorted.

jpower

Replacement in the house, so now clock starts on repair or replace decision.

Note - I stole a very nice friends kickr 1 and have been using this for the past week on zwift, and I feel the kickr experience on zwift is far better then the atom, I did notice the atom gear now shows up, when you change up or down the gear number is shown (nice). The kickr just far better on handling those quick grade change and with real gear shift its easier to react to changes. Was real impressed.

So I don't understand why I'd still rather have an atom, go figure.

rdt

jpower, been reading on FB comments from Atom owners about the resistance swinging around while pedalling at constant cadence, or them reducing cadence and the resistance increasing - all while in Gear mode (not Erg). Sounds cack, frankly.

Does yours do that?

jpower

rdt wrote:

jpower, been reading on FB comments from Atom owners about the resistance swinging around while pedalling at constant cadence, or them reducing cadence and the resistance increasing - all while in Gear mode (not Erg). Sounds cack, frankly.

Does yours do that?

Personally I have only experienced that in ERG mode.

The above can also happen in Zwift so your spinning at 90rpm in gear 14 on a flat 0%, and then you hit a short climb 1,2,3,4, 5% usually if it ramps up quickly and as atom is not in step with the ramp up you will notice the resistance swing, similar on the way down, I think it gets in a muddle. However there no way your keeping the 90rpm unless you start pushing harder, so I can believe what they are saying but might be a misunderstanding of the interpretation of the behaviour. If that makes any sense.

NOTE - Never seen that behaviour in wattbike app, but then there no short sharp up/down in active mode, so it would not happen there. And never on zwift if the grade change is slow meaning a couple of seconds.

musicville

Hi all.

Have read this thread with interest. When then the atom was announced, like many I thought, perfect. Everything I am after, made by wattbike sounds like ideal.

Then the reviews came in and the issues with 3rd party apps...

So, a few months in I'm wondering what to do. I have the space and funds for a dedicated smart trainer, and would like one. However I am now leaning to a kickr. I use trainer road 3 times a week on a wattbike in the gym and would be interested in zwift.

Have there been firmware updates to sort the atom yet? Or are the issues likely to remain?

What are peoples thoughts on this? And should I just buy a kickr....

Many thanks

StillGoing

musicville wrote:

Hi all.

Have read this thread with interest. When then the atom was announced, like many I thought, perfect. Everything I am after, made by wattbike sounds like ideal.

Then the reviews came in and the issues with 3rd party apps...

So, a few months in I'm wondering what to do. I have the space and funds for a dedicated smart trainer, and would like one. However I am now leaning to a kickr. I use trainer road 3 times a week on a wattbike in the gym and would be interested in zwift.

Have there been firmware updates to sort the atom yet? Or are the issues likely to remain?

What are peoples thoughts on this? And should I just buy a kickr....

Many thanks

Don't count out the DIreto. For the money, I don't think there's anything better.

rdt

musicville wrote:

So, a few months in I'm wondering what to do. I have the space and funds for a dedicated smart trainer, and would like one. However I am now leaning to a kickr. I use trainer road 3 times a week on a wattbike in the gym and would be interested in zwift.

Have there been firmware updates to sort the atom yet? Or are the issues likely to remain?

What are peoples thoughts on this? And should I just buy a kickr....

Almost exactly the same position as me.

The Atom is getting frequent updates - best place to monitor the situation is via the FB group 'Wattbike Atom Owners'.

A high quality indoor smart bike (vs. trainer + bike setup) is very much my preferred option. If implemented well, this setup offers a number of advantages to me. DC Rainmaker has implied there are several offerings on the horizon: we already have the Atom, we know that Tacx's is coming, and I'm sure others will follow - probably from all the main turbo manufacturers in time, as I think this will be a booming segment they'll all want a piece of.

So my plan is to wait and see what happens. See how much the Atom improves, which for me may require a V2, and see what other offerings appear. A bit of deferred gratification never did anyone any harm, and with a newly emerging market segment like this, it'll probably pay divis not to be an early adopter.

Thigh_burn

Looks to me that they've stopped selling the Atom in London, based on the website currently.

jpower

Wonder if that’s me. So my atom has been returned it required a new step motor. After quizzing them about why and cause, I was told it was due to water damage we’ll actually sweat damage. Which I couldn’t understand as I clean the thing after every single ride.

So front stem I have raised a little and basically during the ride I sweat like a pig and it’s getting in during that phase, personally that’s a design flaw.

I’ve now dropped the stem to closed position and keep a towel over the front half during the ride, not ideal but I still love the flawed machine.

rdt

Thigh_burn wrote:

Looks to me that they've stopped selling the Atom in London, based on the website currently.

Not sure what you mean by this - perhaps refresh your browser. 4 weeks delivery currently.

rdt

jpower, good feedback.

Up-thread you wrote that your mate's Kickr was great - performed better than the Atom in Zwift etc - but you'd still rather have your Atom. What's the reason? Is it that it's a single unit, convenient, nice looking, small footprint (ie. the packaging)? Vs. a "messier" turbo/bike combo.

Cheers!

jpower

rdt wrote:

jpower, good feedback.

Up-thread you wrote that your mate's Kickr was great - performed better than the Atom in Zwift etc - but you'd still rather have your Atom. What's the reason? Is it that it's a single unit, convenient, nice looking, small footprint (ie. the packaging)? Vs. a "messier" turbo/bike combo.

Cheers!

Spot on, you pretty much hit all the sweet spots, plus I don't want to use my bike or buy another cheap bike for the purpose and lastly but quite importantly the atom is available to use with little adjustments to the rest of my household. Lastly I really like the climbs they have pre-loaded.

rdt

jpower wrote:

Spot on, you pretty much hit all the sweet spots, plus I don't want to use my bike or buy another cheap bike for the purpose and lastly but quite importantly the atom is available to use with little adjustments to the rest of my household.

I reckon there are loads of people that a well packaged all-in-one trainer bike - one that can quickly adjust for different family members - will appeal to. Particularly people drawn (by Zwift etc) to indoor cycling from a gym background rather than from a cycling background, who'd have never previously considered buying a turbo.

So my guess is that in 5 years time truckfulls of indoor 'smart bikes' will be being sold and they'll comprise a big chunk of the trainer market, with products offered by all the major trainer firms and others besides.