Dropped connection during 4DP test FTP block

The Sufferfest Software
#1

I’m somewhat new to Sufferlandria. Over the last several weeks my Kickr Core bluetooth connection drops every now and then. Usually it will come back after a couple seconds, but every so often it drops for a while and I have to remove the trainer and add it again losing a minute or two. I’m on Windows 10 and my laptop is a couple feet from the Kickr.

Today I did my first Full Frontal and the connection dropped hard again around 10 minutes into my FTP block. I lost about a minute to a minute and a half trying to get it connected again. Is that time lost calculated into my final values? If so am I just out of luck on this one?

Is there a workaround I can do to keep my Kickr connected? It’s fairly irritating to lose training time.

#2

I had (and still have) some more general problems with Bluetooth.
While I still haven’t completely figured out where they are coming from, I bought an ANT+ to USB stick. These things are cheap, and there is not much you need to consider, as long as you can keep your laptop reasonably close to the trainer. They usually are plug&play ready, at least with a Mac. Don’t know for Windows systems.
You can connect multiple devices simultaneously (including HR sensors etc), and it works like a charm.
This won’t solve your original problem, but provides a very nice workaround.

#3

Hi @toddharp - can you drop the minions an email at the same time here to get a speedy response - theminions@thesufferfest.com will get them. They will have data on specific devices and may be able to help faster. And when the SUF Windows app started fully supporting Bluetooth, there were some conflicts for some people with some devices if I remember correctly

Though many peolple were happily using BT for a loong time even when it was an unsupported feature, so there’s a lot of experience built up

Hopefully it’s something like interference from other BT ‘things’ that can be pinned down, but the minions will have a bank of knowledge on this

#4

Oh - and as @RenAn says - ANT+ is a great backup.
I have a couple of ANT sticks as well for messing around with stuff, running on USB extension cables so they hang near the trainer, which I use for varioius testing purposes. Good to have both (I find) irrespective of smart trainer, peripherals, whichever app we’re using (obviously always SUF), as comms is one of those ‘things’ across the board

#5

Thanks @Martin. I’ll email support and see what they say and look into buying some ANT USB sticks.

#6

I also had heaps of problems with Windows 10 Bluetooth and SUF, mostly in just getting it to connect in the first place. It did seem to hold on once connected, but I finally plugged in an ANT+ stick and it has worked perfectly ever since.

#7

Hmm, so I’m new to all this and had initial connections issues also. I have a small Win10 laptop set up on a desk right in front of my bike. I use a Kickr Core, a Tickr, and a Garmin Cadence Sensor. In general, everything connects but frequently, and I mean frequently, drops during a workout. The video may also buffer so sometimes I plug into an ethernet cable for which I do have a USB hub. Would you recommend I add in the ANT+ dongle cable?

Today I just started the prep for a FF on Monday and would love to get this solved before then. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and solution.

#8

Hi Faux,

I had similar issues and theminions@sufferfest.com recommended this kit and I’ve had know issues since.
[https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/accessories/usb-ant-kit]

#9

Hi all!

I had similar connection issues - mainly with the cadence sensor (the one from Wahoo). What I did:

  • bought 2 USB extension cables (3 meters each)
  • bought external ANT+ adapter
  • bought external Bluetooth adapter (to replace the internal one)
  • replaced Wahoo cadence sensor by a noname one

Using the extension cables I did put the ANT+ as well as the Bluetooth adapter right under my trainer. This setup now works fine for my trainer, the cadence sensor and the bluetooth headphones for the sound.

A similar setup may work for others, too.

Cheers
Dieter

1 Like
#10

Likewise also have USB extension cables running from desktop along the bottom of a nearby shelf and hanging down near the trainer (and me).
Two ANT+ dongles in two of the cables and one BT5.0 single on the other.

Choice of three connections to the trainer

#11

Any+ right into laptop sorted my dropped connection problems

#12

UPDATE - I got an ANT+ dongle with about a 1 meter cord and I haven’t had any issues in the almost two weeks since I got it. Thanks for the suggestions!

#13

Hi,
I had the trainer dropout during the FTP portion of the 4DP for about 40 seconds or so. I have the extension usb with ant+ dongle.
I was wondering if the 40 second drop negatively impacts the FTP result. If so, is there is any way to edit the dropout out of the file to ensure that the result is an accurate reflection of FTP. I’m not in a rush to put myself through that again anytime soon so it would be nice to be able to fix the file rather than redo the test.

1 Like
#14

Edited for 40s not 60s

Hi Peter.

End of the day the 4DP workout exists so that you can set good numbers to then train to in the weeks that follow in the app.

So I’d probably (better check my maths here) multiply the 20min number by 1200/1160 (seconds) to get the number in your case and if you reckon that’s about right just set tour 20min number to that in workout settings.
Job done :slight_smile:

#15

So for example if the number came out at 200 but you were still full on through the missing 40s, I’d then use an extra 3.5% and make my workout number for the next period 207watts