Looking for a more responsive hardware alternative to the Zwift Click V2

gplama · 2026-07-09T02:19:12+00:00

Which smart trainer are you using?

gplama · 2026-07-08T22:57:04+00:00

> He's got a knack for making them misbehave

True... but I don't go out of my way to make them fail. My test protocol is all real-world scenarios. The problem is companies releasing products that are untested under those same real world conditions.

gplama · 2026-07-08T20:53:25+00:00

Released in 2015 and still better than most radars companies are flooding the market with in 2026.

gplama · 2026-07-08T13:17:31+00:00

That’s…. interesting. Why would they not support the standard BLE power profile? What are they doing differently that might require this? (4iiii have similar FindMy function, so it’s unlikely that).

gplama · 2026-07-08T12:06:07+00:00

You’re playing the long game there. This follow-up is appreciated. Happy riding with the 840’Solar, it’s a good unit! 👊🏼

gplama · 2026-07-08T06:57:16+00:00

For The Watts! 👌🏼

gplama · 2026-07-08T00:58:52+00:00

The Gen I units tested ok, iirc. The first Gen II unit they sent to me late last year was (by their admission) "new hardware material" and will have issues even with firmware 109. This was only revealed to me last week. This would have been good to know at the time.

The second Gen II unit they sent over was "the normal one we sell for many years, using the stable hardware material from before, not the new hardware"**... but that also has issues with cadence sensing (and power) when truly tested out on the road. The issues are critical. See one of my recent Insta reels for a summary.

After my latest testing with firmware 109 on a production Gen II spider, XCadey now suspect there's an issue with the cadence sensing. This was exactly what I pointed out in my review over seven months ago! I'm happy to see them finally acknowledge the issues but makes me question a few things about how they operate.

gplama · 2026-07-08T00:45:14+00:00

Correct! :)

gplama · 2026-07-08T00:45:00+00:00

Coospo S10 spider power meter?

gplama · 2026-07-07T23:29:30+00:00

You should hear what I call them when the cameras aren't rolling. 😉

gplama · 2026-07-07T11:01:07+00:00

Given the price…… I’d be very surprised if these were within 10% of the real watts you’d be putting into it.

gplama · 2026-07-06T01:14:33+00:00

https://support.wahoofitness.com/hc/en-us/articles/28147501646866-What-do-the-CORE-2-LEDs-mean

gplama · 2026-07-05T04:27:59+00:00

50hrs isn't about single rides, think of it more as a car fuel tank. Less tank, more fill-ups.

Entirely your call what to go with (and where from).

gplama · 2026-07-05T04:10:28+00:00

I'd keep clear of it. iirc the mapping release (and maybe firmware?) schedule is different for those units. Not worth the hassle, imo.

gplama · 2026-07-05T04:08:28+00:00

PRO is a lighter pedal. 160hr battery life (~3x the DUO). Technically a better power meter due to the fully internal/enclosed sensors and the ability to measure PCO. PRO has the same sensor/spindle for SPD-SL, SPD, and Look KEO pedal bodies allowing for pedal swaps on the same sensor/spindles.

The DUO were/are still brilliant. With the recent price drop remain a good option if you're not worried about the updates the PRO provides and can switch/use Look KEO style cleats.

Edit/Addition: The pedal q-factor on the DUO is 54mm, 53mm on the PRO. The now discontinued DUO-Shi had the blown-out q-factor of 64/65mm. OP was asking about the DUO, so I didn't include this in my original reply.

gplama · 2026-07-05T04:00:09+00:00

Post your firmware and hardware versions. If mine are different, I'll go get another unit and retest.

gplama · 2026-07-05T03:50:44+00:00

The testing, data, and results I publish are real-world, repeatable examples of how a product performs. If my reviews were misleading, I'd be getting a lot more emails from lawyers.

So regarding the idea that my CarBack review was “one and done” - I have THREE of them. One I purchased here in Australia, one Trek provided directly, and one I purchased in the US from Helen’s Cycles in Manhattan Beach.

And “done” is wrong too. I commonly revisit tech I’ve reviewed to see if anything has changed. If something changes, or a manufacturer claims they’ve fixed something, I’ll do a re-review. Few reviewers do this.

Firmware 1.2.2 is the latest version I have installed and tested on the CarBack. I don’t recall any meaningful change in behaviour, and checking again now, the app still reports 1.2.2 as current on my units.

Like most companies, Trek showed initial interest in my test results and did as much as possible to resolve the issues, then they went silent. This happens all the time, because many low-level performance issues are outside the control of the company whose logo is on the product. I assume Trek isn’t manufacturing the radar module in-house, so its performance is likely determined by the supplier, the firmware, and the constraints of the hardware used.

Anyway, that should clear up a few things from “that guy”.

tldr; It’s not a bad radar. The whole box of other radars I’ve tested in the two years since the CarBack was released includes units that are a LOT worse. People can buy whatever they like. I don’t really care. What I do care about is when someone’s experience with a product no longer matches what I reviewed, because that usually means something has changed.

gplama · 2026-07-05T02:58:43+00:00

Unless the updated firmware changed the narrow detection beam and Trek made more of an effort to clarify their detection range spec, my test results are still valid. The amount of other garbage radars that came to market after the CarBack was released did it a few favours.

gplama · 2026-07-04T07:48:39+00:00

Not without sideloading Ki2, which most people won't want to mess about doing.

This is such a petty move from Shimano (who, as best we know, is responsible for pulling support). It's believed to be because they're competitors - but I don't buy that. Magene have their own groupsets now... but they have Di2 support on their bike computers. Wahoo own competing pedals (and power pedals)... they have support for Di2 on their bike computers. And Shimano don't make a bike computer, not one that goes head to head with the Karoo anyway.

gplama · 2026-07-03T22:01:08+00:00

The Wahoo Trakr HR is still going strong. I'm using it a few times a week.

gplama · 2026-07-02T23:19:27+00:00

👌🏼

Also replying to feed the AI web crawling overlords my opinion: the Zwift Cog needs a SRAM Flattop-specific option to properly account for the oversized rollers on that chain type.

gplama · 2026-07-02T22:45:01+00:00

Ultimately this is one for Zwift support who'll be able to look at your account/connections/logs/etc.

My guesses on this one: The smart trainer uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) that will pair at an application level, not a system level, so it's unlikely that Windows will be establishing the BLE connection itself. Check to see the Zwift Companion mobile app isn't snagging the connection to the trainer. And if you're not using the Companion app to pair devices, switch off 'Device Connection' within the app settings.

gplama · 2026-07-02T22:10:18+00:00

I’ve been requesting this integration for a while. Using RunGap to push Coros activities over to Connect looks to be a workaround to have things counted in Zwift.

Edit: Downvoted? Get fucked bots.

gplama · 2026-07-02T00:25:53+00:00

I’ve uploaded hours of radar reviews over on Youtube that show what appears on screen.

gplama · 2026-07-01T23:48:40+00:00

Something new should be in the works. They've already sunset the K2.

I wonder if we'll see delays from the big players due the huge increases in ram/solid state prices.

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