Zwift’s January 21st update added steering for the Wahoo KICKR Bike, but Wattbike Atom riders were surprised to discover it also added a steering bug to their setups!
Wattbike’s Atom smartbike is being automatically paired in the pairing screen as usual – except steering is also being automatically paired up, just like what happens for Wahoo KICKR Bike users. Wattbike Atom users first thought this meant they had steering capabilities – but they were dismayed to get into the game and discover that clicking a steering button places them into a never-ending u-turn instead of steering them properly.
Here’s a Zwift forum topic on this subject >
Poking around various forums, it appears that:
- Wattbike has signed the steering exclusivity contract with Zwift which was also signed by Wahoo and Elite, so Atom steering is definitely in development and users will get steering capabilities soon
- Wattbike Atom testing code which should have only been active for Zwift’s internal QA team was pushed out in the public January 21 release
Fortunately, there’s a fairly simple fix – even though you’ll have to do it each time you ride, until Zwift releases a fix. The good folks at Wattbike reached out to me in hopes that I could help get the word out to any Wattbike riders on Zwift, explaining that they “are working with Zwift to get fixed as soon as possible.”
The Fix
How to disable the steering function on Wattbike+Zwift to preserve your riding experience:
- Launch Zwift
- On pair devices screen, pair your Wattbike Atom as usual but leave steering enabled
- Start ride session
- While within the ride, open the menu and hit “Pair” for the pairing screen (the “A” keyboard shortcut will also get you there)
- Deselect steering
- Exit the menu/return to the ride
- The bike and game will then function normally.
Here’s a video example from Wattbike user Darren Rhodes:
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