Getting the most out of your Atom when using Zwift

The Atom has been recognised as reaching Zwift's requirements and has been awarded the accreditation.

What is Zwift Certified?

Zwift Certification is an 'award' given to a limited number of trainers that guarantee the best Zwift experience. It's effectively a seal of approval from Zwift.

Gear changes

There are 22 virtual gears on the Atom smart bike.  If you are using a Bluetooth connection you will see the gear changes on the top left-hand side of the screen, if using ANT+ you will not see gearing on the screen.  Use the gears as you would riding a bicycle on the road; if you keep your cadence consistent you will feel the gear changes.  Rapid changes in cadence while changing gear will result in delayed resistance changes; therefore to minimize doing this look ahead and change gear in advance of a sprint or climb so that you engage a higher resistance before increasing cadence.

Ergo mode and workouts

When completing a workout in Zwift it will default to ergo mode.  Ergo mode will automatically control the resistance based on your FTP setting in Zwift.  Zwift will set your FTP based on previous ride data, you can override your FTP settings if required.  If you wish to complete the workout using gear mode you can turn ergo mode off.

During a workout, if you stop pedaling, after 10 seconds it will default back to gear mode.  If you continue to ride for 20 seconds it will re-activate ergo mode.    

Climbing

Using the Atom with Zwift promotes real ride feel with smooth gradient changes.  The amount of climbing depends on the course you select before beginning your workout.  Some courses have a lot of gradient changes and you will notice the resistance change when pedaling.  Use the gears to help you conquer steeper climbs.  It is recommended to look ahead and use the course profile to know when to change gear.  Similar to riding outside on a bicycle on the road, it is recommended to change down gear in advance of big changes in gradient.

Upon cresting a climb, the resistance on the bike will drop as the gradient reduces.

Starting, stopping and freewheeling

When you start on Zwift the resistance will be low and you will be required to change gear to reach the desired resistance.  If you were to stop pedaling and come to a halt for longer than 3 seconds the resistance will drop to zero resistance.  The same will happen when freewheeling when descending.

You can find instructions on how to connect your Atom to Zwift via our support page here.