Hi Alex - thought I’d pop in and ask how your effort is coming along to integrate directly with the Echelon EX-5 (no screen; no firmware updates). I’m getting ready to start wintertime training.
Sorry this was buried under something with another title so I moved it to its own thread to keep visibility up. Sorry, just been slammed. I really really want to do this, this is one of the most popular bikes with a non-standard protocol. Let me try to review the qz code to see how scary it is this week.
Ok, so I looked at this. Its much more complicated than I assumed, but I still really like it. The thing is I would need to work closely with you to implement it. It appears I can do this with no risk to others and the chances are it we could get it working quickly. I can first build an emulator that works like your bike so in theory, you just try it and tell me it works.
The reason it is complicated is we need to build our own ERG logic, normally this is built into the bike. we need to map resistance levels to power output vs cadence. And send the right resistance levels. Its a bit like our hr+ logic…
Hi Alex,
What would I need to do? I think part of the challenge I’ve had is because of the TD<->QZ<->bike complexity. While Roberto’s app was an absolute game changer for me (I couldn’t really use the bike at all initially), cutting out that middleman would be helpful, and I’m committed to TD as my training platform at this point, so I’m happy to help figure this out. I am not actively training for anything at the moment, so it’s a good time for experimentation.
Marc
It should be minimal amount of your time just some quick 5 minute tests or less, could be a the start of your workouts. By far the best for me is some quick instant messaging conversations. Telegram preferred. I started working on it but first let me get the emulator working. Now that I know you are willing I will get busy.
Hi Marc, I have not forgotten about you. I know it is peak indoor season. If you are still interested in working with me on this, I have a second solution. It’s basically a desktop version of QZ. The good thing is you can jus click on it to start and it does not change IDs so, it’s instant connect. I even left it running for days and then I don’t need to start it.
I just did it for my bike for now, but I could add Echelon. I never loved the dual device QZ solution. I like this a lot better for me. Meaning totally happy with this. We would need to work together for testing if you are still interested.
Marc, I realized this Dircon, Wahoo technology that QZ supports, handles the biggest pain point which is changing device IDs. So you turn on QZ, you turn on our app and it just works. We are adding support for Dircon, which also may benefit Wahoo Kickr 6 owners. It may be even possible on an Android device that you run QZ and our app on the same device. Supposedly that works, but I haven’t tested it. I’m also working on building something like QZ that assists in this process and makes it less painful. I’m not sure if we’ll launch it soon or what. I have it working for my bike. So I run this app on my desktop, but I can just leave it running all the time. And then I just hop on my bike and open our app, and it just works as long as my desktop is running.
