SB20 - Dropping Connections!
The SB20 smart bike uses both Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and ANT+ to wirelessly communicate with apps like Zwift. You can get communication drop outs and glitches. Here's how to fix them. Background ANT+ was the dominant fitness protocol prior to 2020. While there is nothing wrong with ANT+, most wireless development and testing in the past 5 years has focused on the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol. Stages wrote the firmware for the SB20. It preforms 3 primary wireless functions: a) Controls bike resistance - usually as requested by an app like Zwift. ? b) Gets power and cadence readings from the power meter cranks. c) Sends updates to apps like Zwift. Includes power and / or cadence depending on how you configure the app. Stages did not write the firmware components for doing wireless BLE or ANT+ communication. It was written by Nordic Semiconductor who manufactured the main system processor. They have spent more time on their BLE components in the past decade. Th...