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I’ve also dived back on Zwift in the last week. Hit Stage 1 of the ZRacing series at lunch … oh man I forgot how much these hurt. I still seem to be at the pointy end of cat C mind which is a positive.
Hoping the STW series return, anyone know if Robbo is planning another season at all?
Did my first ever Zwift race yesterday - the Alpe du Zwift one at 5:30
Can definitely see the attrction, holds your attention much better than just picking a workout.
However, I suspect that my 1x42t set-up with a bar end shifter is going to be woefully inadequate in flatter races, and I can''t face riding up that bloody hill too often. Does anyone use a 1x set-up for racinng and if so, what size ring are you using?
(also: stealth wtd ad for a 10spd SRAM double tap shifter)
I’ve had a couple of goes with a pace partner this week. Definitely an improvement on group rides! But annoying that you don’t get much chance to warm up.
Also scarily easy to get dropped- which helps keep your focus.
90 mins following a z2 pace partner is about a billion times more interesting than a TR z2 workout that’s for sure! And the result almost identical. (Slightly above, slightly below and ultimately averaging on your chosen wattage).
The lighter PP on a slightly hilly route helped that effect. Whereas the heavier one on a flatter route have a flatter power profile.
The lack of warm up is the only real negative to the pace partner. A nice addition would be pedal assist a a gradual reduction for 5 minutes.
I've been using the pace partners for pre event warmup and training. Also do intervals by dropping back and sprinting back on (or go off the front and recover while group catches).
You can just Free Ride the course where your desired PP is then wait for them to come round before joining them. Obviously works best on shorter circuits.
They've at least added the facility to be able to see where the PP is on the course now, it was almost impossible before - handy if you're trying to complete the badge for that course too and don't want to join them they've already just cross the finish.
Here's my current setup. Thinking of adding a kickr fan to replace the silver gym fan as it is noisy.
Short sub 20min events, sometimes with custom finishes and multiple races within the hour, do seem to gaining popularity of late in terms of number of events and number of riders.
Team Electric Spirit lunch sprints at 1215 mon-fri still going.
Mini Mountain Massiff TT is now a double-header with 30mins between race starts at 1200 and 1815 on Thurs (did 3 yesterday).
Zwift Insider quadruple-header with 15mins between race starts still going on Sat, starting 0900 and 1500 BST (hoping to attempt more than one after work tomorrow afternoon for a first time).
etc.
Am i the only one who spunked a load of cash on the Wahoo fan…..
i've got one, and the desk, but they don't really play together do they, the desk blocks the air flow as per DCRainmaker
did you know you can control it with a Wahoo head unit?
@n0b0dy0ftheg0at what cat. Hoping to join the 4 B events tomorrow afternoon.
did you know you can control it with a Wahoo head unit?
Is there any setting other than full for fans?
Does anyone use a 1x set-up for racinng and if so, what size ring are you using?
Yes, same as you 42T ring. Mostly use gears 10/11
Do you adjust the trainer difficulty at all?
No, 50%.
That gives me 300w at 78 cadence on flat.
Was just wondering if you ran out gears on the downhills. My understanding of the trainer difficulty is that by reducing it, you reduce the differences, but not the effort required.
Will see how I get on. Cheers!
Am i the only one who spunked a load of cash on the Wahoo fan…..
I’ve just put the bike back on the trainer and will be seeing how much my FTP has dropped tonight!
Defo gonna start Zwift racing properly, i did one Cat C last year and managed to win it!
I'm thinking of getting one if that helps!
Would you recommend one?
I'm a bit concerned that I don't have enough room to get it the right distance in front of me.
Just the right thread to get me back on the indoor trainer.
My setup, with no prizes to what I'll be doing in ten minutes or so.
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Even have the obligatory STW Lego on display.
Behind the bike for good measure is another toy with some inspiration that I need to use more.
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Think I finally cracked uploading pictures after years of posting here...
Elite Smart Trainer, Apple TV 4K, 42 inch TV and 20 inch fan.
Managed to do last winter by copying training rides from the internet, YT or blogs and adjusting the trainer resistance via the Elite App. Didnt fancy that this year so have picked up the Apple Tv, TV stand and set up a spare TV I had in the loft.
Question for those using Zwift, do you guys do your recovery rides in zwift and your zone 2 stuff? I MTB mainly so my outside rides count as my work outs and I'll sit on the trainer for the above, I had a scan through Zwift but couldnt see any recovery or base stuff in there...although this may be because the Apple TV remote with the touch is god awful, I am already regretting not spending the extra on the newer one with better remote!
I do my zone 2 stuff on zwift. Tend to join an appropriate pace partner instead of a workout.
Odd the Wahoo desk blocks the fan!
I've put a top-cap garmin mount on my turbo bike as even having my phone (with a garmin sticker thing) out front is enough to block airflow to my face significantly!
DrP
I do my zone 2 stuff on zwift. Tend to join an appropriate pace partner instead of a workout.
I've been interested in this, find it very hard to do recovery/endurance rides indoors, I think mainly because of the boredom (and the discomfort! Twiddling Z1 for an hour on the rollers actually gets uncomfortable after a while, too much weight through hands and bum instead of legs...).
Do you find it more bearable on Zwift? I wasn't sure if having a virtual partner and some fancy graphics would make it any less boring once the novelty had worn off
I'll be doing the 2nd race of the zwift racing series tonight, with Dino costume if there's enough people in that race, without if not!
Hoping to better my last result and get into the mid-pack, last week I was 72nd of 102 (final results on zwiftpower).
Then my 2nd ramp test as part of the TrainerRoad plan, 6 weeks of sweet spot base has ended, another 6 weeks ahead with a bit more variety.
And yes, doing endurance/z2 stuff with a pace partner is much more bearable than without.
Yes find the pace partner more bearable. Maybe because its me rather the ERG controlling the power and paying attention so you don't get dropped. The chat can sometime be good as well.
Do you find it more bearable on Zwift? I wasn’t sure if having a virtual partner and some fancy graphics would make it any less boring once the novelty had worn off
Yup...significantly...
Riding round with C Cadence pace partner seems to make time fly...
But as some have said... if you lose the group (i.e whilst texting!) then you REALLY gotta sprint to catch up!
DrP
But as some have said… if you lose the group (i.e whilst texting!) then you REALLY gotta sprint to catch up!
I've lost the group before and even doing massive watts they're impossible to catch!
Still, shouldn't be an issue if you're using the PP for Z2 work, just requires a little concentration to stay with them. And you can still vary your output by leading off the front (less draft) or by hanging back when a sprint is coming up then going for that with the added draft from the 'blob'.
Tried one of the Z Series races yesterday. Bloody hell! Hooked ;o)
1x42 was plenty and I dialled down the trainer difficulty to 30% to compensate for the variations in gradient. Seemed to work well but you don't get that instant feedback that the gradient's changing. Think I prefer the other extreme tbh and will try a 50t.
Barend shifter's being replaced by an old double tap too.
Got caught out by the category enforcement as well. I haven't tested since June and entered cat C thinking I'd be down on power. Combination of not being tactically aware enough yet and apparently not having lost power means it's cat B for me next time!
Maybe because its me rather the ERG controlling the power and paying attention so you don’t get dropped.
Aha, this makes it even more attractive, I'd probably be doing it on dumb rollers so would be based off virtual power anyway (yes yes, I know all the drawbacks etc. but that's just how I train). Might be reason enough to by a crank-arm power meter
I recently attempted to get back into zwift as my outdoor opportunities seem to be dwindling. However I cannot load the latest up date, I’ve tried several times and it’s either crashing or taking forever, I’ve removed the app and reinstalled and still can’t get it to work so held my subscription for now. In the mean time Ive tried other trainer apps like rouvvy and rcg but they just don’t same as good after a short try.
Anybody have any ideas of how to get zwift working again, I’ve never had an issue before.
Cycling wise I’ve gradually faded in fitness both endurance and FTP wise, my old shorter routes now feel twice as hard and are leaving me feeling knackered and I’m struggling to maintain 230/240 watts for any period of time. Well down from my old 327w whilst my weights increased.
Re the wahoo fan - it was a gift, i don't think it is worth the money.
Yes any desk gets in the way of it, but I also could not get it far enough in front of me to be where i wanted the air flow, and its a stupidly fixed position.
I put it up on the wall pointing down, which is ok if you have a wall, and it works well enough, but I usually just use the other fan as that is simple voice activated 'alexa, I'm dying here, get the fan on'.
I did the 4 ZI tiny races this Saturday, they were just right for me, somehow finishing 52nd in the league, a much coveted position, especially as ZP had me down as borderline c/d earlier this month.
I'll be doing the stage 2 race at 5:10 most days this week to see if I can improve.
Short sub 20min events, sometimes with custom finishes and multiple races within the hour, do seem to gaining popularity of late in terms of number of events and number of riders.
Team Electric Spirit lunch sprints at 1215 mon-fri still going.
Mini Mountain Massiff TT is now a double-header with 30mins between race starts at 1200 and 1815 on Thurs (did 3 yesterday).
Zwift Insider quadruple-header with 15mins between race starts still going on Sat, starting 0900 and 1500 BST (hoping to attempt more than one after work tomorrow afternoon for a first time).
etc.
About the only thing that will get me back on Zwift this year is I've been promised that we'll organise a custom race down the Alpe if the pen ever gets opened up. Sprint relax, sprint relax and repeat. Will fit in with the free 20km too...
Got caught out by the category enforcement as well. I haven’t tested since June and entered cat C thinking I’d be down on power. Combination of not being tactically aware enough yet and apparently not having lost power means it’s cat B for me next time!
I hope you enjoy putting out 400w for 2 minutes at the start... 🤣🥵
And a 700-1000w sprint at the end, of course!
🤢
I suppose it's one way to mimic those 'cross starts!
2nd race of the Zracing series done, in Cat B.
*Gasps
*Feints
*Throws up
*Sits shaking in his own pool of sweat
That. Was. Ridiculous.
Start was quite easy for a Cat B race. Was wondering why. Only had to do 400w for about 30 seconds then it settled in at a nice 250w or so. I was with the lead pack.
Then the rolling bits started, and the pace picked up. Then we hit the climb in the middle and I knew why everyone was saving themselves 🤣🤢🥵
I lost the main lead pack within sight of the top of the climb but by then I was in survival mode. Got dropped by a small chasing pack on the downhill as well, then joined a bunch of 6 or 7 until about 500m to go when 5 of them started sprinting for the line, I make a token sprint effort (still over 700w peak though!) with 300m to go and kept in front of the other 2 in my group without too much effort.
60th of 82 on zwift results, I'll check zwiftpower in a bit for the official results.
I’m in two minds about Zwift autocat.
On the one hand, I can see how people deliberately catting down can alter the dynamics of a race. (Even if later filtered out on ZP)
On the other, I think everyone is paying their subscription to use Zwift as a tool and sometimes, beating up on D’s might be motivation to train without going too deep 🤣🤣🤣
On balance I probably think it’s a good thing.
So with that in mind- I’m gonna take what Zwift gives me and “at current fatness” (and with not much recent racing) it actually let me race C in the w/kg Crit City race 🤣
What followed was a bit of a masterclass in how to properly ride a Zwift course. I was literally only spending watts where I needed and then coasting or drafting as much as possible.
It was quite a long one- 16 laps, and gradually the C’s started whittling down. I was really lucky with power ups! I skipped one lap to save a feather for the end but otherwise, had 14! The ‘Prime’ hill was of course the tough part but with the PU’s and a lot of watts, I was often in the top 3!
I would start near the front on the approach, then let half the field pass me on the cobbles and then launch once I had plenty of draft in front of me.
I’d use the Draft PU before the cobbles, the feather at the stone bridge, and save the aero until the top so it was still having an effect into the next descent.
A few attacks went but I was able to either coast into them and go with them whilst the field chased or follow the bunch back on.
Sadly, the amount of watts I needed to get up the hill each lap meant I had no sprint whatsoever. But I held the lead group to the line.
I’d have been 4th in A 🤣 Or 10th in B but won C.
And to prove how good my Crit skills were- I didn’t even break 3.2w/kg 😎
Annoyingly, I was still able to do 333np which shows it’s weight that’s my problem, not watts!
Ha that’s funny! One of the guys from our chaingang was riding! He usually beats me IRL too, although I did get him one once this year when I left the gravel bike at home.
He got me by two seconds in the sprint tonight 🤣
Did anyone race the WTRL last night on climbers Gambit? That was my first “crit” style race since October ‘21 (B), and boy was it brutal. As I train for long XC endurance it was a real shock to the system.
My description of it would be like tallpauls above - I hung on to the lead pack all the way through Titans grove then had a very and unusual sudden urge to puke on the penultimate hill needing 2 mins of recovery, hence lost the pack and spent 10mins working with two riders not to get chased down. Then, the Epic KOM…… which I rode at 95% of ftp, to come 42nd of 72!
Yes, I stupidly thought it would be a good idea/whim mid afternoon and found a team (go RHINOS) for 6pm launch.
I hadn't properly clocked the course. I was a few riders behind on the points on the first sprint - which was my only chance at FTS/FAL points, lost the front bunch on the mid-point climb, and then pretty much solo-ed to the start of the big climb in about 40th place, and dropped a couple on the way up. Got 14 points for the team, which is now 7th position.
It was - get this - 1:20 or thereabouts of effort, and there was not much cruising going on. I was not ready for this as my usual rides are of the 45 mins variety. Ouchie. I was also struggling with gear indexing in the lowest gears which I rarely use on a regular ride, having to go up two then down one every now and then. At one point I actually thought I should get off and push before I realised what I was thinking.
I think a rest day today.
I've managed to bust the battery cover on my TickrX HR monitor, so no racing for me until i replace it
Was a bit crap anyway - any recommendations for a replacement?
My tickr strap broke on one of the pop studs, bought a replacement from Amazon that was terrible so I ended up buying a Garmin HRM Pro which is a lot better as seems to lock onto a steady HR even without having to wet the strap.
a very and unusual sudden urge to puke on the penultimate hill
I had this on my race this morning! Also training for longer endurance efforts and havent dont a proper race for a long long time! It cost me the win as well - 200m from the line during my sprint! Ended up in 2nd place.
My Tickr has just gone back to Amazon as it just stopped working! Wouldnt get the same again based on the above comments and my own experience.
I've got the garmin bt/ant monitor....
I had the tickr but my sweat eroded the poppers!
Garmin is more comfy too...
DrP
I got irritated by my Garmin strap becoming unreliable and recently replaced it with a Tickr, which has been OK so far.
But I am not a bit concerned about the popper/sweet issue.
I also got a Coospo which is much less expensive and has been very good, except it will not talk to my iPhone on BT even though it will talk to other BT devices.
I had 2 garmin dual hrms - both worked fine to start with - but both stopped talking to my iPhone over Bluetooth a few months in. They were still connected and showed the battery but would not give a Heart Rate reading - so if you use them on Bluetooth I would not recommend that strap. Think it still worked on ant+ with my edge.
Luckily I bought from Halfords (if direct from garmin they’d say it’s your iPhone / app that’s the problem from forum research) and they swapped for a new one the first time and refunded me the 2nd time.
I bought a Tickr hr strap and so far so good. If this one implodes maybe I’ll try a coospo or a polar.
I've an optical tickr (tickr fit). Goes in my forearm. It's a lot more comfortable.