The road bike may be 130mm rear. The turbo is more likely made for 135mm.
It’s still a step too far. I’d feel dirty just looking at it.
You can get reasonable sized old monitors for cheap as well that'll take VGA. If your near Southampton I've a 19" one in my garage ready to freecycle. Yeah not much different to the laptop but gives better choice of position and makes it easier to move the laptop away/back for other usages.
my TT bike is going on my kickr core soon.
only way to get used to position again is to train in position.
looking at a rocker plate though .... got numb nuts for the first time the other day.
Yeah I get that as well. Have to remember to have short out of the saddle periods to avoid it.
I stuck. 2 Lengths of backer rod front to back on the left and right side of my trainer (kickr core) and it's just isolated me from the solid concrete floor and significantly reduced the vibrations.
No numb bits 🙂
Today is the kiss 2km sprint pursuit series.
4*2km starting at 10:05
Did one last week. Good fun
They'll be killers!
I did a race the other day and it's not helped my leg issues at all. So for a while now I'll be out of the racing scene I think.
I've got a deep tissue massage this week to see if it helps, along with getting some ideas as to whether it's needing weeks off completely. I'm not 100% against taking a month off if it will fix things.
Stretching the calves seem to make it more delicate than not stretching so not sure about plan.
You were right.
Singularly. Easy.
First one was 400w+ ....second was 399ish.....3rd was 389.
Can't do 4th as a mate is on his way round with his kids to see the little one so I have to be presentable apparently.
Did you ever lower your saddle ? I had issues with tight calves and Achilles in my youth....mostly stemming from a fashionably high saddle and an equally stupid *slammed * stem. -as I grew up I realised it was both detrimental to my performance and looked utterly rediculous.
Sorry to here your injured weeksy. A few years ago I had a calve strain from running that would not go away. The normal calve stretch did nothing for it. Wasn't until I found a different stretch that targeted a different bit of the muscle that it improved.
looking at a rocker plate though …. got numb nuts for the first time the other day.
Good call. I built one up from a Coplate kit and it makes a big difference. The other thing I added was the swivelling, turntable-type Kurt Kinetic front wheel block. It just feels more natural that the front wheel can turn. Hard to explain but it does seem to work.
The new Saris rocker plate looks the biz - has fore and aft movement as well as sideways, but insanely expensive with it.
Also, if you've ever looked at the Wahoo Kickr Desk and thought it looked great apart from the ridiculous £200 price-tag, check out the Lifeline Trainer Table at Wiggle, which is 75 quid, super solid and basically does exactly the same as the Wahoo one at less than half the price.
Nixie? Elaborate?
I did 55km MTB ride today and that's fine. But on Zwift I'm a lemon it seems.
Did you ever lower your saddle ? I had issues with tight calves and Achilles in my youth….mostly stemming from a fashionably high saddle and an equally stupid *slammed * stem. -as I grew up I realised it was both detrimental to my performance and looked utterly rediculous
Yes, but I'm not sure if I've allowed enough recovery yet to judge effectively if things are working or not.
Essentially, I'm going to MTB and Zwift in a non racing context until winter, see where I am. If it's rubbish I'll take November off to fix it.
Ended up doing the 3r tick tock race tonight.
Let the wife out on bike this morning.....baby's first bottle and daddies first feed haha.
Tick tock was tough. Another pb in power. FTP seems to still be climbing.
Came 3/18 in B group
Need to drop some kgs in the kitchen and my w/kg would actually be respectable.
Need to stop just racing and do some actual training on it......I'll still be saying that in march.
Weeksy, I'll try and find a link to the stretch online and post it up.
What trainer difficulty setting do you all use when training and racing? I know the theory behind the slider should mean that it will take the same amount of accumulated watts to get up a gradient and you in essence will be just changing gear more often but it still makes a big difference.
Now Tacx have replaced my trainer I have decided to leave it on the maximum setting for a while but did wonder if people dropped it for races or if it is dropped automatically to circumvent any advantage gained by setting it to the minimum for a race.
Mines on 50%. I know some use closer to 0% for racing so the effort is flattened out. I think having it on 100% can produce undesirable effects going down hill causing you to loose contac with packs more easily.
50-55% for me roughly.
I think mine is set to around 50% as well.
Got a new turbo bike this weekend. A Cheap £70 ebay job but not bad and the drivetrain is fine which is all that matters for the turbo anyway!
All set up now in its permanent home so makes it easier to Zwift and keep up the commute. 42% of the way through the Zwift Academy so will finish that off now that my weeks holiday has finished!
Mines at stock setting.
Must say I don't change gear much save climbing epic Kom or to the radio mast.
It is strange, previously I had used the default setting but today's ride around InnsbrookRing felt tougher, produced a lower average watts summary for the hour however the distance completed for the hour was roughly comparative to previous runs around the same course.
This was the first ride back so a while, first go at maximum difficulty and on a new trainer so this one result needs to be taken with a pinch of salt but I shall carry on with the trainer difficulty setting to see how I progress (or regress).
See below for info on trainer difficulty
https://zwiftinsider.com/using-the-trainer-difficulty-setting-in-zwift/
I've just spent an hour in a torture chamber.... Well i think that's what it was.... She called it a massage table.
Apparently it's as you'd expect, a shortening of the muscles which work between/joining the achilles to the calf muscle, it's massively common on cyclists due to the exercise and repetition we do in our form of exercise.
She says there's nothing major in an injury context and the massage along with some dedicated stretching should be getting me back to form fairly easily. I wouldn't say it was a pleasant experience, but if it works and means i can cycle without pain again in the coming weeks/months, then i'm more than happy to throw a few quid her way and see how it gets on.
@weeksy. Think the stretch that worked for me was #4 (Standing Soleus Stretch) on this page; https://www.foot-pain-explored.com/calf-stretches.html
She wasn't keen on static stretches for me at the moment, closer to 1 on the link above with a couple of variations. But thanks for the info 🙂 I need to get a stretchy band thing, unless the wife has one
Decathlon is cheap for those I think.
Apparently it’s as you’d expect, a shortening of the muscles which work between/joining the achilles to the calf muscle, it’s massively common on cyclists due to the exercise and repetition we do in our form of exercise.
How apt. After a 12 year gap I started riding properly again and guess what - intense pain in my heel where the Achilles joins. Physio gave me some exercises (eccentric calf lowers on one leg) and it seems to have cleared up. Never had it before when I used to ride 250 miles every week...
NB On the Zwift front I now have a Blue Tooth 4 USB dongle for my aging MBP, so hopefully it will talk to my turbo now....
She was saying that the ******** muscle just felt rock hard... this is a little one sort of at the bottom of the bulge in the calf, it's just been over-worked, under stretched and was basically a bit stuck. She doesn't think it's a major issue and doesn't need physio or doctors, just the correct massage, movement etc and i should be able to get back to some sort of proper riding. A bit of ice after longish rides, along with RICE and the stretching.
im sure i mentioned it before but do not underestimate the fact that your back is probably knotted tight.
the weak point for when this pulls tight is your achillies IME.
I suffered for near a year with this.
Some squatting / dead lifts strength work and other assorted stretching on my lower back worked wonders where targeted physio on my lower legs failed.
Ive been pain free for 10+ years now EXCEPT when i slip into bad habits of not doing strength work and stretches on my lower back.
Thank you. I'll listen to all advice.
She did 15 mins on back and neck too, she commented instantly how tight that was and I do suffer from stiff neck etc at times.
The last few months and indeed few days has highlighted a few areas to me that I need to focus on linger term. Core strength, back and even overall strength are on that list too. For example I reckon at a push I could do 5 press ups. Yes really
to be fair .... i cant do more than 5 at a time either.....
can how ever incline plank until i get fed up.
my TT bike is going on my kickr core soon.
only way to get used to position again is to train in position.
looking at a rocker plate though …. got numb nuts for the first time the other day.
I asked about training in position on a timetrialling forum recently (because I really struggle to hold position inside, but am OK outside) and got told by several experienced testers that it was a waste of time for the vast majority of turbos, too different a pedalling action to be any use.
Surprising if true - I had assumed training power delivery in position would be hugely beneficial to testing.
Tell that to Jason MacIntyre. Most of them couldn't hold a candle to him.
The kickr is as per riding my regular bike. Plus as it measures power I can play with the position and measure the power
Tonight was the first 60k of vegan cyclists 100+1 ride. Some pace those boys go at. Stuck with the front group knowing I was only doing 60 of the 100 and we averaged 42.7kph for 1.5hrs. on the same course (tick tock) in a 19k 1 lap race on Sunday I only managed 43.2kph with the main pack.
Well I'm 1/3 happy, 1/3 angry and 1/3 hopeful.
Earlier this week I had a deep tissue massage and she told me the reason, the cause and the fix for my calf issues that have basically wiped me out from a decent performance level for 2+ months.
Wednesday and Thursday I was in bits, my legs were sore, but Thurs evening I noticed a drop in pain and on to feeling ok actually. By this morning they were feeling better than they have in months. So I did a 10km outdoor trail ride to test the legs and the Shockwiz, felt good.
This afternoon I did 20 mins on Zwift and now they still feel good!
I'm angry because I should have got this sorted ages ago, the muscles have not been torn, strained etc, just needing a bit of fixing.
Tomorrow will be more telling as it's a longer one planned. I'm not expecting the fix to work 100% just yet, but the signs are positive at least.
The new Yorkshire area is live, some nasty climbs, especially on the reverse route! Slight downer is how boringly straight the roads are away from Harrogate centre.
GPlama reckons it has replaced Wattopia for the day by default, but you can always use a hack to select it whenever.
Slight thread hijack and apologies if this has been covered earlier I really don’t have time to go through a 287 page thread but I do have a couple of questions
What smart trainer are folks using ?
And
How much noise do they make ?
A few years ago I tried an old school wheel on turbo but it was just far too noisy, I live in a ground floor flat with carpets over wooden floorboards and thought it would be fine ,... how wrong was I
Partly I suspect due to the cellar below acting like a drum 😏
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated
Sure it's not just the guest world of the day. Watopia has always been available since they added the guest world feature about 6 months ago. Tends to default to the guest world iirc.
fatoldgit - I'm not an expert but I think generally the wheel-off trainers are quieter, and of those the Neo (old one, thnk there's a new one out now) was supposedly the quietest. Was also pretty much the most costly.
can cinfirm that the kickr core and kickr are both as close to silent as your going to get .
the drive train on my bike and the fans makes more noise than the kickr
Im stuck using a wattbike pro here offshore - really missing the erg mode for workouts.
I'm trying the 11:10 am race. Bit too hilly for me so just a decent effort would be nice
Im offshore. Have a wattbike but not got the bandwidth to zwift.
nor does it have the cooling. i did 40 minutes of over unders last night via the WATTbike app and nearly dissolved onto the floor.
its also a hellish racket compared to the wahoo.
Well the race went, errrm ok I guess
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=218144
5th in C isn't where I wanna be, but it's where my power and fitness puts me on a course with a hill in it, even if not steep. I spent plenty of time in the lead group, then more with lead C group, but once we hit that hill, it was all over, even at my peak I'm not up to beating the lightweight boys.
It was though my 3rd day off consecutive riding, which I've not managed for many many moons, with both yesterday and today being hard efforts. Legs are tired, but calf feels ok.
it’s where my power and fitness puts me on a course with a hill in it,
Try braking less on the descents and taking a better line...
What smart trainer are folks using ?
And
How much noise do they make ?
I bought an Elite Zumo the other day (£450 @ Halfords), very quiet - fan is noisier than the turbo, the wheel off things are completely different to old school tyre rubbing based things...
5th in C isn’t where I wanna be, but it’s where my power and fitness puts me on a course with a hill in it,
perfect time to do some targeted training? on your way back to fitness, sacrifice a race for a vo2 max workout?
Meh, I'm not a workout kind of guy matey.
Currently focusing on 5-2 diet as well, so expect performance to suffer due to that anyway. If I can keep this problem under control and up the training along with dropping some lard, I'll get back to where I need to be
Did my last obligatory Zwift Academny race last night (you have to do 4 races or rides - I have only done races as the rides seem a bit pointless).
It was 6 laps of the La Guardia route. Sitting on the line 10 seconds before the start spinning up to the start and the plastic clip on chain ring guard came of on my bike (I brought a second hand zwift bike). Anyway that ruined my start and it was about 30 seconds down before I actually started by the time I jumped of the bike, removed it and got back on.
That meant I was right at the back and not in any group but it gave me the opportunity to catch people up so I used that as the focus. There was always someone about 10-15 seconds ahead of me so it was a series of mini races catching riders up which took me all the way up to the final lap.
If it hadn't been a Zwift Academy race but as I needed to complete a final race in any case I stuck with it and had a good time. Normally I am with a fast group at the start, run out of steam mid way through and then spend the rest of the race on my own apart from the odd person that catches me so this was more motivating for the whole of the race. Also the performance was a lot better than last time I raced the course on the 16th August.
Numbers have increased a follows (on exact same circuit and length of race)
avg 2.1 w/kg to 2.2 w/kg
NP 244W to 251W
1min power 2.8 w/kg to 3.0 w/kg
15s power 3.5 w/kg to 4.1 w/kg
Most importantly to achieve that my HR was a lot lower.
Avg HR was 171 bpm to 162 bpm
Max HR was 182 bpm to 173 bpm
Got 3 workouts left to complete the entire academy. Tonight is Workout 6 - Chase the Breakaway
https://whatsonzwift.com/workouts/zwift-academy-2019/6-chase-the-breakaway/
Also rode the Yorkshire Ciruit on Warmup. The little circuit looks like it could be OK for some shorter races with a few small ups and down to attack on.
Nice little write up matey 🙂
How long do the races last?
shortest is 5km (some 2kms actually). Up to 3 hours.... and everything in between.
I'd say an average is about 55-60 mins. I generally pick slightly shorter. Mine are usually 35-45 mins.
The Saturday morning kiss 2km sprint series is quite tough....
One 2k sprint at 450watts isn't too bad.
2 is sore
3 results in output dropping to 395-400
4th results in 380-390
Most of the others I pick are about 30k
After a couple of weeks off the bike due to having my collarbone pinned back together Doc has said I can do some gentle indoor cycling.
Rather than just ride along slowly I lowered my ftp numbers by 30% and did one of the ZA workouts using the new Yorkshire course.
Nice to be back on the bike, prior to break was getting very close to an enforced upgrade to B, looking forward to building the fitness up again once fully mended.
ramp test this morning, 285w, in line with recent outdoor/zwift race efforts
best 5 minute power of 2019 at 349w, and 8th best in all my years of using power meters (everything else in the top 10 in 2014/15 and i guess slightly inflated by running stages during those years, on Quarqs now)
Hi,
Do the smart interactive trainers (wheel on) make a real difference to the experience?
i.e A smart trainer can be had for around 150 but the ones with the electronic brake cost nearer 400+
Would i feel a huge difference to my enjoyment of the 'game' between say a Tacx Flow/Satori etc and say a Bushido?
I'd say yes myself. I'm not convinced anyone who has tried one will actually say no.
It works perfectly well in 'dumb' mode, can't argue that, but when you hit hills, you want clicks .
Erg mode you mean ? For me that's a game changer.
Even being out here with a watt bike without erg mode is ruining my motivation. Much easier to complete an work out when the choice is removed from you/your legs.
I can't see why you'd buy a non smart turbo now. They are so much more interactive. Other than cost I also can't see why you'd buy a wheel on trainer either.
Erg mode is great if you want to do workouts.
Much easier to complete an work out when the choice is removed from you/your legs
Until you can't keep on top your cadence!
ERG mode is keeping me going at the mo, the rear derailleur cable snapped recently and with screwing the high limit screw right in I've just about got the 16T sprocket... Which in free-riding is easy/hard on the flat with 34/50 respectively, but makes anything more than approx 6% incline a major grind.
Until you can’t keep on top your cadence!
Ride fixed enough to not know the meaning of these words 🙂
did the Über Pretzel today, 5h 25m and 128km of unpleasantness finishing at the top of AduZ, never pushed on in any respect but was still smashed by the time i got to the foot of the climb, which took forever as i was trying to stay under 200w
https://zwiftinsider.com/uber-pretzel/
not in a hurry to do that again
You crazy crazy boy!
How is that Zumo working out for you? It sems a good price for an interactive direct drive but I can't find any info on it apart from an old DC rainmaker post about how he had problems with powerspikes...
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=219742
Zwift race doesn't give a true representation of the event, not sure how so few were in the end results, we had 20 in C LOL. I finished 6th i think but even Zwift companion isn't showing it... Race started pretty well with a 25 mins warm up at a decent pace, then sat in the lead group until 19 mins in and a couple of Cs were ridiculous, one of them averaging 4.5w/kg LOL... seriously. But they pulled away from us and left a group of 2, me and 1 bloke, we did a lap and a guy we'd dropped caught us at an ideal moment as i'd lost my riding mates wheel by 3s and he towed me back in. 5km to go on the layout it's a 3-4% drag, i lost their wheel there and didn't power on for it, i was cooked. Cruised to the end for a result.
My power and performances are FAR from inspiring me at the moment, but all i can do it train, diet and train some more...I'm getting better slowly.... But i'm a chunk away from my best days. I'd say i'm a good 30w down on my 45 mins power from my best... Which isn't ideal. But we can get it back 🙂
Tema DiDa Zwift Academy Race this morning, 2 laps CCW of the volcano, with a 5km lead in, always going to be quick, got in a good little group at the start, 16 in it, got away pretty quick from anyone else, 100+ in the race, held a feather for the last lap, but never know where to play it, everyone else seems to do it on the small climb into the volcano, but i did mine later, on the ramp for the line when everyone is "sprinting", couple got a second on us, did a couple on the line, 5th in B and 7th overall, 294w for 18:18, and best 1 minute power in a zwift race (468w)
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=222439
Yorkshire Power Up Tour: Sprinter Stage next at 13:10
That looks like it was a good battle !
doubling up is always hard, first race on the Queen's Highway in Yorkshire, i think it went the opposite direction when i spun round it the other day
was meant to a aero only power up, but some kept getting feathers which clearly helped on the short climbs,
big crowd, everyone as "A", initially went with the front group about 20-25/181, but got shelled 1st lap up the climb, settled into the 2nd group, which grew and grew, collected up some riders in the 6 laps, was always towards the back or trying to get on as we went through the finish banner, but then was able to bridge back on the downhill, was about cooked by the time we rounded the corner for the last rise to the finish, used my aero there, managed to claw back some places, 30/181 on the companion app, 8 in front of me within 8 seconds, 6 behind me within 8 seconds, so mid pack, but the bunch just exploded all over with people going early/late in the last km which rises 30m in 1km, so not a wall by any means,
22/110 in ZP
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=220958
Looks like I did similar to dirty rider today! First was the za (women's) race round the volcano. Stuck with the front group for about half of it then came in 7th.
About 50 minutes off the bike and then back on for the power up event. I wasn't intending to race this but got pulled along a bit at the start. Unknown for me I was actually sitting 3rd in the ladies (B) category and the race had commentary from Nathan Guerra so he focussed on me for a bit.
I've been on zwift for years (there was only one route when I signed up!) But have drifted away from it a bit - doing ZA has got me enjoying it again though. A neo and finally sorting out my ant dropout issues have also helped...
That's mighty impressive! Well done.
Heads up if your monthly Zwift sub renews in the next few days...
Cancel it asap!
There's a new Strava challenge up starting in six days, ride 177 miles over two weeks inside or out for a free month of Zwift code.
Sod's law, mine renewed a few days ago!
Lol for £13? Meh.
I'm planning 2 rides today, firstly i'm going to shoot outside on the Merida for a 45 mins test ride, then back indoors for a short 13.5km race at 4pm. Volcano CCW and a big field, so at the very least it will be quite interesting. I'll get my ar** handed to me on a plate on the kick to the line, but i should do OK apart from that as long as i can keep my HR under control that is and not go off too hard.
any of the regulars in here want a 1 month trainer road coupon?
@dirtyrider. I will have a go if you don’t mind? Struggling with the training plans on Zwift so want to try some more structured training.
messaged you
Thanks dirtyrider.
I completed a ramp test last night. I last did one on the 14th August and in that time I have completed Zwift Academy. I wanted to see if my FTP had improved.
Originally I got 242, but last night I got 260 so an increase of 7.5% which isn't bad really.
My only issue now is which training plan to look at next. I am going to give Trainerroad a go as the Zwift workouts don't seem to have the quality of the Zwift Academy workouts. I think the L'etape du tour ones look OK but a lot of the others don't look great or require you to be doing it day in day out which I cant commit to with work and family life.
Sweet Spot Base 1 then 2 then move onto build
From using it last 2 years I've gone down to the low volume plans and bump up the TSS with other rides outside or races on Zwift.
Well that's this year plan anyway.
Depending on your current volume of riding aim at low or mid from there. I found having too many planned trainer sessions was a recipe for failing and missing too much. From the low volume plan I'm intending to do 1 of the midweek sessions and 1 of the weekend sessions. Weekdays would then have a steady MTB ride outdoors and hopefully a race. Weekend will hopefully add a longer outdoor ride in. If needs be I'll add a TR session in if I'm going to miss something.
My only issue now is which training plan to look at next. I
this is sort of where i am, bit of a crossroads,
did the 4DP Sufferfest test on 30th July - said i was weaker on the Vo2 Max stuff, so knowing i had the Hope Marathon after 5 weeks i thought id concentrate on that, so did (and i know it was August and should have been outdoors more, but ive got kids and the holidays, so squeezing in an hours turbo was easier to balance)
Week 1 - 4DP, 2x Vo2 Sessions plus 1 2 Hour Outdoor Ride -
Week 2 - 4x Vo2 Sessions
Week 3 - 4 1/2x Vo2 Sessions plus a smash up Zwift Mountain
Week 4 - 2x Vo2 Sessions, 2x Zwift Races plus a 2 Hour outdoor ride
Week 5 - Recovery Ride, Outdoor Crit, 2x Recovery Rides, an Opener and the Hope MTB Marathon
Week 6 - Recovery Week - 123km of light work
Week 7 - Ramp Test, Vo2 Session, Uber Pretzel, Recovery Session, Sweetspot Session
Week 8 (This week) - 2x Zwift Races, 1x Vo2 Session
4DP had me at 256w, the Ramp Test at 285w,
maybe looking at low volume Short Power Build rather than Sweetspot Base, plus chucking in some zwift races and some outdoor cross/long road rides, ive deffo seen improvement over the last 8 weeks, i just don't want to get through the next 8 and find im in the same place,
I think the point is what are you training for in 8 weeks time?
If you just want to see FTP improvement it would appear if you lean towards something you don't do much of, say V02 max, you'll see improvement but if you're aiming at events in early Spring you want to be starting your base training phase in the next month.
I find I don't get far through build and speciality on TR properly as interest is waining and the weather has improved so I'm leaning to go outside and have fun. Therefore intending to start a month earlier this year and see where it get's me to. IN theroy if I can stick the entire training cycle I'll peak too early but It would be nice to see what gains that gives me and it's not going to go away and therefore should be faster/stronger in spring anyway.
Oh also only do one form of FTP test as in doing 2 that are giving different results is going to mess with your head. I'd also lean to using whichever one the training software uses. ie 4dp for sufferfest. TR ramp test for TR. Or a standard 20 minute test. I find for me the TR ramp test equates pretty close to power on a 23minute TT.
My plan is to start TR on Sunday with a ram test (can see how it compares to Zwift) and then start a low volume plan from there with the base build. I am going to run alongside Zwift to start with to compare the two (with TR controlling the ERG). Hopefully will keep me more entertained as well.
I don't have anything to specifically train for currently so looking for general improvements and weight loss going into the winter.
BTW I really enjoy the Trainerroad podcast which is one of the reasons I want to give TR a go as I learn a lot of there and find it informative (as well as making the days at work go quicker). The zwift podcast on the other hand comes across as awkard (I think because the presenters aren't all in the same room). Greg Henderson and Kevin Paulton are good but Matt Rowe speaks too much diluting the information you can get from them.
Oh also only do one form of FTP test as in doing 2 that are giving different results is going to mess with your head. I’d also lean to using whichever one the training software uses. ie 4dp for sufferfest. TR ramp test for TR.
i know, i initially started with sufferfestm, but after a month i didn't see me just repeating the workouts id done, there's only so many times you can watch the videos i guess, so jumped ship to TR
I think the point is what are you training for in 8 weeks time?
nothing really, just an improvement in myself