kryton, I'd sign on as a C and learn the courses and "tactics" - nobody'll care if you overperform; the computer might cancel your result but so what? It has no carry-forward penalty
Always wondered this... What does the figure in orange mean? Female riders or something?
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Trump voters
Quick question, I did a ride in Watopia yesterday, 25min climb up to a KOM, then it dropped and climbed again (why) anyway I looked at Strava segment and people I can put 2mins on over a 7min climb are getting up these climbs on Zwift only 30s or so slower than me. Is my set up borked or something?
It could be you, it could be them. They might be weight doping - ie: under-estimating their real weight. Or have an absurdly optimistic power source. It could be you: you might have an under-reading trainer (yes to calibration). It could be both. It could be that they have got fitter. Or in the real world you have a much lighter, faster bike.
Are you running a decent fan? Power output falls off markedly as you get hot and that's before you factor in any potential dehydration.
There are lots of variables, both your own and other people's. The most obvious one from your point of view is whether your trainer is accurately measuring power. You can't really control what other people do 🙂
Poop...it's the zwifters you follow, it means they are in that event.
^^ Ah, cheers bud!👍
kryton, I’d sign on as a C and learn the courses and “tactics” – nobody’ll care if you overperform; the computer might cancel your result but so what? It has no carry-forward penalty
Ok thank, I think my lack of tactics knowledge will be quite detrimental!
Yes I'd go C and see how you go.
If ZP then says you're a B be a B.
anagallis_arvensis
MemberI’ve only Zwifted 3 times! Never looked at power before. Weigh 71kg currently.
I’ll give a c a go.
As a reference; I weigh 72kg and race in B category. My last race was a flat 37km and I averaged 279w ... in the 17km Stage5 race prior to that I averaged 292w. Whilst on occasion I have got podium finishes, these have typically been in slower races. When there is a good field of B riders I typically finish well outside the top 15.
Point to remember is that there are a lot of zwifters who are strong enough to race in A cat - but choose to race B to be at sharp end collecting cups. So they can sit comfortably just under the B cat limit, and them smash an A cat like sprint to finish.
Well I free wheeled down a hill in the stw meet up today and the turbo switched off and wouldnt reconnect!!
Crikey it's busy in there! After suitably freaking myself a week past Monday I've given it a rest until today. Did the basic circuit of the island. Z1 / Z2 took 26 minutes, bit in Z3 by accident and had to back down. Since it's better than last time I'm happy. I'll give it a go in another go in a couple of days - time to start the road to rebuild.
Well that surprised me! Did a B Cat race up the Alpe today, only just stepped up to B and a field of 600+ across all cats, so didn't have high hopes.
First time racing up there and using the avg power on the segments to help me treat it as a ftp test. Was feeling strong and had the motivator of getting in the top 100 on the road to keep me plugging away.
Finish up with increasing FTP from 247 to 265. So was pretty chuffed, just checked back in on ZwiftPower and looks like everyone above me was bumped/dq-ed and I got the gold as well.
Pretty shocked to be honest!
Finally got stage 5 out of the way, pooling as I've felt rubbish all day (back to bed from 1000 until 1400). Strangely high numbers from Direto power compared to my 4iiii, approx +35W, but I'm not competing so I carry on...
After race I launch Elite app to do calibration check and something goes "click." Now no resistance, not even sure flywheel is turning so maybe belt gone but I'm too tired to look tonight, but it appears my turbo is at least temporarily dead after not using it for a week. :/
New to Zwift and got a problem I can't find an answer to.
My set-up is a Wahoo Kickr, with a mountain bike on it - so mountain bike gearing. I want to ride in group road rides but find that with the MTB gearing, I cannot get enough power out to keep up. I have turned the feature that makes it harder in settings up to 100%, which helps a bit but not enough: On the flat, I'm spinning out in top gear finding it impossible to keep up with groups.
Is there a way to set up so that I can start off with more resistance on rides (ie pre-loading my Kickr in some way?) so that my work in any one gear has to be higher, and then this would translate to speed?
What front ring mate ? I run a 38T on my MTB setup and can win C races regularly, my average W in a race is 280-295w.
As far as i know, no, you cannot do what you're asking.
It's a 36 Weeksy. There's no issues once we start climbing, it's on the flat I'm having problems. When you see it on screen, it looks like I'm riding a Boris Bike in The Tour the way everyone flies past me
and im back here,
christmas/break/uni exams took me to Feb,
so thought about bit of structure, target hammers8 at Hamseterly in late April, lost some kg just by eating better, but that's creeping back with what being locked in and drinking a bit too much after crowd control of 4 challenging under 9's during the day, but its justified !!
did Traineroad SSBLVII, then just 2 of the sustained power build workouts, before flying out to NYC on the 13th March, almost got Trumped with his outward EU ban on the 11th, in and out and home by the morning of the 17th, a beautiful weekend was had, and in retrospect, probably one of the last people to get a weekend break away for who knows long, we needed it, quite odd being there while it was gradually shutting up shop around us.
back, all events cancelled, traineroad binned, couple of orders to sort the bikes outs, job done, few hours in the sun last week to blow the cobwebs away, and back on Zwift tonight
started with Zwift Stage 3, whole lot of lava, from the beginning it said 22km lead in, made a comment and no one replied, small start, only 17 i think, kept together until the volcano climb, off they went, no chance of staying, one was 20 seconds over the top, made the chase to the bottom fun, and i wheel sucked for the last km and did him up the climb into the volcano, rest of them were well over limits so got the win
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=421551
then straight onto stage 1 - 2 lapper Watopia flat, missed the front group, did get back on at one point but it split again and no one helped bridge, settled into a big group, had a burrito, made a big long effort down the ramp to the finish, figured the burrito would allow me to get a gap coupled with being a heavier ride meant i might not get followed, got 25m which i just held as the group closed in on me in the flat run in, perfect tactics
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=421204
Well my drivo arrived yesterday.
Quick once round the flat/intro course and I can imagine this is going to be very bad for me.
Daft question mind - am I stuck on certain loops when just "riding" or is there some directional control?
My Drivo came yesterday too!
I went on RGT this morning and I’m in a group ride tomorrow morning, I’ll probably give zwift a try on Thursday.
Did the paterberg this morning, with 100% feedback the 20% section was crippling especially with a 36/27 bottom gear. I rolled it back to 70% feedback for the 2nd and 3rd laps
Hi, i have a non-smart turbo, with a Lezyne speed/cadence sensor and lezyne Micro (and CooSpo heart rate monitor), which can report direct to the Lezyne app on my phone/send a link out so my wife can see if im still alive when out on a ride. Has anyone got this set up to work on Zwift, preferably on a tablet as i don't want to take the laptop into the shed...
Tried one of the crit city races yesterday - nice short and sharp event. Was reasonably comfortable in the front group but last lap was hard, didn't really know when to go on the course, so got swamped in the final sprint. Powerups were fun - not used them before.
Binned out of the results on zp - fifth race and it nudged my w/kg average into B, so guess that's what I'll enter from now on.
DOn't forget Gary, any longer races you'll likely be a C if you're on the borderline.
What's your Zwiftpower profile say you are now ?
I'm B by an arsehair on zp - 3.25wkg
Reckon I'll be ok racing B on the flat - just need to swerve the hills.
Another island plod today - on the up my weighted average power was upto 127watts! Mostly sat around 125-155 on the flat and nose dive as soon as hit any resistance. Not done the FTP test just take it off what ever the ride give me. At the moment it looks like I've lost 30watts, down to 171watts. There's a whole lot of ho hum going on at the moment. On the up things are going in the right direction. Couple of days and go again.
#dangeourbrain no you can use the arrow keys at the junction to change which way you go and down to do a u turn.
Completing routes is a handy XP bonus to bump your level up quickly.
Garry_Lager
Subscriber
I’m B by an arsehair on zp – 3.25wkgReckon I’ll be ok racing B on the flat – just need to swerve the hills.
You will be surprised how fast you will improve your W/kg racing the higher cat. Just force yourself to hold on that little bit longer ..
Good luck!
Thomas DeGent banned from Zwift racing for pushing 8.4w/kg!!
^^Fun little back story behind that one.
Nothing bad im glad to say.
@dangeourbrain it is strangely addictive and quite easy to level up without going too daft. I'm still relatively new to it - started mid Jan and got to level 10 by the end of Jan then level 12 by 16 Feb. You get more routes opening up as you go through the levels. It's worth doing the routes for the points - there are also different bonuses for power and speed. I went a bit nerdy and watched some of the YouTube content and read the blogs. It's surprising how quickly you get up the levels to start with. Not tried a training plan / group ride or race yet. Currently backed off as the mind is willing but the body isn't.
😆
Zwift programmers got bored by the looks of things on there today
Anyone doing Haute Route this weekend? Looks bit grim but I'm tempted.
I might be tempted by that, or at least a stage or two.
there are also different bonuses for power and speed.
Ah yes. I spotted those. Unfortunately I'm like a small child collecting badges so it seems I'm doomed, there's one for hitting 1200W...
^^Fun little back story behind that one.
Nothing bad im glad to say.
Any links? I saw on Twitter (I think) that Thomas DeGent had had a wee tongue in cheek jibe at Zwift for kicking him out but didn't see any more.
As above - anyone else doing the Haute Route event? 3 rides over 3 days:
Three Sisters - 48.3km, 896.7m elevation
Fire & Ice - 25.1km, 1166m elevation
The Pretzel - 72.2km, 1333m elevation
I'm tempted - it's just a question of whether I can get the time to squeeze them in. Might have to have a couple of early mornings at the weekend!
It would be a big three days for me, think I need to wait and see when the rides are on.
Anyone experiencing a delay when resubscribing after a brief membership lapse?
Thought I’d paid and was back on only to get to the a “Your free trial is over” type message.
Did a Zwift race earlier today, it was crazy. I’m a borderline B/C, did a warm up and was feeling a bit rubbish so entered the C, thought it would be good to be in a group rather than spat out of the B.
Start of the C race was madness, I got shelled out of the first group doing 300 watts (about 4.2 w/kg) for the first 3 minutes, even holding 4.5w/kg the front group were still pulling away. I settled in to 3.8 to 4w/kg thinking the group would come back to me, no chance. This was on the Volcano Stage 3 Tour of Watopia, so still an ok size climb. I finished about 17th (maybe), 281 watts average I think (I’m 69kgs) which upped my FTP from 262 to 271. I broke away from my group as I could see a splinter group ahead of me, put in a big effort but couldn’t catch them, they were 4.5 w/kg for a good while. Most of my race was me solo trying to keep away from the group behind.
Anyone else having delays on zwiftpower results?
Just to add to my above post, it shows in my Zwiftpower profile as an activity not a race. Is that normal? I’m expecting to be DQ’d but interested to see my stats.
Any links? I saw on Twitter (I think) that Thomas DeGent had had a wee tongue in cheek jibe at Zwift for kicking him out but didn’t see any more.
As a professional cyclist, he can happily hold 8.4w/kg for a while (he’s 69kg, so about 580w). Zwift is designed for mortals, so assumes anything that high is being done by nefarious means, either by weight doping or machine, so they kicked him out. As more an more pros are using it, they are looking at ways of changing it.
I’ve had to bow out of zwift for now, tried to go as hard as I could for as long as I could, did 700+ watts for a minute or so, the stress that has put on my foot may have broken it. So can’t even ride indoors now 😤
Using a basic setup (based on what I could borrow…).
Rollers, speed sensor and HR.
When I come to a hill, Zwift slows my virtual speed to (sometimes below) walking pace. Anyone know why?
Because your going up hill.
To expand zwift works on power not speed. If you feed it speed data that it estimates power based on the power curve of the dumb trainer you are using. Same power going uphill means lower in game speed.
Aye, I get that, but there’s lower and there’s 4 km/h
how are you getting Power to Zwift... Virtual Power based on the speed sensor? Is it configured correctly? What sort of power reading does it show on Zwift when you're on the flat & going up a hill?
If you've put in your correct weight and the correct roller type then that's the speed you would be going for the power you're putting out.
I think the default weight is 75kg so if you're below this then you're making life harder for yourself.
Weight now sitting at 14st 4... or 90kg... Apart from one week back in 2017 when i was about this, i'm at my lowest adult weight.
Without wanting to completely derail the thread. 2 weeks ago i went Gluten Free for another issue i've got... since then i've dropped 4lb. I've not had any pasta and the bread has all been GF (and bloody rubbish too). But seems a coincidence... Hmmmm
But seems a coincidence
It's no coincidence. There really are a lot of calories in things like pasta and bread.
The GF stuff is crap so you eat less of it.
Nice one weeksy.
Speed sensor and calculated power for rollers. Managing a mighty 80W - no idea if this is a sensible number or utter bollocks.
The GF stuff is crap so you eat less of it.
Ain't that the truth!
Speed sensor and calculated power for rollers. Managing a mighty 80W – no idea if this is a sensible number or utter bollocks
Now we need to be careful here as we've upset a few with comments. But, 80w is very very low. That's for example about 6-8mph on a flat road outside to give an indication. So, if you can ride at say 15mph outside normally, then something is wrong with your figures.
If you go out riding and are overtaken by walkers, then maybe it's correct
Figures are wrong then.
Any idea how I can rectify?
Anyone had an invite to and joined the Jarvis Club? Apart from a couple of club only events doesn’t seem to offer much. Guess once you can setup your own clubs it will become more use, STW only races etc.
I've joined, it's basically an activity feed limited to other team members. Currently there's no club-only events or kit etc.
#ratherbeintobago email Zwift support although they may be slow at the moment due to current demand...
Try googling your rollers and zwift and see if others have had similar.
What's your heart rate doing at 80w?
Mine would be sat at the bottom of Zone1 at that power for example.
You could always choose a different set of rollers on the virtual power screen and see if it helps.
Club kit is possible and coming with Club associations, our club are talking with Zwift about it. As above though it may not be until the end of the Summer, currently.
Best way we’ve found is to organise a meet like Weeksy is doing and turn the rubber band on on, using Zoom as comms. Everyone rides how they like, group stays together and you can have a chat without losing each other in the masses.
Best way we’ve found is to organise a meet like Weeksy is doing and turn the rubber band on on, using Zoom as comms. Everyone rides how they like, group stays together and you can have a chat without losing each other in the masses
I think some of the group would find that irritating though, both the front guys and the back guys.
At the front, the lads like to push on and give themselves some work, especially in the last 15 mins, which you won't do quite as effectively if there's no reward IMO. Same at the back, a couple of the guys are pushing themselves harder than usual to stay in the groups, would they give that extra bit more if they knew the game would put them back in the bunch anyway, i doubt it.
Being able to turn it on-off during the event would be great, so over an hour ride, have it on for 30mins so the group holds together, then unleash it in the last 30.
At the moment, on the right course, i think because of online friendships and respect it works really well anyway in the STW rides.
I’m Oooh I managed to get the Goat Jersey
Had it for less than a minute mind you 😆 are all the fast rider on Richmond?
Club kit is possible and coming with Club associations, our club are talking with Zwift about it. As above though it may not be until the end of the Summer, currently.
currently this is a manual process at Zwift’s end and they approve very few club kits due to resources. There aim is to automate this as part of the club functionality. This is covered in this weeks Zwiftcast podcast.
there are also different bonuses for power and speed.
Ah yes. I spotted those. Unfortunately I’m like a small child collecting badges so it seems I’m doomed, there’s one for hitting 1200W…
I started on the Everest challenge - original plan was to finish it with a trip up the Alp. Come back down and finally nail the 100kph badge after a few close bu no cigars in on the mast climb and in New York. Think it'll take me half dozen island runs to get it the Everest now. About 3 weeks or so maybe less on current performance.
Not really feeling it today - whole 1 watt a kilo / there's about 98kg of me. Tuesday or Wednesday for next go.
of course, once you’ve done that, you’ll need to do it again 5-ish times 😂 (to unlock the only thing on Zwift worth unlocking!!)I started on the Everest challenge
of course, once you’ve done that, you’ll need to do it again 5-ish times 😂 (to unlock the only thing on Zwift worth unlocking!!)
We could be here for a very long long long time for that. Should have started at this Zwift thing last year or the year before. I could taken the prize for slowest tron laps by now.
(to unlock the only thing on Zwift worth unlocking!!)
Blood alcohol wattage compensation? Cake stops?
I keep seeing mention of ftp here and on the social thread so seems a sensible place to ask:
For those a bit more versed in these things, how accurate is the ride based ftp on Zwift vs a proper test?
I tried the ramp test this morning and scored a bit lower than I guessed (emphasis on guess) and lower than the zwift scored me after the hour's social on Tuesday. The test seemed to require me to spin like mad rather than upping resistance though so by the time I got to peak I had to maintain about 130rpm to hold power which broke me. (I tend to ride at about 60-70 so even the recommended 85-90 feels wrong).
A quick 20 minute post lunch ride bumped my ftp back up, a bit higher than expected but actually felt more like a genuine representation of effort rather than inability to spin, so now I'm all confused.
I got to peak I had to maintain about 130rpm
Try a bigger gear on the bike
Try a bigger gear on the bike
That was as big as the bike goes, was 48:10 so not piddly.
Never done one, don't see the point. Racing flat out gives me 292w as my FTP, but in races it irrelevant what your FTP is as you'll never need it. You mostly need 1 min power and 20 min can be a reasonable variation on it. 1 min power being the essential one and from a maxed HR. Every one of my last 10 races on short circuits come down to the final 500m. The 25 mins before that is just about holding position.
Sure to set your training structure you'll need an FTP I guess, but if riding and racing, that number doesn't matter
2363 in the Haute Route ride - go me 🙂
And a full 23 minutes slower than my fastest time up the alp - Quite a few drop-outs due to number of riders but I don't think there were 23 minutes worth...
My wife has decided she'd like to try Zwifting, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to upgrade to a wheel off trainer and fob her off with my Tacx Vortex. Turns out, most of the wheel off trainers are sold out and the one I originally ordered when it was showing 'in stock' is now on backorder until end of June 😀 As a result, I have just grabbed a set of second hand Elite 'smart' rollers - never tried rollers before, and a quick Google suggests everything from "it'll take you 15 mins to get used to them" to "death awaits you!!". If I don't turn up for the next group ride, could you check I'm not trapped upside down in my garage!
Was it you that got the curtain jammed in your rear wheel?
I dont think rollers are something i would want to use for Zwift races. I am confident on rollers, but riding them whilst going deep chasing a break is a clear recipe for disaster id say!
but if riding and racing, that number doesn’t matter
That makes me feel a bit better. I'd assumed it was important so the uppy downy nature of it I think which "worried" me
In the training program they take your FTP then your efforts are gauged against it, e.g 3 mins at 250w which is say 125% of FTP, but other than that, it's just a number you can theoretically hold for a set time.
Haute routes been good fun
Was it you that got the curtain jammed in your rear wheel?
That was indeed me - curtains have now been tidied away to prevent future occurrences. To avoid any confusion, these were fabric curtains in the window, not the ‘beef’ variety 🙂
Took me about a year to get the Tron bike once I actually started on the second part of the challenge. Didn't go looking for just climbing routes to unlock it.
Haven't used it yet as I prefer normal looking bikes.
As a professional cyclist, he can happily hold 8.4w/kg for a while (he’s 69kg, so about 580w). Zwift is designed for mortals, so assumes anything that high is being done by nefarious means, either by weight doping or machine, so they kicked him out. As more an more pros are using it, they are looking at ways of changing it.
Apparently there was a glitch in the Zwift software - normally they have higher limits for bona fide, verified pro riders, but for some reason that didn't work.
Trail Rat - I’m doing stage 3 at 1000. It’s been good.
Couldn’t see any STW riders yesterday 5pm - but got a few STW ride ons. So weird, but thanks boys.
I see now I can't ride currently due to broken turbo, at least the Zwift Android app lets you choose from three different worlds without using third party software... Finally! \o/