I could set the social ride to it?
Will everyone hate me?
On an unrelated note, did you do many/any of the training programs at all did you find any better than any others? I'm interested in doing something to try and improve my continuous power but frankly no idea where to start!
As an aside it worked well scheduling the group ride as an empty world. Easier to see who you were chasing and what was going on.
As an aside it worked well scheduling the group ride as an empty world
100%
We'll only be using empty world's from now on.
On an unrelated note, did you do many/any of the training programs at all did you find any better than any others? I’m interested in doing something to try and improve my continuous power but frankly no idea where to start!
I'm a big fan of the training programmes, I did the six week FTP Builder and taken me from 247 to 277 in that time frame. It's four/five work outs a week usually about an hour.
Oooh - how do you set up a Meet Up as an empty world?
You can just set up a meet-up in the companion app and choose from any of the sox worlds. You have to invite at least one person but if you tell that person they don’t need to turn up the meet up will still go ahead.
It’s four/five work outs a week usually about an hour
That's a lot of workout! I wanted an easy freebie thing, you know, drink beer three times a week coincidentally learn how to maintain xxx W rather than massive peak and trough either side.
I've just done the Fondo plan as that's generally 3 sessions a week at a relatively steady pace which leaves a couple of days free for weeksy's fun and games.
I'd be up for a TTT course recce on the next group ride.
Any photos of that ? I have lots of backer rods kicking about from DIY rim savers.
My pipe lagging is just two bits on the legs and two bits running perpendicular letting the trainer move a bit and isolating it from the ground. Works ok.
SOme of the noodly bits are pushed right through but some ar ejust short offcuts, one in each side because the flexy linky thing gets in the way (none in the font area because bladders are still in there and I'm too lazy to pull 'em out but they'll be totally flat by now and I don't need/want more noodle than that)
So I felt like seeing how much power I could put out in a sprint the other day on zwift as I hadn't really ever pushed myself with sprinting before. I tried twice, but both times when I put down power, pretty much as I went over 800w the chain came off. What could be the reason for this?
I've got a Tacx Neo 2, 11 speed drivetrain which probably has about 1000 miles on it. Would it be chain wear possibly?
So I felt like seeing how much power I could put out in a sprint the other day on zwift as I hadn’t really ever pushed myself with sprinting before. I tried twice, but both times when I put down power, pretty much as I went over 800w the chain came off. What could be the reason for this?
Bad the chain came off as you were just getting started. Did it fall off the front chainring on the bike? I just have a narrow wide on my TT bike on the turbo and it's fine for retaining the chain.
Must admit I'm not generally keen on a raging 4 figure sprint on the turbo - it is fun to see what you can hit but it just feels like you can break the bike, and I doubt the wattage is all that accurate. THink it's something better done on a dedicated stationary bike like a Wattbike in the gym.
I thought zwift races would be all about this sort of effort but it doesn't seem to be the case, at least not at my level. They are at such intensity and the sprint winds up from a longer way out that it's a more sustained effort (several hundred W rather than a crazy 1000W+)
Yeah it came off the front chainring. It really was just down to curiousity, just a bit miffed that I was just getting started because I felt like I could have gone a fair bit higher.
Rocker Plates.
Yey or Ney?
I’ve probably enough stuff around to bodge a simple one.
Edit, must read thread properly
Yay for me. Less numb since I got it. Had to learn to use the correct technique. Once you get used to that moving the bike around feels good. Worth reading the how to setup your rocker plate stuff on zwift insider.
@nixie Build or buy? Been a lurker on DIY Rocker Plates FB group for a while! There've been a few members there offering pretty reasonable built ones, I guess to raise funds/relieve boredom whilst locked down.
How does the official results work. The guy that just won the tt I did appears in zwift power results, but doesn't have a power symbol next to their name so I assume is using a dumb trainer no?
Somewhat suspiciously he won the 8km tt with an average power of over 8 watts per kilo 😂
I assumed such nonsense results were excluded?
@zilog6128 I intended to build one but never actually had the time so bought one instead (Realplate).
@nixie fair old chunk of change that! Looks good though. Building one has also been on my to-do list for a long time and, likely, I'll never get around to it!
What turbo are you using? Reading their FAQs, interesting they note the point that the bike reacts in the opposite way to pedalling forces as it would on the road - makes sense when you think about it but I've never heard anyone mention that before re. rockers!
Had a weird thing tonight.
Use my iPad to connect to zwift but tonight it just kept saying "there's a problem logging into your account"
Tried it on my android phone and got the same problem.
Both devices connected to the WiFi so switched the router off and on but the problem persisted. WiFi was working fine. Able to connect to the internet on both devices and my laptop.
Disconnected the android phone from the WiFi and it was able to connect to zwift instantly. Ended up using the phone as a hotspot and connected the iPad to that so I could do my session.
Very bizarre. Cant find anything on google. Anyone encountered this before?
It's working fine now via WiFi.
@zilog6128 yeah they aren't cheap, unless you compare it to the saris offering 🥺. I'm using an elite direto on mine.
That faq entry is odd. I'm not entirely sure I understand what they are saying. Reading other rocker articles suggest getting the same motion as IRL. There is an article on zwift insider with videos showing what to expect. I'm leaning the bike to the left as I push with the right.
dangeourbrain
Subscriber
It’s four/five work outs a week usually about an hourThat’s a lot of workout! I wanted an easy freebie thing, you know, drink beer three times a week coincidentally learn how to maintain xxx W rather than massive peak and trough either side.
I'm new to zwift and structured workouts but I'm quite enjoying the pebble pounder training plan this as my lockdown exercise. It's only 3 x 40 mins sessions a week so easy to fit in. There is some lower cadence work so similar to mtb.
I've set up a ride tonight for an hour at 7.30pm - racing/sprint intervals on Richmond flat.
Follow me on Zwift (Dan Kujawski) and message me if people want to join in. Will be a mix of B-D so sprint fun for everyone.
We did those last night Fan flats great route for it , 5.4K loop near flat . 1 easy 1 flat out alternate.
great over under session for an hour.
Tonight is DTCC / Moray firth CC Crit on volcano circuit.
I'm tempted by the DTCC / Moray crit again.
I'm giving Zwift a miss tonight and heading out on the actual roads in Moray 😀
I felt a bit silly last night sitting on the trainer while there was a glorious evening outside.
Sorry if this is a basic question - when Zwift asks for a category for races and TTs, is the w/kg asked for your FTP or what you would expect/hope to be able to do for that length of race?
ie. I did my first TT the other night, just the normal 17.6km one and averaged 4.3w/kg, obviously I'd hope to be able to do more than that for the 8km Bologna course but a lot less for a longer race (so probably dropping me down a category).
it's based upon 95% of your 20 mins average.
So kinda work it out from there.
so this TTT.
How many riders do we have and how many do we need ? What's the actual plan ? Something about not pedalling in the start pen ?
Do we just join the event as usual sometime before it ? Do we have a scheduled start time ?
Who's calling the team orders on who's on/off at given times ?
We have six or seven riders (declared in this thread as entered). So there's still room for one more if anyone is tempted.
kelvinshuffle A
weeksy B
mooman B
phil56 B
savoyad C
IvanDobski C/D
dangeourbrain D
I'm just waiting for the data to show on the organisers' site to do the "tag check" (although everyone says that's done too).
We're on at 7.40 tomorrow evening. Our exact start time (sometime shortly after that) hasn't been published yet. I'll update this thread as soon as I see it.
Any volunteers to be road captain? I don't fancy that.
And how ambitious can we be with comms? headsets and discord (they'll lend us a channel) will surely be a car crash, but maybe an entertaining one? just text chat on the main screen?
I'm up for it as a C!so this TTT.
Does it makes sense for the strongest rider to be in charge? As they'll be on the front most of the time lol.
Discord would be handy I guess... I'm on a tablet so typing is a bit of a nightmare when really going for it, as no proper keyboard. Someone should livestream it on twitch as well😂
How many of us count at the line ? All ?
I'll do a ride on it today if the world is available to see how it runs.
@weeksy you can ride any world now. Just do a meetup and invite one person but don't expect them to turn up. You could use your son? Then you can ride what you like
The single A rider is going to put you in Frappe.
We use discord and text. Whoever is doing the countdown needs to start a timer at the event start time and give clear instructions as to how long to go.
I will confirm after race tonight - IF theres any legs left - 3 Fullgas night might be a big ask - and depends how difficult the little one is to put down to sleep tonight how much leyway i get to book another night in the garage.
But im a B Cat
I was wondering about that after reading the FAQ... doesn't seem to be a handicapping system, so basically if you want to be optimally competitive you'd have the max allowable top cat riders, and then just fill the team with the next cat down (and not have any lower)?The single A rider is going to put you in Frappe.
I'm not worrying about categories for now. It's auto-upgrade on zwiftpower rather than a DQ, so we'll get a result regardless, latte was the most likely choice, and I figured better to just encourage sign ups and see where we land. Optimally competitive can wait!
sounds good, i'm riding it in 4 mins
The results for TTT show on the WTRL website rather than Zwift power as there are several races over different time Zones.
couldnt reply Savo, course is rolling, small 7% hills, rolling terrain. Nothing major
toughest is the 7-8% you get to the finish line on a couple of the NY courses, about 30s in time.
Going to do the TTT with some guys in my IRL club - we're all quite new to zwift so could be chaos. Good luck, it's a fun format.
Having done a couple I thought voice comms were v useful for the start, and for saying if someone was really struggling with the pace. But beyond that no one really said much and just got their heads down. I think the experienced teams will call turns and be quite structured in their formation but you don't have to worry about that for a first hit out. Just take a turn when it feels right and it'll be fine.
Eeeks hope my A-Cat status isn't going to pull us up a category! I'm not that strong a rider especially on a fairly flat watt-fest
We could just use the STW discord that was set-up for the group rides?
We have a start time: +8 minutes (i.e 8 minutes waiting in the pen from the 7.40 event start).
Our STW tags are all correct on the start sheet. Well done us.
There's still one place in the team. I think trail_rat is eyeing it up.
Yes, kelvinshuffle, your ftp builder success will push us up a category. It doesn't really matter though.
I didn't know there was a stw discord. DO you have a link to share IvanDobski (so I can avoid hunting through that thread)?
Ok matey, look forward to it.
Will be interesting anyway.
We having a thought on our starting tactic? I can average 275w for the distance give or take. But clearly with my profile I'm stronger in the diwn and flat for drafting than I am on the way up.
If someone else wants the place crack on
Tonight's effort has killed me. Did 50k - 25K at 120% then I ran 5k because someone publicly sent me that 5k NHS thing.
Is this place to ask questions about turbo trainers given the thread title? Looking to dip my toe in the water due to restrictions etc. and completely clueless...been offered a Tacx Blue Matic basic model for €159. I would see about adding the tacx speed and cadence sensor to try and get it to work with apps etc in the future but right now it would be for HIIT and training in the garage. There isnt much stock of anything else to be honest. Any help much appreciated!
Replacement Direto belt has arrived from https://www.bearingsrus.co.uk/ , so I should hopefully have it installed and ready to turbo again by November... 2021. 😉
^^^ I'd be looking at the Tacx Flow 2240 if you can find stock for that sort of price.
Looking through the classifieds, there was someone selling one a while ago. It'll be several pages in, but perhaps worth a look...it's still for sale on page 2, but collection only from Calderdale.
thanks stumpy01 - I'm in Ireland so that limits things further...
Re:TTT tonight a couple of questions from me...
No TT bikes but going for an Aero Road Bike and Deep Rims is wise right?
Also pacing wise (and probably showing my lack of understanding of how the draft actually works)
I've got an FTP of 277 at 4.2, If I was riding solo I'd be wanting to hide in the pack and put the watts out on the two climbs towards the tail end of the course, where the power to weight has the biggest impact.
Assuming we're hanging together nicely in a group, I'd want to do similar right? I.e. am I going to be more useful towards the front on the small climbs more than the flat drags?
Of course this suggests a level of tactical awareness higher than "ride as near my FTP as a can for the duration" which is my usual approach.
I've got a Tacx Flow, def a good "My First Smart Trainer"
Re:TTT tonight a couple of questions from me…
No TT bikes but going for an Aero Road Bike and Deep Rims is wise right?
Also pacing wise (and probably showing my lack of understanding of how the draft actually works)
I’ve got an FTP of 277 at 4.2, If I was riding solo I’d be wanting to hide in the pack and put the watts out on the two climbs towards the tail end of the course, where the power to weight has the biggest impact.
Assuming we’re hanging together nicely in a group, I’d want to do similar right? I.e. am I going to be more useful towards the front on the small climbs more than the flat drags
I'm going with the Cervlo S5 and Zipp 404s. These are about the fastest combo out there i think for this sort of course (and most others)
TBH mate with your power i'll be thinking you'll be near the front for most of it hahahaha. But yes arguably towing us slightly on the uppy bits is likely to help most... but with 277 you'll be plenty of help on the rest too.
It all depends on how long riders can maintain a pace from their position in the group really.
Lets just say you're in 3rd wheel and about to take a turn, the problem can be that it takes 20s to get ahead of the other 2 riders which is putting you in the red quickly so your 'turn' doesn't last. Ideally you want to come through quickly and put in at least a minute on the front at say 325w. But it's going to depend how the guys behind are all doing.
I think for this race, a lot of it will be guesswork. Staying out of the red-zone for the first 20km and settling into a nice pace.
Staying out of the red-zone for the first 20km and settling into a nice pace.
Is that the right tactic for a team time trial? If we need to get 4 riders over the line as quickly as possible, doesn't that require others to lead them through the first 20k in the red zone and then drop off?
I've never done anything like this before, so no idea!!
You get a bigger draft from a bigger group so want to stay together while you can. Obviously if one is dead and can't hang on without the pace dropping then would be best to let them drop however if they can draft but not do turns then they should do that. Each rider should be doing above FTP pulls (last week I was doing 5-6 wpkg pulls for around one minute with two/three minute rests) then recovering in the draft. Strong riders should pull more often.
@nixie - thanks for the advice. Anything else us novices need to think about?
Only reiterating the stop pedalling 30s before the event start time. If you do find yourself moving before your supposed to then quickly open the pairing screen as this will stop you dead.
Oh and although we use discord the 1minute/30s 10s go count down is normally done in discord and on screen.
See you all in the pen.
So this should be the link for the discord.
I'm assuming standard issue STW bumblebee jerseys?
Is it worth setting an order to try and stick to - even if you just do 10secs on the front at least that'll stop everyone racing each other?
Nixie, so that's at say 7:39 we need to stop pedalling ?
Rather than 30s before our 8 mins time ?
I'm happy running fairly cold anyway so i'll do my warm up before joining the pen.
@IvanDobski - I've joined the discord server - hopefully it's straight forward to use later!
@weeksy. Yes at 7:39 stop, that gives your turbo plenty of time to spool down. So you'll be sat not pedalling for 8 minutes (or open the pairing screen and you can pedal while waiting). These events are basically setup as normal races with manually assigned start times after the events real start. If your still pedalling at 7.40 you'll launch as per normal even though your official start time is 7.48.
If you catch any other teams they are not allowed to stay in your draft and should back off enough to stop that happening. Same if you get caught, let the catching team go. There may well be some solo riders. If they get caught in your draft ask them to drop back. Mostly people are fine doing this when you explain why but occasionally you get an idiot who tags along.
We'll see you in the results as we are off at 6pm.
Did last week with the Club and have 6 of us tonight.
Latte team and hoping to finish higher up than with 4 last week. We did ok at 54 of 99 teams. Hope to be in top 25% tonight.
OK to confirm
- bumblebee jerseys and road bikes (NO TT bikes, we need to draft!)
- in the pen for the event start at 7.40
- no pedalling from 7.39 until our start time at 7.48
- communicate if we can on the STW discord channel ( https://discord.gg/UP6kv6). Let's use the general channel for text, plus push to talk in the STW voice channel). I can't type, others might not be able to talk, we'll just get by between us.
- time is taken 4th finisher - so we need to get at least 4 of us to the end
See you in the pen, or shortly before.
See you there
See you there, quite looking forward to this!
@savoyad sorry - what's the general channel and what does 'push to talk' mean?
hey phil have you followed the discord link?
invite invalidg
yes I have
once your in there's a few voice channels we're in the one labeled stw voice
That was tough.
Raggy on the first 2 laps on the 2 main climbs at the top of the map so watch it. Powerful rider to the back to close it up.
About 54:10 to beat.
Push to talk means that the mic is only active when you push the button. This keeps background noise down.
Sorry had to miss this; on duty phone and got call last minute ... first time it has rang all week so typical its when I am on it!
hope it went good.
Good effort all, caught loads of groups and not caught by any!
54:47 I think.
That's not a course for me!!! Brutal at times
That was nails. Got a 10w ftp increase though.
Really I should have dropped as you would have been faster but I was thinking that wouldn't leave any leeway for a mechanical or Bluetooth dropout.
That was a hard course for a TTT though, can't wait for a flat one!
I don't think we'd have gone much faster mate, maybe 10s at the max. If you went I was the next weakest link and I didn't have that much more in me.
Really enjoyed that - great team effort!