Forum menu
Nah just text based in game chat.
I've had discord a few times but can't listen to music then.
there is NO WAY I could type while racing
at
all
I barely can in the companion app. Have to be careful not to drop off the back while doing it.
That was so frustrating.. just done the Tour of London Stage 5 with Weeksy. 200+ A riders started, my aim was to be in the top 10. The group was quickly narrowed down to 20 riders and individuals kept being shelled out. I was sitting very comfortably, legs working well with heart rate under control. On the second lap going up the initial bit of box hill disaster! While I was sprinting my turbo had moved slightly and pulled its plug out! Had to hop off and reconnect it, there went the lead group. So with 12km to go it was down to a TT. I had a gap of 80 seconds from the chasing group, this quickly dwindled down until eventually with 700m!!!!! to go I was caught. Sprint finish saw me cross the line in 13th, or 11th according to Zwiftpower. So annoying that without the plug coming out I could have got my top 10!!
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=107842
I put pics on strava to prove it moved too haha: https://www.strava.com/activities/2027939650
Stage 5 today. Long and a weird course that feels more up than down.even though you start and finish at same point each lap.
Went off with a fairly speedy group and just hung in. Lost some wheels out in Surrey hills but overall I did ok.
Last 4km I nearly got dropped so hit my aero and ended up gapping 10 riders and sitting on a fast wheel. He then dragged us to the line with a 10s advantage over them. I didn't contest sprint with him, gave him a leadout then cruised the last 200m.
Glad the tour is over. Was interesting to ride longer harder days than usual for me
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=107842
Nice riding chaps. Nathb i managed a top ten, finished 7th in B out of 162 but i wish i had sprinted for the line but didnt seem any point and got passed by 3 or 4 riders. This ride took me passed 6000 miles for the year.
Different world to me Nath.
I've just about recovered now 🙂
Sadly my lad threw a chain up on the Ridgeway about 45 mins ago "Dadddy, my chain is not working, can you come and get me..."
Sheesh, just what i needed that !
Well we are well and truly sorted
Lemond Revolution with Wattbox - Check
Ipad Mini - Check
Tacx Ipad holder - Check
4iii Ant+/Bluetooth HR strap - check
£12.99 to Zwift - Check
All paired and up and running (Eventually) and off we go 🙂
let's hope it fends off this Chrimbo gluttony 🙁
I find iPad is fine for visibility/functionality (even a mini) but we've got a spare old monitor and the larger screen is much more immersive (set up with a spare laptop, not tried connecting from the iPad). So we've now got that set up permanently in the conservatory which is a perfect icebox for training this time of year (most of the year in fact).
Ouch !
Just had a festive early lunchtime blat round the laguardia. Definitely NOT a climbers' circuit and possibly my favourite venue but makes for a hard, hard race. I did well, for me, eventually lost the very front on the penultimate lap's "climb" but stuck in with a quick bunch.
They seemed stronger than me so went at about 8-900m to go, with an aero and was pushing hard. Got a 2 sec lead but 4 or 5 came back past, also on aeros.
Good fun, and a new PB for 5min and 20 min power.
Not sure I'll be on top form for the village carol service 🙄 tonight - might sneak a nap in !
Can someone recommend a first go on Zwift course/race for me please?
I don't fancy reading through 257 pages to see if it's been recommended before 🙁
what do you like - climbs, crits, ... ?
go to https://www.zwiftpower.com/ ** and have a look at what's on offer (the little tobleroney triangles in a column off to the right show how hilly it'll be
Or, if you really want to know the course, https://zwiftinsider.com/route-details/
Pick a distance and jump on
**(I find the zwiftpower lists easier to browse but the companion phone app much easier for seeing how many folk are signed up, and also easier for joining a race in advance)
Once you've entered, start zwift as normal some time before the race and just ride around (if you're lucky you might get a useful power-up when you pass under a banner that you can keep for the race). There'll be a button offering you "join this event now" but if you ignore that you'll be automatically taken to the start pen a few minutes before it starts anyway.
... and do lots of power on the start of the race (I'm a B and always need 400+ watts from 5 seconds before the start, just to stay in the initial lead group and it's hard for at least the first minute or so)
By eck that was hard, only managed 1 lap of the WBR 2 Lap Astoria Line 8 Race 🙁
Scaredypants, I tried your tip of powering up 5 secs before the start, but I only lasted 100yrds !! and they shot past me.
Well must keep trying
224 watts average @ 70kg puts me right on the border of group C and group B, (3.2W/Kg) TBH the fact that I only managed 1 lap tells me I'm definitely more C than B.
Sat in the Kiss endurance 2h 2.5-3w/kg today instead of going out in the rain. After 6 weeks if Vo2max/power build intervals I thought I might tire, but sat comfortably with 3 then later 8 riders in the second group. The group worked well together with most riders taking turns, some through and off etc.
Missed 2 riders going away with 2 mins to go but then it wasn't really a race. Happy to average 210w over 2 hours within Z2.
First time I've done a proper ride with a virtual trainer and Zwift companion also, and had a good time discovering the joys of both living up a winter turbo session.
Can you just ride by yourself or do you have to enter races?
You can:
A) just pootle round on your own
B) follow a structured training plan (but carried out in the Zwift world)
c) join one of the many social rides at various paces.
D) race
Doesn't count, they're not races lol
Vortexracing
224 watts average @ 70kg puts me right on the border of group C and group B, (3.2W/Kg) TBH the fact that I only managed 1 lap tells me I’m definitely more C than B.
I'm not sure what the "racing" in vortexracing means but unless it's bike racing my money's on you being 3.5 at least, once you've learnt to suffer (and also you'll learn to draft better and that power will work better for you)
Well done nath
Did a double draft test race tonight. Couldnt really test it though as there was only 8 riders in Cat D. One guy went of quick so I raced to keep up with him and felt pretty good and managed to get ahead and built up a 40 second lead before we hit the 3 climbs at the end. Then I was gradually caught by 2 other riders and came in first (my weigght wasnt helping me up the climbs).
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=118291
Came in 3rd although ZP has me as 2nd. With the new app I can see less and less people signing up to ZP though as they can see results there now.
Looking at my hear rate I seem to spend most of my time in Z4. I thought Z4 doesnt really help from a training/fitness perspective but dont think I can race any other way!
Hmmm, just finished the Tour of London Stage 1 race (B group).
Made a reasonably quick start but within a couple of minutes realized that the group I was in was quickly losing ground to the lead group. I made a big effort and caught the tail end of the lead group then sat in to recover for a bit. This group were making good progress and we stuck together for a good few kms.
Eventually, though, they sped up and I was left in a much smaller group about 1 minutes behind lead group and about 1 minutes in front of next group.
I was running around 18th out of 170+ so quite pleased with myself but legs and lungs started to fade and some of the riders behind me must have been saving themselves as huge spikes in power reeled me in and I lost several places quite quickly.
However, I seemed to have a brief technical glitch and about 500m from the finish the group of riders I was trying to chase down turned right at a junction to line up for the final sprint and I got turned left and ended up a stretch of road with no other riders!
I was around 23rd at the time but by the time I did this extra loop, I'd dropped down to 43rd....
Felt like a race @weeksy 😆
The tour race I did with you was too 🙂
I’ve made a makeshift anti movement wedge to stop the turbo from disconnecting itself in the future - seemed to work today!
Thanks @scaredypants
HEre's a question for some then... Regarding hills and Zwifting. Do we think that training on hills in a Zwift context is the same as training for hills outside ?
Next year I've got 3 100milers planned, the main one being the SDW, i'd like to focus this years training on them, rather than necessarily directly on racing as i do most years recently.
So should i be climbing the Radio Mast time and time again at a steady pace, or just steady pace riding... Or will the riding i'm doing currnetly still be of use ?
Depends on your gearing - I'm pretty sure that mu zwifting isn't really helping my MTBing as much as it could. I'm getting much fitter but it really relies on me keeping that flywheel spinning at a blur. WHen i'm out on the MTB (and i'm sure that it will doing the SDW) is the low cadence, high power stuff, especially when it's sloppy under wheel.
In short, i'd say crank the trainer difficulty up to 100% and get used to a wider range of cadences with more low cadence work.
I’m not sure what the “racing” in vortexracing means
it's nothing to do with cycling at all, it's from over a decade back when I ran a Karting team, and that was it's name.
Between chores today and not enough time to actually get out, so did the 12.30 WBR 1 Lap Figure 8 Hilly Race.
Very quick start as expected - but managed to sit in a good position. Stayed with front group till maybe 20 yds from top of first climb - but just couldn’t close the gap as they all descended. So had to sit up and allow the 2nd group to catch me because with only 10k gone of a 30k race there was no way I’d keep the 15 second gap on a chasing group😩
Really strong group till the finish; and finished 3rd of the registered B cats.
great work, 3rd... nice... 😉
Ian Bibby got the win .. The Ian Bibby??
Yup, he's not uncommon in Zwift land
HEre’s a question for some then… Regarding hills and Zwifting. Do we think that training on hills in a Zwift context is the same as training for hills outside ?
Next year I’ve got 3 100milers planned, the main one being the SDW, i’d like to focus this years training on them, rather than necessarily directly on racing as i do most years recently.
So should i be climbing the Radio Mast time and time again at a steady pace, or just steady pace riding… Or will the riding i’m doing currnetly still be of use ?
I've done lots of hilly sportives over the years and two Marmottes and I would say that Zwift while useful training is not the same as being on an actual hill. Even cranking the resistance right up and doing hill repeats at low cadence, I feel like it's just not the same. I'm not sure why - I do tend to climb more out of the saddle on actual climbs than on Zwift though. Having said that I've never trained extensively on Zwift for a sportive so it's just a subjective opinion.
A friend of mine did very very little riding outside of zwift from December to practically April. Nothing was longer than 60-90 minutes, but quality sessions of high wattage and HR.
When he went to Majorca in the April, I along with most of the guys he actually went with, expected him to be that fella at the back - but he put in one the fastest times out of a pretty good group of guys he was with on Sa Calobra.
Well i'm not sure what went wrong today.
Went up Alp D'Huez on Zwift, took me 80mins exactly. Total of 2 hours 5 mins up and down via 'Fire and Ice' route. Then Zwift shows me as 1 hour 20 and 700m elevation, rather than the 1150 i actually did... Add to that it did nothing on Strava.
Can't currently get my Zwift profile to load to export the ride.
Failed on the Alp yesterday after going too hard, so was pleased to get it done today.
I've just returned to Zwift after a layoff due to recovering from an operation. I've done a couple of races recently but I'm not able to go flat out due to still recouperating. One thing I have noticed though and would like some explanation for is the effect of weight and/or W/kg.
I'm 82kg currently so I accept that generally I'm going to struggle more on the hills compared to lighter riders. The effect I have noticed though is when I am in a race group and cruising at around 2.5 W/kg on the flat or downhill, I'm generally at the front of the group or even pulling away at times. Then when we hit a 4%+ climb, most of the other riders in the group start cranking out 3.5W/kg+ and of course I have to go to 4.0W/kg or more just to stay with the group.
What I don't understand is why they are upping their power output on every climb but seemingly struggling to keep up at a lower power output on the flat? Is this something to do with how smart trainers operate? I have a Kinetic trainer with an inRide power pod so don't have a smart trainer but the power readings seem reasonably realistic as far as I can tell.
I've done the Watopia hilly figure of 8 race twice recently and it seems to happen on every climb at any point in the race.
Sounds about how races go yeah, other riders seem to be beasts on hills.
Every hill/ramp/roller in every single race is taken at far greater wattage/effort than the flats,thats just racing on zwift. It is generally the best place to break or split a group and everyone knows that so everyone tries a lot harder. It makes more sense doing that than the unfathomable reason as to why the start is always a full gas effort for the first minute
If that's the case then I might as well put all my effort in on the flat to gain some advantage before the climbs. I'll lose out on the group tow though which is the downside. I usually end up TTing on my own after the last climb anyway!
I'm a bit too heavy (mind, isn't everyone?) and I get the same thing. People do try harder on hills, partly because it hurts some opponents but also smart trainers ramp up the resistance and sometimes you just, err, try a bit harder.
I've tried the "beat them up on the flats" too - works best if you get a gap with a little surge first and make them fight back into your draft. Then do it again, and again.
No way of knowing whether it works but it makes me feel better every now & then 😈 . Trouble is, if you're climbing at threshold you'd likely be better off taking a rest on the flats but that feels like just waiting to become a victim sometimes.
Can you guys help me a bit please?
I did a 30 mins interval session yesterday and noticed a slider on the companion screen on my iPhone for 'bias'
How does this work? I had a go with it and it reduces (or increases) the power required. I thought that Zwift knowing your best FTP over 20 mins (from previous rides) would have just set the levels to that?
Can somebody explain how this works and why?
Ta
Dave
As standard it's at 50% so a 10% incline will actually feel like a 5% incline in outdoor land. If you want true realism, slide all the way.
It was set to 99% when I started, so I'm assuming that's the hardest ie it's slid all the way
I think the option in workouts is different weeksy - lets you bump up/down your FTP by a few percentage points if you're finding a session too easy/hard
Ah I see. Not done workouts. Sorry.
cheers guys, that's seems to make sense, I'll keep it at 99% and see how things pan out.
Weird shit going on this morning. Just done a small-field race and finished in about 6th or 7th overall, maybe 3rd or 4th B but ZP tells me I was 2nd (or maybe 3rd) overall and winner of B
Are riders still not registering all this time after the GDPR changes ?
HEre’s a question for some then… Regarding hills and Zwifting. Do we think that training on hills in a Zwift context is the same as training for hills outside ?
The theory behind the Kickr Climb and its ability to raise the front end is that in real life climbing you engage your muscles differently due to the changed angle, which makes sense. In terms of being able to sustain power etc, then it's just the same, but it makes sense that your body is going to be working at a different angle on an actual climb and that makes a difference. That's the theory anyway. I'm guessing you also engage more core muscles outside through necessity as well.
What I don’t understand is why they are upping their power output on every climb but seemingly struggling to keep up at a lower power output on the flat? Is this something to do with how smart trainers operate? I have a Kinetic trainer with an inRide power pod so don’t have a smart trainer but the power readings seem reasonably realistic as far as I can tell.
Smart trainers up the resistance on climbs, just like in real life, so you're having to push harder, so you tend to put out more power on climbs to overcome that resistance - you have more to push against, if that makes sense. On a dumb trainer, the resistance is linear regardless of the virtual terrain. Smart trainers tend to lose out on the downs though as there's less resistance, so dumb trainers tend to run away on descents.
https://zwiftinsider.com/classic-vs-smart-hills/