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Guys, this all sound great!
Can I use zwift with my rollers and a Garmin edge 500 (with HR, speed and cad sensor)? Would I just need a Ant+ dongle for the PC?
[quote=grenosteve ]Guys, this all sound great!
Can I use zwift with my rollers and a Garmin edge 500 (with HR, speed and cad sensor)? Would I just need a Ant+ dongle for the PC?
i think you can only use rollers with a power meter.
there's no wind, you can be drafting pretty much constantly, plus no safety factors to worry about e.g. Traffic, potholes, junctions, lights, etc. Just put your head down & turn your legs. The only real life scenario I've encountered which was remotely comparable was when I did Ride London - my average speed there was way higher than a normal ride, too.Why are speeds so high in zwift?everything appears calibrated but I'm doing 20mph+ for an hour which I would never do in the real world.
and the hills are piddly.
I think the science behind the algorithm is pretty solid but it does depend on your cda. Mrblobby will probably find he's the same or slower on Zwift for the same power output. I'm slightly faster on Zwift but I am like a sail in real life.
So the miles you rack up on Zwift do need a pinch of salt either way but who measures training volume in distance anyway 😉
Thanks for the comments, thought it was probably wind related but wasn't sure as thought it tried to mimic aero resistance using your height and weight. Will take with a pinch of salt though.
who measures training volume in distance anyway
noobs like me. I have never trained with power before, in the past I have only really ridden my bike and if my average speed is creeping up over time, assumed I am getting better. Is it worth getting training peaks/ strava premium to be able to quantify work volume from zwifting?
noobs like me. I have never trained with power before, in the past I have only really ridden my bike and if my average speed is creeping up over time, assumed I am getting better. Is it worth getting training peaks/ strava premium to be able to quantify work volume from zwifting
I think his question may have been a slight dig at me, more than at you.
We're mates IRL me and him 🙂
Well speed and distance are subjective aren't they. A mile downhill doesn't equal a mile uphill and a mile into a headwind doesn't equal a mile drafting a tractor 😉
Likewise, the mileage accrued in a 100strong Zwift group ride will likely be a lot more than the same time and intensity riding on there solo.
You can use average speed over a segment to measure progress though and the simplest way to do so on zwift is to use the TT bike (which won't draft other riders).
Can someone recommend the best first race for me? lowest category and up to around 1 hour and if it's worth getting on those live chat things or not? I like the idea of the cat and mouse as it looks like there maybe some guidance to how to ride in a group?
Is it worth getting training peaks/ strava premium to be able to quantify work volume from zwifting?
Yes and No.
Yes if you put in the time/research to understand what all the charts are showing you and understand any limitations they may have.
No if you just want to use training zones to get fitter.
Can someone recommend the best first race for me? lowest category and up to around 1 hour and if it's worth getting on those live chat things or not? I like the idea of the cat and mouse as it looks like there maybe some guidance to how to ride in a group?
The KISS Europe race at 8pm GMT tonight would be a good race to begin with. Enter any group - doesn't really matter - go for Group D if not sure.
I enter races via the Zwift mobile app but there are probably other ways.
The first two minutes of the race are horrible!
Well, my 500Euro sweetener from work has come through for a work related idea that I had entered into our Ideas program....
Already had 50Euro , so down to 450Euro & and after conversion to £ & with tax taken off it looks more like £270..... 😐
But, still enough to get me a Tacx Flow Smart as a little Christmas present to myself....with a bit left over!
Just need to get one ordered & get back on it now my manflu has receded!!
Kiss first base races are perfect as all D cat riders only.
[quote=weeksy ]Kiss first base races are perfect as all D cat riders only.
yeah right...1/3rd to 1/2 the field will get DQ'd, the 'winner' will probably average at least 4 W/kg...
Lots of prizes to be won in tomorrow nights kiss birthday bash races
Really? Elaborate?
Is there one for dying on your arse?
The hugely popular KISS Race Series is celebrating their first birthday with a KISS Birthday Bash this Wednesday 21st December at 8pm UTC.
About the Race
The race is a format known as an Australian Pursuit Race (APR). Unlike an ordinary road race, an APR is run as a handicap event. Held on Watopia’s Figure 8 route, groups of riders start at different time intervals based on ability. The first rider over the finishing line is the winner, so groups that start later must close the time gap to the leading groups in order to win the race.
Racers will be separated into 6 groups based on your best segment time for the Watopia Figure of 8 Course (here is the Strava segment link).
Please join the correct group for your segment using time bands:
Group 1 00:49:01 or longer
Group 2 00:46:01 to 00:49:00
Group 3 00:43:01 to 00:46:00
Group 4 00:40:01 to 00:43:00
Group 5 00:38:01 to 00:40:00
Group 6 00:38:00 or faster
Live Coverage
The event will be covered live by the awesome broadcast team that is Nathan Guerra and Jonny Noblett at www.beam.pro/NathanGuerra.
Prizes
KISS organizers have also arranged a bonanza giveaway! All racers who complete the race and are not disqualified based on race rules will qualify to go into the random drawing which includes fantastic prizes from 4iiii, PedalPower & Cycligent/Team Experimental.
Prizes include:
Pedal Power are offering a fantastic list of prizes:
10 Waterbottles each with a gel and bar
CeramicSpeed UFO Chain
Garmin ANT+ USB dongle and Garmin Speed+Cadence sensor (as a package)
PowerTap G3 wheelset and Powertap Joule GPS bike computer (as a package)
PedalPower cycling kit including socks, cap, gillet, and a soft shell jacket
2 Tacx turbo trainer tyres, Tacx tablet stand, Tacx Trainer mat, and a Tacx Vortex Smart Trainer (as a package)
From 4iiiiUK: a 4iiii Precision Powermeter and HRM Bridge
From Cycligent & Team Experimental: a pair of BePro Powermeter Pedals
Group 1 goes at 8pm and then the other groups at 3min intervals afterwards
That sounds great, well up for that.
Been off the bike since Saturday, feeling delicate still after a "heavy" Sunday night. 😳
There's a cat and mouse type race today that's got me at the very least, slightly interested....12.05 start time...
But i'm not sure the catagory start times are going to make it that fair personally. D starts at 12.05 then C 2 mins later, B 3 mins later, A 2 mins after that.
The power puts me firmly in the lower group, 1-3.3w/kg.... So i'd have a decent start, but on the Watopia 8 course... i'm not convinced we can hold on.... I guess that's all part of the appeal of it May be interesting
I'm going to aim for the KISS birthday bash ride tonight. I've not done that loop that decides the group so I've had to take a punt at group.
At the moment I've gone for group 2 on the basis I recognise some names in there from other races.
I took an hour last night to pootle around Zwift Watopia by myself - choosing, perhaps mistakenly to go up to the very top of the mountain.
Seems pretty relentless! Kept on finding people to chase down - something I don't normally do. Frustration at overtaking someone, leaving them behind at 2.0w/kg, only for them to burn past at 6w/kg to take them back up the road - then to reel them in again. Felt like they were doing something to their weight settings....
Am off to lose 60kg from my avatar 😉
Seriously immersive - turbo has never been this absorbing
Frustration at overtaking someone, leaving them behind at 2.0w/kg, only for them to burn past at 6w/kg to take them back up the road - then to reel them in again. Felt like they were doing something to their weight settings....
they were probably doing a workout session. in the list of names, did they have what looked like a little bar graph, and in their avatar, what looks like a screen in front of their handlebars?
Did (or rather completed) my first Zwift race last night, the KISS in Cat D.
My ridiculously laggy Macbook meant that I could never really draft, continually overshot groups to drop into and so just smashed along. Came 2nd, got DQ'd, so will try C next time, but really enjoyed it - completely immersive and worked tons harder than I would ever normally be able to on a turbo (having done Sufferfest stuff for years).
@Jambo - never noticed whether they had a graph or not - will check next time ta. Was really frustrating when it happened - but nice when you manage to drop someone on a climb
That doesnt happen v.much in real life...
when people are yo-yo-ing past you i think its mostly because they are doing interval workouts.
although I got passed on my way up zwift mountain the other night by someone putting out 15 W/kg....
The guy who kept on passing me last night wasn't even pedalling - maybe he was on some Zwift e-bike?
have you tried lowering the quality setting (or is your Macbook just [i]really[/i] old?) I've had it before when it's been very laggy even in lowest quality mode on my top-spec iMac, problem was resolved by closing Safari (possibly a web page using loads of resources?)My ridiculously laggy Macbook meant that I could never really draft
I'll check again with various settings, but it's a 2007 MBP (with upgraded RAM and SSD). The main issue, I think, is that is has a really old low-spec graphics card, which probably can't handle the load of running Zwift.
sounds quite cool, but being in the lowest group would make you 100% mouse i.e. no chasing so not as exciting as for the other groups!There's a cat and mouse type race today that's got me at the very least, slightly interested....12.05 start time...
Will probably have a go at the KISS race later
race time 🙂
i'll have 50 in my group to chase
but you're not chasing, the idea is to work with your group surely? Anyway, let us know how you get on!!
I'm hoping to do the Kiss race, my one and only attempt at the route was 54 mins so definitely in the slowest group.
lol @ group.
It was the usual levels of insanity. Good group until first big climb then shattered into little ones, i got binned but grabbed 2 riders from next group at they came past me and jumped on wheels, caught the next 3 guys in front back up.... 1 then pulled away again later, but i left the other, so it was me and Kim.. he pulled away on the usual Zwift flat loop hill and into the Esses.. .but i caught and past him past all the hotels to do him by 15-20m over the line with a 350w effort...
destroyed now !
sounds like there was minimal co-operation & it was just a regular race! Then again they could've been yapping away like crazy over Team Speak, you wouldn't know unless you had it!
Pretty much. Fun though but hard work.
Good work weeksy! ...is that an overall win?
A what? Hell no. I was a long way back. But I for see at leat a couple of DQs.
My goal was to survive not win
what looks like a screen in front of their handlebars
oh does that mean they are doing a workout. I did wonder
Damn it.....
Thought I'd do my first race tonight, and saw you all mentioning KISS races. Ah, an APR at 8:00pm- that'll do.
I've done actual real-world APRs, and thought the lap was 18 miles (it seemed to be from the bar at the top). So I went fairly hard (for me) for what I thought was going to be 18 miles......
....hit 18 miles, slowed up and stopped, and the race seemed to keep on going...... 🙁
ah well...
🙂
I think it broke. I crossed the finish line and it still didn't 'finish'
Arrrgggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙁
I had pretty good race and then bleedin' Zwift crashed 1km after I crossed the line. Is there any way of recovering it, or is it saved centrally somewhere.
I guess that means that I'm not entered for the prize draw either.
More annoying than breaking by finger on a real ride on Saturday!
EDIT. OK so I'm placed a few placed on Zwiftpower, although a few places lower than I'm sure I actually was
My race from earlier isn't even on zwiftpower.
That was great fun. I got ideas above my station and tried to break away from the group........that didn't last long.
[quote=cheers_drive ]Arrrgggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had pretty good race and then bleedin' Zwift crashed 1km after I crossed the line. Is there any way of recovering it, or is it saved centrally somewhere.
I guess that means that I'm not entered for the prize draw either.
More annoying than breaking by finger on a real ride on Saturday!
EDIT. OK so I'm placed a few placed on Zwiftpower, although a few places lower than I'm sure I actually was
look in the \Documents\Zwift\Activities folder. there should be a .fit file there that can be uploaded to strava.
202/456 according to the live results...
not sure the 'winner' from group 1 averaging 4.5W/kg will see his result stand.