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Started a couple of plans in the last week and they both seemed poorly constructed.
They workout builder seems good though so may just do my own
I quite like the look of the Wahoo Headwind but it’s a bit pricey.
Anyone use one? Is it worth the money?
It's very good in a directed, powerful sort of way. It's also quite clever if you want to have a fan that's controlled by your heart rate, but in reality I stick it on full for any sort of intense efforts and just leave it there. I have two other fans as well and despite the combined wind effects being quite impressive, in hot weather, I still overheat.
That's because your body is pretty inefficient so you're churning out 100w you're also producing approximately 360w as waste heat at the same time, so at 300 watts, you're producing something like 1200w of heat, like a small fan heater. In a confined space. Where the fan is essentially blowing warm air over you.
Anyway... I'd say it's a pretty good turbo fan, but one of those carpet drier / industrial fans will probably do the same job, albeit not controlled by your heart rate, but then that's of limited real world use, though it's quite clever.
So yes and, erm, no.
Well I did the ramp test last night. My FTP was 242 so have lost about 27 from my previous highest but prob about where I am at the moment. Gives me a good base to work with before I start the Zwift academy.
Always good to know where you are. Hopefully the academy will get hat power back for you.
I did the test labs race last night. Ouch is all I can say!
I probably shouldn't be doing anything too power intensive today after doing the Zwift Academy 2019 #7 VO2 Development last night, but I'm curious to see how the newish TT format works (setting riders off at time intervals) for some events...
Sucker for punishment at 1400, 10.9 miles of Tempus Fugit.
I not been riding inside or out very much at all the last 2 months. 1-2 rides a week at most.
So intend subscribing to Zwift again in September, and treating it as an alternative to the CX season ... will be cheaper and with the guarantee of actually racing (conditions and mechanicals can mean starting a cx race quickly turn into a pointless exercise).
I am about 5lb heavier than my last Zwift race, so with lack of bike fitness, will be lucky to hang with the B riders for the first month or so. So there is the goal ... back up to A before Xmas.
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Excuse the messy room. Its my hobby room and I have a few hobbies!
3 fans in use. 2 on floor and a third on wall than has 3 settings via a remote control.
Together they give a good spread of air onto my legs and chest/head.
As someone said though, I still get bloody hot. Without the fans though it would be terrible.
To me getting hot is part of the experience though. I get bloody hot when out doing "real" riding.
Doubled down on my stupidity and did that Giro Bologna TT for the first time since May, after doing the Tempus Fugit TT earlier... Forgot now brutal that final ~2Km climb is and my legs died, but lighter road bike and wheels got me up the whole TT a bit quicker.
I've got one of these 18" gym fans. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oypla-Electrical-Chrome-Speed-Standing/dp/B00HU3BF22/ works.well apart from the hottest days when I want more. I've got an old TV mounted on a wheeled stand and am considering adding a second fan to the top to improve coverage in and out of the saddle.
Evans have a couple of ex display headwinds for 152 quid each
Ouch!
Yeah, I'll stick with my generic fans I think.👍
Good psa for those that want one though dirtyrider.
Oh, those Honeywell fans i have on the floor are at a good price at the moment.
3 speed settings, though I leave them at max. Wall mountable.
£23.99.
Honeywell HT900E Turbo Fan https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001VEJFT6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-MYvDb22PXJMH
fwiw, ive had one of those Honeywell jobs for 2 years, and they do shift a lot of air,
Yep, those Honeywell's do a good job, been running one myself for the turbo since last winter.
Did my first Zwift race in ages earlier, forgot just how nuts the starts are... Could you imagine that happening in an outdoor pro race?!
Well I did a race for the first time in ages on Friday evening. Was pretty tough - a very fast pace even in the D's. prob went of too fast as I got caught towards the end by a number of people. Not sure if it is best to go a bit slower to start and save myself for the end.
Did a Zwift Academy workout yesterday which was pretty tough for an hour.
Going to do a race at 6pm tonight. It is only 5 miles though up the KOM. Should be pretty quick. The Zwift academy races all seem pretty short at the moment.
Not sure if it is best to go a bit slower to start and save myself for the end.
no you need to start hard to get in a quick bunch, you'd never manage to solo back on
a break from other turbo stuff today, did the 10am Team Dimension Data Hilly Lap, wouldn't log in so about 90 seconds warm up - 5/13 in B - some good power PBs, obviously going in the right direction, 328w NP
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=214044
then spun the legs for 30 minutes before doing the 11am Time Trial Tuesday up Bologna, forgot how much of a grind that beast is, 297w NP, 28s slower than last time i did it, not terrible considering the earlier race, 8/18
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=213004
I was getting an annoying squeak from my Neo for a while, it didn't sound like much and was easily drowned out by the fan, zwift sounds, music and my overall struggle for oxygen but asa week and a bit back I decided enough was enough and had a little investigate.
Pulled the bike off the trainer and nipped up the the axle adaptors as they seemed too loose thinking that would be the issue, just as I was putting the bike back on one of the six large bolts around the non drive side of the Neo fell out, turns out it had sheared off 🙁 .
No big deal, there are five more holding the thing together and the squeak had stopped, so I emailed Tacx asking for the bolt specification and any tips on extracting the remains of it left in the trainer. One RMA later and my whole Neo has been shipped back to the factory at their expense and by the looks of their support site and shipping manifest I have a brand new Neo 2 winging its way to me as a replacement.
Super happy about that, to be honest I was not expecting anything like that level of service but they have been amazing right from the get go when they received my email (which had to go via the Garmin support system).
Tacx support, amazing.
I like it when support is good 🙂
That was vomit inducing.
Fast Fridays Tempus Fugit.
Lost 3 seconds to the last time I did it. Temperature is sky high today though I blame the heat.
Just got one of these and its brilliant for cooling while on the trainer. I normally loose litres of sweat, and that's with the garage door open. Harly lost a drop on first two rides with this.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vacmaster-Mover-Floor-Carpet-Dryer/dp/B06WRV12HM/ref=sr_1_7?m=A2CDMBK5RNKHM0&qid=1566571817&s=merchant-items&sr=1-7
Time wasn't on my side this morning for a real world ride by the time I dropped the van off for mot and ran back -it left barely an hour before I had to go back.
Saw the KISS 2km sprint series.
2km being one of my favourite distances back in the distant days of the track league
Within striking distance of the front of the pack. 6seconds from winner for third in B cat 16 seconds back from the winner of cat A
Soon be time to stop playing with it though and get in with why it was bought. Next year due to new baby I'm gonna focus on TTs up to 25miles so need to drop about 6kg and looking to get up to 4w/kg minimum see if I can't get close to my long standing PBS from. 10years ago + some duathlonning.
Dilemma of the day...
After walking in the 30C heat for 3.5 hours earlier at work, not convinced I want to walk around Victoria Country Park for an hour. Do I go on a gentle recovery ride outdoors for an hour, to say Ashton and back (approx 15 miles tops), or do I set the bike up on the turbo for a gentle ride on Zwift so I'm home whenever the rest come back from Netley via a chip shop? 😆
was waiting on some visitors yesterday so managed to get on the vulcano flats race.
tough old gig that one, its not like normal racing - theres no lulls its just attack after attack it seems.
then when we went for the final sprint i topped out at 7w/kg and the eventual winner was going at 16w/kg. he must weigh as much as a bag of sugar
i simply can't comprehend some of the sprints people have. 16w/kg isn't that unusual in the final fling, even in C races you need 10+ which is just crackers.
I've had a long summer of excess and today is my first day back in the land of 5-2 diet... eeeek. I'm debating a Zwift race this afternoon, there's a couple of flat ones including the very flat 17:10. But depends if i have what it takes 😀
i guess its not that mad if your a 60kg fly weight.its only 950watts.
for me thats 1350 watts.
thats why i prefer TTs. No silly sprint to shaft me , im not a sprinter. ive always been about consistant power over long distances.
Agree, 10+ is not really a huge amount. I weigh 86kg, so a 10 w/kg is a sprint represents 860 watts. This is quite achievable for me as a C. Strava says my best 15s sprint is 1250 w
860w is still more than i can put out even for 15s.. I don't know if it's down to being on a Hardtail MTB or flats or me just being rubbish at sprinting, but i can't get that.. 700-750, maybe... maybe...
Sorry but I haven't got time to read the whole thread! Can someone tell me how much a basic Zwift set up would cost me? i.e the trainer, subscription and any associated kit I need?
860w is still more than i can put out even for 15s.. I don’t know if it’s down to being on a Hardtail MTB or flats or me just being rubbish at sprinting, but i can’t get that.. 700-750, maybe… maybe…
I guess that we are just good at different things. Much of it will be genetic. My endurance is not so hot.
Setup may be part of it too.
Sorry but I haven’t got time to read the whole thread! Can someone tell me how much a basic Zwift set up would cost me? i.e the trainer, subscription and any associated kit I need?
Least, £250 plus £14 per month.
Anything from there up..
You can do for less, if you go 'dumb' turbo from Ebay etc not a smart turbo, you're then in for £50 and £14 a month.
So something as cheap as the Tacx Vortex trainer on CRC for £180 plus an ipad or laptop propped up on a shelf would work?
So something as cheap as the Tacx Vortex trainer on CRC for £180 plus an ipad or laptop propped up on a shelf would work?
No reason at all why not. For racing events/results you'll need a HRM to be valid in the results, but you can race still, just not be included in results.
i guess its not that mad if your a 60kg fly weight.its only 950watts.
this is where zwifts reliance on w/kg fails i guess
Thats cool - I have an HRM belt and a cadence sensor for my Edge 520, I assume they will work as both are ant+
As long as you have an ANT+ USB dongle then 🙂 or i don't know about the iPad thing as i use laptop. I got one from Amazon for about £8.
im by no means a sprinter but i can put out 850w without too much difficulty for my 15 seconds but at my weight thats still only 10 w/kg .
how ever i was not outputting that after 54 minutes of 4.5w/kg
lol 4.5w/kg for 54mins, you're no newbie !
new to zwift. Long time racer come and go. Always been said that i race better than my numbers say i should.
your still way out infront on alot of segments. - assuming your steve.
I was him, I'll be here m again, sadly I'm not him at the moment lol
My segment times are flattered by racing in packs
I just bought a 'smart' turbo to enter the world of Zwift; went for an Elite Zumo (£450 @ Halfords). Then fell at the first fence it needs Bluetooth 4 and my 2010 MBP is only BT 2.1, so have just ordered a dongle to try and get it to connect..
I did manage to get some freebie app working on my phone and connected to it, to check it actually works etc. Not got as far as downloading Zwift yet...
Doing a bit of reading around, I might try TrainerRoad rather than Zwift, I think I just want structured training rather than random racing.....
If you have a newish iPhone or Android then both should support BT4 and have the zwift app available.
Yep, I did manage to get my iPhone 6s to connect, but it's quite small when stuck on a table in front, I couldn't read all the numbers etc. I suppose could get a handlebar mount, but I think the laptop will be a better solution...
A random Q: can you extract the power data from Zwift / TrainerRoad and import it into Polar Flow, or can Polar devices read power from the Turbo via BT? I quite like having all my data in one place and currently that's Polar Flow...
Anyone else having Zwift crashes in the last couple of days when using ERG workouts?
Happened twice tonight, final session in free ride was ok.