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That's fantastic! You're a brave man! Top work.
Thanks. Partly down to you Weeksy that I'm even on zwift, so thanks to you!
Just need to sort out a better trainers my old cycleops is soo loud tag even 3 floors above the garage my wife can hear me in the garage! I didn't think it was too bad but it must be resonating through the concrete building so much!
Nice work @jim25
I've just been testing out the power meter versus my vortex trainer:
[url= https://www.strava.com/activities/825011874/overview ]VORTEX 5.1mi 13:21- 218W Av [/url]
[url= https://www.strava.com/activities/825043912 ]STAGES 5.1mi 13:21 - 213W Av[/url]
5 watts between them is pretty damn close, assuming that is a semi accurate test that is!
Awesome- that's good news! In your face ZADA 😀
Gah, moderated last nights beer and got up before 7:30 (!) on a Sunday morning just for the 8am race, then get a PUNCTURE less than 10mins into race 🙁
crosshair
Awesome- that's good news! In your face ZADA
Not yet haha, not breached the 5.0w/kg.
HOPEFULLY be able to get some nice data from Hillingdon next week to use should it ever happen!
There was a useful little app that I ran on my smartphone (ipwatts) that allows you to log multiple power meters.
I used this to work out just how optimistic my elite muin with misuro power readings were compared to my stages.
It was surprising how much they differed particularly when the turbo was not warmed up!
I'm new to Zwift but so far I've been surprised by how much less power I seem to have available on the turbo compared to on my road rides, despite using the readings from my power meter on both. My FTP seems to be over 10% lower on the turbo for some reason.
Epicsteve, as a starting point...
http://alex-cycle.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/turbocharged-training.html
Cheers - that's a useful article. I've got a fan in the room and that helps a lot, however I suspect overheating is still a factor.
My FTP seems to be over 10% lower on the turbo for some reason.
Conversely, I just watched a youtube thing where the fella was stating the importance of calibrating the trainer once it and the tyre are warmed up. I have mine in the garage and had been calibrating it from cold (Tacx Vortex Smart). Now that I've done it after a 10min warm up the tyre is clamped much more than it was and I reckon that my FTP will be well down as a result. That said, the buckets of sweat that have dripped off me over the last 6 weeks are all still real.
The calibration point is a good one - the first ride I did on mine I was 20W down because I hadn't calibrated it properly.
Does anyone have any recommendations on the best/cheapest direct drive turbo for Zwift? Ideally one that connects and adjusts resistance but otherwise just one that does power and would be an upgrade from a dumb trainer.
Or shall I just get the T2240? As a fluid drive is it faulty quiet?
Gah! Starting to get proper annoyed with trying to get a Tacx Flow Smart that actually works.
First one had bits missing (qr skewer and bolts that hold it together).
Swapped it today and asked to open it to check that the bits were there - and again they were missing...!
Lots of apologising and to-ing and fro-ing...then they took the bits from another model and let me take it....yay!
Got it home, updated the firmware which it said was successful, followed the instruction to unplug it and re-plug it and then - nothing. Dead. Plug it in and the light flashes red for a second, then goes blank....won't talk to the Tacx utility app, won't do anything.
Tried shutting down Bluetooth, closing app properly and restarting it but it just seems like the unit is dead.
I don't know if I imagined it, but when I switched it off and back on there might have been a sound like an electrical 'zzzzzzt' so I wonder if something has been fried...?? Could just be over-analysing it.
Seems a bit rubbish that there's no switch on the device itself for turning it on and off....
Gonna call Halfords tomorrow and see if I can take the one that I returned today (obviously keep hold of the QR and bolts) and try it.
Tempted to just get my money back and stick with the 'dumb' trainer....humph.. 😐
rocco, I have the T2240 and do it in the front bedroom, my OH says theres a quiet hum but apart from that he cant really hear much and we live in a small end terrace so certainly quite close together rooms wise if that makes sense.
3 and a half hours on zwift for me this afternoon. Longest turbo session ive ever done and it didnt make me want to give up cycling and life afterwards either!
sorry to hear stumpy - picked mine up Friday and it worked first time.
Are you sure the cable is fully into the unit; obvious but it takes quite a push and the first time I put it in I didn't push hard enough.
Interesting article on overheating - I've never worried about cooling, I know I sweat like a ****er but just felt it was part of working hard - seems like I might need to invest in a big fan too.
theotherjonv - Member
sorry to hear stumpy - picked mine up Friday and it worked first time.Are you sure the cable is fully into the unit; obvious but it takes quite a push and the first time I put it in I didn't push hard enough.
Yeah. Thanks for the suggestion, but it's getting power as it briefly flashes red and then goes off...
I tried all the stupid things like taking the cord out and pushing it back in multiple times, trying a different socket etc. all with the same result.
Getting pretty frustrated to be honest. Just want a bloody unit that works...
The plan was to have one by the start of Jan to do an ftp test on the new trainer and get on with a fitness plan...
**** ME !
Just done my 1st race - cat C, which I thought I was borderline sandbagging and might win, at least til they tot up the wattage. Some chance !
Finished mid-pack and the leaders had disappeared pretty much by the time my avatar started to move
(does your start depend on your internet speed, I wonder, though can't see why. I was spinning fairly hard 5 seconds before the start and strava says I was at least 400w at the beginning of the ride)
... off for a shower
theotherjonv - Member
sorry to hear stumpy - picked mine up Friday and it worked first time.
I meant too ask, did you have to update the firmware to get the trainer to work with Zwift and change resistance?
If the next one works I don't want to tempt fate by updating the firmware if I don't have to.....
(does your start depend on your internet speed, I wonder, though can't see why. I was spinning fairly hard 5 seconds before the start and strava says I was at least 400w at the beginning of the ride)
I join the race about 10 minutes before the start so i get a position near the front. When it countdown to about 3 seconds to go im pedalling pretty hard, not quite a sprint but not far off. That usually gets me out the blocks fast then can ease back a bit as the lead group forms and there are people to draft. Still pretty full on for the next bit though.
scaredypants -
(does your start depend on your internet speed, I wonder, though can't see why. I was spinning fairly hard 5 seconds before the start and strava says I was at least 400w at the beginning of the ride)
Nope, it's just mental for the first 30-60 secs before things calm down. I'm normally around 1.4x my FTP power when the timer hits 0 😆
I often come out the gates at 1000w + and then try and maintain 1.5x the Cat limit for the next mile or so- then find a group to recover in.
Mixed starts are good for this because you can get a lot of bang for your short-duration power buck if you can hold a group from the Cat above.
The only exception is Watopia hilly- that course is a bitch anyway but the sprint start followed by the KOM climb is brutal....
I meant too ask, did you have to update the firmware to get the trainer to work with Zwift and change resistance?
Plugged mine in for the first time tonight and it appeared to just work. I've not even tried it with any Tacx software yet.
Also it sounds pretty much the same noise level as my old CycleOps fluid which is supposed to be a quiet one.
😳 - edit, I mean 🙁The only exception is Watopia hilly- that course is a bitch anyway but the sprint start followed by the KOM climb is brutal....
tinribz - Member
Plugged mine in for the first time tonight and it appeared to just work. I've not even tried it with any Tacx software yet.
Cool. I'll not update the firmware unless I have to! Cheers.
Did the firmware definitely complete? Because I think I read if it loses connection or power mid update it can brick the unit
crosshair -
I often come out the gates at 1000w +
You're mental!
The most I've ever come out of the gates at is 643W, but normally I'm at circa 460W.
I need to get my momentum up 😉 I start sprinting at 05 seconds......
greentricky - Member
Did the firmware definitely complete? Because I think I read if it loses connection or power mid update it can brick the unit
The utility app told me it had successfully updated (can't remember the exact phrase) and to power the unit off, leave for 5 seconds and turn back on.....so as far as I know it worked ok...but was then dead, so who knows!!
stumpy01 - MemberGah! Starting to get proper annoyed with trying to get a Tacx Flow Smart that actually works.
First one had bits missing (qr skewer and bolts that hold it together).
Swapped it today and asked to open it to check that the bits were there - and again they were missing...!Lots of apologising and to-ing and fro-ing...then they took the bits from another model and let me take it....yay!
Got it home, updated the firmware which it said was successful, followed the instruction to unplug it and re-plug it and then - nothing. Dead. Plug it in and the light flashes red for a second, then goes blank....won't talk to the Tacx utility app, won't do anything.
Tried shutting down Bluetooth, closing app properly and restarting it but it just seems like the unit is dead.
I don't know if I imagined it, but when I switched it off and back on there might have been a sound like an electrical 'zzzzzzt' so I wonder if something has been fried...?? Could just be over-analysing it.
Seems a bit rubbish that there's no switch on the device itself for turning it on and off....Gonna call Halfords tomorrow and see if I can take the one that I returned today (obviously keep hold of the QR and bolts) and try it.
Tempted to just get my money back and stick with the 'dumb' trainer....humph..
I had the same with a 3 week old Tacx Flow Smart yesterday - no broadcast to ANT+ and no light on - change the fuse in the plug just in case but nothing. Back into Halfords and a simple swap out. noted comments on here and 'accidentally' forgot to return the skewer and power lead.... all fine now but yesterday just rode it as a dumb trainer and the work out was OK. Bad batch?
Good luck getting yours swapped out.
I often come out the gates at 1000w +
Is most amusing to see dozens of riders shooting out the bushes at speed as I ride past 🙂 Assuming that's a race start.
Tough doing a long zone 2 ride in Zwift, needed to be pretty disciplined tonight not to be tempted by a KOM or sprint!
By the way, what's a rider with a red jersey with a u turn arrow on it next to his name mean?
Fastest reverse lap I think.
The race pen entry points are quite obvious- like motorway sliproads. If they come out of the bushes, it because they had internet problems. I saw one tonight suspended about 30ft above the road 😀
So MrBlobby- how accurate is the algorithm for you in terms of watts per speed? I anticipated you'd be a touch faster per watt in real life.....
Crosshair, hard to say really as so many variables. Tonights z2 ride was 100k with 1100m elevation gain in 2:55 off 240 watts (@ 71kg), probably not too far off given reasonable conditions.
(Re the 100k, I was done with my TSS target at about 90k but thought I'd carry on to 100k even though it's virtual and meaningless... I just wanted to see what I got for it 🙂 )
Another Q - does it get easier to read the road gradient? I'm new to a smart trainer and the first I know about gradient changes is often when the thing ramps up on the resistance. The indicator box isn't always clear in terms of what my trainer will do - I assume it's reacting to sort of "ripples" that the indicator can't illustrate
Looking at the "road" I find it hard to tell. Maybe I should bugger about with some settings on the detail thing
I meant too ask, did you have to update the firmware to get the trainer to work with Zwift and change resistance?
I updated firmware through the Tacx app just fine, and then pissed about with that for a bit measuring speed and cadence and doing a tension spin down calibration. I haven't yet tried zwift; home PC is a bit too shoddy so will try the work one tomorrow.
Only glitch I've found is trying to calibrate. First few spin downs were 'too loose' so I turned it up a fair way to see if I could get it too tight and then kept getting error in calibration messages. So I turned it down in steps, same message, down, same message, down some more and then it was in calibration albeit at the low end of the scale. I turned it up a bit more to get closer to mid scale - OCD or what - and then it was an error again. I gave up at this point as I was in jeans at the time and was beginning to get a bit of a sweat on!!
I'll fiddle with that a bit more tomorrow, it seems very fine on adjustment around the mid-range!
MrBlobby- ah ok. I know it's a bit of a piece of string question anyway.
At Hillingdon, that's the only place I'd say my bike rolls as well as it does virtually on Zwift.
But like today, once or twice I was cruising along some longish Watopia flats at 100ish watts whilst warming up and doing 19mph.
I have no doubt that would be 15/16mph max around here outside.
A 19mph+ average ride is noteworthy for me IRL whereas 21+ is the norm on Zwift.
I think the biggest issue is virtual v real cda for me personally....
Or virtual vs real rolling resistance.
If zwift took their RR from a buttery smooth alpine climb it'd be very much different to some crappy UK B road
Crosshair, you could probably work it out quite easily by picking a flat bit of Zwift road and rolling down from a few set speeds then solving the equations for rolling resistance and drag.
Fifeandy, it's not as hideous as it sounds 🙂 First long one I've done on Zwift and must admit it does help the time pass a bit easier than with TrainerRoad.
Zwift vs Hillingdon for me is definitely CDA - that track couldn't be any smoother and me less aerodynamic 😆
I think an hour is cut off for me on Zwift, particularly in Z2. Fair play mrblobby!
Omar Little up there ^^^ knocked out three and a half hours earlier!
I've done a couple of 3 hrs. The KISS100 race was quite good- if not as hectic as a short one.
Sandwhiching one of the longer group rides with a big warm-up and a cool down makes 2-2.5 go really fast.
Doing the ZTR/KISS double is a good workout too 🙂