Zwift, my journey, my weight and my fitness.

Sounds like KISS C @ 8pm tonight will be busy

Watopia figure 8 doesn't really suit my riding style/weight much, but i'll see how i feel when i get home later and whether i ride earlier or wait till 8pm.

yeah like you'll be able to resist the call!

I peaked last night with that power/effort... not sure i've actually got it in the legs to try hard tonight too !

ZTR Tuesday Night Worlds at 18:30 for me tonight. More chance of doing better on 5 flat laps of Watopia then going up the hill both ways at 20:00.

Anyone else?

boom. strava results updated/uploaded, and i just scraped under the FTP limit.

4th place. (although the same time as 3rd place)

now where do I collect my prize money...

That's your last.... you've got 2 ticks now.... You're done next time you put in over the limit 🙂

did you stop at times ?

3.17w/kg 3.61w/kg 4.35w/kg 4.92w/kg 4.98w/kg

That's your 5, 2, 1 etc mins power... but you ended up at 2.57

I can't actually work that out lol. You must have been cruising the other times ?

i need to get on some scales and see if my weight is still right.

if its dropped, which it probably has, then I guess my W/kg goes up and I go faster for the same effort?

jam bo - Member

i need to get on some scales and see if my weight is still right.

if its dropped, which it probably has, then I guess my W/kg goes up and I go faster for the same effort?

That's correct.

Surely your weight only has a bearing on climbs/descents? W/kg is irrelevant on the flat? (which the course last night largely was)

Yes, w/frontal area are the metric for the flats.

Weeksy, that's where racecraft comes in. Use big power to hold faster wheels then sit in the draft at 2.0w/kg and let them get DQ'd 😉

Weeksy, that's where racecraft comes in. Use big power to hold faster wheels then sit in the draft at 2.0w/kg and let them get DQ'd

Hahahahaha.

Yes - no 26" support on zwift which is annoying!

So now I need a t2240(£200), a new 700c rear wheel and turbo tire - £100. Got the other bits.

Presumably a late 2013 retina MBP will run swift without an ant dongle?

Thanks for help - looking forward to joining Zwift, hopefully before the summer miles in my legs expire.

Presumably a late 2013 retina MBP will run swift without an ant dongle?

I have a 2011 imac and it can run the graphics at top setting at a reasonably acceptable refresh rate. The gpu is an AMD card , which I think a retina mac book should be better than.

Won't be riding tonight lads as I've just done 80 min of Pretzel.

Well, I think I got caught up in the 1830 ZTR Cat C. I'm a lightweight (67kg) and was doing 3.2 w/kg to keep up on the flat, so raw power obviously counts more than w/kg. The little climbs were much more fun for me. FTP is about 3.7 at the moment, so probably need a Cat B hilly/mountains race to be competitive in any way.

Can you Tailor Zwift?

By the way, for those waiting for the iOS app (or for those without bluetooth/ant+ on their laptop/pc) there's a kind of work around here (sorry if it has already been mentioned). My laptop isn't powerful enough to run zwift (doesn't support opengl), however I've got a big ole powerful desktop, so here's my setup:

- Desktop in the study runs Zwift & teamviewer application.
- iPad attached to bike in the garage runs teamviewer application - I can now see and use the PC (it's basically a monitor and mouse)
- iPhone runs Mobile link (zwift app) and from that I can now see my bluetooth devies: Tacx Vortex trainer, heart rate/cadence/speed sensors

Works perfectly! The only thing I don't have is sound, but I listen to music anyway. Hope this helps someone 🙂

Joined the Sub2.5 (read: pretty much 3) group ride just before 7 tonight. 2 and a half laps and the Bluetooth connection failed, which was mildly annoying. Need this dongle to arrive.

I like the sub rides they are almost never actually sub whatever but start of at a reasonable pace then develop which seems to suit me unlike category races which nearly always seem to start at 4w/kg after which its attrition until the end.

Defo no sound for me btw, usually just have the radio or music or occasionally netflix if its a workout.

SZR Race tonight for me then at 6pm. It's on Richmond flat roads which should suit me about the best i can find. So will likely give me the best possible entry into C cat i can think of.
6 laps and 5km per lap, so 30km which is about a decent sort of distance for me to hold around 2.5w/kg or possibly more if i can.

I certainly won't be winning it at that speed/power... but hopefully i'll give a decent account of myself.

Been feeling a bit low for the last few day - dodgy guts, mega tired etc. but really wanna get back on it. Feel like a winter slug at the moment.

Might see how I feel & pop on for a bit this evening, but not sure if I'll just do a ride or see if there's a race that suits the time I am on the bike.

I looked the other day at the workouts - there's a 12 week winter training plan I was thinking of doing, but it's ~4 rides/week which I will never be able to fit in. I'll have to tailor my own cut down equivalent.

Oh, and...

P-Jay - Member

Can you Tailor Zwift?

HA HA!! 😆

I did the ZTR race last night, didn't plan on finishing it, as I didn't have the time.

Being in the B group, i'm not sure I would have been able to anyway. It was brutal.

So many attacks, we were solidly over 300w even when not attacking. All the attacks were 5/600w. I literally got torn a new one.

Enjoyed it though - I find it considerably more interesting than standard turbo work. I love the randomness of it.

I'll do the ZTR on Thursday again, should only be an hour that one so will have time to finish it. The KISS races at 8pm are too late for me to be motivated to do anything.

So many attacks, we were solidly over 300w even when not attacking. All the attacks were 5/600w. I literally got torn a new one

Well, i'm not going to be troubling B's for many many moons based upon that. 🙂

I'm not going to be troubling most C's for the near future anyway hahahaaha.

Well done fella... nice work.

I'm right at the bottom end of the w/kg for the banding so it's always going to hurt I guess - I just expected it not to be quite so tough!

The only way is up though...

There does seem to be a need to automatically enforce the w/kg limits for the various categories. Zwift have set up a good race/ride system where you can see your competitors etc but it is a bit of a kick in the nuts when you see Cat D riders smashing out 4w/kg for over an hour.

I miss the days when it was closed beta and it was basically me and two other riders battling to hold all the jerseys!

Reckon I will have a crack at the SZR Race tonight @ 6, cat C. I take it even though it says cat E on the calendar, going by the description it's open to all cats who start at the same time? Just put your cat in your name to differentiate?

Zwift have set up a good race/ride system where you can see your competitors etc but it is a bit of a kick in the nuts when you see Cat D riders smashing out 4w/kg for over an hour.

I take it even though it says cat E on the calendar, going by the description it's open to all cats who start at the same time? Just put your cat in your name to differentiate?

Yup, that's the one matey.

You'll have to ping me over your Strava/Zwift info and i'll add you.. would be good if i can find you and try and hang onto your wheel. I'm likely to be only just over 2.49 cat limit by the end of an hour race... hopefully... Will try and start hard and hang onto a few wheels as long as i can.

I've done a few races where the DQ threshold seems to be very high - Cat D was up to 2.5w/kg and it seems that only anything above sustained 4w/kg would be DQ'd.

Nah, not seen anything like that. It does it over race distance average, so even if you've maintained a 20mins of 4.0w/kg as long as you've not exceeded 2.49 for the overall average @ 95% then you're OK.

I've seen/found a lot of Zwift racing is about tactics.

I've got a bit of an on-going battle with a mate who races and does mid-pack C's... He recently moved up after winning regularly as a D. When we compared Strava segment times i'm now quicker than him on 75% of our segments we've both raced/tried on... but he's finishing races about 3 mins quicker than me ! He's attacking climbs better than me, which makes a massive difference, he's sitting on wheels and the right wheels better than me... hence he's finishing quicker in races than me... It's all pretty interesting. You notice it more on hilly courses than flat, hence me seeming to pick the flatter layouts for my racing more than the hilly ones.

You'll have to ping me over your Strava/Zwift info and i'll add you.. would be good if i can find you and try and hang onto your wheel. I'm likely to be only just over 2.49 cat limit by the end of an hour race...

I don't know I'll be much use to you though, you finished a good couple of minutes ahead of me on the race on Monday! Good point about the length of the race though, hadn't thought about that. I was only averaging 2.69 on Monday for a half-hour-ish race so like you might be right on the border or possible under 2.5 after an hour!

Scared now! Don't think I've beaten any c riders in any other races.

lol yeah, might do this one at D 😀

You big girl. Get on with it. Ha ha. I'm lined up and just watching spongebob with my boy. Be warming up with 5 to go.

Arrrgh. Tried and tried. Lost 5 places in last 300m. Nightmare

Slight delay in getting my turbo set up so I was still faffing with my shoes when the race started!! Didn't matter though, no way could I have kept up with the C pace the entire race! I let you guys lap me and then hung on to your group as long as I could (couple of laps maybe!) Need to up my game I think 🙂

Weird, my strava is only showing 6 segments. All long ones.

Using the 'live' button shows me as being 155th between Salamon and Rydberg. But not showing on the results yet.

Salamon showing as 41st out of 72 currently... so i know roughly where i should be.

Thanks to this thread, I will be visiting my local branch of Halfrauds in the morning and then waiting for the Amazon bloke to arrive with an ANT+ sensor.

Seems like a really good bit of kit. What with my shift work, the weather and a 5 month old at home, I've only been out riding twice in the last month. I'm hoping that Zwift will change that to at least twice a week, which can only be a good thing...

Good luck in your quest mate.

The hardest thing I'm finding is taking a rest day!

These races sound fun!

I'm going to do the FTP test tomorrow to get into the correct category, is it done on a course or just watching a timer? Would you recommend the longer one over the 45 min one?

I'm 6ft and weigh 70kg - at the moment Zwift has me down at an FTP 280 which is a W/KG of 3.75 (280*.95/70)? This seems really high to me, I'm sure that'll be much lower after the test! 😆

57th of 87 in results... happy with that... more than happy 🙂

The Zwift handicap race is good if you haven't tried it. Riders set off at intervals with the slowest going first and fastest last with the handicaps set to create a bunch sprint amongst all of the racers.

Arse - first ride proper ends in abject failure after 5 mins when my stupid expensive 'smart' trainer(neo) broke. Overheating electronic brake = return to CRC.

Bummer.. that's a bit on the crap side ! Esepcially as they're super expensive.

I tried Zwift for the first time last night. Inspired by this thread and a lack of riding due to having a 1 year old.
I've done solo turbo sessions before (tough) and group ones in the local village hall (better but horribly hot and sweaty and driving there defeats the object of a quick spin). I found Zwift a bit confusing to be honest and stopped early so I could read up a bit more about what was going on. I'll give it another go, perhaps entering a race will make more sense than just bumbling around with no structure?

57th of 87 in results... happy with that... more than happy

Arse - first ride proper ends in abject failure after 5 mins when my stupid expensive 'smart' trainer(neo) broke. Overheating electronic brake = return to CRC.

found Zwift a bit confusing to be honest and stopped early so I could read up a bit more about what was going on.

It is a bit confusing at first. Give this a read. [url= http://www.titaniumgeek.com/cycling/zwift/zwift-user-manual-unofficial-running-updates/ ]http://www.titaniumgeek.com/cycling/zwift/zwift-user-manual-unofficial-running-updates/[/url]
Yes, races obviously give plenty of structure to a session, there are other things to go for outside of races though (KOM/sprint/lap times) plus if you have Strava then segments just like real life. Also there are a few achievements to unlock to help you level up a bit faster! Also although I've not done one yet there are "workouts" which I'm guessing are similar to TR sessions.

entering a race will make more sense than just bumbling around with no structure?

Depends what you want in a structure context really buddy.

Zwift has training programmes that can be followed, hills, sprints, intervals

But essentially it can only be what you make of it from that context, same as riding outdoor, lampost to lampost etc...

A race will only give you structure from the sense of riding at or close to your max for the duration, you'll attack from the off and just keep going in attack mode basically. Whether that suits what you want/need from a session i don't know.

Do you know if yours is a 2017 version?

Yes.

My structure I don't necessarily mean training more like things to keep me interested.
To be honest half the problem was the discomfort of overheating, didn't think I need a fan in a cold garage but after 10 mins the sweat was dripping off and my skin was steaming! Fan and buff for next attempt.
EDIT
By buff I mean the head gear, not doing it in the

Arse - first ride proper ends in abject failure after 5 mins when my stupid expensive 'smart' trainer(neo) broke. Overheating electronic brake = return to CRC.

Annoying. How did you know it was overheating? Shutdown? Blue smoke?

Not much consolation but the QC has improved quite a bit recently apparently. And if you get a good one then compared to the competition they are a bargain.

Really, Zwift isn't a 'thing' like TR or Sufferfest (although there are features which help you to push yourself like workouts and sprint segments to chase) it's more of a 'place'.
A place to go and ride or race your bike where 500-1500 other cyclists will also be riding theirs.

When we compared Strava segment times i'm now quicker than him on 75% of our segments we've both raced/tried on... but he's finishing races about 3 mins quicker than me ! He's attacking climbs better than me, which makes a massive difference, he's sitting on wheels and the right wheels better than me... hence he's finishing quicker in races than me... It's all pretty interesting. You notice it more on hilly courses than flat, hence me seeming to pick the flatter layouts for my racing more than the hilly ones.

Yeah, I was thinking about lying about my weight, while being honest may be more realistic, it absolutely kills the experience when everyone is just going past me like I am standing still at every incline.

did a bit of reading up on how Zwift works last night. The weight you enter on Zwift has a massive effect on your speed up hills... kudos to you for being honest, but this is probably the reason you're struggling on hilly courses!

Well yes, of course... that's how the world works and how it would work if we were riding outdoors too. So you play to your strengths and eliminate your weaknesses.

That's the whole reason i'm doing this and doing the 5-2, to drop weight and make myself faster and stronger.

I'm hoping in the next few weeks me, crosshair and a few of the others do a TT event, so no drafting effect, just man, bike and power... See where it all comes out in the wash.

I'm personally getting stronger, faster and more powerful week by week, every time i get on the bike and try i end up destroying my PRs... So i can't grumble about how it's all going. I'm hoping in the next few days/weeks the weight keeps dropping, when it does, i adjust my Strava and Zwift profile and reap the rewards.

People who were stuffing me up the hills 6 weeks ago are now being wiped the floor with on the hills... of course, there's always people quicker, about 20,000 of them i think :D.... but there's less than there was when i started this.

I wonder what the best weight would be for the "optimal experience" 🙂 Also it's worth putting in a few miles to increase levels as by level 13 I think you'll have unlocked the fastest wheels and one of the fastest bikes (probably only worth a few seconds per lap but every little helps!)

I wonder what the best weight would be for the "optimal experience"

The correct one of course 🙂 It's optimal because it's accurate... any results you get are exactly where you fit in on a particular ride...

This said, i have a mate who i got a Trainer for from an STWer but we can't get an accurate reading in back to back tests, so i told him to set his weight to 30kg below his actual weight as it's the closest to my actual setup that we know is pretty accurate. (he didn't.... so he's now riding a turbo that's 'slow' and struggling... but damn he's cracking on well and doing his best)

Of course 😀 although as you note it's not really accurate unless you're using a power meter or one of the more expensive smart trainers.

Yeah, I was thinking about lying about my weight, while being honest may be more realistic, it absolutely kills the experience when everyone is just going past me like I am standing still at every incline.

Isn't weight doping a thing on Zwift? Need a virtual WADA and random weigh ins!

I'm hoping in the next few weeks me, crosshair and a few of the others do a TT event, so no drafting effect, just man, bike and power... See where it all comes out in the wash.

I wonder if you can submit your own CdA if you've had it properly measured? 🙂

Isn't weight doping a thing on Zwift? Need a virtual WADA and random weigh ins!

obviously only concerned with the elite though. It is only a game after all 😀

I wonder if you can submit your own CdA if you've had it properly measured?

I believe that's how it works, once they've verified your real life data you get a gold star next to your name or something!

Though then there's the problem of knowing you're actually riding in that position. I can make a lot more power sat up than I can in aero position!

I guess you'd only be cheating yourself 😉

Though then there's the problem of knowing you're actually riding in that position. I can make a lot more power sat up than I can in aero position!

The thing is with the "weight doping" is at the moment I do not feel I am part of the game because my weight is so high (125kg) I would have to be putting out a steady 7-800 watts to be in the game, with a bit of cheating, I could try and hold onto a group and that would be motivation, currently it isn't. I want it to be hard, not impossible to join in.

Zwift is supposed to accurately simulate real-life racing. As you point out, you wouldn't be remotely competitive in a real race so I'd personally have no problem with someone entering a realistic lean weight for themselves if they so chose. No-one is going to care unless you start winning A races! (Obviously a big powerful bloke saying they're 50kg is not on)

The thing is with the "weight doping" is at the moment I do not feel I am part of the game because my weight is so high (125kg)

I'd usually be dead against it, but in your case i'd tend to agree some mild weight doping to bring you to ~2.5W/Kg FTP may be appropriate. As you say, unless the course is totally flat you'll not really get the full experience otherwise.

MSP - Member

The thing is with the "weight doping" is at the moment I do not feel I am part of the game because my weight is so high (125kg) I would have to be putting out a steady 7-800 watts to be in the game, with a bit of cheating, I could try and hold onto a group and that would be motivation, currently it isn't. I want it to be hard, not impossible to join in

On hills maybe, on the flats you'll do great.

I put out pretty much 1 for 1 at 100kg (98 now being picky)

I put out 200w and that's 2.0w/kg So i can't see why you'd be a million miles above with that wieght on the flats.

Perhaps a stupid question but if you don't have a smart trainer, how do you know what resistance to put it at?

If I am climbing up a monster hill, I could have mine set on almost max and somebody else could have theirs at 50%?

[quote=hooli ]Perhaps a stupid question but if you don't have a smart trainer, how do you know what resistance to put it at?
If I am climbing up a monster hill, I could have mine set on almost max and somebody else could have theirs at 50%?

same as if you stand up and big gear it, and they sit and spin.

as long as the calibration is good watts is watts.

I tend to shift into the big ring for climbs to give me a lower cadence and middle-ring/higher cadence for flats.

hooli - Member
Perhaps a stupid question but if you don't have a smart trainer, how do you know what resistance to put it at?

If I am climbing up a monster hill, I could have mine set on almost max and somebody else could have theirs at 50%?

Cadence and speed sensors are used and electronically adjusted in the game. An example - if your in the lowest resistance and your speed sensor is reporting 30mph, in Zwift it might only be 10mph.

I tend to shift into the big ring for climbs to give me a lower cadence and middle-ring/higher cadence for flats.

I singlespeed it every ride. I never ever change gear. The only time i may is if having a gentle pootle or a test/warmup ride i may change, but essentially i just ride same gear. Only thing that changes is cadence.

your on a smart trainer though that varies the resistance? i'm on a dumb trainer.

Interesting thread... Like the idea of a smart TT which will vary resistance automatically. What is a good value option - is there a default choice??

Tacx T2240 from halfords. £199 without discounts.

if they discount it tomorrow I might accidentally buy one.

Tacx T2240 from halfords. £199 without discounts.

Anything around 10% off that I can stack with a BC 10% discount and I may well accidentally buy a Neo. I think I'm going to be disappointed with the generosity of discount this year though.

There's the Tacx Vortex too for £276 at the moment: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tacx-T2180-Vortex-Smart-Trainer/dp/B00MCF5Q2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480006708&sr=8-1&keywords=tacx+vortex

Decathlon do the t2240 for £189.

KISS Europe race at 8, can't decide whether to risk DQ in cat D again or getting dropped in cat C.

Its a tricky one.

Last night I ran exactly 2.49 for the race and would have won D by nearly 2 mins. But I'm happier to have finished where I did in C. You really do get pulled along by C guys.