Zwift and smart trainers

Been using Zwift with a non smart trainer for a while which seemed to work very well. It was consistent and I would use the gears to change resistence. Mostly used the pace partners.

Now I have a smart trainer just set it up and calibrated. Did a test ride with a pace partner and found if i sped up to to ride in front of the group, the resistance on the trainer went down. Shouldn’t it go up since im no longer in the draft?

No. Draft does not effect the resistance. Resistance is from the gradient, speed is (crudely) power – drag.

Any thoughts on why the resistance drops when I go infront of a group, then increases when I fall back into the group?

It goes down because zwift wants to make you feel good and carry on subscribing ??

have you got the trainer in erg mode?  If so, if/when you increase cadence like you might to get to the front, it’ll reduce resistance

Also if it’s in ERG mode you shouldn’t change gear on the actual bike as that messes things up. In ERG mode you pedal faster and the resistance goes down, slower and it goes up. As velocity x force = power (watts)

Try My whoosh, save yourself £18 per month and to be honest the riding experience seems more realistic.

It’s definitely work in progress but the recent updates have improved it.

“have you got the trainer in erg mode?  If so, if/when you increase cadence like you might to get to the front, it’ll reduce resistance”

Ah that makes sense. Thanks!

I think you can just wear any old trainers for zwifting, no need for particularly smart shoes

velosamba FTW, obvz

I find my old BKool trainer is a bit ‘laggy’ with it’s resistance changes, coupled with ERG mode it can be quite weird.

As others already noted, gear changes easily throw it.

I read about not changing gear in erg mode during workouts but what about when riding a route or with a oace partner?

Don’t use erg mode when just riding. I only use erg in a structured workout. If riding with a pace partner then leave it in simulation mode (then change gear as you would outdoors). The pace partner will increase its power slightly going up hill and down when going down. Would be hard to set erg to stay with a pace partner. Also note the speed of the group around the pace partner depends on how many are riding with it (though the average power stays the same).