Zwift spins

dahat

Macy0161 wrote: »

I probably would've raced if it had been a bit longer in my window. I may end up doing the CI on Saturday yet - I'm signed up on zwiftpower a few weeks.

Never done the real Alpe, but if zwift is realistic I can see why many of the pro's hate it. I did it during Haute Route Watopia but that was on a phone that didn't cope with casting (just about coped on the phone screen) with that many people. It was essentially just a workout. Apple TV, and a bigger TV, making a massive difference to the zwift experience (overall and definitely on the Alpe).

What size tv?

I'm going to upgrade my set totally for Zwift going forward as even after 3 spins it beats intervals in a cold shed!

jamesd

Ive a 32inch tv and an apple tv4 for zwifting and it is miles ahead of the pc and tv as just works overtime.

Macy0161

Ended up with an (old) 39 inch! 32 would be plenty though, and was my initial plan - the missus decided the 39 was too big for a rearranged space, and I didn't put up a fight!

martyc5674

MediaMan wrote: »

Read through a lot of this thread (not all admittedly), very interesting, but see it's mostly about racing events.

Can anyone recommend some Zwift leisure events or races where someone putting out a paltry 2.5 W/kg would have some company?

SAS group rides are always at the advertised pace. Most of their group rides happen to be around 2.5 and I’d recommend them- they keep a steady pace always.
I’ve no interest in racing either- it would kill me!!

Crocked

jamesd wrote: »

Ive a 32inch tv and an apple tv4 for zwifting and it is miles ahead of the pc and tv as just works overtime.

This is pretty much the best setup for Zwift unless you already have a top end laptop. Even if you don't have an old tv stuck in the back of the house already, a new tv and appletv 4K could be done for €400. "Cheap" by cycling standards and will get years of use out of them.

dahat

Two Zwift B races & two coffin box (4th) places, could have won last night but just missed an edge in the gallop.

Mad craic & loving it so far.

mr spuckler

I'm not even racing and I think it's brilliant. My schedule / commitments wouldn't really allow for long spins right now even if they were permitted, so an hour or 2 on the trainer every second evening is suiting me perfectly. Currently working my way through the various courses one by one!

Macy0161

Crocked wrote: »

This is pretty much the best setup for Zwift unless you already have a top end laptop. Even if you don't have an old tv stuck in the back of the house already, a new tv and appletv 4K could be done for €400. "Cheap" by cycling standards and will get years of use out of them.

400 is basically what it cost me, delivered. I tried to get away with one of the old 19 inches I was already using, but I couldn't adjust the zoom, so was missing the edges on the apple TV. Seemed to be serious money for gaming laptops.

Everyone happy, as I went for a walker TV with built in FTA Satellite/ Saorview/ Netflix/ RTE Player, so tidied up the sitting room by getting rid of the receiver and cabling and easier to use than casting/ firetv stick (if anyone needs to sell it to a better half ).

I do have a question for long term zwifters - unlike TrainerRoad, there's no price benefit for staying subscribed. However, if you stop the zwift subscription for a while, and then go back to it, do you lose whatever level you're at and all the frames and wheels you've spent drops on?

joey100

I've been back and forward on zwift for a few years now, usually stop it over the summer months and re activate for winter. I have all the same bikes and my level has stayed the same when I go back after a break.

Macy0161

joey100 wrote: »

I've been back and forward on zwift for a few years now, usually stop it over the summer months and re activate for winter. I have all the same bikes and my level has stayed the same when I go back after a break.

Great - I'm a big fan of TrainerRoad (which is probably obvious), but I think I'm converted to zwift for those Saturdays family commitments/ weather too poor/ still in lockdown to get out. Which hopefully means next winter than all year! It does beat TR and Netflix in that respect.

joey100

How do you find using apple TV Macy? Currently using a laptop and lots of cables, like the idea of simplifying it a bit. Can you run two apps at once? So could you have spotify and Zwift playing at same time, and how easy is it to swap between the two? How do you find the remote, that seems to be the main issue people have with apple TV from what I can see.

CramCycle

I got new wheels, not sure if they will make a difference. i like the payment system of sweat, if they added vomit as a currency I'd be minted.

Macy0161

joey100 wrote: »

How do you find using apple TV Macy? Currently using a laptop and lots of cables, like the idea of simplifying it a bit. Can you run two apps at once? So could you have spotify and Zwift playing at same time, and how easy is it to swap between the two? How do you find the remote, that seems to be the main issue people have with apple TV from what I can see.

For zwift itself it is great. Miles better than trying to chromecast from an Android Phone that was borderline able to cope on it's own.

Remote is a bit of a pain - very easy to select the wrong option, very quickly. When setting it up initially, it selected to deny permission for bluetooth for the app in quite literally the blink of an eye. I had to uninstall and reinstall zwift. I saw a post on Facebook that zwift are looking at the user interface on apple TV.

I haven't tried to use two apps at the same time on Apple TV yet - I haven't needed too. Must try that.

I've been experimenting with running TrainerRoad and Zwift at the same time. This morning, this seemed to crash my Hammer! The cleanest/ least flaky option seems to be TrainerRoad controlling the Hammer over Ant+, and my 4iii left sided being the power source for Zwift. Zwift taking power from the Hammer over bluetooth while TrainerRoad controls over Ant+ seems to work ok until I calibrate in TR, and that seems to throw the Hammer and I have to restart the Hammer.

joey100

Cheers, at the moment I have everything running on a laptop and then using HDMI to TV, works well, but it just means carrying laptop in and out of shed and lots of cables. Something like Apple Tv would clean it up a bit and save me forgetting the laptop half the time and having to go back into the house, bit of me likes the simplicity of the HDMI tho, no real hassle. It's the reason I went back to wired headphones too, got sick of forgetting to charge bluetooth ones and sometimes losing connection too.

mr spuckler

I'd love to do a TV setup but for now I'm zwifting on the patio, so carrying the bike & trainer in and out every time I use it! For bad weather / winter ahead I can definitely see myself setting up a TV in the garage.

Macy0161

joey100 wrote: »

Cheers, at the moment I have everything running on a laptop and then using HDMI to TV, works well, but it just means carrying laptop in and out of shed and lots of cables. Something like Apple Tv would clean it up a bit and save me forgetting the laptop half the time and having to go back into the house, bit of me likes the simplicity of the HDMI tho, no real hassle. It's the reason I went back to wired headphones too, got sick of forgetting to charge bluetooth ones and sometimes losing connection too.

According to a 2017 post on zwiftinsider...

MUSIC, LOTS OF MUSIC…
You cannot run Netflix and Zwift at the same time on Apple TV, but you can play music and run Zwift at the same time

You’ll have to start the music in iTunes (or any other music app for Apple TV) before you start Zwift.

Hit menu a couple of times to get back to the home screen (music is playing), start Zwift, pair up devices and ride while listening to your own choice in soundtrack.

Troy Schertz detailed in Zwift iOS and tvOS Users how you can control the music while zwifting:

With the Apple TV remote: Music can be paused with the Play/Pause button but cannot be started again. Track skip does not work.
With a universal remote like a Harmony: Track skip works but you cannot pause the music.
With the Apple TV remote app for iOS: Track skip, Fast Forward, and Rewind is possible.
With the Apple Remote App for iOS (not to be confused with the ATV Remote app): From the Now Playing screen you can Play, Pause, Fast Forward, and Rewind, and track skip. You even get album art. The only catch is that you have to have Home Sharing enabled on the Apple TV to use this app.
John R. Uppard gave another great tip in Zwift iOS and tvOS Users:

Another possibility is to start iTunes (or Spotify or whatever) on your iPhone then AirPlay it to Apple TV. You then will have both music and game sound while you can control the playlist directly from your phone.

Crocked

Macy0161 wrote: »

Great - I'm a big fan of TrainerRoad (which is probably obvious), but I think I'm converted to zwift for those Saturdays family commitments/ weather too poor/ still in lockdown to get out. Which hopefully means next winter than all year! It does beat TR and Netflix in that respect.

I've been using Trainerroad and Zwift together for a couple of years. Zwift for eyecandy while doing workouts. Then I do one race a week on Zwift to break up the monotony of doing workouts all the time. Work and Family life mean though I've only gotten outside on the bike once between my last race last season and now :eek:

Crocked

joey100 wrote: »

How do you find using apple TV Macy? Currently using a laptop and lots of cables, like the idea of simplifying it a bit. Can you run two apps at once? So could you have spotify and Zwift playing at same time, and how easy is it to swap between the two? How do you find the remote, that seems to be the main issue people have with apple TV from what I can see.

Could also run your music from your phone and airplay it to the appletv if not using headphones

Crocked

Macy0161 wrote: »

. I saw a post on Facebook that zwift are looking at the user interface on apple TV.

I haven't tried to use two apps at the same time on Apple TV yet - I haven't needed too. Must try that.

I've been experimenting with running TrainerRoad and Zwift at the same time. This morning, this seemed to crash my Hammer! The cleanest/ least flaky option seems to be TrainerRoad controlling the Hammer over Ant+, and my 4iii left sided being the power source for Zwift. Zwift taking power from the Hammer over bluetooth while TrainerRoad controls over Ant+ seems to work ok until I calibrate in TR, and that seems to throw the Hammer and I have to restart the Hammer.

Yeah the remote is horrible. They've said the new interface is ready for appltv but they've delayed the release of it due to all the new users at the moment.

Can you calibrate the hammer before launching Zwift?

daragh_

Crocked wrote: »

I've been using Trainerroad and Zwift together for a couple of years. Zwift for eyecandy while doing workouts. Then I do one race a week on Zwift to break up the monotony of doing workouts all the time. Work and Family life mean though I've only gotten outside on the bike once between my last race last season and now :eek:

Any issues switching between the two? If I don't unpair and forget my Turbo in TrainerRoad before opening Zwift then it seems like Zwift isn't controlling the resistance.

Discovered that 2 min into the second CI race. Full Gas and not moving at all.

Not that my Full Gas is anything to write home about.

lukegjpotter

Macy0161 wrote: »

I do have a question for long term zwifters - unlike TrainerRoad, there's no price benefit for staying subscribed. However, if you stop the zwift subscription for a while, and then go back to it, do you lose whatever level you're at and all the frames and wheels you've spent drops on?

Unsubbing does not delete your account. So you can comeback after the summer and resume your hunt for the Tron Bike and Route Achievements.

I stay subbed, as I like what they do with the money. Helps build features that the Ozzies can Beta test for us. And Supports the Zwift Academy Riders.

daragh_ wrote: »

Not that my Full Gas is anything to write home about.

The Forums are your home, so maybe delete your post.

Macy0161

daragh_ wrote: »

Any issues switching between the two? If I don't unpair and forget my Turbo in TrainerRoad before opening Zwift then it seems like Zwift isn't controlling the resistance.

Discovered that 2 min into the second CI race. Full Gas and not moving at all.

Not that my Full Gas is anything to write home about.

Main issue regarding zwift is that it auto detects the hammer and pairs for control. Not had the issue the other way around.

This morning, AppleTV was not picking up the 4iii - the 4iii wasn't paired with anything else and the hammer wasn't even on! I ended up with the Hammer controlled by my android phone over ant+, and zwift taking power, but had to restart the hammer a couple of times. I'll try again on Monday, as I won't be trying to do both at the same time tomorrow.

I haven't tried calibration in Zwift yet - the hammer doesn't necessarily need calibration every session - pretty sure I got that from Saris, somewhere.

Crocked

daragh_ wrote: »

Any issues switching between the two? If I don't unpair and forget my Turbo in TrainerRoad before opening Zwift then it seems like Zwift isn't controlling the resistance.

Discovered that 2 min into the second CI race. Full Gas and not moving at all.

Not that my Full Gas is anything to write home about.

I always pair to Zwift first so that picks up the bluetooth signal before it gets taken by something else. Once you have the controllable setting off then I've had no issues running TR at the same time. I run TR off ant+ if running both apps at same time

Always worth double checking you have other trainer apps apps on your phone/tablet closed before a race though just to be sure. Never had to forget a device in TR to get Zwift working. Once the app is closed before you open Zwift then it's fine. Problem with Bluetooth is it'll only connect to one device, so if you have more than one app open its a race to see which one pairs first and then you left scratching your head as to why you cant connect.

andy69

Enjoyed that CI race this morning, and was great to see that they've got their own named events now. The wife is doing the CIWZL ones now too, did her first race there last Wednesday.
Was out in the garden, sun shining, lovely morning.
Managed just about to keep inside the top 500 places.... believe it or not I was actually happy with that! Ha!
The second hill caught a good few out that went too hard from the gun I think...I skipped over a hundred places by the time we got over it

dahat

If they could hide other riders not in the race then it would improve the race aspect greatly. There was huge amounts of other Zwifters on the course which led to a few burned matches for some I'd say.

andy69

dahat wrote: »

If they could hide other riders not in the race then it would improve the race aspect greatly. There was huge amounts of other Zwifters on the course which led to a few burned matches for some I'd say.

....actually yeah, there was crazy traffic on the run-in back to the finish. Got a bit confusing, I wasn't sure who was who!!
Wonder if they can hide them...like for example if you do another of the weekly organised Zwift events, a social spin or whatever, then normally I don't see any anyone outside of the people that are in my spin.
I passed a load of others today on one of the ramps and didn't move up one spot in the placings. Maybe even if they could have us all in one kit it might help. I wonder if we get a drafting benefit from the 'outsiders' in front of us as we go along?

Bambaata

Had issues today:( Was spinning away in max gear doing 50W for the first 45s and then finally got going was in 850th! Moved up to about 100/150th after about 7/8mins of hard chasing only for dropouts to ruin it for me! Was just inside 100 and when it came back was 150th and on the first main climb, no point in continuing after another dropout as i was having to burn too many matches to gain back again. Hopefully the only riders showing are those restricted to the event for the next event. I tried watching but they were having issues due to other traffic, they couldn’t find riders in the race. Here's hoping its all sorted for next week and i dont have dropouts again!

JimmiesRustled

First off credit where it's due from me anyway. Many thanks to CI for going through the trouble to put it on.

As many have said here though having other riders visible just made it messy. I was giving it everything to stay with Mcglincheys group over the first climb. There wasn't a gap to those in front so I thought we'd made it. Turns out there were just loads of people out on Zwift and I mistook them for lads racing. It wasn't until a gap started to open that I looked at the mini-map. That being said I don't think I would've hung on through the jungle anyway.....

Still a savage workout.

dahat

Fair play hanging on to the lead group, those lads don't hang about.

I was all out holding onto a sub 140 place!.

JimmiesRustled

dahat wrote: »

Fair play hanging on to the lead group, those lads don't hang about.

I was all out holding onto a sub 140 place!.

Bit off more than I could chew and blew up soon after the climb. Ended up in the 40's.

Best 10 minute power to date though so happy enough with that. It's a bit of a mess at the start with lads from all categories. Started back in 600th place and had to chase on to try and make it up to the front group before the climb. Would it be better to have the starts staggered?