Zwift spins

Daroxtar · 02-04-2020 2:08pm

cant justify the expense of a power meter though .. or a smart turbo

Yet.... It's only week 1 of the lockdown

lennymc · 02-04-2020 2:16pm

Bargain power meter! 250ish for a 4iiii 105.

ratracer · 02-04-2020 2:17pm

woody1 wrote: »

working on a dumb turbo with speed and cadence and ant+ so virtual power

got an idea of how accurate / innacurate it is last night, did a tt with some people that i know and i would know how close or far away i would be , and i was miles off , my ftp is 220w ish obviously i dont have a power meter but its there or thereabouts .. zwift has it at 170 ..o

Mine’s gone the opposite way! When using PM my FTP was about 270 through the winter. Put my old bike back on the turbo, using the built in power in the trainer my FTP jumped to 317 after the second spin :0
Now I’d like to say that I’ve just become super human, but alas no, I’ll still struggle to keep up on the road, whenever that happens. I don’t take the numbers on Zwift to seriously, it does give a great workout though so happy enough to continue with it for the foreseeable future.

dahat · 02-04-2020 5:07pm

Anyone raced on a non smart turbo? How did you find the pace & gear changing whereas others have smart turbos doing the changes for them?

Power is fine as I've a power meter in the bike.

reg114 · 02-04-2020 5:12pm

folks where are you buying an ant+ dongle ? I have a non smart turbo with speed and cadence sensor, just need a dongle.

CramCycle · 02-04-2020 10:10pm

reg114 wrote: »

folks where are you buying an ant+ dongle ? I have a non smart turbo with speed and cadence sensor, just need a dongle.

Youll get them on Amazon for under 20euro

CramCycle · 02-04-2020 10:16pm

I see CI have announced their second race, 10:05 Saturday morning 3R Sand & Sequioas Race.

JimmiesRustled · 03-04-2020 11:57am

CramCycle wrote: »

I see CI have announced their second race, 10:05 Saturday morning 3R Sand & Sequioas Race.

Be better placed height doping than weight doping for that one. More aero apparently. There's a 2 minute 2% climb first and then about a 4.5 min climb thereafter. Aside from that it's all flat.

lennymc · 03-04-2020 11:59am

at long last being a short arse is useful for something!

Macy0161 · 03-04-2020 12:19pm

First event this weekend - Haute Route Watopia. Tried a group ride, but my connection played up, so no idea what to expect.

woody1 · 03-04-2020 12:34pm

dahat wrote: »

Anyone raced on a non smart turbo? How did you find the pace & gear changing whereas others have smart turbos doing the changes for them?

Power is fine as I've a power meter in the bike.

did a tt race the other day, mostly flat, i wouldve thought the pace was a little low for the effort i was putting in, ive no power meter though so how accurate that is is up for question, but i would say it slows and speeds up accurately enough in relation to the slope your on, hard to know without having used a smart turbo to compare it,
how do you use a power meter and a dumb turbo, do you have to set the turbo to a set resistance still ?

CantGetNoSleep · 03-04-2020 1:44pm

Macy0161 wrote: »

First event this weekend - Haute Route Watopia. Tried a group ride, but my connection played up, so no idea what to expect.

That looks like a good thing for us non-racers / sportive riders. Three stages and all quite tough it seems

dahat · 03-04-2020 2:27pm

woody1 wrote: »

did a tt race the other day, mostly flat, i wouldve thought the pace was a little low for the effort i was putting in, ive no power meter though so how accurate that is is up for question, but i would say it slows and speeds up accurately enough in relation to the slope your on, hard to know without having used a smart turbo to compare it,
how do you use a power meter and a dumb turbo, do you have to set the turbo to a set resistance still ?

Power meter is crank based & would have to use gears for resistance as my turbo is direct drive.

monkeysnapper · 03-04-2020 5:41pm

irishrover99 wrote: »

Finished 5th in a crit race last night. Was in the hunt until my trainer came off the protective floor mats and I had to stop for 20 seconds.

Obviously the power is not probably accurate but is the speed?
It was the hardest indoor training I’d ever done and it was going like the clappers from the start so the effort was very very real.

https://strava.app.link/me3Uogvak5

I am using an unsupported turbo with cadence and speed sensor.

I did my 1st ever race today on crit race ..... I missed my 1st race then when I finally started my crit race my bike came off turbo and I spent minutes trying to put back on ....

Theres no limit to the amount of stupid things I'm capable of ....even falling off a bike on a turbo.....

This is the reason some cyclist need to stay off the roads during a pandemic....

I came 60 out of 113

Check out my activity on Strava: https://strava.app.link/3WKfgOJ7n5

Macy0161 · 04-04-2020 11:12am

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

That looks like a good thing for us non-racers / sportive riders. Three stages and all quite tough it seems

Tried and Zwift crashed. No idea was it my phone or zwift or a combination. It's a bit blurry on the more detailed routes anyway, so I suspect the phone just couldn't handle the mass start.

daragh_ · 04-04-2020 12:29pm

Did the D race today. Was good fun despite spending the whole race relentlessly drifting towards the back. Nice to see some familiar names (passing by at speed).

fat bloke · 04-04-2020 12:41pm

Another general Q about Zwift if I may. - What's it like on Broadband resources? Is it hungry?

CramCycle · 04-04-2020 1:05pm

daragh_ wrote: »

Did the D race today. Was good fun despite spending the whole race relentlessly drifting towards the back. Nice to see some familiar names (passing by at speed).

Only arrived 3 minutes before race start so was near the back. Put the hammer down for the first 30seconds and then just struggled to hold on. It was hilarious bouncing off people for the first 30 seconds. Got up to 450th and stayed in or around there for most of the race, getting slightly higher over time as we overtook shelled riders. Got my A4 sprint in to pip a guy for what I think was 420th. At one point I seen a rider shooting into the forest on the climb and then bouncing back out through the bunch, for a minute I wondered were Lenny and RobFowl messing about.

deconduo · 04-04-2020 1:59pm

Did the ramp test last week which gave me an FTP of 195W, that put me in the C category for today. I think that was a very ambitious target - I managed to average about 160-170W for the first 40min and than ran out of steam, averaging 120W for the second half.

Was good fun though, just about finished in the top 1000 :pac:

daragh_ · 04-04-2020 2:21pm

Bambaata · 04-04-2020 2:38pm

Good race again for me today, have points now in first two races in the A cat. Someone asked about w/kg for various periods, i've attached some data from my race today

In summary:
First 1min - 6.25w/kg
First 5min - 5.03w/kh
First 10min - 4.75w/kg
Overall - 4.6w/kg

The key is to get there early so you're not starting too far back. I was there about 10mins or so before race.

https://www.strava.com/activities/3252758995

Also i experienced first hand today how important a good fan is! Id been using an okish fan the past few months as wasnt bothered taking out the large fan i have. I felt far better today and see id a much lower HR average dispite better power.

monkeysnapper · 04-04-2020 3:38pm

I have to say after the calamity of yesterdays race I'm looking forward to another race today and hopfully I dont fall off ... ha ha ...

Theres something about being in a race to push me to a different level. After my 7 day trial I'm defo signing up for month anyway.

I'm still not to sure what the levels ABCD I'm at.

I figure I'm at level D .... my average power watts for a hour cycle is around 237 watts .... I'm 44 years young and weigh about 13 stone...

Can someone in the know clarify this please.

Bambaata · 04-04-2020 3:46pm

That 237 average for an hour your max effort for an hour? If so then you are at about 2.9w/kg which in zwift guide sits in C cat:

https://zwift.com/news/12012-zwift-how-to-choose-your-cycling-race-category/

These are the most common category boundaries:

A = 4.0 w/kg and above
B = 3.2-3.9 w/kg
C = 2.5-3.1 w/kg
D = 2.4 w/kg and below

andy69 · 04-04-2020 5:21pm

fat bloke wrote: »

Another general Q about Zwift if I may. - What's it like on Broadband resources? Is it hungry?

Apparently 3Mbps DL speed is desired. That might be if you have the resolution set to high...mine is set to low to save bandwidth. Our rural broadband is not too good or reliable...
Had to decide this afternoon before the Haute Route event whether to go with my broadband, or use 4G hotspot through my phone perched on the top of my shed window! I went with the phone as I was getting a lot of crap speeds with the broadband, in the region of 1.8 or 2mbps... Sometimes up at 4 or 5mb but with all the effort of riding that event I didn't want to be dropped out or lose it.
If you've 3 or more and it's steady then would be fine I'd say

S_D · 04-04-2020 10:01pm

Did my first race today, enjoyed it, didnt realize just how balls out you have to go at the start and its basically hold on for dear life! Happy with it, 16th I think in the C cat. 3.1W/kg avg. The standard was high!

yop · 04-04-2020 10:13pm

That was some crack today. Compared to last year I've over 5kg heavier, one of the heaviest there today and don't have the head or time for it at the moment so this was perfect, hop on the bike in the garage and go for it.
I've one of the original beta testers of Zwift from June 2015 when only 15-20 of us were on the one course they had with 100's of ghost riders.
Today was the first organised race I did and it was great for the spirit in these s9f99te times that we are in at the moment.

Got absolutely handed my ass but I expected that fully. Averaged 260 watts but because I'm over 100kg then my watts/kg isn't good enough to get a right placing in C grade.
The start was chaos with riders, bikes without riders, swaying in and out, it was chaos.
Its a pity they didn't separate the various grades to lessen the visual impact.

But all in all I feel great for getting and doing it. Will keep me buzzing for the rest of the dark week ahead.

SwissToni · 04-04-2020 10:58pm

yop wrote: »

That was some crack today. Compared to last year I've over 5kg heavier, one of the heaviest there today and don't have the head or time for it at the moment so this was perfect, hop on the bike in the garage and go for it.
I've one of the original beta testers of Zwift from June 2015 when only 15-20 of us were on the one course they had with 100's of ghost riders.
Today was the first organised race I did and it was great for the spirit in these s9f99te times that we are in at the moment.

Got absolutely handed my ass but I expected that fully. Averaged 260 watts but because I'm over 100kg then my watts/kg isn't good enough to get a right placing in C grade.
The start was chaos with riders, bikes without riders, swaying in and out, it was chaos.
Its a pity they didn't separate the various grades to lessen the visual impact.

But all in all I feel great for getting and doing it. Will keep me buzzing for the rest of the dark week ahead.

Don’t understand why they don’t do separate races when there’s over 1300 starters, it’s not like they need to find an extra lead car.

Weepsie · 05-04-2020 6:47pm

So, I may start another thread as I'm going through zwift alternatives as well as zwift.

Rgt cycling as been good, but never more than a few dozen people on it when I've used it. Handful of Irish on it, some UK, German , french, American and Canadian.

Think there are definitely busier times and there bots on it.

Did big ring vr today instead. I enjoyed it more than I expected.

OneLap (Chinese zwift) now requires a sub. The original didn't and was pretty good imo

Daroxtar · 05-04-2020 7:21pm

I've mentioned this one before but here you go again anyway
Different to Zwift, this one is HD videos. Quite a lot of famous TDF/Giro/Vuelta climbs along with plenty of other less well known routes.
Still free as its still in Beta. Devs very responsive in the feedback channels.
https://cms.bikethe.world/

Weepsie · 05-04-2020 9:01pm

I tried it, picked up my power meter and trainer etc, but nothing happened.

Delboy007 · 05-04-2020 10:34pm

Was looking forward to yesterday race as really enjoyed the 1st race, only D races but helps u push yourself. I was in d race 15min before it started and 2min I got kicked.
Did this happen to anyone, and does anyone know if it happens again can you get into d race again

Weepsie · 06-04-2020 1:18pm

Did a race today. Team ZWC hill climb battle.

Think I just about shaded into the C category so went for that. Finished 13th in cat and 88th or 71st overall, not sure .

Definitely people entering themselves into the wrong categories though, because you know, winning is everything

First time using Zwift in 2 years. It's upped it's game in terms of the companion app. Well ahead of RGT etc

nilhg · 06-04-2020 1:32pm

If anyone has alot of time on their hands, there'll be this coming up in June, open to all....

https://road.cc/content/news/virtual-race-across-america-take-place-272477?fbclid=IwAR2BHxigyHQckxOTN586SGlOoDtQThlzll3wg2GuJZTjiB-j8Wq7Wwqbl-8

lennymc · 06-04-2020 1:40pm

Weepsie wrote: »

Did a race today. Team ZWC hill climb battle.

Think I just about shaded into the C category so went for that. Finished 13th in cat and 88th or 71st overall, not sure .

Definitely people entering themselves into the wrong categories though, because you know, winning is everything

First time using Zwift in 2 years. It's upped it's game in terms of the companion app. Well ahead of RGT etc

yeah, i really dont understand that. I dont take the raicng too seriously, although I do find i dig deeper in the races....

nordicb · 06-04-2020 2:45pm

Most shorter zwift races start as a sprint and hold for dear life. However those, that are 70km+ tend to start a lot calmer. Wonder if CI will gradually pick harder or/and longer courses each week?

I agree, they should separate groups. Hard to race something when you never see the front. Opening gaps at the start are terminal...

Bambaata · 06-04-2020 3:01pm

I just hope they don't do the Alp or crazy long climbs!

JimmiesRustled · 06-04-2020 3:10pm

nordicb wrote: »

Most shorter zwift races start as a sprint and hold for dear life. However those, that are 70km+ tend to start a lot calmer. Wonder if CI will gradually pick harder or/and longer courses each week?

I agree, they should separate groups. Hard to race something when you never see the front. Opening gaps at the start are terminal...

All the 100+km races I've done or at least attempted all start the same way. Even the Haute Route yesterday which was 70+km was a 600-700 watt start and then anywhere from 320-390 for the next 5 minutes before realising I had a 4 hour endurance ride on the cards. Really depends how many 20kg riders turn up.

Daroxtar · 06-04-2020 4:03pm

Bambaata wrote: »

I just hope they don't do the Alp or crazy long climbs!

I'd actually prefer if they did. I can hold higher watts for longer on the big climbs than the constant spurts and changes in the flatter routes.

Bambaata · 06-04-2020 4:26pm

I fear my weight will hamper me more than it does on the short sharp climbs that we've had so far. There'd be little to no drafting effect too and id also guess we'd see a lot more weight dopers than we've seen so far!

CantGetNoSleep · 06-04-2020 4:26pm

Might try a race later or tomorrow. I'm a slow overweight club rider. But if Cat D really is a max of 2.4 w/kg I reckon I can hold that for a few mins at least, or longer. Let's see

Whatwicklow · 06-04-2020 5:03pm

Have CI issued results for round 2 yet? I didn't see anything on FB.
ZPower has me inside the top 50 C so I am hoping the filtered list removes the top 45 or so!!!

Daroxtar · 06-04-2020 6:07pm

Bambaata wrote: »

I fear my weight will hamper me more than it does on the short sharp climbs that we've had so far. There'd be little to no drafting effect too and id also guess we'd see a lot more weight dopers than we've seen so far!

Its a bit pathetic to see that kind of thing going on. Hopefully CI will take a quick glance at the weights on Zwift Power and if there's any questionable numbers they'll exclude the riders.
On a more personal level, it's a bit depressing seeing my stats from 2 years ago and realising I had no problem dropping to 70kg but can't get there now for love nor money.

Weepsie · 06-04-2020 9:04pm

Daroxtar wrote: »

I'd actually prefer if they did. I can hold higher watts for longer on the big climbs than the constant spurts and changes in the flatter routes.

I did that on a race today. I think it helped someone like me. Not a racer by any stretch of the imagination but I can suffer a bit, so once I got chewed up having led briefly for about 20 metres, I had a battle among those in the 50-75 places

Weepsie · 06-04-2020 9:06pm

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

Might try a race later or tomorrow. I'm a slow overweight club rider. But if Cat D really is a max of 2.4 w/kg I reckon I can hold that for a few mins at least, or longer. Let's see

That's the idea, but the CAT D top 10 earlier had people who would be placing in the top 25 overall.

CramCycle · 06-04-2020 9:12pm

Weepsie wrote: »

That's the idea, but the CAT D top 10 earlier had people who would be placing in the top 25 overall.

Zwiftpower seems to sort most of that out if you sign up

Bambaata · 06-04-2020 10:28pm

Well I ended up racing the Alp tonight with a small meetup group. Set a nice 60min power record for the race and a 42min on the Alp which is a lot faster than i thought I'd manage on it! I dont want to have to repeat it anytime soon though.

Daroxtar · 06-04-2020 10:58pm

42 minutes!! Jaysus...

iwillhtfu · 06-04-2020 11:01pm

Bambaata wrote: »

Well I ended up racing the Alp tonight with a small meetup group. Set a nice 60min power record for the race and a 42min on the Alp which is a lot faster than i thought I'd manage on it! I dont want to have to repeat it anytime soon though.

At 42mins on the alp I was seeing how much I could get for my trainer and was a long way from the top

Savage effort well done

fat bloke · 07-04-2020 12:23am

I've done a few of the RGT courses. Did the Paterberg laps tonight and was looking at their all time leader board. 300w's ish gets you up the Paterberg ramp in something under 2 mins say. The top time is a shade over 1 second...

I don't know how you would even cheat that. If you put your body weight down as 1gram and did a 1000w standing start single pedal revolution - would that do it?!

Macy0161 · 07-04-2020 9:36am

iwillhtfu wrote: »

At 42mins on the alp I was seeing how much I could get for my trainer and was a long way from the top

Savage effort well done

Did Haute Route on Saturday and was the same. Although as per JimmiesRustled's post, it was pretty much full on from the start. Can only imagine what a race is like.

An Uber Pretzel popped up as an event on Saturday. Kinda tempted...

Zwift spins

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