Author Topic: Zwifting - I think I need help!  (Read 75303 times)

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #250 on: 26 February, 2021, 05:42:36 pm »
Have had issues with my smart trainer over cadence readings.  On the Radio Tower Hill I was being told my cadence was 30 to 35 with a speed of 6 to 8 km/h.  The gears I was using made either the speed wrong or the cadence. Given my performance against other riders, it has to be the cadence. It has behaved similarly on other steep climbs.  I'm not sure I can actually pedal that slow on steep climbs without falling off.

What measurement system are you using? AFAICT on my smart trainer at least, cadence and power are calculated inside the trainer and all Zwift is doing is displaying. Your performance on screen (and therefore your on screen speed) is governed solely by power.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #251 on: 26 February, 2021, 08:19:46 pm »
The power shown is consistent it's only the cadence that is out. The count is done by the trainer is out on steep climbs when in bottom gear.

Not a major issue and the manufacturer is taking a look.
Move Faster and Bake Things

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #252 on: 26 February, 2021, 09:46:41 pm »
Now the weather is improving, I’ve paused my Zwift membership because frankly I’d rather ride outdoors.

They’ve let me pause it for 8 weeks. Will I be able to extend the pause at the end of that period or do I have to make the choice between renew or cancel?
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #253 on: 26 February, 2021, 09:57:43 pm »
It's almost always better to "cancel" rather than pause. It doesn't actually delete your account, just stops payments. You can use it till the end of the month you've paid for and you can still do 25 km per month if you get bored.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #254 on: 26 February, 2021, 10:33:13 pm »
It's almost always better to "cancel" rather than pause. It doesn't actually delete your account, just stops payments. You can use it till the end of the month you've paid for and you can still do 25 km per month if you get bored.

Right, thanks. It seemed to imply that if I cancelled I would lose my progress/XP. Tbh, the only reason I would care about that is to unlock parts of the map, so I would have to seriously consider how much of a draw that is.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #255 on: 26 February, 2021, 11:28:36 pm »
You don't lose anything. They're trying to scare you into not cutting off access to your sweet sweet Abbey National book.

gibbo

  • Riding for fun, cake and beer.
    • Boxford Bike Club
Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #256 on: 27 February, 2021, 08:21:53 am »
I’m not going to let my membership lapse as I found last year, even though the weather was good, I still did a lot of indoor cycling. This was mainly due to the fact I was doing a long training program.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #257 on: 27 February, 2021, 10:28:55 am »
I'll probably keep mine running. I've found it really convenient to do 40-60 minutes on Zwift, whereas I'd rather go out for 2-3 hours on a "real" ride.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #258 on: 27 February, 2021, 02:34:58 pm »
Me too.  I like to get well out of town to ride, city riding is all very well for shopping trips.
Move Faster and Bake Things

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #259 on: 01 March, 2021, 09:47:29 am »
I'll probably keep mine running. I've found it really convenient to do 40-60 minutes on Zwift, whereas I'd rather go out for 2-3 hours on a "real" ride.

Same. I need to ride crap busy roads for almost an hour before I get to anything remotely pleasant so I'd rather jump on Zwift if an hour is all I have.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #260 on: 01 March, 2021, 05:53:42 pm »
To be fair, the countryside is only at the end of our estate - we're in a medium-sized town, with the plains of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire in the north-west to north-east sector, the end of the Chilterns to the south-west, and rolling areas east and south. But I still tend not to feel that a ride should be several hours to be worth it.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #261 on: 01 March, 2021, 06:00:40 pm »
The convenience of Zwift is that I only need to sling on a pair of shorts and (sometimes) a pair of socks, fill up a bottle, open up the laptop and I'm good to ride.  I can finish riding whenever I want to, or if I need to.

I'm also enjoying the racing aspect of Zwift, which is something I wouldn't be getting on the open road.  I probably wouldn't go back to outdoor competition even if/when we get out of the pandemic state.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #262 on: 01 March, 2021, 09:45:51 pm »
Got out for the first time in months yesterday.

I'd say the hours in the garage have been well worth it, the only segments on strava not showing gold for personal best were where I was having to slow/stop repeatedly for large numbers of families/couples/dogs/toddlers etc on the busier sections of the mixed use path I was on.
Short hills that used to leave me knackered/panting  are now just a pleasant(?) burn in the legs, and the 6 miles of gentle but constant climb on the way back just zipped past.

Sadly, I'll be back in the garage for a while now though, as the temperature is still dropping hard in the evenings, and too cold (it was just on the right side yesterday afternoon) upsets my slightly asthmatic lungs.
Back in the saddle :)

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #263 on: 02 March, 2021, 09:35:36 am »
The convenience of Zwift is that I only need to sling on a pair of shorts and (sometimes) a pair of socks, fill up a bottle, open up the laptop and I'm good to ride.  I can finish riding whenever I want to, or if I need to.

I'm also enjoying the racing aspect of Zwift, which is something I wouldn't be getting on the open road.  I probably wouldn't go back to outdoor competition even if/when we get out of the pandemic state.

^
That. I've got 'countryside' 200m from my front door, I'll TT outside but there's no way on earth I'd be doing bunch racing- have you seen the mess I make of myself cycling outside without adding wheels to hit into the mix. I have travel quite a long way before I can get 10 miles of flat which may also be a factor.

I'd miss my team too. The support has been an absolute necessity while we're in various degrees of lockdown. When we can travel I have a round the world trip with free accommodation available  ;D

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #264 on: 02 March, 2021, 09:57:14 am »
The social element is also huge for me especially in lockdown. I don't race or have a team but through the group rides and various fb groups have got to know a bunch who I can have a good chat with over Discord (and I don't have to worry about whether they're going to take me out with poor group riding skills).

The other thing is that unfortunately some of the 'lockdown driving' round here has really got to me and I have to fight huge waves of anxious thoughts to get out the door on the bike and quite often the anxious thoughts win. I know I need to deal with this as I do love being outside, but in the mean time at least I'm getting some exercise and keeping some semblance of fitness.


citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #265 on: 02 March, 2021, 01:51:23 pm »
Interesting reading people's comments on why they Zwift. But for the record, my earlier remarks were purely a personal reflection and no comment on anyone else's reasons for Zwifting, which are all entirely valid - not that you need to justify yourself to me or anyone else.

I like the idea of Zwift, I just can't motivate myself to do it regularly - also the racing aspects don't appeal so much, and I haven't got a set-up that enables me to make best use of the social aspects either. I'm a bit bored of some of my local roads but I have enough of a choice of decent routes to make going outside more appealing, and all on my doorstep, so I'm fortunate in that respect.

My son, by contrast, is in the middle of an FTP builder training programme and turned down my invitation to go for a ride outdoors the other day because he had a Zwift workout scheduled!

Anyway, I have as mentioned put my membership on pause for now. I can decide later whether I want to renew or cancel. The fact that you can pause membership whenever you like is definitely a good thing - none of that long-term contract nonsense.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #266 on: 03 March, 2021, 09:37:42 am »
I think if had to get a bike out and connect to a device to Zwift like I have to get a real bike out I'd do it less often.
Just walking into to a room and riding makes the energy of activation very low.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #267 on: 03 March, 2021, 09:47:01 am »
After doing some on request test rides using their app, Wahoo decided there were issues with my 4 month old trainer and asked that I return it for investigation while they sent me a new one, which arrived from Holland yesterday!  The new trainer was quicker to pick up Blue Tooth connected devices and a 30 minute Zwift ride went fine.  On the old device, in addition to the cadence issue, I had occasionally lost connections with the HRM and more often steering whilst riding - so far, so much better..  Despite these issues, I don't think any of my performances on Zwift were adversely affected.
Move Faster and Bake Things

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #268 on: 04 March, 2021, 07:55:43 am »
OMG I did my first Gorby workout this morning, with 5 minutes intervals at 310W.  I now hate Zwift!   :demon:

gibbo

  • Riding for fun, cake and beer.
    • Boxford Bike Club
Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #269 on: 04 March, 2021, 07:59:45 am »
OMG I did my first Gorby workout this morning, with 5 minutes intervals at 310W.  I now hate Zwift!   :demon:
I bet you can give it up any time you like though 😆

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #270 on: 04 March, 2021, 08:07:38 am »
Well, it’s a love/hate thing...

gibbo

  • Riding for fun, cake and beer.
    • Boxford Bike Club
Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #271 on: 09 March, 2021, 01:19:57 pm »
Decided last night, since I'm close to finishing the Everest challenge, I'd cross off a few badges and use some of the climbing routes still to do so did Muir and the Mountain. This route takes you up past the radio tower which has some really steep sections and on the way down if you change your bike to a TT, use your draft bonus power-up (if you've got one) and teardrop helmet and generate enough Watts you can exceed 100kph for which you get another badge. You can cheat by making yourself heavier - I didn't bother as already heavy enough  :'(

I started going back down and caned it as much as I could and saw 99kph come up, I was pretty much spent but gave it a bit extra before seeing 100kph tick over. Power was just under 700Watts.

That's 2 badges for the ride and I'm now within 10% of completing the Everest challenge. Of course the speed is completely unrealistic and IRL I guess the fastest I've ever been must be high 40's MPH and that was pretty scary really.

Just wondering if anyone has managed 100kph IRL on their bike?

 

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #272 on: 09 March, 2021, 01:30:54 pm »
The fastest I've seen on my speedo was 57mph. 

I don't think I've gone much past 80kph on Zwift yet.  Whenever I've been at the top of a hill, I'm normally f**ked from having ridden up it, so I haven't pushed especially hard on the way down.  Being 189cm and 72kg doesn't help much.  I can never be arsed to use power-ups unless I'm racing.

Emonda is a useful bike to have.  I've got Emonda / DT wheels for hilly races, and Zwift Aero / Zipp 808 for flat charges.  I'm not sure there's much point clogging up my garage with other bikes until I get the Tron.

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #273 on: 09 March, 2021, 02:16:11 pm »
84 on Zwift and 81 IRL, more than once - Garrowby Hill was the last, you have to time it right or you get stuck behind a car.  I limit my top gear IRL lest I try to go faster. 

Recently, descending Epic KOM, I was passed by a rider just at the moment they got the 100km/h badge.  No way I could draft that.
Move Faster and Bake Things

Re: Zwifting - I think I need help!
« Reply #274 on: 09 March, 2021, 05:06:55 pm »
Just wondering if anyone has managed 100kph IRL on their bike?
Sean Yates was famously clocked doing 70mph down an Alp :o - like many pros, he wasn't the fastest uphill and had to catch up somewhere. I've heard that riders frequently leave the camera motorbikes behind. That may have something to do with the cyclists getting large prizes for being first to the bottom of course ;)