Zwift Chat

[13 rider]

My saga for the 100kmph badge continues ,FRR makes you use the standard zwift bike with your wheels ,went for my climbing rovals due to the route , Came off the radio tower solo and just rested on the downhill not really paying attention but noticed I hit 99kmph again 😤. So a lot faster than expected, are dynamics are different in races compared to free ride ?

 

[alex_cycles]

My saga for the 100kmph badge continues ,FRR makes you use the standard zwift bike with your wheels ,went for my climbing rivals due to the route , Came off the radio tower solo and just rested on the downhill not really paying attention but noticed I hit 99kmph again 😤. So a lot faster than expected, are dynamics are different in races compared to free ride ?

I think you get a faster supertuck in a race compared with free rides.

 

[CXRAndy]

Completely rested on the downhill the guy we caught on the climb came flying past and properly dropped me . At the bottom when I went to start pedaling again my legs were gone ,felt absolutely awful the guy nearest behind had took 20 secs on me on the descent and was still 30 secs behind but he slowly reeled me in as I slowly died.

That's an awful sensation I wish never to feel again

 

[CXRAndy]

My saga for the 100kmph badge continues ,FRR makes you use the standard zwift bike with your wheels ,went for my climbing rovals due to the route , Came off the radio tower solo and just rested on the downhill not really paying attention but noticed I hit 99kmph again 😤. So a lot faster than expected, are dynamics are different in races compared to free ride ?

Yes, there is an increase in 'supertuck' speed in race events.

 

[13 rider]

I set a PR on the Alpe descent today completely resting ,so I decided to check my other efforts ,every other descent was either after the race finished at the top or a free ride and today I was 1min 30secs so the extra super tuck makes a big difference

 

[mjd1988]

Answer 3hrs 46mins and change
Stage 8 FRR just the small matter of the 4 horseman route and another trip up the hilly Kom as it's FRR so 90kms . The most subdued zwift start I've had I wonder why , Managed to hold the front group up the Hilly Kom to the bottom of the volcano where the race just splintered climbed with a group of about 8 and we crested together and rode to the Epic together,more splintering and crested with just 2 others . On to the Alpe where the 3 of us climbed up at about 2.6w/kg steadyish but feeling the fatigue . We caught another guy about 3km from the top . At 2 km to go I wasn't completely broken so I picked up the pace and crested solo putting time into all the others . Completely rested on the downhill the guy we caught on the climb came flying past and properly dropped me . At the bottom when I went to start pedaling again my legs were gone ,felt absolutely awful the guy nearest behind had took 20 secs on me on the descent and was still 30 secs behind but he slowly reeled me in as I slowly died. When he got to me I was able to latch on and we rode to the finish were I out kicked him for 15th out of 50+ which was payback for him beating by 2 secs on the ITT 😄. Then as I was at 90km I decided to ride on until I got to 100km for the badge which wasn't a good idea 😁

Such a crazy route, well done

 

[13 rider]

Such a crazy route, well done

I must admit it's not a route I will be rushing back to

 

[Legs]

Yep, it looks pretty straightforward to swap them in.

Since until now I've been 1990s Look Delta (not Keo) pedals, I thought it would be a good opportunity to change system, so it was a choice between the Assioma system (which is like Keo, although a lot of people report compatibility issues), or swapping to Shimano. I've only got two functioning bikes to kit out.

Still only about £50 for RS-540 pedals

So I've done the next stage; I picked up some RS-550 pedals for £20 on ebay and they seem to be in virtually mint condition. The spindles came out of the pedal bodies easily enough. I'll borrow my mate's torque wrench to make sure I install the Assioma spindles to the right torque.

Still need to get myself a head unit to make them useful... but then, I'm not even feeling remotely tempted to ride on the open road at this time of year!

 

[alex_cycles]

So I've done the next stage; I picked up some RS-550 pedals for £20 on ebay and they seem to be in virtually mint condition. The spindles came out of the pedal bodies easily enough. I'll borrow my mate's torque wrench to make sure I install the Assioma spindles to the right torque.

Still need to get myself a head unit to make them useful... but then, I'm not even feeling remotely tempted to ride on the open road at this time of year!

You can try them out as duals on your indoor rig. If you use TPv you can even do both in one go without a head unit.

 

[ColinJ]

I was just looking at power data from the rides that I have ridden with a power monitor. The Quarq power meter cranks that my cousin gave me don't provide a L/R reading, but I just noticed that the newer power meter cranks on the bike of his that I used on holiday do.

I was surprised to see that the rides I did on that bike were all either (L/R) 53%/47% or 52%/48%. That seems like quite a surprisingly big difference to me!

I have a significant leg length discrepancy - my L leg being the shorter one. I have noticed that my L shoes wear more quickly than my R ones, presumably because slightly more weight is borne by the shorter leg. Maybe that slight lean to the L makes my L leg slightly stronger or maybe my pedal stroke is affected by stretching the L leg more, or the R leg less?

Anyway, my questions are:

1. Is that degree of imbalance an important issue?
2. If so, what can be done to address it?

 

[CXRAndy]

Those power differences are quite normal between legs. I think when using the Tacx app, my difference as 48-52. Id expect pros to be nearer but still will have a difference.




Nobody is perfect-well except me

 

[Norry1]

I was just looking at power data from the rides that I have ridden with a power monitor. The Quarq power meter cranks that my cousin gave me don't provide a L/R reading, but I just noticed that the newer power meter cranks on the bike of his that I used on holiday do.

I was surprised to see that the rides I did on that bike were all either (L/R) 53%/47% or 52%/48%. That seems like quite a surprisingly big difference to me!

I have a significant leg length discrepancy - my L leg being the shorter one. I have noticed that my L shoes wear more quickly than my R ones, presumably because slightly more weight is borne by the shorter leg. Maybe that slight lean to the L makes my L leg slightly stronger or maybe my pedal stroke is affected by stretching the L leg more, or the R leg less?

Anyway, my questions are:

1. Is that degree of imbalance an important issue?
2. If so, what can be done to address it?

In my opinion

1. No
2. Don't bother

 

[Peter Salt]

I was just looking at power data from the rides that I have ridden with a power monitor. The Quarq power meter cranks that my cousin gave me don't provide a L/R reading, but I just noticed that the newer power meter cranks on the bike of his that I used on holiday do.

I was surprised to see that the rides I did on that bike were all either (L/R) 53%/47% or 52%/48%. That seems like quite a surprisingly big difference to me!

I have a significant leg length discrepancy - my L leg being the shorter one. I have noticed that my L shoes wear more quickly than my R ones, presumably because slightly more weight is borne by the shorter leg. Maybe that slight lean to the L makes my L leg slightly stronger or maybe my pedal stroke is affected by stretching the L leg more, or the R leg less?

Anyway, my questions are:

1. Is that degree of imbalance an important issue?
2. If so, what can be done to address it?

Leave it - whatever differences there are, the rest of your body adapted to them.

Unless it causes issues, e.g. pain in one knee/foot, there's no point in addressing it - in fact, you can make matters worse because you ridden all your life like this and now would be changing it.

I'm always spot on 50/50 but even the bike fitter told me that's unusual. I also think it's a bit strange, because one of my legs definitely feels stronger.

 

[alex_cycles]

I was just looking at power data from the rides that I have ridden with a power monitor. The Quarq power meter cranks that my cousin gave me don't provide a L/R reading, but I just noticed that the newer power meter cranks on the bike of his that I used on holiday do.

I was surprised to see that the rides I did on that bike were all either (L/R) 53%/47% or 52%/48%. That seems like quite a surprisingly big difference to me!

I have a significant leg length discrepancy - my L leg being the shorter one. I have noticed that my L shoes wear more quickly than my R ones, presumably because slightly more weight is borne by the shorter leg. Maybe that slight lean to the L makes my L leg slightly stronger or maybe my pedal stroke is affected by stretching the L leg more, or the R leg less?

Anyway, my questions are:

1. Is that degree of imbalance an important issue?
2. If so, what can be done to address it?

That's all perfectly normal. My most recent power meter the Assioma Pro MX2 pedals shows real-time L/R balance and PCO (Platform Centre Offset). While riding along, the numbers jump around a lot, but when you look at the aggregated stats after a ride it's never off by more than +/-2-3%. It's only an issue if it becomes a large disparity.

How ironic. I just went out for a ride on my gravel bike and got this badge on Garmin Connect for it...

 

[ColinJ]

Thanks all. It does make me wonder why people go to the extra expense of measuring both sides independently then!