Zwift Chat

[Freelanderuk]

I have a wahoo cadence sensor and that works fine, so hopefully that will fix your problem

Picked up a cadence sensor from Halfords yesterday (Halfords own brand) as I was passing and they had one on shelf ,
Connected to the bike and connected upto Zwift and all is now working as should ,I am really pleased with the Kicker core

 

[berty bassett]

I had 60 watts more than the (female) rider who finished 20 seconds behind me but with same w/kg. On a flat course with the watt difference I'd expect to be way ahead, but on a climb be as close as we were. Another guy was even further back but pushed 280 watts but had 2.5 w/kg. It was a TT race so maybe that was part of the reason?

Lee was 3 minutes ahead but only 9 absolute watts higher ... but my 2.8 w/kg against his 3.6 w/kg was clearly a factor in speed even though it was a mostly flat course .

zwift power has the av w/kg at 2.9 v 3.9 - 241w v 250w
drafting was disabled so maybe we tried harder than usual ? heart rate was higher - i know it seemed hard work and i got a few pbs even though i wasn't able to do my usual umbilical cord style

 

[CXRAndy]

I had 60 watts more than the (female) rider who finished 20 seconds behind me but with same w/kg. On a flat course with the watt difference I'd expect to be way ahead, but on a climb be as close as we were. Another guy was even further back but pushed 280 watts but had 2.5 w/kg. It was a TT race so maybe that was part of the reason?

Lee was 3 minutes ahead but only 9 absolute watts higher ... but my 2.8 w/kg against his 3.6 w/kg was clearly a factor in speed even though it was a mostly flat course .

I don't know how sophisticated the Zwift algorithm is, does it take into consideration drag for a bigger rider-who knows?

From memory this year on the few TTs I did, on the virtually flat courses I was nearly a minute a head or riders(age group) who are about nearly a head of me on our rolling 10TT. A strong lightweight rider is the ideal cyclist, I reckon around 65-75kg, once you go much above 80kg then your ability to match/defeat these lighter riders becomes very limited to pure flat or downhill
If they get on your back wheel even on the flats, its like trying to shake sh!t off a blanket

 

[JuhaL]

Elite Drivo 2 is working perfectly again after that Ant+ issue or what ever it was. I had good help and advices from Zwift customer service and Andy's Zwiftalizer tip was valuable too. That site notice some problems and it give few suggestions what i should check .

 

[bobinski]

Drag is supposed to be modelled. So, the bigger the avatar...

Carl, Lee’s average watts were higher and by looks of it his 1-5 minutes watts a bit higher still so perhaps that accounts for the difference?

 

[Norry1]

With you there TB ... on leave this week, and from 1st Oct I went to 2 days a week working (ok, the extra time at home is to care for HID, but I don't really see that as work )

As of 1st April next year I am going onto "Phased Retirement". This is a pretty good deal that my company offer. You work 60% of a normal week and get paid 80%. Looking forward to it, although it will be a bit strange as my job is pretty full-on.

 

[Norry1]

I had 60 watts more than the (female) rider who finished 20 seconds behind me but with same w/kg. On a flat course with the watt difference I'd expect to be way ahead, but on a climb be as close as we were. Another guy was even further back but pushed 280 watts but had 2.5 w/kg. It was a TT race so maybe that was part of the reason?

Lee was 3 minutes ahead but only 9 absolute watts higher ... but my 2.8 w/kg against his 3.6 w/kg was clearly a factor in speed even though it was a mostly flat course .

I think it also takes "size" into account, i.e. wind resistance. So if you are taller and heavier, your wind resistance will be higher.

....ah just saw Bobinski's reply. Wot he said.

 

[Whorty]

Drag is supposed to be modelled. So, the bigger the avatar...

Carl, Lee’s average watts were higher and by looks of it his 1-5 minutes watts a bit higher still so perhaps that accounts for the difference?

Below are some numbers pulled out of the race. I thought w/kg was only a major factor on hilly courses, and I thought on flatter courses pure watts were more important. Found this link though (linky) that explains it well (although it refers to the Richmond course). This would be roughly comparable to the times last night I think - on the link it suggests a rider doing 4 w/kg will go around Richmond 3:40 faster than a rider going 3 w/kg. Lee is 1 w/kg higher than me, and 3 mins faster so that is fairly comparable.

Given the linky I think I'm lucky to be closer to Allison given her w/kg is much higher than mine.

Height of avatar does make a difference in drag, but as I'm a short-@rse I should be impacted less than others.

I think we can only look at these numbers in the light of a TT race where drafting plays no role. I'm idle in the groups so will happily let others work

Really interesting (to me anyway) and I think shows what a monster rider Lee is, and what a lard-@rse I am Now, if only I could lose that spare 20 kg I could start to be a challenge to Lee

Who Time Watts W/kg
Lee 34:51 251 3.9
Allison Held 37:53 214 3.2
Carl 37:55 243 2.9
Linn Lundberg 38:23 184 2.9
Harry Cowley 39:26 280 2.6

 

[Whorty]

As of 1st April next year I am going onto "Phased Retirement". This is a pretty good deal that my company offer. You work 60% of a normal week and get paid 80%. Looking forward to it, although it will be a bit strange as my job is pretty full-on.

Unfortunately I'm 20% working for 20% pay Just about covers the bills for now. Not sure this will be long term for me, but need to do it like this for now whilst HID is so poorly. Will need to take stock next year and see what we need to do longer term. Could certainly do what you're doing, 3 days work for 4 days pay, but can't see my company going for that

More riding time for you though .... you'll be leaving me for dead more often once your new lifestyle kicks in

 

[<Tommy>]

I find the aero debate interesting

You can see over the last couple of years lots of bike designers are now choosing aero over weight in their design, and lots of pro riders opting for aero frames as they’re realised that aero trumps weight below around 5% over undulating courses.

I am intrigued as to how Zwift works all this stuff out. I guess on balance it makes sense to assume all riders take the same position on the bike, and bigger riders by definition have a bigger profile. As it would be impossible to calculate between different rider’s ability to get into a better aero position. I suppose I’m stating the obvious here really... but it’s a reason there is disparity between virtual and real world riding.

Of course being a bigger rider I would say that

 

[theboxers]

I find the aero debate interesting

You can see over the last couple of years lots of bike designers are now choosing aero over weight in their design, and lots of pro riders opting for aero frames as they’re realised that aero trumps weight below around 5% over undulating courses.

I am intrigued as to how Zwift works all this stuff out. I guess on balance it makes sense to assume all riders take the same position on the bike, and bigger riders by definition have a bigger profile. As it would be impossible to calculate between different rider’s ability to get into a better aero position. I suppose I’m stating the obvious here really... but it’s a reason there is disparity between virtual and real world riding.

Of course being a bigger rider I would say that

I recall reading somewhere that power is really the defining point in aero. Look at most aero bikes, they ain't that skinny or light relatively. W/kg being equal a larger rider on the same kit has a higher potential speed due to greater total power. Drag, iirc, does not, necessarily, increase proportional to size. It goes up but not as much as you would think.

 

[bobinski]

I have no idea how accurate it all is. I do know that chasing Lee up a hill will always take me deep into the red and see him inevitably pull away, that i will close on him on the down hill and that i will often make up time on him on the flat becasue i put out say 10-15 more watts than him. But it takes a huge and consistent effort on my part, often bridging and jumping from rider to rider in front to also get some drafting/recovery at the same time. He is a good marker for the impact of w/kg and absolute watts depending on gradient etc.. Its not that i cannot bear to see him riding away from me

 

[<Tommy>]

I recall reading somewhere that power is really the defining point in aero. Look at most aero bikes, they ain't that skinny or light relatively. W/kg being equal a larger rider on the same kit has a higher potential speed due to greater total power. Drag, iirc, does not, necessarily, increase proportional to size. It goes up but not as much as you would think.

Aero bikes are designed to create the least possible drag. Every watt saved through aero gains is a watt the rider doesn’t have to produce. The reason the frames tend to be heavier than more traditional bikes is because their primary aim is to displace the air in the most optimal way. So you tend to see longer, narrower tubing, with the smallest possible frontal area, as this is the most effective efficient way of cutting through the air. Yes all being equal, two riders with the same w/kg, it’s the heavier rider that is faster on flat road. But two riders with the same w/kg and weight. It’s the more aero set up that wins. Hence why such an onus is put on aero benefit.

Drag does increase the larger an object becomes, but the difference in frontal area between a larger rider such as Wiggins who will have spent hours in wind tunnels perfecting his tuck, and a smaller pure climber like contador, is marginal relative to the overall power output of both riders.

I don’t know how Zwift do their calculations. I’m sure they pay people a lot smarter than me to chop this stuff up! But I suppose going back to my original point it shows an (understandable) limitation of turbo cycling, as opposed to actual cycling. Taller riders will be handicapped for their height without taking their personal flexibility into account. Not a lot Zwift can do about that really. But in the real world I would suggest lots of tall riders buck the trend and are in fact more aero than smaller riders.

 

[bobinski]

Aero bikes are designed to create the least possible drag. Every watt saved through aero gains is a watt the rider doesn’t have to produce. The reason the frames tend to be heavier than more traditional bikes is because their primary aim is to displace the air in the most optimal way. So you tend to see longer, narrower tubing, with the smallest possible frontal area, as this is the most effective efficient way of cutting through the air. Yes all being equal, two riders with the same w/kg, it’s the heavier rider that is faster on flat road. But two riders with the same w/kg and weight. It’s the more aero set up that wins. Hence why such an onus is put on aero benefit.

Drag does increase the larger an object becomes, but the difference in frontal area between a larger rider such as Wiggins who will have spent hours in wind tunnels perfecting his tuck, and a smaller pure climber like contador, is marginal relative to the overall power output of both riders.

I don’t know how Zwift do their calculations. I’m sure they pay people a lot smarter than me to chop this stuff up! But I suppose going back to my original point it shows an (understandable) limitation of turbo cycling, as opposed to actual cycling. Taller riders will be handicapped for their height without taking their personal flexibility into account. Not a lot Zwift can do about that really. But in the real world I would suggest lots of tall riders buck the trend and are in fact more aero than smaller riders.

FWIW i understand from others that zwift takes a riders height as well as mass/weight into account and air resistance/drag are affected accordingly. The assumption is an ideal lowish position, irrespective of body type, on the hoods. Does it do this accurately? Gawd knows. Ditto bike and wheel type.

I am always amazed to see taller riders irl tuck down into a frame and compete with smaller riders.

 

[Freelanderuk]

A new version of the Zwift app was released yesterday for the ios systems