Zwift Chat

[<Tommy>]

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.

I think we have to assume all those things. And also Zwift have considered it all and are generally very competent. It would be impossible to allow for specific individual bike position unless in the future someone produces some type of body scanning device, which could monitor your position while on the turbo ( that would be pretty cool!).

At the moment it’s one thing that separates the two worlds. In Zwift land if we use ‘uclown’ as an example, as he seems to be a very successful sprinter and also records himself. We can affectionately describe his sprinting style as ‘humping the dog’, as he concentrates on optimal power as aero is irrelevant. Top sprinters in the real world like greipel or cavendish who have to contend with pushing through the wind tend to adopt the ‘chewing the stem’ position.

 

[Randyberlin]

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.

At the bike shop outside of Gloucestershire where I had my derailleur hanger replaced, I met Graham Brookhouse an Olympic Decatalete (bronze medal winner )who is doing tri races now. And he is all about saving every watt. He was talking tire profiles and even shoe laces.

 

[JuhaL]

Outdoor rides have a lot of factors what can effect wattage and save wattage. What options we have indoor training?. How we can save wattage with indoor rides. Keep a chain clean is probably one issue and good lubrication but what else we have?. On wheel trainer tyre pressure but what how about direct drive trainer?. Lose some weight would be ideal but that needs discipline.

 

[bobinski]

Outdoor rides have a lot of factors what can effect wattage and save wattage. What options we have indoor training?. How we can save wattage with indoor rides. Keep a chain clean is probably one issue and good lubrication but what else we have?. On wheel trainer tyre pressure but what how about direct drive trainer?. Lose some weight would be ideal but that needs discipline.

Direct drive? Clean drive chain as you say and no cross chaining. Other than that lose some weight. I dipped below 72 kilos a few days ago which was a surprise given i have been eating and drinking like crazy. I was almost tempted to change my zwift weight until a weigh in this morning had me at 72.5 kilo's

 

[JuhaL]

Direct drive? Clean drive chain as you say and no cross chaining. Other than that lose some weight. I dipped below 72 kilos a few days ago which was a surprise given i have been eating and drinking like crazy. I was almost tempted to change my zwift weight until a weigh in this morning had me at 72.5 kilo's

For awhile ago i did some experiment and lower my weight when ride in innsbruck. I didn't have any intention to cheat, i just did that in a name of science (maybe sounds better that way) . I did my 1-lap personal best in innsbruckring. I think it's gonna be my "personal best" for awhile .

 

[<Tommy>]

Outdoor rides have a lot of factors what can effect wattage and save wattage. What options we have indoor training?. How we can save wattage with indoor rides. Keep a chain clean is probably one issue and good lubrication but what else we have?. On wheel trainer tyre pressure but what how about direct drive trainer?. Lose some weight would be ideal but that needs discipline.

One factor I mentioned already is the difference in riding style. Because you don’t have to worry about steering, or even staying upright, you can focus more on getting yourself into a position to push as much power through the pedals as possible. For example one guy we went to the alpes with, hadn’t done much hill climbing other than on the turbo. On the turbo he can produce the most power by standing up and grinding out a low cadence for long periods, and he assumed he’d be doing the same up the alpine climbs. But in reality this style isn’t suited to real life riding. I’ve found from riding with people on this forum in the real world that there’s not always a direct correlation between performance on the turbo and the real world. One obvious factor is the ability to completely empty the tank on the turbo, knowing you can fall off the bike when the session is done. So one way to produce more turbo watts is to tell yourself you can push yourself a lot harder than your instincts might be telling you.

 

[bobinski]

For awhile ago i did some experiment and lower my weight when ride in innsbruck. I didn't have any intention to cheat, i just did that in a name of science (maybe sounds better that way) . I did my 1-lap personal best in innsbruckring. I think it's gonna be my "personal best" for awhile .

I hope you made it private!

 

[JuhaL]

I hope you made it private!

Ofcourse not

 

[berty bassett]

i like zwift
it treats me so much better than bkool did - but i am under no illusion - if i bury myself up hills i can pull away from people - that is the only way i can keep up on most courses - on the flat i have to draft and on downhill i am mincemeat unless in a group - much the same irl - i have rode with a lot of you irl now and know my place
i foolishly mentioned to bob about the toc - to try and help him this would mean letting him draft if we aint in a group - i know full well that this would mean curtains for me as i know on a flat course the london boys are stronger - and the welsh - anyone south of here in fact

i'm screwed

 

[berty bassett]

I hope you made it private!

oh no !

 

[Norry1]

Anyone else keep an eye out for any of Simon Warren's "100 Climbs"?

My plan tomorrow is to have a go at #114 Talland Hill in Polperro. It gets 10/10 so might be a bit of a handful

 

[bobinski]

i like zwift
it treats me so much better than bkool did - but i am under no illusion - if i bury myself up hills i can pull away from people - that is the only way i can keep up on most courses - on the flat i have to draft and on downhill i am mincemeat unless in a group - much the same irl - i have rode with a lot of you irl now and know my place
i foolishly mentioned to bob about the toc - to try and help him this would mean letting him draft if we aint in a group - i know full well that this would mean curtains for me as i know on a flat course the london boys are stronger - and the welsh - anyone south of here in fact

i'm screwed

It’s gonna make racing over winter extra spicy! So many of us here are sufficiently closely matched on a lumpy course we just have to choose the right races.

 

[<Tommy>]

i like zwift
it treats me so much better than bkool did - but i am under no illusion - if i bury myself up hills i can pull away from people - that is the only way i can keep up on most courses - on the flat i have to draft and on downhill i am mincemeat unless in a group - much the same irl - i have rode with a lot of you irl now and know my place
i foolishly mentioned to bob about the toc - to try and help him this would mean letting him draft if we aint in a group - i know full well that this would mean curtains for me as i know on a flat course the london boys are stronger - and the welsh - anyone south of here in fact

i'm screwed

Pfft! You’ve just got to take both variants for what they’re worth. And you seem to do just fine in both! (For the next couple of years at least I reckon )

 

[<Tommy>]

It’s gonna make racing over winter extra spicy! So many of us here are sufficiently closely matched on a lumpy course we just have to choose the right races.

Hopefully by the time my turbo turns up you guys have got regular racing organised rather than strava segment top trumps!

 

[bobinski]

Just been told my surgery is cancelled

Off to create a fuss...