Zwift Chat

[Freelanderuk]

Just had the second fettle and ride on the neo ,what a difference to the core, smoother, quieter, power output readings are more stable on the Zwift right side panel, I had some creaking from the body of the neo so I removed the bike and applied a small smear of silicone grease to the locking mechanism and total silence . I thought that a vibration had started but then realised I was on boards on the train tracks and the road sense had kicked in on the neo

The muc off ceramic lube has done the job I can hardly hear the drive chain,just a slight tweak to the gear change needed

Very happy with my second ride and got my second fastest time up box hill

 

[kipster]

@Whorty last night there were 4800+ riders, there were very few distinct groups so only short bursts needed to bridge any gap (think 5-10meters), but as the pace was high you had to keep a sweet spot effort going until the base of the climb. While there were riders coming past all time and I was passing others my position didn't change much for the 32km of flat stuff. Any relaxing would see you drop back 100 places pretty quickly. My average HR for the flat was 167, well below my max, I was comfortable for the entire ride. My max HR on the hill was 183, again short of my max.

 

[Aleman]

Zwift rewards those who power into an incline/climb. Even when drafting. Expect the watts to go up as you approach and increase yours if you want to have a better chance of grabbing a good sticky draft for a while at least.

That works fine on a short hill, but no amount of sticky draft is going to help on a 5Km climb like Keith Hill The only thing to do there is grit your teeth, dig deep, and ignore the pain. I was actually surprised that I only lost 20-30 places on the climb last night, I was expecting 100-150 if not more, I surprised myself by holding just over FTP for those 15 minutes of pain!

 

[bobinski]

What gets my goat is the 'sticky' draft in climbs. I can be pushing, for e.g., 3.2 w/kg at 15 kph, come up on another rider who may only be pushing 2.7 w/kg at 10 kph, then suddenly my breaks go on and I drop to their speed. After 5 or so seconds my avatar starts to speed up again but you've lost so much momentum.

Of all the foibles of Zwift, sticky draft is the one I hate the most. Completely pointless feature.

On flats it's easier to power through the stickiness, but I find it's much harder on climbs

Consensus is you are more likley to avoid it by powering through and the earlier you start the better
TBH I am not sure I have really experienced it. In real life it takes quite a sustained increase in power to pull away on a slope due to weight/gravity etc so perhaps that is what Zwift models? Possibly badly? Not sure. I am usually struggling too much to notice

 

[peterob]

Blasting out the blocks to get ahead of the slower riders, then settling in to a group (or a snake depending on how many riders tonight) works for me. Once you're in a group drafting it takes such a massive effort to break that group draft and get into the next group that I'd go into the red and maybe not then be able to hold the next group. I try to hold on at 2.6/2.7 w/kg and do the few bursts as needed to stay in that group, or follow those who try to break away.

If a faster group comes from behind I will increase power just before they overtake me to try and latch on to their wheel. Same on little inclines, burst of power to stay in the group.

Quite a few articles on power needed to stay in the drafts in Zwift; if someone pushing 3.0 (for e.g.) you can likely stay in their draft only pushing 2.6, but will also stay in their draft pushing up to 3.0. So I always aim for the lowest effort for the most gain. To break their draft and progress I'd need to push 4.0+ for some time and even then, if I was in a blob originally, they'll likely catch me back up again. I might as well cruise at 2.6 than burn too many matches for no real advantage.

I find hills though are totally different - this is where the w/kg kicks in and everyone starts to pull away from me. Those I can draft behind on the flats suddenly leave me for dust. When I get to Keith I'll need to keep something back so I can aim to climb it close to 3.0+ w/kg.

I never win races, but sticking to these tactics always sees me finish, get the odd PB, and sometimes increase my FTP

I was not aware until yesterday that you could save watts in the draft by only pushing what was needed to maintain the position (I wasn't even aware that you 'sat up' to indicate being in the draft). I wondered why I always seemed to be pushing higher watts when compared to someone of a similar weight who finished around me - I assumed it may be because of my height, non-fancy bike etc, but not using the draft effectively makes more sense.

I also need to learn how to read the course map. On stage 3 yesterday I had no idea how long there was to the top of the climb and consequently put too much into the lower slopes and had totally died by halfway up . I'll have a search for some Zwift tutorials to help me there (& pay more attention to what's on screen!)

 

[bobinski]

I was not aware until yesterday that you could save watts in the draft by only pushing what was needed to maintain the position (I wasn't even aware that you 'sat up' to indicate being in the draft). I wondered why I always seemed to be pushing higher watts when compared to someone of a similar weight who finished around me - I assumed it may be because of my height, non-fancy bike etc, but not using the draft effectively makes more sense.

I also need to learn how to read the course map. On stage 3 yesterday I had no idea how long there was to the top of the climb and consequently put too much into the lower slopes and had totally died by halfway up . I'll have a search for some Zwift tutorials to help me there (& pay more attention to what's on screen!)

Ummh...

Short version;

Threatens to be more race aware and faster. Lee, Bridgy better up ya game

 

[CXRAndy]

I was watching your ride Pete, spotted the decline in power half way up.

Id put it down to not quite got fitness back after holiday- Bobs excuse book

 

[peterob]

Ummh...

Short version;

Threatens to be more race aware and faster. Lee, Bridgy better up ya game

Ha - I don't think knowing where I am on the hills will necessarily stop me dying whilst going up them though!

 

[peterob]

I was watching your ride Pete, spotted the decline in power half way up.

Id put it down to not quite got fitness back after holiday- Bobs excuse book

You forgot to mention my dodgy knee

 

[Whorty]

I was not aware until yesterday that you could save watts in the draft by only pushing what was needed to maintain the position (I wasn't even aware that you 'sat up' to indicate being in the draft). I wondered why I always seemed to be pushing higher watts when compared to someone of a similar weight who finished around me - I assumed it may be because of my height, non-fancy bike etc, but not using the draft effectively makes more sense.

I also need to learn how to read the course map. On stage 3 yesterday I had no idea how long there was to the top of the climb and consequently put too much into the lower slopes and had totally died by halfway up . I'll have a search for some Zwift tutorials to help me there (& pay more attention to what's on screen!)

I think it was an article on Zwift insider blog that taught me this .... well worth a read if you've not done it already. A good blog for tips when racing.

e.g. even though i have the Tron bike I don't race on this bike as your avatar doesn't sit up when in the draft, hence when on the tron you can't tell easily if you're drafting. I now race on none-Tron bike (I select the bike based on terrain - hilly race = lighter bike and wheels, flatter race = more aero bike and wheels).

 

[JuhaL]

I have missed Zwift insiders almost totally. Need to read all the tips. Especially now i know how to avoid sticky draft, been there too many times, annoying.

 

[Gary E]

I've just received my new Tacx Neo (after sending the first one back which arrived faulty).
Can anybody, who's already got one, please run me through the setup? I know I have to download an app to update the firmware before I start but there are several Tacx apps (I'm assuming it's the Tacx Utility app I need?).
I would usually use trial and error and a Google/YouTube search but want to get it up and running as quickly as possible so that I can get a ride in tonight.
Any info/insights/observations from anyone running a Neo (Just a Mk 1 by the way) would be appreciated

 

[CXRAndy]

Tacx utility app is the one

fit cass, hopefully derailleur wont catch. cycle away

 

[Freelanderuk]

Tacx utility app as Andy says , took about 5 mins to update mine yesterday lates version is 0.18, make sure you disconnect from the app after other wise Zwift will not find your neo, I had to take the free hub of to apply the two washers so the derailleur would not catch

 

[Gary E]

Will the app offer me the update as soon as I link it to the Turbo or do I need to go hunting in the settings?