Zwift Chat

[CXRAndy]

My birthday's on Tuesday. I know it's short notice so here's a helpful hint:

https://www.sigmasport.co.uk/item/L...heEzHgbN28emOcLZmmhoC4W4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Cheers guys!

Happy B'day for Tuesday Tommy

What you need is these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/700C-Clin...d=332409340937&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

Sure they'll do tubular aswell

 

[bobinski]

Tommy, not sure you are old and wise/foolish enough to be trusted with something so expensive. Apparently there is a disc version

 

[<Tommy>]

Happy B'day for Tuesday Tommy

What you need is these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/700C-Clincher-Carbon-Road-Bike-Wheelset-271-Hub-Carbon-Wheels-Basalt-Brake-Line/272705738911?_trkparms=aid=555018&algo=PL.SIM&ao=2&asc=46150&meid=a3878e833680480b888d6061b4d0fa88&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=332409340937&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

Sure they'll do tubular aswell

To be fair I bet they still make a lovely whooshing noise!

Tommy, not sure you are old and wise/foolish enough to be trusted with something so expensive. Apparently there is a disc version

Now see Bob...The very fact you mention the disc version takes you out of the running I'm afraid mate!

I am actually contemplating getting some climbing wheels with next summer in mind but I'm not sure these are on the shortlist. The missus would cut parts off of me if she ever found out!

 

[LBHIFI]

. The missus would cut parts off of me if she ever found out!

Look at it at the bright side - Unless it's the legs, It'll make you go faster uphill .

 

[CXRAndy]

Look at it at the bright side - Unless it's the legs, It'll make you go faster uphill .

LBH I'm sure eunuch what you're talking about!

 

[<Tommy>]

Look at it at the bright side - Unless it's the legs, It'll make you go faster uphill .

This is a very good point Lars. And being single will also give me lots more time for training. But to be honest the part she would most likely cut off first would not make too much difference to my weight

 

[Whorty]

Whorty, I get a bit frustrated when I read posts like this. Firstly, You are comparing apples and oranges, PM’s and non PM trainers. And then you rely on anecdotal evidence from fora. I also follow the neo forums at Tacx and on FB and cannot recall one single occasion where, despite concerns or complaints about the Neo over or under reporting watts, anyone has shown that the unit is at fault. Instead it is the other item they are using for comparison, often a stages PM and often running old software and/or not calibrated properly. There is a reason the Neo is regarded as go to for accuracy at DCR etc. It is reliably accurate. As are the kickr v2/3 or 1 with the newish software update. Relying on the alleged failure rate of Neo’s is a dead end unless you know the % of failures relative to other turbo’s and whether they reflected dodgy watts. Mine failed and was replaced via Holland in a week! Outstanding customer support and fab communication throughout. But I digress.
The Neo and other wheel off or accurately calibrated turbos are a gulf apart from the pro which I assure you is not over reading by 7% but often considerably more. I know because I benefitted! You are welcome to bring your bike to mine and have a go on the Neo or if too inconvenient find a way to have a go on a kickr. You will be surprised. I am afraid that, whatever your undoubtedly impressive improvements in power and endurance, you will find that the pro flatters you greatly in Zwift as it does , variance aside, all pro users in Zwift. I hope this doesn’t sound harsh. I certainly don’t intend too but your post has touched a nerve.

Just search on Google for "Tacx Neo faults" and loads of different pages on different forums pop up (including youtube videos). Do the same search for "Bkool Pro faults" and this forum crops up mostly which i guess is not surprising as the Pros get slated on here.

I'm not trying to touch a nerve but, like you, I equally get peeved at the constant knocking of the Pros and in turn the knocking of us that us the Pros. Now, don't get me wrong, I know the Pro flatters me but we all work hard to improve our power and speed and to have someone constantly trying to put us down does rub.

I was merely pointing out that none of the trainers or PMs are fool proof as they are, at the end of the day, just computers and a bit of technology. The internet is full of people who are not happy with one piece of kit or another, whether it's their own or what others use to get a perceived advantage. On here the Pro is the bad guy, on other forums it could be the Kickr or the Neo. I was merely putting some perspective to the one sided arguments and hopefully stop all the knocking of the Pros. You don't have to like the Pros, or trust the figures, but as you don't use one anymore it's probably time you stopped knocking them too and let us enjoy what we have without constant criticism.

 

[Breedon]

Breedon did you ever try RGT on the pro? I want to sign up but...

I tried on my classic went ok no problems plus it was the alpha test.
Give it a go you've got nothing to lose

 

[Whorty]

Did a WBR 4 laps of London race tonight. Logged on to Zwift 30 seconds before the start so had zero time for any warm up, which is not great Out of the blocks was hard as legs and tyres still cold but managed to latch on to the lead C group. We also picked up some B riders and made a nice group of 7 riders, 5 of whom I knew were C so I had a chance of a good placing.

I got dropped the first 3 times up Whitehall so had to push really hard up the Strand to get back on the group. This set my heart rate racing and took a lot out of me. I got it better the next 2 times but by know I was just holding on to the group so when it came to the final sprint I had nothing left to give. I came 5th of the C's on the road (last in the overall group) but 3 C's got upgraded to B so I made it to the podium

Idea again was to use this race to practice group racing and drafting. I was a bit better this time and didn't put my nose in front too much, hence why my w/kg were lower than the others I need more practice on the ramps though, in particular the timing of when to put the power down. 3 times I completely misjudged it, went too soon, and was swamped by the others before the summit

The guy who won the C, Jacek Tarach, but got bumped to B has an interesting Zwift race history. He's raced A, B, C and D and his weight has gone from 75, to 100 to the now figure 85 kg.

 

[bobinski]

Whorty, I am sorry if you feel I am constantly knocking your Pro. I don’t think I was. I was dealing with your suggestion that the Pro uniformly had no more than a 7% advantage over say a Neo AND that the Neo and all other turbos, Pm’s had issues with accuracy. In other words, you seemed to be suggesting they were all the same, innacurate or unreliable in some way, just like the Pro. That is demonstrably wrong. I am not sure why, beyond perfectly understandable buyers pride, you say this.
The accuracy of turbos’s and PM’s is something that causes a lot of discussion elsewhere. Why is this forum, which after all is caused the splitters forum because it’s is concerned with Zwift, not bsim, immune to such discussion? I might agree with you if I was posting in the other forum after a bkool race and moaning about performance differences between Neo and Pro but I was not. I also note that once Paul reported his Neo experience you posted in the bkool forum ! Anyway, I am genuinely sorry you are annoyed or offended by what I have said. It’s a forum. We will get annoyed or irritated with one another now and again.

 

[bobinski]

Did a WBR 4 laps of London race tonight. Logged on to Zwift 30 seconds before the start so had zero time for any warm up, which is not great Out of the blocks was hard as legs and tyres still cold but managed to latch on to the lead C group. We also picked up some B riders and made a nice group of 7 riders, 5 of whom I knew were C so I had a chance of a good placing.

I got dropped the first 3 times up Whitehall so had to push really hard up the Strand to get back on the group. This set my heart rate racing and took a lot out of me. I got it better the next 2 times but by know I was just holding on to the group so when it came to the final sprint I had nothing left to give. I came 5th of the C's on the road (last in the overall group) but 3 C's got upgraded to B so I made it to the podium

Idea again was to use this race to practice group racing and drafting. I was a bit better this time and didn't put my nose in front too much, hence why my w/kg were lower than the others I need more practice on the ramps though, in particular the timing of when to put the power down. 3 times I completely misjudged it, went too soon, and was swamped by the others before the summit

The guy who won the C, Jacek Tarach, but got bumped to B has an interesting Zwift race history. He's raced A, B, C and D and his weight has gone from 75, to 100 to the now figure 85 kg.

View attachment 378896

Well done
Isn’t he one of a number of riders with similar histories who get bumped from ZP results boards? Or is that only in A cat races?

 

[Whorty]

Well done
Isn’t he one of a number of riders with similar histories who get bumped from ZP results boards? Or is that only in A cat races?

He has been bumped a few times - looks like he may be playing the weight doping game too. All cats will get bumped if they exceed the w/kg range for that cat. The FB Zwift Racers page has a lot to say on it, and are certainly not keen on these so called Sandbaggers. But me, meh, I was happy with 5th and even happier with 2nd

 

[Monte]

A bit more feedback from me, I use a power tap hubG3 on my road bike, most reviews put the power tap hub power meter as one of the most accurate. Anyway moving on, I feel that the Neo reports slightly lower watts than that of my powertap meter on real life rides. Puts another angle on it...

One other point, all my best times pb’s & race results on zwift we’re done on a bkool trainer - ie. I finished in the top 10 in the C cat once and got a warning about my w/kgs - on the Neo I qualify in the D cat and finish 3 qtrs on the field in C cat.

On of the main reasons for getting a Neo was as I use a power meter on my road bike I couldn’t handle the inaccuracy of the bkool watts as it used to mess with my head (not difficult with Italian hot blood).

I also use the settings on 100% difficulty and find the climbs very realistic on the Neo to a real life ride as a bigger unit, I used to feel that the resistance wasn’t any difference after about 7% inclines on the bkool

 

[bobinski]

Monte, I absolutely agree that the Bkool Pro seems no different to the Neo after 7%, that is at 100%. That may suggest that the power inaccuracies are caused by high cadences .

 

[<Tommy>]

Fortunately none of us have shares in bkool so no one has to put too much personal emotion into their products. Compared to the other trainers we're talking about bkool pro is bottom of the pile. I don't think that's really up for debate is it? You must know that Whorty because you're thinking about getting a different turbo trainer. It doesn't exaggerate improvement in my opinion. You've obviously improved massively as everyone has, irrespective of the platform. You may as well just say it's like one is measuring metres and the other in paces on the ground. Paces on the ground is still a way of measuring, but it's inconsistent and less precise. It's still a measurement. If you're happy with paces on the ground then bkool is fine. But if you want accurate measurements you gotta get the tape measure out!