The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread
- Thread starter randomshenans
- Start date
Well now it's my turn... Registered my interest and got my name on the sign up sheet. So tonight I'm riding the 7:40 TTT with the 'R3R Fall Out Boy' team under B on the fairly rolling/hard Sand and Sequoias course... With a team of B riders (I'm a C)...
Wish me luck!
Naaah you want something faster BPM to match cadence to. For me thats 140BPM+ usually 180+. I'm generally listening to EDM of some kind, for racing it's the harder stuff, dutch techno, Hardstyle, Hardcore and Gabber.
Interesting... Although they can't be there in the TDF stuff already as people are riding that with the world hack?
Pwned. I have to agree with much of that but I'm also quite appreciative of what they've done and how things have grown.<snip>
Shall I continue? Zwift HQ are the perfect example of a shambles who have accidentally ended up where they are through no proper competition. Their incompetence and constant failings would be the end of most companies yet they plug on and gain momentum because there is nothing better than this monster they have created
Yes much of it could have been done better, but equally many of those things may have stalled it's growth and they'd not be in the position they're now in.
I still think the die is cast and it's time for the other platforms to prove themselves in the industry & space. The amount of riders on Zwift these past few months has been amazing considering the amount of good weather much of Europe has had. There's really no excuse for other platforms to be making the same mistakes Zwift have through they're own growth as it's all really well documented online all over the place.
Equally I do think Zwift need to be more worried than they seem to be. FullGaz, RGT and Rouvy are still here and chugging away. Many have fallen, but they've got a really good target to aim for (and many of the Zwift 'problems' are easy solves).
Insane. Riding it tonight? I'm off with R3R for my first experience. By all accounts S&S is a horrible course and I'lm expecting to just be surfing wheels to try and hang on as long as I can!
I've not watched it yet, meant to but not had time. Really think they needed to leverage some big online or broadcasters to really push it and advertise it more. It feels like so much of a missed opportuinity which could have been absolutely MASSIVE for online cycling while other sports couldn't do anything.
I had a clear out over the weekend and have one if anyone is interested or after one? Just throw me a couple of quid + postage and it's yours.
I found a massive difference to the amount of wear, grip and noise. Others have not, but I did with my KK Road Machine II and then the Tacx Vortex.
So I decided to take on Tabata intervals three weeks ago, and it has been really interesting.
Three weeks ago, I was looking for something that was relatively quick and would still be useful - I knew about Tabata methods, so decided to go back to source... And struggled to find out how I could push 170% VO2max without knowing what that actually was.
I decided to take a punt that it was somewhere around threshold (232W last tested a couple of months ago, but have had around 2-3hrs Zwifting a week since then), which basically meant:
20s @ 410W followed by 10s @ 70W (i.e. just turning the pedals), for 8 reps.
First day I crashed at the 6th rep, the next day 7th and finally on the 3rd day I made it all the way through so jacked the threshold up (420W on...). Just about made it through for the second week. But I didn't feel too bad - recovery was fine and my legs didn't feel too abused.
But then I was reading - at the end of the second week - that VO2max is somewhere between 112-120% FTP, I decided to retest using the ramp test on Zwift.
262W.
I don't believe that is down to Tabata alone. Not by a long shot. But, regardless, this now meant my 20s intervals would hit 500W.
Monday was the first day and I have dreaded it ever since. Even though it is just under fifteen minutes it is absolute hell. I can just about make it through the 4th rep, then maybe to the 6th and through the last 2, but I haven't felt this much gym trepidation since a leg hypertrophy programme five years ago... Tabata feels quite similar in the sense that the muscle and metabolic pain is just hellish, and that then converts to horrid DOMS later.
Amusingly, I have actually gained weight since starting this 3 weeks ago (body is holding more glycogen), and whether or not the pain is worth it will be determined at the next test... We shall see.
I am very glad that Zwift is controlling the ERG because I can't shift gears at 500W - mechanical issues aside my brain just can't process it. I tried RGT and it might work with another phone (it did yesterday but not today), and it would be great to support them, but Zwift is just that much easier... Even if the data and training system aren't actually as good.
Three weeks ago, I was looking for something that was relatively quick and would still be useful - I knew about Tabata methods, so decided to go back to source... And struggled to find out how I could push 170% VO2max without knowing what that actually was.
I decided to take a punt that it was somewhere around threshold (232W last tested a couple of months ago, but have had around 2-3hrs Zwifting a week since then), which basically meant:
20s @ 410W followed by 10s @ 70W (i.e. just turning the pedals), for 8 reps.
First day I crashed at the 6th rep, the next day 7th and finally on the 3rd day I made it all the way through so jacked the threshold up (420W on...). Just about made it through for the second week. But I didn't feel too bad - recovery was fine and my legs didn't feel too abused.
But then I was reading - at the end of the second week - that VO2max is somewhere between 112-120% FTP, I decided to retest using the ramp test on Zwift.
262W.
I don't believe that is down to Tabata alone. Not by a long shot. But, regardless, this now meant my 20s intervals would hit 500W.
Monday was the first day and I have dreaded it ever since. Even though it is just under fifteen minutes it is absolute hell. I can just about make it through the 4th rep, then maybe to the 6th and through the last 2, but I haven't felt this much gym trepidation since a leg hypertrophy programme five years ago... Tabata feels quite similar in the sense that the muscle and metabolic pain is just hellish, and that then converts to horrid DOMS later.
Amusingly, I have actually gained weight since starting this 3 weeks ago (body is holding more glycogen), and whether or not the pain is worth it will be determined at the next test... We shall see.
I am very glad that Zwift is controlling the ERG because I can't shift gears at 500W - mechanical issues aside my brain just can't process it. I tried RGT and it might work with another phone (it did yesterday but not today), and it would be great to support them, but Zwift is just that much easier... Even if the data and training system aren't actually as good.
Insane. Riding it tonight? I'm off with R3R for my first experience. By all accounts S&S is a horrible course and I'lm expecting to just be surfing wheels to try and hang on as long as I can!
3rd again
I love S&S. Everyone dreads it but it's combo of pan flat plus the little climb then Titan KOM is absolutely perfect for me. My best ever races have always been on S&S We didn't have enough strong bodies for the flats last night. Titans times were 3:54 for winners, 3:51 for 2nd and we done a 3:55. So all the time we lost to 1st/2nd was on the flats.
5.2w/kg for 55 mins for me. I got in the house after it and sat on the floor in my bibs eating cold leftover stir fry directly from the pan as threw toys at me
@Roady - There was a lad riding for 3R in the TTT last night that concerns me. Not for zwift/power/weight sketch reasons but for others. Is Marc Swatton the main man for racing side of things or who is it?
Well that sucked! Good organisation and preparation/lots of excitement and ride RUINED by connection/platform issues. Bleh. I was sat in the pen for 20 minutes and riders all dropping off screen and coming back several times. Had heard some chatter before than about Zwift being bad but I wasn't prepared. What followed was torture - riding with a B group, missing their draft due to Zwift/connection drops and my efforts 'solo' to try and maintain the group when things caught back up burned me out. I was done before the big climb.
I have had 'bad' nights on Zwift before, regaulrly riding through drop outs/solo efforts in group rides and races, but never that many times in a short space of time. Unrideable really, but I gave it a shot!
270W average for 18 minutes is well over my FTP (245W) and just shows what I can do when I have an aim/incentive to push myself that hard. That's around the power I had 3-4 years back at the 'peak' of fitness and power. 102% intensity and an FTP increase too. Good stuff!
Full report...
Just as we're about to set off, sure enough all riders drop for me. I go hard out the gate - not a real race start effort but quite close. Made the group when they reppeared and settled in. The power and effort felt good for me to warm up more (we had a 10 minute wait in the pen) but I skipped my first turn to recover from the start and just to see if Zwift would settle down. Another drop, pushed a little but not massive. This time I was off the back of the group even after a 'medium' type effort and had to chase back on, so I knew for these drops and me riding solo (no draft) it would have to be semi-hard threshold type efforts at 3.5-4w/kg to keep around the group so I hadn't got massive chases. Had many more of them and these efforts where good, sustainable and although slightly annoying flying off the front of the group a few times (can't help but surge without seeing the team!), I felt I could continue... Then the dropouts where getting closer together, some of them I would only see riders on screen for a matter of seconds before they where gone again, so I continued to ride them hard, figuring my efforts surging me off the front would benefit the team more than them easing for me off the back as I chased back on. I began to burn out and the few times I was able to settle into the group and draft where just not long enough for me to recover. As soon as things picked up over the rollers without seeing the team I was done for. I hit/kicked them hard really emptying the tank and although on Discord I'd called them not to wait for me, actually found myself keeping pace. The final one came and between the group flashing up on screen I knew I was in trouble, I'd kicked hard an early but hadn't made much ground. I eased and called it saying I was done for. Still stretching legs on the climb I caught and passed another team solo and could see the guys up front, even making some ground up on them at times... Shame, think I could really have done a turn on the climb even with the dropouts and helped them!
There's a new 3R series starts next week 'Turbocharged'. Unsure if it's using boost mode!? I always assumed it was because of the name lol.
Some great points for KOM's and Sprints as well as finishes should make it very interesting - and great for teams/clubs!
I can't find a link to it online outside of FB...
What did the update bring?
I love the group rides and racing on Zwift, I don't really do anything else on there. The times I get on and try to do any training plan or single session I just end up bored. Some of the group rides with training plans things are ok but not really that different to riding it solo. The group training rides with a leader calling the shots are fantastic, 3R are some of the best of them which is why I ended up riding with/for them years ago...
Absolutely brutal! Seeing some of these guys doing 5w/kg towards the end of races justr hanging in the wheels for what seems like an age, only to then pop out an 10w/kg sprint is phenominal. Riders I know I can trust the data I'm seeing from.
Really informative and good read thanks for posting it. I'd heard of them but not really read into them, will be good to see how things continue for you. Might be just what I *need* lol
3rd again
We didn't have enough strong bodies for the flats last night. Titans times were 3:54 for winners, 3:51 for 2nd and we done a 3:55. So all the time we lost to 1st/2nd was on the flats.
5.2w/kg for 55 mins for me. I got in the house after it and sat on the floor in my bibs eating cold leftover stir fry directly from the pan as threw toys at me
@Roady - There was a lad riding for 3R in the TTT last night that concerns me. Not for zwift/power/weight sketch reasons but for others. Is Marc Swatton the main man for racing side of things or who is it?
Mega result for you guys, well done. Sorry with me back at work I've not had much time for catching up with racing and positions etc, so didn't spot your ride! Haha mega 'recovery'. Mine was nothing like it - by the chasing and short stint my legs where feeling great. Still firing and I probably should've found another race to get into, but was pretty disheartened by Zwift at that point. I'd done a good cooldown listening to the guys and watching their progress. Also get some brownie points by being back inside early... My little guy fast asleep by then (8.45) so some adult time (drinking TV and moaning about the world).
It's a tough course, I really think it suits me too as I'm punchy and able to recover well. Much better than pan flat where I get less recovery, but also no benefit for being punchy as nobody likes surges!
Erm, there's various race organisers and differing admins for each. The main one I used to throw everything past I think has left or moved over to EVO. WTRL is run by someone else. The various 3R teams have different leaders. Uros Huzjak does much of the organising of the teams but no idea if he's the admin. Probably throw it past Swatton as he's good with the admin/ZP side of things from the race series, so likely still involved somewhere in WTRL.
Someone riding with dodgy data/readings? There's so many these days so wouldn't put it past one of them in 3R.
So many disconnects last night, even some talk in 3R about how someone had got dropped out the pen, rolled around and then jumped back in his group for the second time up Titans. It prompted some huge discussion about the 'benefit' of having a massive heavy TT rider on a TT bike to tow a team out the gate until the climb on that course (or Bologna), dropping and then the remainder having the rest of the race. It's still going on today, lots of people playing with the data on different courses just to try and judge if its a benefit or not.
But last night much of the talk was about the 'legalities' of what happened to several other teams by all account too - picking up a fresh(er) rider on lap 2 into their rotations. Rules for TTT's and Crits have all been compared and I think the general consensus is that it's not allowed. Always good when something like this sets a prescedent big enough that the Admins/Organisers sort it all out and write something into the rules. As you can bet Zwift encounter it a couple of years afterwards and the 'world media' blows up about it.
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Mmm... It is as close to a heavy leg day workout on a bike as I can get, to the point where I have started finding other random things to do before getting on the bike. So a theoretical 15 minute workout actually takes close to an hour by the time I have finally stopped faffing, done the workout and got some feeling back in my legs.
170% of FTP would *almost* be doable in my head, but 190% (based on VO2max being 112-120% FTP) is absolute murder. Not quite vomiting, but feeling like my lungs are getting pulled out my throat!
Funny thing is that I tested RGT at 420W after the main 500W workout and it was amusingly easy (for the two sets I tried)...
Finally made it to the end of the fourth Tabata rep with a little more than vapour in the tank... Took two rest days full of eating and a 25 minute 190W warmup to get there, however!
RGT is definitely more clunky than Zwift (really have to work to get it to find the "second" turbo for gradient...), but the training interface on screen is much better. And the five second countdown is really useful, even if it is a bit depressing when there's only 10 second rest between 500W intervals.
RGT is definitely more clunky than Zwift (really have to work to get it to find the "second" turbo for gradient...
), but the training interface on screen is much better. And the five second countdown is really useful, even if it is a bit depressing when there's only 10 second rest between 500W intervals. 
Soldato
- Joined
- 11 Jun 2013
- Posts
- 2,632
I don’t enjoy watching virtual racing much but what has been interesting has been the stats they provide. MvdP seems to be always at over 180bpm whenever they cut to him so he is probably close to that for the whole hour. I could never manage that! Manon Lloyd also mentioned she averaged 172bpm for an hour in the GCN “how much can climb in an hour” video recently. I’m older than them and max HR isn’t trainable but maybe that’s their secret ? It can’t be hard thing to be able to beat faster. I do think sometimes having HR data on screen can be a bad idea as it plays with your mind a bit
I'd seen that with MvdP before and others, quite interesting to see some of the young pro's HR data (and it being really high), when so many of the older guys their HR's are crazily low, even when sprinting (struggling to find an example right now).
HR is very personal, for me now at 40 (with Resting HR at 60-70bpm) as soon as I look at a bike I'm over 100bpm, when riding I'm never below 130bpm even going extremely easy. But I can hit close to 190bpm (although blow up) sprinting, I can hit 180bpm and not blow, 170bpm I can hold for several hours in the right conditions/race etc. I'm usually riding at 150-160bpm at tempo and if I can sit 160-170bpm for Zwift a race I can bust out a long hard deep sprint effort hitting 190bpm (although that's a medium/late sprint for me). Enough to be very competitive at C.
I can recall seeing some of those A and A+ Zwift race guys, at 180bpm towards the end of a race, holding it there and then when busting out race winning sprints be well over 200bpm. Not a young guys either! One of the guys I rode Ride Race Series with will sprint at over 200bpm, the rest of the races his HR very comparable to mine, he can just go that deep. He can even do it, recover and go again without blowing up. But he is in the low-30's. The race on Box hill he was dropped several times (I was closing gaps for him) and was just sat at 200bpm+ for most of the climb not needing to recover. I was at 175-180bpm at my absolute maximum. I was on a good night as normally that would totally fry/blow me, but I had got so cooked I was dropped the next lap. Joe went on to contest and take the sprint from the group he was in.
HR is very personal, for me now at 40 (with Resting HR at 60-70bpm) as soon as I look at a bike I'm over 100bpm, when riding I'm never below 130bpm even going extremely easy. But I can hit close to 190bpm (although blow up) sprinting, I can hit 180bpm and not blow, 170bpm I can hold for several hours in the right conditions/race etc. I'm usually riding at 150-160bpm at tempo and if I can sit 160-170bpm for Zwift a race I can bust out a long hard deep sprint effort hitting 190bpm (although that's a medium/late sprint for me). Enough to be very competitive at C.
I can recall seeing some of those A and A+ Zwift race guys, at 180bpm towards the end of a race, holding it there and then when busting out race winning sprints be well over 200bpm. Not a young guys either! One of the guys I rode Ride Race Series with will sprint at over 200bpm, the rest of the races his HR very comparable to mine, he can just go that deep. He can even do it, recover and go again without blowing up. But he is in the low-30's. The race on Box hill he was dropped several times (I was closing gaps for him) and was just sat at 200bpm+ for most of the climb not needing to recover. I was at 175-180bpm at my absolute maximum. I was on a good night as normally that would totally fry/blow me, but I had got so cooked I was dropped the next lap. Joe went on to contest and take the sprint from the group he was in.
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RGT is still quite clunky compared to Zwift... It seems the "exit" process has to involve a manual disconnect from phone to TV, otherwise it tries resuming my training session from where ai left off...
Finally found how it recognises the resistance part of the trainer, too: a separate trainer! That is only discovered under the Power Meter tab.
This - to me - is one of the annoying things about RGT: it does cool things (drafting, scenery, graphics, interval tracking, count-ons) much better than Zwift, but it mucks up the really simple (but important) ones...
Finally found how it recognises the resistance part of the trainer, too: a separate trainer! That is only discovered under the Power Meter tab.
This - to me - is one of the annoying things about RGT: it does cool things (drafting, scenery, graphics, interval tracking, count-ons) much better than Zwift, but it mucks up the really simple (but important) ones...
https://www.strava.com/activities/3762808163There's a new 3R series starts next week 'Turbocharged'. Unsure if it's using boost mode!? I always assumed it was because of the name lol.
Some great points for KOM's and Sprints as well as finishes should make it very interesting - and great for teams/clubs!
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=948656
That one hurt. Few technical issues (was also running late) so less than 4 minutes warm up before it was race time. I put several surges into the first lap as it was a massive front group of maybe 30 riders. Actually got some 'Prime' points for 3rd on the Sprint segment that lap and a few the lap after (top8 or 10 through sprint get points).
Around lap 4 I got caught out, the charge up the only main ramp on the course into the sprint would string things out every time... I was around the rear of the group as it stretched out gaps opened. I figured they would close themselves and as soon as I realised it wasn't closing it was a little too late! Settled into a solo chase holding around 8s from the group. Just couldn't make it back, ramps I would close but couldn't finish it. A 2up and 3up made no real inroads as things where splitting up front. I realised chase had got organised (grouped up) and closed me down so I sat up for the 10-15s it took them to catch.
Big group of a dozen or so, a couple riding hard, I put effort into the ramps to keep the speed up and the group was gradually trimmed down while catching some riders from up front. The last 6 of us caught 2 from up front in the latter 2 laps and the speed kicked up again. I did everything to stay in the group and was marking riders I thought where strong. One of the guys dropped slingshot past us and rode away, nobody even attempted to get on his wheel so knew it was going to be a late decider. The last ramp came and it looked like everyone was leaving it to a late sprint. I got a bit of a delay on screen right as the ramp started, so I kicked harder than I was going to and kept the power on. Distanced them all on the climb and then just pushed on over the top to the finish. Can't recall if I even kicked again just went absolutely all in for it, could see 'red' w/kg behind me and every time I did I just pushed harder. Held them all off to finish 20th on screen. End result on ZP actually 22nd by time some how (in my mind that should be 20th?!), also 22nd by points.
Zwift racing, not perfect but it’s addictive. I did a small race tonight, organiser had the B go off ahead of everyone else, so we force a separation at the start, then A come through and drag people back up!
Anyway, usual race of attrition, on the volcano flat. Punch up the little climb at the end, keep the power on the flat then a false flat over the start finish the only bit which really strings it out. Second lap it split here but only 4-5 in the front and 12-15 behind. Kept my powder dry and let others chase, cane back together by the end of the lap.
I was pretty cooked by the end, did some efforts last night too. Finished 5th in B. The podium taken out by people doing 4.3-4.6wkg but are B graded by ZP which overrides the wattage categories
Good fun anyway.
Anyway, usual race of attrition, on the volcano flat. Punch up the little climb at the end, keep the power on the flat then a false flat over the start finish the only bit which really strings it out. Second lap it split here but only 4-5 in the front and 12-15 behind. Kept my powder dry and let others chase, cane back together by the end of the lap.
I was pretty cooked by the end, did some efforts last night too. Finished 5th in B. The podium taken out by people doing 4.3-4.6wkg but are B graded by ZP which overrides the wattage categories
Good fun anyway.
Haha nice, I've noticed several of the local club guys getting into Zwift racing from these type of 'scratch' races. Before then they really don't get the hang of racing/find it too hard/slate Zwift.
But once bitten they seem to go very well! Some of the performances might explain why I get dropped in their social rides...
Andy Turner is something else on Zwift the last season or two - as @xdcx will attest!
https://www.zwiftpower.com/events.php?zid=953181
https://www.strava.com/activities/3772967651
WTRL TTT last night. Brutal! I actually got a great ride in (after some disappointment from how Tuesdays Turbocharged went). 7 riders, 5 of them B's, an A and me a C. Ouchy!
Had a long wait in the pen, one of the last groups off so 15 minutes of nerves and trying to do a long extended warmup on the pairing screen. I found this really hard and spent much of the time gassing about tactics on Discord rather than actually warming up... But think the +20 minutes of spinning/half-warming up helped me rather than the usual 5 minute-last minute intense one I usually have before a race.
Set off hard @ 5 but controlled, actually had to reel myself in as I ended up front rider and was meant to be later in the rotation. We'd settled on 1 minute 4.5w/kg turns on the front. Mine hurt and I found it hard to keep the power smooth for the whole minute. Soon after the first rotation we had a couple of people drop in and out, including someone while on his pull. Leader (Dean) was cool and calm calling the stronger riders through early and really made things super smooth. We lost a rider (Dan) and he rejoined 10s off the back so couldn't really wait for him. 2nd rotation started but before it finished we'd lost a second rider (Ted). I was much smoother this time as rather than aiming for 4.5 and just bouncing power everywhere I concentrated on keeping it over 4.0. I went quite deep and was in a bit of a dark place afterwards, fighting to keep in their wheels...
I somehow recovered and thankfully the 3 strongest riders where then doing 1.5-2 minute turns at this point which kept things smoother and allowed us to group up better. But the other rider (AJ) was struggling then, he and I found ourselves with some gaps to close. I think this actually helped me - as I asked to skip and within a few seconds had to close a 5s gap. I dangled a couple of times to keep AJ in my draft and then closed the gap to the 3 up front. It was brutal, but surge & recover is something I can do! Using my sweeping/keeping skills like this kept the speed up so they only eased pulling a couple of times. I was quite toast then for a while... Around half way through the second lap we where a much tidier group. AJ had recovered and didn't need my help, the turns up front where smooth and the draft enabled me to recover quite well (even high in my threshold). I said I could do another turn but didn't quite reach the point of doing so, last 8km came fast and I just counted down the km, beginning to empty the tank sitting 2nd/3rd wheel and trying not to surge the front. I knew I had a sprint in me and said I could do a long one last 1.5 but was told to save it for last 400m. Told myself I'd ramp and go from 600m rather than a proper big kick, we hit the red tarmac, I surged and gave it half a second before then kicking to lead the guys out, almost holding it until the line (Rich rolled me on it!).
Fantastic ride, we where only 40-50s down on the full team of B's up front (1Direction) who are a well drilled and practised unit. Coming in at 41.27 and we'd targetted a sub 42 without losing 2 riders. 4.3w/kg average for me is about on the numbers for recent efforts, although I thought I might be able to get that a little higher. May have with a 3rd and 4th turn. 247w avg is pretty much my max avg from any recent normal (non-sprint) races (this year). My legs didn't feel that bad afterwards, although thought they would cramp up so took it quite slowly walking up the stairs to bed...! No DOMS today, tomorrow may well be the real time I feel them and is typical the only day this weekend I can ride outside (other half's birthday!)
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@Roady
https://www.strava.com/activities/3756761090
this was my climb up Ventoux or as Zwift call it, Ven Top!
As always with me I had 2 guys around me. One just ahead and one just behind which always really spurs me on to keep ahead/catch up.
Was toast after but got a nice ftp bump of +10 to 302 which made it all worthwhile.
The climb felt a lot longer/harder than RgT and I think I would struggle to vEverest it due to that ~10Km mid section over 10%.
Really need a bigger cassette. The 28 I have on there just can’t do it for me over so much climbing.
edit. Moved to correct page
https://www.strava.com/activities/3756761090
this was my climb up Ventoux or as Zwift call it, Ven Top!
As always with me I had 2 guys around me. One just ahead and one just behind which always really spurs me on to keep ahead/catch up.
Was toast after but got a nice ftp bump of +10 to 302 which made it all worthwhile.
The climb felt a lot longer/harder than RgT and I think I would struggle to vEverest it due to that ~10Km mid section over 10%.
Really need a bigger cassette. The 28 I have on there just can’t do it for me over so much climbing.
edit. Moved to correct page
Associate
- Joined
- 23 Oct 2013
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- 1,206
Hopefully my Elite Suito might soon be on the way as Tredz's stock has arrived (been waiting since the end of march), so I thought I'd work out how's best to connect it to the pc...
My setup is in the garage but my decent/gaming pc is in the room directly above it... How demanding is Zwift as my laptop is a pretty basic i5-8265U with integrated gpu? I'm guessing it would be better to run Zwift on my decent pc and remote-desktop to it from my laptop in the garage.
Does anyone run a remote setup? Can I remotely link the trainer BT it to my laptop and share it through the remote desktop? Or will the BT connect through the floor? I'm sure I'm not the 1st with their decent PC in a different room to the smart trainer - so, what are the possible solutions?
My setup is in the garage but my decent/gaming pc is in the room directly above it... How demanding is Zwift as my laptop is a pretty basic i5-8265U with integrated gpu? I'm guessing it would be better to run Zwift on my decent pc and remote-desktop to it from my laptop in the garage.
Does anyone run a remote setup? Can I remotely link the trainer BT it to my laptop and share it through the remote desktop? Or will the BT connect through the floor? I'm sure I'm not the 1st with their decent PC in a different room to the smart trainer - so, what are the possible solutions?
Jobe, just dial down the trainer strength for a given gradient rather than fitting a larger cassette?
Your speed will be correct for the given power.
Can’t help with the setup remote working, Zwift seems to be mainly CPU core reliant and a little on GPU core, not so much on memory GPU or normal RAM. See below article for some help.
https://zwiftinsider.com/zwift-pc-guide/
I was using a laptop, which worked OK but large numbers of riders and big worlds such as London killed the FPS totally.
Moved to a desktop with a dedicated GPU (GTX 970) and it’s a huge improvement, I have the graphics almost all the way up now. I can’t remember what I had before, it was dedicated but fairly low end and it wasn’t really a step up from the laptop with a Radeon.
My setup is a first gen i5 at 3.2ghz, 8gb ram, gtx 970 4gb and a SSD. I’m limited by CPU first I think and then GPU based on the basic PC temperature/usage monitoring I’ve done.
Had this computer for 9-10 years, upgraded the graphics card with a used one off MM and more ram/SSD nearly three years ago now I think and it runs great.
Your speed will be correct for the given power.
Can’t help with the setup remote working, Zwift seems to be mainly CPU core reliant and a little on GPU core, not so much on memory GPU or normal RAM. See below article for some help.
https://zwiftinsider.com/zwift-pc-guide/
I was using a laptop, which worked OK but large numbers of riders and big worlds such as London killed the FPS totally.
Moved to a desktop with a dedicated GPU (GTX 970) and it’s a huge improvement, I have the graphics almost all the way up now. I can’t remember what I had before, it was dedicated but fairly low end and it wasn’t really a step up from the laptop with a Radeon.
My setup is a first gen i5 at 3.2ghz, 8gb ram, gtx 970 4gb and a SSD. I’m limited by CPU first I think and then GPU based on the basic PC temperature/usage monitoring I’ve done.
Had this computer for 9-10 years, upgraded the graphics card with a used one off MM and more ram/SSD nearly three years ago now I think and it runs great.
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Haha I wondered where this post had gone!
Thanks for the link and great ride. Nothing quite like a carrot to chase to really push yourself... Not to mention someone chasing you! Just lower your difficulty slider a little in Zwift to get 'lower' gearing (less lifelike) and compensate for the 28t.
I've got a 28t on my turbo and only ride 32t's outside here. Difficulty slider at around 70%. Nothing I've ridden on Zwift comes close to what I ride outside.
One of the guys in my 3R TTT team has ridden it on Zwift, RGT and in RL and says they're all quite close, with Zwift being the closest. He's done d'Huez too and says Zwift is harder!
You might find BT works through the floor, equally you may not, or you find it unstable and have drop outs... Any way to get a cable through? You could drop a USB cable and HDMI or something then just have a screen and things plugged into a USB hub there to rule out any signal problems.
Zwift has quite low requirements, depending on how good you want it. I'm running it on a cheapy i5 dual core £350 laptop which was S/H back in 2015. 4GB ram and a Geforce 740M. I put an SSD in it and W10. I plug an external 32" into the HDMI and run it medium res @ 720p. It works well, but isn't perfect. Does struggle in some of the massive popular events with mass start and hundreds of riders on screen. But equally that's only framerate which drops (<10 FPS), it's still responsive and speeds up when things thin out. The majority of my Zwifting it'll be 25+ FPS and totally usable. 1080p makes it a little too choppy but I'm happy to run it at 720 for the smoother FPS. I do have an old early quad core PC with 8GB RAM I could use but never bothered to grab a better GPU for it. I've never really though it would give me anything over what I'm using. The money would probably be better spent on an AppleTV or a Surface GO to run things on, which would be the route when it comes time to look at using 1080 or 4K out there.
Good shout, how much was the 970?
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Urgh... Have practically given up on RGT because of its clunky Bluetooth sync issues. Thought it was working last night (resistance work steadily increasing through a warmup) and then it baulked at the first 500W interval, reading 180W and complaining at me.
Switched over to Zwift and no such issues. Yes, Zwift occasionally has a wobble with cadence sensors, but nothing this consistent or fundamental.
I really wanted RGT to work, too.
Switched over to Zwift and no such issues. Yes, Zwift occasionally has a wobble with cadence sensors, but nothing this consistent or fundamental.
I really wanted RGT to work, too.