The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread

[Roady]

Quick question regarding zwift, can you use it with a dumb turbo trainer?
I hardly use my turbo atm so don't really want to spend money on a new one, but would like the option of occasionally using it if the weather is bad rather than doing nothing or just knocking out 20 miles static staring at the wall.

Also, what maps are actually available?
Is it just limited routes or can you go wherever you like?

To expand on xdcx's... If you just want to 'ride' and not race then you don't really need a HRM. They're useful for judging efforts but for actually just riding everything is done through speed/cadence sensors, which Zwift calculates 'zpower' from, then you use this for your FTP stuff (tests/sessions).

There are riders who use Zwift on 'dumb' trainers (and even rollers), manually increasing the resistance with an actual power meter on the bike (so not a smart trainer). A Stages or one of the other crankarm is the obvious way. As it's 'real' power data they are not removed from general racing results (their data can be removed by some admins as they see they where not riding a controllable trainer). I've considered this route myself multiple times (when having accuracy/comparison issues). Many riders will ride their 'summer' bikes with their powermeters on Zwift, using that power reading, while Zwift controls a smart trainer (just not using the power data from it) as 'real' PWM's are more accurate/respond quicker. They're also using the same PWM training inside & outside to get more consistency.

'Maps': Watopia, London, Richmond, Innsbruck, NYC... Errr I think that's it!? Revolving daily schedule as listed above, but you can use the 'world hack' (just changing a .ini text file value, or the little app) to ride any world.

'Routes': Multiple Courses are available on each map. Bigger the map more courses. You choose a course when you start. Group rides/races are 'locked' to a course. Just riding you can choose which direction to go at intersections (can even U turn), with the default being the course you chose on the starting screen. When you 'join' a rider from the starting screen your course will be the same as they have selected.

For the small amount you ride then a Zwift sub you start/stop for the couple (2-3) winter months would be equal to TrainerRoad or Sufferfest. Providing you stop the sub I wouldn't consider any of them as 'expensive'.

If all you want are distractions then it's obviously easy to play something back on TV. Loads on YouTube. Even early Sufferfest videos can be 'acquired' (downloaded/bought on dvd) as it used to be just a video (rather than an interactive app as now). There are free zwift alternatives - Road Grand Tours is one of them (free while in beta). There are others.

 

[Jonny ///M]

I had a wee shot of Zwift on my mate's dad's turbo last night in a B race. Damn it was hard at the start! I spent too much near the front and took the first sprint haha.

I ended up losing the wheel on the climb even though the avatar was still in the bunch but the W/Kg was lower than the rest, I'd need to look out for that next time.

After I came off the back I sat in the next bunch and was comfortable at around 3w/kg but I had to jump off and go pick the mrs up so didn't get a chance to finish. Was around 30/130 at that point.

Still averaged 300w for 30 minutes so quite a workout :|

 

[FishFluff]

Another Zwift session tonight and I was seriously overheating again. Can anyone recommend a good floor fan for under £50? The more compact the better as my house is tiny.

 

[UTmaniac]

Another Zwift session tonight and I was seriously overheating again. Can anyone recommend a good floor fan for under £50? The more compact the better as my house is tiny.

Bought a Honeywell HT900E last Friday from Amazon, used it on turbo session for first time earlier as a secondary fan, pretty decent for ~£25 iirc.

You might be able to get one from EBay using the PRESENTS code that expires tonight, for 15% discount on a £20+ purchase.

 

[FishFluff]

Bought a Honeywell HT900E last Friday from Amazon, used it on turbo session for first time earlier as a secondary fan, pretty decent for ~£25 iirc.

You might be able to get one from EBay using the PRESENTS code that expires tonight, for 15% discount on a £20+ purchase.

Cheers. Got one ordered. Hopefully this will improve my experience!

 

[Berger]

I had a wee shot of Zwift on my mate's dad's turbo last night in a B race. Damn it was hard at the start! I spent too much near the front and took the first sprint haha.

I ended up losing the wheel on the climb even though the avatar was still in the bunch but the W/Kg was lower than the rest, I'd need to look out for that next time.

After I came off the back I sat in the next bunch and was comfortable at around 3w/kg but I had to jump off and go pick the mrs up so didn't get a chance to finish. Was around 30/130 at that point.

Still averaged 300w for 30 minutes so quite a workout :|

That’s usually how it goes, mega hard for 2 minutes at the start, then settle into FTP and sit toward the back of the bunch, then every climb surge.

If multiple laps the first lap or two will be quite a lot harder than the rest. Last lap look for attacks near the start, then most people will sit on until last 2km then try and breakaway on a hill.

 

[randomshenans]

Started the Build Me Up training schedule last week. Just did week 0 and now starting week 1 today. Really liked the start. I am so ******* fat it's a mission, but I love the fact it alternates the RPM as well as power. Gets you out the saddle at 60rpm and then builds up to 85/95/105rpm too which is a real mix. I only have a 35min session today, but then a 1.5hr one weds.

In my winter time and as I am a fat **** right now, getting on the bike and out the saddle got me more concerned about frame stress. I looked at the rocker plates online but didn't want to spend 500quid on one (I could get a bike with that ) so thought I'd go about building one! Some great designs online, so I've ordered a lot of the parts for my design. I am going to make it so it has both side to side and forward/ backward movement - will see how it goes from my drawing to making!
Need to wait for hong kong postage on the bearings, then I'll get myself some plywood and start measuring twice, cutting once. Reckon I can do it for about 100quid in parts, so lets see how it turns out.

 

[randomshenans]

Well that benchmarking one was a bit too easy. I set my FTP to 200 last week as I am ***** currently and not ridden in ages properly, yet today when it was giving me 220W to ride for 2 mins and prompts you saying this should be hard, it wasn't as much as it should be. Same with 1 min at 250w was really too easy, so I cranked it up to 220 and I'll see how that goes.

Yes, it's low as ****, but hey. I'll get it back up to where it was no bother.

Now off to pick up the little one on the bike/ trailer combo, @Roady knows the score!

 

[Roady]

Now off to pick up the little one on the bike/ trailer combo, @Roady knows the score!

That towing will certainly help with your sustained power and fitness! The weight loss will only realy come through volume so sticking to that training plan will be key! At least until more enjoyable weather arrives outside.

Don't be surprised about your power, it's still there! I know I've not really had as much time 'off' riding as you but I still have probably 80-90% of the power I had in the spring, just not much endurance with it. That's for me where the 'fitness' has been lost. Chariot riding has helped quite a bit with that, I can sustain 300W climbing now for 8-10mins, but my top end power endurance still sucks. I used to be able to do 400-450W for a couple of miles at the end of a Zwift race after sitting in, now I'm just too fatigued I can barely even do a 500/600W sprint with the rest of 'them' after sitting in (used to be 800W)! Now my finishes lead others out and my end kick/sprint is not enough to hold them (like before) and they come past! Need to revise my tactics, hopefully I'll continue to get my legs back!

Old FTP around 270W and guessing I'm at around 240/50W now.

 

[Jonny ///M]

It's winter, I wouldn't worry about pinging at this time of year.

I got my arse handed to me on Sunday when a guy that is still racing track jumped me after a big spell, got back on again but same again at the sprint. My excuse was I'm on my winter bike and he was on Canyon Ultimate with deep section wheels, I crashed(feel like someone has kicked **** out of me today) and was overdressed but it's probably more a case of I've taken my foot off the gas and had a cold for two weeks previous.

I know I'm 79kg at the moment but am I **** doing an FTP test to see what W/Kg would be. Will stick to my 302w that I did last month and kid myself on.

 

[Jobe]

Keep at it @randomshenans the weight will come off, just not in 1 month

Whilst I’m writing a little update on me....
So started cycling again early spring and decided on a weight goal. (I got up to 18st 6 and decided enough was enough.) summer was great but winter was drawing in.
Got my trainer approx 3 months ago and haven’t looked back. Zwift is a revelation for boring indoor training and now since I passed lvl 12 it’s Alpe du Zwift all the way although anly managed 3 times up to now
Weight is now 14st 8 and dropping which I’m chuffed about( although not looking forward to the clothes shopping in spring)
Ftp at 253 and can’t seem to get it higher atm but it will come.
It’s strange cos I was never a numbers man but I’m wondering how I’ll manage come next spring without any power readings!!
Lastly even the Mrs now has an account and is using my stuff to do some training.....we may just yet be tandem cyclists when we get older
JB

 

[Berger]

Wow great work JB.

Not sure on your FTP, your fitness will shoot up that’s for sure, don’t worry about the total number that will come, the W/kg will be flying up at the minute!

 

[randomshenans]

Keep at it @randomshenans the weight will come off, just not in 1 month

Whilst I’m writing a little update on me....
So started cycling again early spring and decided on a weight goal. (I got up to 18st 6 and decided enough was enough.) summer was great but winter was drawing in.
Got my trainer approx 3 months ago and haven’t looked back. Zwift is a revelation for boring indoor training and now since I passed lvl 12 it’s Alpe du Zwift all the way although anly managed 3 times up to now
Weight is now 14st 8 and dropping which I’m chuffed about( although not looking forward to the clothes shopping in spring)
Ftp at 253 and can’t seem to get it higher atm but it will come.
It’s strange cos I was never a numbers man but I’m wondering how I’ll manage come next spring without any power readings!!
Lastly even the Mrs now has an account and is using my stuff to do some training.....we may just yet be tandem cyclists when we get older
JB

Great stuff dude!! I have a wedding in Feb and I'd like to drop some KGs for that, firstly so I can fit in the suit lol and secondly it's my brother's and there are 4 of us, and I don't want to be the fat one I normally am Great work though, that's a real loss!! Not that long really when you think about it, less than a year! I'm going to need to get my FTP back up to your level again now Keep on riding!
Oh, and my wife has zwift too, but she's not ridden in a while and I'm trying to get her to jump on with me but she's doing some other HIIT stuff...I might say I'll join her if she joins me riding

 

[Roady]

That’s usually how it goes, mega hard for 2 minutes at the start, then settle into FTP and sit toward the back of the bunch, then every climb surge.

If multiple laps the first lap or two will be quite a lot harder than the rest. Last lap look for attacks near the start, then most people will sit on until last 2km then try and breakaway on a hill.

Pretty much it, almost all 'racers' tactics every race. But keep it secret, as not everyone knows!

It's winter, I wouldn't worry about pinging at this time of year.

Spoiler

I got my arse handed to me on Sunday when a guy that is still racing track jumped me after a big spell, got back on again but same again at the sprint. My excuse was I'm on my winter bike and he was on Canyon Ultimate with deep section wheels, I crashed(feel like someone has kicked **** out of me today) and was overdressed but it's probably more a case of I've taken my foot off the gas and had a cold for two weeks previous.

I know I'm 79kg at the moment but am I **** doing an FTP test to see what W/Kg would be. Will stick to my 302w that I did last month and kid myself on.

Pinging!?

For me Zwifting last winter & spring was my 'peak' fitness as I wasn't aiming to peak for anything - no outdoor race season for me! Regular racing and the CVR world cup events really drove me forwards. Then once that was over my riding tailed off, my form dropped and I was riding more base stuff - then longer club rides as the weather improved with a few efforts, leading to a couple of long sportives late summer. The actual hour long zone4/5 I was getting from those early CVR races was probably my peak form but I didn't really plan it that way (didn't plan anything).

FTP is what you make of it, a measure of fitness or a mark of where you currently are. If you want to directly compare it to previous figures (like you are) then you should train towards your tests to get the best possible result. But that's not really what the FTP figure is for...

Got my trainer approx 3 months ago and haven’t looked back. Zwift is a revelation for boring indoor training and now since I passed lvl 12 it’s Alpe du Zwift all the way although anly managed 3 times up to now
Weight is now 14st 8 and dropping which I’m chuffed about( although not looking forward to the clothes shopping in spring)
Ftp at 253 and can’t seem to get it higher atm but it will come.

Good work, well done & keep it up! That's some incredible progress! The power will come with continued training, just keep enjoying it. Your body will get to the stage of 'balancing' where the weight loss will stabilise (maybe even increase) while your 'size' (waistline!) continues to decrease. The increase in heavy muscle overtaking the decrease in lighter fat/retained water. It's quite a strange sensation/realisation!

Level 24 here and just unlocked the R5. Sweet! Hae only done 4-5 ascents of AdZ myself so you're catching me...! I don't really hunt hilly races, but I am 74% towards Tron bike!

 

[Griffyn]

Level 24 here and just unlocked the R5. Sweet! Hae only done 4-5 ascents of AdZ myself so you're catching me...! I don't really hunt hilly races, but I am 74% towards Tron bike!

There is a Wahoo climbing challenge currently, that should help you make some progress towards the Tron bike and you also get a chance to win some Wahoo gear. I am only 20% of the way towards the Tron bike so a lot of climbing left to do, but only started Zwifting 6 weeks ago. Currently level 9 so need a lot more KM until I get level 12 and unlock ADZ, want to wait until level 12 before riding it to give me something to aim for.

Did the Fondo at the weekend and was much better with the newer saddle than my effort a month ago, also shaved 10 minutes off my time and averaged 292W for the 1hr23 it took me to complete so was very pleased with that! Still think the Vortex over reads my power but as a training tool its great.

 

[resurgam]

What effect does an inflated FTP figure have on Zwift? four months off the bike has unsurprisingly resulted in a drastic drop, but for just riding routes, does it make much, if any difference? Obviously when I start the training plans I'll re-do the FTP test before then, but I need some basic fitness first. My weight is correct, which I'm assuming makes the biggest difference for an accurate W/kg result.

 

[randomshenans]

Nope. None.

 

[Roady]

There is a Wahoo climbing challenge currently, that should help you make some progress towards the Tron bike and you also get a chance to win some Wahoo gear. I am only 20% of the way towards the Tron bike so a lot of climbing left to do, but only started Zwifting 6 weeks ago. Currently level 9 so need a lot more KM until I get level 12 and unlock ADZ, want to wait until level 12 before riding it to give me something to aim for.

Did the Fondo at the weekend and was much better with the newer saddle than my effort a month ago, also shaved 10 minutes off my time and averaged 292W for the 1hr23 it took me to complete so was very pleased with that! Still think the Vortex over reads my power but as a training tool its great.

So many challenges I don't really take any note of them, if there's an interesting one when I happen to be riding then maybe, otherwise nada impact on me

Good work for that progress, impressive average! Better than mine I think, but it is a Vortex... My FTP was getting towards 300W on my Votex but much closer to 250W when I switched to the Flux. Got it back up to 270W-ish which is mostly in line with what I experience outside. I've been Zwifting since the start of 2015...

What effect does an inflated FTP figure have on Zwift? <snip>

@randomshenans is correct, nothing for just 'free ride' type scenarios.

Obviously the data afterwards surrounding intensity and power zones will be totally screwed - but that's more Strava side/end reporting anyways.

 

[resurgam]

Thanks, that's a relief, just wanted to make sure I wasn't fooling myself! Now I have the debate of how long to ride before doing a new FTP test to get the new, depressingly low figure, and start training again.

 

[Berger]

First Zwift race in a while. Have some work to do!