Road Cycling

[Shadowness]

Just how 'real' are those Zwift miles compared to road riding? I mean, 24 mph average over that distance just sounds super human to me. Then again I'm very amateur compared to you lot!

As someone who does a lot of road riding, and recently started Zwift on a Wattbike.....I can say that to be honest it's not too different.

But it's hard to say. I can come off a 1-2 hour really hard ride, and my legs feel just as worked out as an actual ride.

The power feels the same too (I have a PWM on my road bike too). If anything, maybe harder on the Wattbike. 200W is my go to, tick along, ride for ages sort of power. It doesn't feel strenuous at all on the road bike. It does feel a bit harder on the Wattbike, but I'm not sure if it actually is, or I just notice it more, as on a trainer, there is literally nothing to distract you from the work you are doing. No wind, pot holes to dodge, undulating roads etc.
Zwift is faster, as I need less power to stay at 20mph, but then again, the above point might come into that. Indoors, there's no wind, road resistance etc. I'm sure they are factored in somehow though.

Ive not done an equivalent Sunday club ride on Zwift though (70-80 miles, 200-250W avg, >1000m climbing). I've either done base 'recovery' miles, or flat out races or FTP like cycling. I'm sure you'd still feel that on the Wattbike!

I must admit I used to take the mick out of indoor riders, but if you set it up properly, its comparable to outdoor riding.

 

[BaJ]

Just got home to find I’ve been successful in the Ride London ballet I’ve not applied previously and put my name down on a bit of a whim.

 

[merlin]

I’ve been successful in the Ride London ballet

Time to dust off that Tutu

 

[BennyC]

Bolt remorse

I have the 'proper' Elemnt so can't comment on the Bolt nor it's acclaimed 2w aero saving

Indoor miles

Coming from the same perspective as you, indoor miles are equivalent to outdoor miles in my mind, even more so when both are ridden to power.

Anyone that moans or complains that a ride on Zwift is 'too fast' or equates to a few miles more than it would outside can shut-up and ****** off If you're that butthurt about it consider them bonus miles for mastering self distraction and continuing to train through winter

 

[SoliD]

I have the 'proper' Elemnt so can't comment on the Bolt nor it's acclaimed 2w aero saving



Coming from the same perspective as you, indoor miles are equivalent to outdoor miles in my mind, even more so when both are ridden to power.

Anyone that moans or complains that a ride on Zwift is 'too fast' or equates to a few miles more than it would outside can shut-up and ****** off If you're that butthurt about it consider them bonus miles for mastering self distraction and continuing to train through winter

What about us hard blokes who ride day in day out outside?

 

[Vonhelmet]

Someone recommend me some disc brake pads for TRP Spyre cable actuated calipers... I'm sure I've asked before, but I don't remember what was said.

 

[SoliD]

Uber bike or superstar

 

[BennyC]

What about us hard blokes who ride day in day out outside?

You can curse us whilst endlessly cleaning your bikes whilst we curse you for not having to suffer indoors

 

[SoliD]

Meh, I've cleaned my pinnacle once in about 6 months. Mudguards are wonderful. I don't count the cx bike which is sat awaiting a new derailleur.....

 

[SDK^]

The real tricky bit is what to do with the fan - on or off. On and you freeze, off and you sweat. Ugh, god

I use remote control power switches to control my 3 fans. I start the ride with them switched off then when I warm up I can switch them on individually from the bike

All of this talk about trainer lag makes me glad I went for a decent smart trainer from the off.

 

[SDK^]

Just how 'real' are those Zwift miles compared to road riding? I mean, 24 mph average over that distance just sounds super human to me. Then again I'm very amateur compared to you lot!

It helps that in Zwift you don't have to slow down and/or stop for road junctions, traffic lights, other cars etc..
My average power and speed out on the road is always less because of the slowing/coasting up to the above.

 

[Roady]

I usually replicate Cipollini in the buff once I'm warmed up

TMI

I need MEAT ffs.

I'm away for one day on a training course and this is what you digress to?! Sheeesh

I'll be damned if I'm changing that mid session.

Just have your fans control & head in arms reach for adjustments? Mine is max reach (finger tips) away so I'm able to adjust it without having too much of a focused airflow.

Totally agree about covering extremities, I've had my toe covers pretty much permanently on my 'summer' shoes for Zwifting since I started - I don't tend to suffer from hot feet (or even that badly with cold feet outside but I'm almost permanently in overshoes when wearing leg/knee warmers). I'm also wearing quite thick arm & knee warmers (Sportful NoRain) as they've quite wind proof, then once warmed up I'll generally 'peel' back the wrists (a la Cavendish) as that works really well for me. Have never overheated my legs/limbs, just torso! I'm a jersey flapper.

Either that or a firmware update sorted out the bugs

Firmware update pretty much bricked my 810. It now won't even switch and stay on more than a few seconds. I had almost exactly 2 years life out of it with probably a year of constant crashing and freezing when using mapping and BT sync. Really disappointed for a £230 unit (bought 21/01/15). Have done any number of resets, restores, wipes etc. When I emailed Garmin Support they didn't even respond.

I'm just over a year into owning my ELEMNT (bought 30/12/16 for £190 when they had a £50 off winter deal) and couldn't be happier. I've had 3 or 4 freezes and 1 or 2 resets in that time but not lost any rides. Have much more confidence in Wahoo support, their continued release of updates and the ease of using the unit. I barely have to do anything with it as mine is setup to sync via Wifi at home & work so I don't even run the smartphone app 90% of the time. Battery life is phenomenal as it hardly ever uses BT.

Time to dust off that Tutu

I lol'd (as I missed the typo)

What about us hard blokes who ride day in day out outside?

How about those of us who do both? Are we Super^hard? (TMI)

Brutal CVR race on tuesday night, full report to follow in Zwift thread when I get time.

 

[One More Solo]

The main difference between Zwift and real miles is I don’t have a 40 man peloton towing me round Cheshire. Speeds would probably be similar if I did!

 

[BennyC]

Just have your fans control & head in arms reach for adjustments? Mine is max reach (finger tips) away so I'm able to adjust it without having too much of a focused airflow.

20" Floor fan with a 3 speed dial on the rear. So if it were in reach I'd probably struggle to reach around it anyway not to mention it'd be incredibly close!

Switched extension for on/off and a rubber ended spirit level to joust it with

I'm considering trailing the Honeywell fans but refuse to pay £7 delivery for a £25 fan so it's on hold. Annnnnd just seen a sale with free shipping offer. Incoming.

 

[SoliD]

I can't wait to get back to summer so we can talk about tyres, bee stings and hayfever symptoms.

 

[Saytan]

Zwift has helped propagate the notion that turbo usage should be measured in distances. It should always be measured in time.

 

[Shamrock]

Strava should just omit rides flagged as "indoor cycling" from your total distance. Or deduct!

 

[BennyC]

I can't wait to get back to summer so we can talk about tyres, bee stings and hayfever symptoms.

And leg shaving & tan lines. Right?

 

[One More Solo]

Zwift has helped propagate the notion that turbo usage should be measured in distances. It should always be measured in time.

It should be measured in TSS IMO.

 

[Roady]

I'm considering trailing the Honeywell fans

Those the little turbine ones? Seen some mounted to TV/Monitor stands and such?

I can't wait to get back to summer so we can talk about tyres, bee stings and hayfever symptoms.

But not sunshine, this is the UK after all!

Strava should just omit rides flagged as "indoor cycling" from your total distance. Or deduct!

Just a way to filter them much like the 'exclude commutes' one on the top of 'Training Log'. The Tag for commute is exactly the same as the one for 'Indoor cycling' so the functionality is probably already there, just the filter is infuriatingly missing!

Although I don't think Zwift rides are set with the Tag... They're a 'different sport'. Doh!

C'mon Strava, I know it took you 3 years to support ANT sensors on your mobile app, but easy filtering and functionality on a web front end to a database is very easily to implement. noobs