Really - you should try cycling outside through WinterI do think Zwift + Tacx Flow is much tougher than real life and my previous Elite dumb trainer but its brilliant
The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread
- Thread starter randomshenans
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Just completed 'Jon's Long Mix' on Zwift. First exercise I've done since my crash a week ago.
It feels good to get moving again but I failed all of the 10-second sprints. I think it's calculated from your FTP so I had to do 745w for 10 seconds and the best I managed was 580w… still, it certainly got the heart rate up.
I did have to blow a hairdryer down my cast though which is a bit yuk.
It feels good to get moving again but I failed all of the 10-second sprints. I think it's calculated from your FTP so I had to do 745w for 10 seconds and the best I managed was 580w… still, it certainly got the heart rate up.
I did have to blow a hairdryer down my cast though which is a bit yuk.
Soldato
No problem at all, I'm sure others will find this useful/boring to read
I'll have another listen but my understanding of the podcast discussion was that a non-smart trainer with the better inertia was their preference over a smart trainer with ERG capability. Purely on the basis of ride feedback affecting their desire to actually want to ride it. In short if it feels gross they'd be less inclined to slog away on it.
In their view having the more positive ride feel and then mastering a consistent power output manual was preferable to peddling mud but in ERG mode
It definitely is. Low inertia trainers end up recruiting muscles in ways they just don't get used on the road which at best feels unnatural and at worst creates injury risk since the muscles are less developed. Unfortunately though, few turbo manufacturers seem to have any interest in the concept of actual inertia/"road feel". The only way to get near this is moving away from flywheel based trainers, because the size of flywheel you need to simulate the kinetic energy you experience on the road would be ridiculously huge.
Soldato
I'll have another listen but my understanding of the podcast discussion was that a non-smart trainer with the better inertia was their preference over a smart trainer with ERG capability. Purely on the basis of ride feedback affecting their desire to actually want to ride it. In short if it feels gross they'd be less inclined to slog away on it.
In their view having the more positive ride feel and then mastering a consistent power output manual was preferable to peddling mud but in ERG mode
You are right but that was in respect to the question of whether to buy a decent dumb trainer or cheap smart trainer and they said don't bother with the cheap smart trainers because they don't hold power very well and feel choppy. They just aren't smooth like a decent smart trainer.
Many on the Zwift forums/fb pages would dispute that! Read up on belt tension/replacement and you'll find lots of unhappy Kickr owners.
Basically the spindown calibration offset sounds like it's affecting peoples power levels far too much and seems to not calculate/measure much from the belt tension. Read one conversation where guys were constantly adjusting their belt tensions to match power to their PWM's for accurate data, rather than using the spindown.
Same! But only the TT ones for some reason!? Beautiful frameset...Aargon 18 frames have always been a soft spot for me. Hadn't thought to check Mantel. I already have a Propel which was converted
Welcome! 148W isn't a bad place to start, if you can maintain the intensity you will find 'bigger' numbers from the full test rather than the short. But I'd not do that without some serious sweetspot work first!Couple of days later I tried the FTP again and this time completed it with a lowly score of 148new I was out of shape but this bad!!!
No numbers are 'bad', they're all a personal measurement which you can only remotely accurately compare your other efforts and training against. Not other peoples, there's just too many variables/inconsistencies!
I went from a dumb Kurt Kinetic Road Machine (without the extra flywheel) which is considered one of the most 'road like' feeling onwheel trainers. I switched to a Tacx Vortex Smart, I'll admit the 'road like' feel isn't anywhere near the KK (say 60/70%?) but I'll take the interactive/immersive feel of a smart trainer/ERG mode on Zwift over the 'road feel' of the KK any day.
The KK did 'rumble', whereas my Vortex 'whines', the inertia was good (due to flywheel) but I wouldn't say that feel was anywhere near good enough (to how the actual road feels) to base any decisions on it. The Neo is meant to be pretty good for feel, but I imagine any of the wheeloff trainers with large flywheels (including Kickr) has a better 'road feel' than the cheaper onwheel trainers like my Vortex.
My Flux still isn't here and no sign of when it will arrive. Which is nice. Only ordered it in November lol
Did the volcano yesterday, nice little circuit to do!
Did the volcano yesterday, nice little circuit to do!
Soldato
I'm sure there are, lets face it, there will be loads of people complaining about all manner of products all the time. I can only go by my own observations and comparisons with my Quarq and its been spot on.
Hum, was sure I'd posted this last night.
So I gave it a quick, easy test, but got no cadence info on my garmin head unit. Does the tacx/trainer road lock out the device? I tried using the relaying feature but without luck either.
So I gave it a quick, easy test, but got no cadence info on my garmin head unit. Does the tacx/trainer road lock out the device? I tried using the relaying feature but without luck either.
Did you order it from Canyon? Lol
Yeah need to do a few Volcano laps, but I quite fancy some climbing too...!
Yeah, although I think the number of KICKR owners far outweighs any other trainer currently used on Zwift.
Equally lots of KICKR owners have had luck sourcing their own replacement belts rather than the 'overpriced' Wahoo replacement (which I think is still only $50?). Others with power variations in high temperature/humidity areas find taking the shroud off makes a big difference. Etc etc, whatever it is, you can bet someone with a KICKR has tried it!
Were you seeing one on screen? Which sensor is it? Just make sure you have it paired under ANT+ and not BTLE in TR.
Even if the sensor supports 'both' you might find if it's connected to the PC over Bluetooth (and not ANT+) then it may not be broadcasting on ANT+ (which the head unit requires). PC/USB stick might support both, so TR supports both, but Garmin head units only see ANT+.
I've never fully understood if BTLE allows multi device connections, ANT+ does. The only times I've fiddled around with BTLE I've never had it work as logically/obviously as ANT+ seems to.
Any tips on the Zwift workouts?
I've done the FTP test, John's Mix and SST (Short) so far.
I really like the format of it - matching set power output for set times etc. but I feel like I should be using them in a more structured way.
I don't really have a goal in mind other than increase fitness (especially as I can't get out on the bike outside). I don't really need the race prep and I can't commit to the near-daily sessions required for the 6/12-week FTP increase workouts.
Any ideas of what I should be doing with three hour-long sessions a week?
I've done the FTP test, John's Mix and SST (Short) so far.
I really like the format of it - matching set power output for set times etc. but I feel like I should be using them in a more structured way.
I don't really have a goal in mind other than increase fitness (especially as I can't get out on the bike outside). I don't really need the race prep and I can't commit to the near-daily sessions required for the 6/12-week FTP increase workouts.
Any ideas of what I should be doing with three hour-long sessions a week?
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Soldato
I'm pretty much in the same situation as I work away from home so only have 3 days to fit any training in. I generally do a sweetspot session, over and unders or pyramid intervals to push beyond threshold and a sprint session, just free riding and doing the sprint sections on the courses, although there are GCN sprint training sessions now which I might try.
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I have no bluetooth capabilities on my turbo PC, its just ant+.
Whats weird is quite a few devices seem to show up, at one point TR was seeing 6 devices. A power meter (which I don't have), a speed & cadence sensor (which I don't have), a virtual power meter (which I don't have but I suppose could have been my turbo), in addition to my turbo, my cadence meter, and my speed sensor.
Anyway, after a second go I was getting cadence info on my garmin head unit. After doing nothing differently. Oh well.
Don't think that's possible. You can use the workout creator to make it yourself. If you have a KickR and a Elemnt you can re-ride a .GPX file to the same effect.
Thanks Bear.
I was thinking something along the lines of:
- Monday - Intervals
- Wednesday - 2 x 20 FTP or SST
- Saturday - Sprints / Tractor pulls
So that's pretty close to what you're doing.
I just wondered whether there was any benefit to doing a low intensity recovery ride. I guess if you were doing them, you'd do it on the Tuesday and Thursday between the intense stuff but instead I'm just having a day off.
Soldato
Died on my arse tonight. Got 2/3rds of the way into my usual 45 minute session and my legs just collapsed on me. No strength in them whatsoever. Disappointing session
The Sufferfest - Stage 3: The Omnium
Tough shift - 45 mins of pretty much on it from the start.....not much rest.
Tough shift - 45 mins of pretty much on it from the start.....not much rest.
Soldato
After my low FTP score of 148w I decided start the Zwift 6wk Beginner FTP Builder and just completed my 3rd day and while it's making me sweat and legs ache it's not as tough as I thought it would be. I'm having no trouble hitting targets and finding it more of a problem keeping under wattage on the slow sections.
Should I stick with it or do something else?
Should I stick with it or do something else?
Sounds very much like your structure (ie certain days you ride) is already there, then as you surmise it's just a decision over which particular things you train for each of them. That's totally down to you!I just wondered whether there was any benefit to doing a low intensity recovery ride. I guess if you were doing them, you'd do it on the Tuesday and Thursday between the intense stuff but instead I'm just having a day off.
You may find some benefit from recovery days, rather than complete rest days. For a start 'recovery rides' are low intensity and well suited to endurance riding. They can even be done fasted which teaches your body to burn fat instead of carbs at low intensities, good for weight loss, but also good for body adaption. With structure (frequency) of of these base/fasted rides your body will be more efficient at the lower intensities of other parts of your riding and training. Long story short - a 'recovery ride' can be more beneficial than a 'rest day'!
For me, I've always struggled with structure (specific days & specific sessions), I'm much more of an ad-hoc rider (just jump on and do something I fancy whenever I get the time). A large part of that (for me) is commuting at high-ish intensities 40-50% of the time and the accumilated fatigue I get from that. My more long-intensity riding is usually done on weekends (club rides/big climbs/long rides), so I like to try and manage my fatigue making sure I'm as rested as possible for these. I've found that doing much of my weekly turbo sessions as 'base' work with shorter intervals, rather than big interval/power sessions works. I usually ride 6 days a week (5 days commuting) with two after work sessions and one bigger/longer/harder weekend ride (saturdays) followed by my only rest day (sunday).
Stick with it. Your FTP is fairly low so you'll rapidly increase it with the base riding it's getting you started with, you are probably seeing these gains already as you're having no problems hitting the levels! Good stuff! Your FTP is already increasing, when you retest you'll see gains.
I did start the same builder over winter, but I was already commuting ~50 miles (4ish hours) per week so I found the base sessions a waste of the short time I had. Certainly in the first 2 weeks of that program there was nothing to 'test' me, so I got bored and stopped. As you can tell from above, I prefer to manage my own 'base riding'.
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