I use my 160/170mm enduro bike on a wahoo kickr core trainer. Zero issues.
The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread
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Soldato
You might have to buy extra bits for the trainer to take a thru axle, but otherwise it'll just be the extra miles/wear on the rear shock. Gearing might be a bit low if you're on zwift but it's not an issue in erg mode.
Although I will say if you have the space to store a cheap road bike on the trainer, it's a lot less hassle to set it up each time. Mine sits in my home office and takes up very little room - literally the width of the handlebar:
Soldato
Does anyone's Kickr kind of 'drop out' at all? I've been using mine again over the last 10 days and it's getting rather silly. Yesterday I did a training session that had about 6 minutes of 240W in it. The Kickr held the 240W no problem, but it kept dropping out and the screen on my PC was often showing 0W. In fact, one drop out was as long as about 40 seconds.
It happened before, but Wahoo support blamed me using Zwift at the same time (and thinking about it, the dropouts never happened in Zwift when they happened in Wahoo) but now I only use Wahoo... I've sent another support ticket, we'll see what they say.
It happened before, but Wahoo support blamed me using Zwift at the same time (and thinking about it, the dropouts never happened in Zwift when they happened in Wahoo) but now I only use Wahoo... I've sent another support ticket, we'll see what they say.
Sort of but not as you say. I have the V4 version and whilst the watts are relatively consistent the cadence is what goes a bit crazy. On those Zwift efforts where it asks you to hold a set RPM the cadence sometimes goes wild. One moment it can say I'm doing 70 then all of a sudden it'll sky rocket and say I'm doing 120+ and sometimes the opposite is true despite my legs not changing speed.
I'm hoping now with new pedals my experience on the training plans will be a bit more successful.
I was also using Bluetooth and the Zwift companion app. Going to be using Ant+ from now on.
I'm hoping now with new pedals my experience on the training plans will be a bit more successful.
I was also using Bluetooth and the Zwift companion app. Going to be using Ant+ from now on.
Soldato
interestingly, support have replied already and blaming something else connecting to the kickr... which it could be, I've taken to connecting to my Headwind to manually adjust the speed. I might just try heart rate based (as speed doesn't suit - when you're slowely slogging it up a hill, the fan is barely moving the air 
)
)Lol I actually bought the headwind based on the speed function. I thought it sounded amazing. I used it for one ride then switched to heart based. As you say, when you're busting your ass up Alpe d'zwift or Epic KOM reverse/Radio tower I feel like I need all the wind and then some!
Soldato
Tweeks and PBK (plus maybe others) have the Saris H3 for £475 at the moment. Quite a saving over a Kickr V5 at £830+
DC Rainmaker puts it in the same category at the Kickr and Flux. I'm coming up to a year of H3 ownership and it's been faultless. A look on VeloViewer says I've done 78 hours over 102 sessions on it so far this year.
The Smart Trainer Recommendations Guide: Winter 2020-2021
For nearly a decade my trainer recommendations guide has been a staple of this time of year, consolidating all the latest trainers into the do and don’t buy list to consider before spending some hard-earned cash to then suffer inside.
www.dcrainmaker.com
Associate
+1, the HR mode, er, blows the others away.
I had a bit of a frustrating one this morning. I thought I'd try one of the hare and hound handicap races, where the Cat D 'team' starts first, the Cat C team starts a minute or two later, and so on. The aim being to work together as a team to catch the teams ahead and avoid being caught. There weren't many in the event, and I was in with two others in my category who were determined to just sit on my tail and not take a turn for 24 out of 25 km. At least I got a better workout than they did
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I find some of the zwift races can get quite frustrating like this. People sit behind while groups are catching refusing to even do usual power (2.5-3.0 W/kg) and even stop to not take the lead.+1, the HR mode, er, blows the others away.
I had a bit of a frustrating one this morning. I thought I'd try one of the hare and hound handicap races, where the Cat D 'team' starts first, the Cat C team starts a minute or two later, and so on. The aim being to work together as a team to catch the teams ahead and avoid being caught. There weren't many in the event, and I was in with two others in my category who were determined to just sit on my tail and not take a turn for 24 out of 25 km. At least I got a better workout than they did
I also suspect a lot of C riders are B riders who regulate their efforts to stay within limits. Many races I find the lead pack sitting at 2.3-2.5 W/kg, no one will try to break away or lead out. Then when you hit the final 2km, 2-3 riders will just run at 7W/kg to the end up hill. When you check their stats they flick between the two categories. The best races I’ve had were when I’ve managed to join some B riders as they will run a strong pace to the end without the games.
I find the chasing races are quite motivating to catch those in front and also not get caught!
It's getting to the season again!
Quick question for some of you. I have the Kickr V4. Works perfectly fine for my needs so no need to upgrade to the V5. I recently got the assioma-duo power meter pedals. What is better to use for power when using Zwift, the turbo trainer or the pedals? I would've thought the pedals would've been more accurate and the sensible option? Just keen to see what some of you have used? I know I'd like to use the pedals for cadence at least as the Kickr does a terrible job of estimating cadence and jumps all over the place.
Quick question for some of you. I have the Kickr V4. Works perfectly fine for my needs so no need to upgrade to the V5. I recently got the assioma-duo power meter pedals. What is better to use for power when using Zwift, the turbo trainer or the pedals? I would've thought the pedals would've been more accurate and the sensible option? Just keen to see what some of you have used? I know I'd like to use the pedals for cadence at least as the Kickr does a terrible job of estimating cadence and jumps all over the place.
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In any group there are probably some hanging on for dear life, and others that are more than happy letting others do the work and saving their energy for the final km. Which is all fair enough, I suppose, everyone will try to play to their strengths. But doing it in a chase race where the whole point is to work as a team was just odd.
As a bit of an experiment, I did a couple of Brevet pace partner rides recently. One was staying in the middle of the pack and minimising effort, the other was keeping myself at the front and ahead of the draft. The difference was about 85W (more than I was expecting TBH), which just shows how much extra effort is needed at the front of a pack and why break aways are so hard.
I'd guess that anyone "managing" their category and trying to avoid being upgraded is more motivated by getting a good race result than getting better / fitter. Given that most of us race with randoms that could well be cheating in some way, it seems a bit daft getting too bothered by race results, and I prefer to look at my own metrics and try to nudge the power curve up and maybe even try to develop a half-decent sprint sometime.
I don't do that many races but I'll keep doing a few of the chase races - they look like they should be good fun when a group works together as intended.
I use the bike power meter for all my readings.
I don’t think it really matters as the two types of effort are different and you can’t compare inside to outside so if one was 10w different to the other it wouldn’t be a big deal.
It does mean if you were super serious you could dual record however, and does allow you to benchmark one bike power meter to another (not that it’s an issue with pedals) but in my case 3 bikes 3 different crank power meters but I can use the turbo as the constant.
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I find the chase races fun, but there just aren’t that many overall. I generally found racing more fun when staying with a group for as long as possible was my only aim. It kept thing simple!
I'll just stick with the turbo doing power then but use the pedals for cadence.
Looking forward to getting back onto Zwift though. Was doing really well until our daughter was born, then I just dropped off and the weather turned nice! At the very least I want the Tron bike before the end of the year
Looking forward to getting back onto Zwift though. Was doing really well until our daughter was born, then I just dropped off and the weather turned nice! At the very least I want the Tron bike before the end of the year
I'm riding the current DiRT series with a different Team than my usual 3R - blasphemy! But just not enough there interested to field a team. I'm riding with TBR 'Dirty Pugs'. Did an ok first race, then a brutal one on Tuesday up the Epic KOM & Radio tower. Was very late joining (still eating my dinner!) and no warm up. Worked to stick in, then join the front groups after the first climb had split it, before easing to find a lightweight friend who'd got dropped and tow her back up the bridge along the base of the Epic to get her back into contention. It worked well and she flew up the road. Figured my race was done so mostly pacing the first part of the Epic at a hard tempo, eased to middle (was going to stop!) but at that point had come to the realisation that I had amazing legs so pressed on! Pretty much my highest or on par for the best power of 2022 for 6min - 51min, including my fastest time up there in 2 years and a PR on the Radio Tower so pretty pleased.
TLDR; 19th & 29th in a busy 'low B' series racing as a top C. Just need the results to push me back up into B!
Worth noting the KICKR V5 is not £830. Got mine easily earlier in the year (when inventory problems where still rife) for £699 waiting for deals (price was £799 on Zwifts site, but 749 elsewhere, then they did a weekend sale with 100 off). Also the KICKR v5 comes with 2 year warranty. Saris only has 1 and they're notoriously bad at warranty/support/service outside of the States. YMMV!
Zwiftpower is a great place to do this - doesn't have to be a race, can even upload multiple .fit files so I think you could technically use it to compare without even a Zwift ride in there... But strange that you wouldn't! Most of the other comparison tools are limited by paywalls. DCR has a good tool that is quite cheap but was an annual/monthly sub so really only worth using if you wanted far more control/data all the time. Golden Cheetah is free, but very complicated and I found it quick clunky. There's probably others out there but I found ZP quick & easy & free.
My naming wasn't great and isn't accurate, but for testing the Neo when it played up, then the PWM's to it, then the Flux which was faulty against them, to then use the KICKR vs the Stages - mostly what I would call 'accurate', even with results like the above and this: https://zwiftpower.com/analysis.php?set_id=210902
You may get better than that, you may get worse! I've got far worse on my Profile - look under Analysis at the top. Been a while since I did any dual recording actually...!
But just not enough there interested to field a team. I'm riding with TBR 'Dirty Pugs'. Did an ok first race, then a brutal one on Tuesday up the Epic KOM & Radio tower. Was very late joining (still eating my dinner!) and no warm up. Worked to stick in, then join the front groups after the first climb had split it, before easing to find a lightweight friend who'd got dropped and tow her back up the bridge along the base of the Epic to get her back into contention. It worked well and she flew up the road. Figured my race was done so mostly pacing the first part of the Epic at a hard tempo, eased to middle (was going to stop!) but at that point had come to the realisation that I had amazing legs so pressed on! Pretty much my highest or on par for the best power of 2022 for 6min - 51min, including my fastest time up there in 2 years and a PR on the Radio Tower so pretty pleased.TLDR; 19th & 29th in a busy 'low B' series racing as a top C. Just need the results to push me back up into B!
My V5 (2020) does the same but maybe not as regularly as you say. Just 'sometimes' I'll see it spike to ~120rpm and then ease back down again. The few times I've done any sessions with required RPM intervals it hasn't done it, so maybe in ERG mode it doesn't? So might be something related to it 'averaging' out cadence? The rider doesn't change, the cadence sensor is detecting the number of revolutions, but then the number of X within Y period is too low so it 'spikes' to even out...?
Great purchase and unit, the H2 (& H3) meant to be some of the best ERG units, so great for training plans/intervals on any platform and easily the better units for Trainerroad.Tweeks and PBK (plus maybe others) have the Saris H3 for £475 at the moment. Quite a saving over a Kickr V5 at £830+
DC Rainmaker puts it in the same category at the Kickr and Flux. I'm coming up to a year of H3 ownership and it's been faultless. A look on VeloViewer says I've done 78 hours over 102 sessions on it so far this year.
The Smart Trainer Recommendations Guide: Winter 2020-2021
For nearly a decade my trainer recommendations guide has been a staple of this time of year, consolidating all the latest trainers into the do and don’t buy list to consider before spending some hard-earned cash to then suffer inside.
Worth noting the KICKR V5 is not £830. Got mine easily earlier in the year (when inventory problems where still rife) for £699 waiting for deals (price was £799 on Zwifts site, but 749 elsewhere, then they did a weekend sale with 100 off). Also the KICKR v5 comes with 2 year warranty. Saris only has 1 and they're notoriously bad at warranty/support/service outside of the States. YMMV!
Race more popular series and you'll find more serious racers are generally more 'honest' and not sandbagging as much. More popular = more admins, more enforcement, etc etc. ZRL, TFC, DiRT to name a few. but much of the front of the races (regardless of CAT) are similar on the popular courses. Zwift is not made for breakaways so they very rarely work, it's also more biased towards maximum wattages and peak power. Draft being so strong also boosts both of these, not to mention most of the popular and common races not finishing at a KOM or long climb. It has just become natural to wheelsuck and get to the final KM's as fresh as possible - as that's where the race/results are mostly decided from a massive group!
They're measuring different things, but both should be pretty accurate when warmed up and calibrated. Do some dual recordings to see the differences between them - but also understand there will be, but then also consider the KICKR really recording 'at the drive' whereas the pedals recording at the 'source' (what I mean by different things). Your sprints/kicks will be higher peaks with the pedals, but your sustained power and changes in response and 'feel' will be quicker from the KICKR as source. You can easily just have the pedals as a cadence source (providing not Apple/iOS/TVOS as that's limited connections), or even run a standalone cheapy cadence sensor to avoid swapping pedals around all the time.
Exactly it - can only really 'worry' about yourself and know for sure that at least 1 person is racing with the same ethics, with a setup they trust, but it is only really yourself you can be sure about.
Exactly this.
Zwiftpower is a great place to do this - doesn't have to be a race, can even upload multiple .fit files so I think you could technically use it to compare without even a Zwift ride in there... But strange that you wouldn't! Most of the other comparison tools are limited by paywalls. DCR has a good tool that is quite cheap but was an annual/monthly sub so really only worth using if you wanted far more control/data all the time. Golden Cheetah is free, but very complicated and I found it quick clunky. There's probably others out there but I found ZP quick & easy & free.
My naming wasn't great and isn't accurate, but for testing the Neo when it played up, then the PWM's to it, then the Flux which was faulty against them, to then use the KICKR vs the Stages - mostly what I would call 'accurate', even with results like the above and this: https://zwiftpower.com/analysis.php?set_id=210902
You may get better than that, you may get worse! I've got far worse on my Profile - look under Analysis at the top. Been a while since I did any dual recording actually...!
Commentators curse tonight, thanks for the ride on Roady. Just as I was about to get dropped!
Did the three little sisters circuit in B with about 50 people racing. The route is all the small climbs around wattopia building up, a 2, 4 and 7.5 minute effort basically! Last one up the volcano, I made it to the tunnel about halfway, then blew up when we started climbing again. I think best case I could have made it to the super steep bit at the end and likely dropped then. I got picked up by a group of 10 on the descent and then came maybe 2nd of that group in the sprint at the end for 19th overall.
It was my first Zwift race in months. I think everyone showed up with summer legs, did some good numbers but my ZP score was terrible (mid 400s and I usually finish in the low 300s). My fitness felt good, can’t really fault with how I rode it, just not strong enough!
Did the three little sisters circuit in B with about 50 people racing. The route is all the small climbs around wattopia building up, a 2, 4 and 7.5 minute effort basically! Last one up the volcano, I made it to the tunnel about halfway, then blew up when we started climbing again. I think best case I could have made it to the super steep bit at the end and likely dropped then. I got picked up by a group of 10 on the descent and then came maybe 2nd of that group in the sprint at the end for 19th overall.
It was my first Zwift race in months. I think everyone showed up with summer legs, did some good numbers but my ZP score was terrible (mid 400s and I usually finish in the low 300s). My fitness felt good, can’t really fault with how I rode it, just not strong enough!
Soldato
Well plans changed and I decided to keep the MTB setup for outdoor work. I bought a cheap used roadbike (£180) for the Zwift setup.
Gotta say, although I've never owned a road bike, I have used them before, even competed in a couple very low level events and I've got plenty of experience on Wattbikes and such. However, Zwift is a different beast...
Done a couple freeride sessions, and decided I needed to start a training plan. At one point I somehow found myself in the middle of a huge pack and was keeping pace, but I just couldnt sustain it, after about 10min I started to drop off and as soon as I got near the rear of the pack it was game over, no chance I was making it back up...
I'm staying away from any organised events and such for the mean time until I'm up to speed.
I thought I was "bike fit"... OOOOHHHH how mistaken was I!!!!! Cranking away up and down on a MTB with 418 % gear range is very much different kettle of fish! Needless to say I got a lot of work to do, but the important thing is I'm actually enjoying the challenge.
As expected, despite the outwardly decent looking condition, a bike of this age and budget, there are some upgrades required. I'm going to replace cassette/chain/chainrings. Wear is noticable, although it does run fine-ish for now. I'm thinking saddle also needs addressing, finding that anything beyond the 1hr mark to be absolute agony on the gooch, I'll play with high and angles but I think its headed for the bin!
Soldato
I've started doing the new Zracing series, first race was this evening and it was only my 2nd ever Zwift race!
I'm in cat B at 3.7w/kg, have been for a while but at a lower w/kg, my first race was back in May at around 3.4w/kg (in which I got dropped on the 22nd corner and finished 3rd from last in my category).
Finished 75th of 110, and didn't get dropped! Stayed with a decent group all the way, we caught another group ahead and I pushed on to bridge over to them, was semi-hoping I'd lose my group but they stayed with me and we merged with the other group. Even managed a sprint at the end, 770w uphill
As I'm aiming to get to 4w/kg this winter I thought I'd better get some races in, because as tough as cat B is, I doubt it compares to cat A!
I'm in cat B at 3.7w/kg, have been for a while but at a lower w/kg, my first race was back in May at around 3.4w/kg (in which I got dropped on the 22nd corner and finished 3rd from last in my category).
Finished 75th of 110, and didn't get dropped! Stayed with a decent group all the way, we caught another group ahead and I pushed on to bridge over to them, was semi-hoping I'd lose my group but they stayed with me and we merged with the other group. Even managed a sprint at the end, 770w uphill
As I'm aiming to get to 4w/kg this winter I thought I'd better get some races in, because as tough as cat B is, I doubt it compares to cat A!