The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread

[PikeyPriest]

My target is to be able to come on here and humblebrag about how "bloody Zwift putting me in class A" because I'm such a beast! (just kidding Shadowness)

One day we can all dream. I found that it was fairly quick from being towards the pointy end of cat C & D before upgrading, but definitely slower gains in Cat B.

Cat A is 4.2 W/kg ftp, equating to a 20 minute of 4.42 which is just insane. For me that is 350W for 20 minutes for a Cat A upgrade, which I just don’t think is possible.

 

[Vandle]

Zwift Games registrations open. Some great routes, really looking forward to it although very much doubt I'll win the gold tron bike! I don't even use my current tron bike and looking at the ride profiles, I'll not be using it for this series either.

Zwift Games

Participate in our biggest Zwift event yet, then watch the best cycling esports riders in the world battle for the Zwift Champion crowns.

www.zwift.com

 

[Shadowness]

My target is to be able to come on here and humblebrag about how "bloody Zwift putting me in class A" because I'm such a beast! (just kidding Shadowness)

It’s pretty much the only thing I CAN brag about!

But if it’s any consolation, I still get me assed kicked every A race!

 

[AndyCr15]

Zwift Games registrations open.

I was a little confused by this as it talked about having routes for everyone, sprinters, climbers etc. I thought maybe you had a set of routes for sprinters and a set of routes for climbers, but they're all mixed into the same event, right? So if you want to complete them all, you have to climb and sprint? So, it's just another event like the TdZ, right?

This is fine, of course, I just thought they sold it more like an event with different types you could enter. I mean, in the Olympics you don't make the sprinters run the 10k!

 

[Vandle]

I was a little confused by this as it talked about having routes for everyone, sprinters, climbers etc. I thought maybe you had a set of routes for sprinters and a set of routes for climbers, but they're all mixed into the same event, right? So if you want to complete them all, you have to climb and sprint? So, it's just another event like the TdZ, right?

This is fine, of course, I just thought they sold it more like an event with different types you could enter. I mean, in the Olympics you don't make the sprinters run the 10k!

Yeah I read it as that too. Seems stages 1, 2 and 4 they are calling sprints but have 200m+ going up and at least 15km long. Will be well under an hour though so I guess a sprint of sorts...

 

[PikeyPriest]

Looks to have quite limited start times aswell. When I looked a few weeks back I wasn’t sure if I would be able to do any as it was 6:30pm or 9:30pm or super early in the morning. Hopefully it changes before launch or that is just the super elites riders or something.

 

[UTmaniac]

Zwift Games registrations open. Some great routes, really looking forward to it although very much doubt I'll win the gold tron bike! I don't even use my current tron bike and looking at the ride profiles, I'll not be using it for this series either.

Zwift Games

Participate in our biggest Zwift event yet, then watch the best cycling esports riders in the world battle for the Zwift Champion crowns.

www.zwift.com

Only the "elite" racers using specific approved hardware to race on (eg. my Saris H3 isn't approved) have a chance to win the golden Tron.

Maybe you qualified for the "elite" races, but the rest of us are simply racing for GC glory with normal ZwiftHQ rules in our respective pens.

I shall probably give it a go in pen D, would hope to finish in top 50 overall, unless I come a cropper with the Three Little Sisters ~38Km long route (my stamina is a major weak point since long covid began Sept '22). Doesn't help that I'm 93Kg these days rather than ~80Kg for most of '22, but now I can do ~300W for 5mins on a good day, rather than ~300W for 30mins back when I was on the old Category Enforcement formula (when zFTP was based on 20mins rather than now being ~60mins) A/B border.

Zwift Games: All About Indoor Cycling’s Premier Race Festival for Everyone

A month-long festival of Zwift racing, for community and elite riders!

zwiftinsider.com

 

[Shadowness]

Where do you find the approved hardware list?

(just curious what is approved these days)

 

[UTmaniac]

Where do you find the approved hardware list?

(just curious what is approved these days)

I can't see a direct link, but top post shows list.

Zwift Games 2024, small list of accepted trainers for Elite Championships

Really curious to know why elite participants are banned from Saris Hammer series trainers, or even Zwift’s own smart trainer. This list of accepted trainers is very small. Anyone else have thoughts or clarifications on this?

forums.zwift.com

 

[Shadowness]

Is that it?!

My Wattbike still isn't registered. That's why I was DQ'd from the virtual Ironman competitions back in covid times.

 

[wonko]

I was a bit underwhelmed when I first saw the Zwift Games routes, but it's probably not too bad a selection from what's available. A couple of flatter routes favouring the wattmonsters (stages 1 and 2) and a couple favouring the lightweight climbers (3 and 5). Stage 5 (Road to Sky) is the least attractive one to me as it seems more of an extended FTP test than a race.

My SB20 isn't on the list either, so it's a good job I'm not in the elite group.

 

[Vandle]

I’m far from elite! Hopefully I didn’t give the impression that I was!

Firmly cat C. Usually hopeful of a top ten finish in flatter races. Happy with finishing in the top 50% in the hilly routes.

Amusing the zwift trainer isn’t on the approved list.

 

[Vandle]

Zwift Games: All About Indoor Cycling’s Premier Race Festival for Everyone

A month-long festival of Zwift racing, for community and elite riders!

zwiftinsider.com

I was going to buy the Scott Addict for these races. May as well save my drops!

In a surprising (and unannounced) twist, Zwift has set up all the Zwift Games events so frame and wheel choice are neutralized, just like the Elite races. This means you can ride any bike frame or wheels from your garage (even the Buffalo or Safety Bike!) and it will perform the same as everyone else’s frames and wheels.

Zwift says this was done to “make sure our whole racing community starts on a level playing field with respect to in-game equipment.” And don’t worry, the neutralized settings won’t slow you down… Zwift says they’re close to the Tron bike, meaning you’ll get good aero performance without sacrificing much speed on the climbs.

 

[UTmaniac]

Zwift Games: All About Indoor Cycling’s Premier Race Festival for Everyone

A month-long festival of Zwift racing, for community and elite riders!

zwiftinsider.com

I was going to buy the Scott Addict for these races. May as well save my drops!

Especially with the recent drop shop level lock adjustments, it's about time ZwiftHQ and community event organisers neutralised frame/wheel performance for competitive events more often.

I think it was Nov '23, everyone was racing on the Trons for the Zmonthly series around Neokyo.

Edit: Did Zwift Games stage one earlier, doing fine on first lap, but on second lap was briefly dropped from lead group and catching them again left me with nothing after the second Kom climb.

Almost 44mins has left me dead for the rest of the day. Then saw bigger D fields at 1600 and 1700 smash the earlier times... Making top 50 is looking very rocky!!!

 

[SoliD]

Anyone else's tickr take an age to pair and get signal etc?

 

[Trifid]

I ended up stopping completely after this and only started picking up a bit late last week. The difference in health now and a month ago is night and day difference. My breathing is so much more relaxed on and off the bike. I'm not doing the F500 this year but doing an hour in total with the Zwift group ride in the middle of it. My power to heart rate ratio is more or less the same as where I was 2 months ago but ability sit for hours at a time needs working at. I might burn a week of AL that I have no other plans with and do a virtual festive 500 in late February/early march to get ready for our traditional long Easter ride through the Easter villages in Essex.

So I did this last week. 8x days back to back on Trainerroad, 3x 3 hour sessions and 5x 2 hour sessions for a total of 514.81 virtual km with no Zwift optimistic speeds. I am looking forward to tomorrow completely off the bike and a easy recovery week. I'll also look to do a ramp test in a few days to see if it made any difference.

 

[AndyCr15]

Could decide whether to take a chance in the gaps of rain... it looked like the sun was coming out around 9am, but before I could even get my bib tights out, it was raining again to I decided to spend a couple of hours on the Kickr and did Accelerate to Elevate. I couldn't understand how it was marked as a completed route, but I had no time for the Alpe in Strava, then I remembered when I was unlocking the Tron bike, I recorded Zwift when out on real world rides I would then delete the Zwift ride from Strava, so as not to double up on mileage.

So, this would be my first proper trip up the Alpe. I managed 1:15:56, which although slower than almost anyone else I follow on Strava, I wonder how many of them weigh 95kg!?

Interesting to compare to the real climb -

Alpe du Zwift - 1:15:56 @ 237W or 2.49W/kg
L'Alpe D'huez (Full) - 1:22:08 @ 279W or 2.77W/kg

 

[Vandle]

Solid effort big fella. I struggle to stay on the bike for that long. If you want a comparison, I just looked and I did 1:08. 5th August last year at 90.7kg.
Going to hit all the big climbs again in the coming weeks as soon as I unlock the Aethos although sitting a svelte 84kg currently.

 

[AndyCr15]

I struggle to stay on the bike for that long.

Thanks. Yeah, I've said the same in the past, I do find the Kickr Bike a little more comfortable than my bike on a trainer. I also had a 2 or 3 minute break to stretch and grab a banana just before the climb itself.

 

[robj20]

Anyone else's tickr take an age to pair and get signal etc?

Is that your heart rate sensor?

My Coospo one took ages yesterday since the latest update. Glad it's not just me.
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