The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread

randomshenans · 13 Mar 2018 at 13:26

I've swapped out PC's in my basement. Figured the one I had was wasted there, so using it in my office now. I need to install windows on it later, but I've got a nice 1300X, 4GB value ram, 120GB SSD and RX560 which should be ample for zwift and netflix while I ride

hope to get back on soon.

BennyC · 13 Mar 2018 at 13:27

Roady said:
He was on quite regularly through the winter when recovering! Even saw him and Mark Renshaw riding together at one point. Did follow/stalk them to see if they where practising lead outs, but the power figures & speed said otherwise.

Doh! What dodgy website did you order them from!? The place named after a rainforest?

Wellindal

They had a free delivery code last month, 10% code floating about at the top currently.

Even after buying a plug they're still a good £5-6 cheaper than any UK retailers I could find.

Martynt74 · 14 Mar 2018 at 13:24

I've just been looking at the different routes on the Zwift website. There's a few i'd like to try and the Zwift Insider website shows the turn options

WATOPIA FLAT

Turns taken for Flat route:

Turn 1 – Left (To Underwater)

Turn 2 – Straight

Turn 3 – Straight (To Marina)

Turn 4 – Left (To Village)

Is there no way to pre-programme this? On the first few goes i had i just left the turn options at default or played around to see what things did. However i'd like to do a specific route without having to remember which turns to take.

Also bought a cheap pair of cycling shorts which i'm hoping will help me not just be in pain after 30 minutes.

Roady · 14 Mar 2018 at 14:21

lordrobs said:
Nice one Roady. TBH I'm never going to spend mega money on a trainer so the Tacx Satori Smart seems ideal. I'm used to varying my own resistance to meet a specific power output anyway from using my Cycleops Mag on Zwift and it dips in just under £200 notes.

It's a similar price to the Tacx Flow Smart (Decathlon, Halfords) then, which is FE-C compatible (making it interactive with things like Zwift & Trainerroad) so the choice is really between the two.

The Satori smart being usable away from a power source and head unit (due to it's manual resistance control lever), yet not as interactive as the Flow smart, which requires power and control from a head unit or computer.

randomshenans said:
I've swapped out PC's in my basement. Figured the one I had was wasted there, so using it in my office now. I need to install windows on it later, but I've got a nice 1300X, 4GB value ram, 120GB SSD and RX560 which should be ample for zwift and netflix while I ride hope to get back on soon.

Should run Zwift fine! I'm running it on a similar spec (dual core i5, 4gb RAM & SSD) with a lesser GPU. I could run 1080p on an external displauy but framerate suffered a little (10-15fps), but running at 720p (20-25fps) was more than adequate. Looks even better on the 21" rubbishy TV in my garage than the 36" I used inside for 2 weeks...

BennyC said:
Wellindal They had a free delivery code last month, 10% code floating about at the top currently.

Even after buying a plug they're still a good £5-6 cheaper than any UK retailers I could find.

Yeah it's a great price, never heard of them before though lol

Marvt74 said:
Is there no way to pre-programme this? On the first few goes i had i just left the turn options at default or played around to see what things did. However i'd like to do a specific route without having to remember which turns to take.

Yes, when you start Zwift where you can choose workouts/races/riders to ride with, you can select the course/route. The turn prompts will come up but the option pre selected will keep you on the course you've chosen. If you join on another rider then you'll be riding the same course as them (but given prompts), if you join an event/group ride/race then you're riding that course and 'locked' on it until the event/ride/race ends, then you'll still be riding the course but given prompts again.

Martynt74 · 14 Mar 2018 at 14:30

Nice one. I had a feeling it may have been like that but it's nice to confirm it

UTmaniac · 14 Mar 2018 at 15:22

@Marvt74 https://zwifthacks.com/zwift-preferences/
Lets you override the Zwift world calendar and you can even pick the course, which you can change in-game to another in the same world, if you change your mind. Few other easy tweaks too, like trainer difficulty.

I finally got to see the Jungle yesterday, having reached level 10 the other day. Did a kamikaze lap https://www.strava.com/activities/1451109587 , before then doing my usual climb to the radio tower with dead legs from that lap https://www.strava.com/activities/1451199726!

Not sure if it was as a result of yesterday's session (I think it was), but Strava now estimates my FTP to be 283W, based on the Direto's power meter. Bit of a surprise, because it was 272W in early Feb, but then reduced to 267W after I had to drastically cut back on hard rides for the rest of the month due to the worst case of piles I ever remember having (which all began after that week over New Year with a stomach bug that kept me off work and running tot he loo very frequently). Rides themselves were fine, even ones pushing my power boundaries, but I was paying dearly afterwards in extra pain and inflammation! :eek:

Martynt74 · 14 Mar 2018 at 15:49

Cheers, i'm only running on my iphone at the moment so don't think that site is compatible but will have a look around.

You mentioned you got the Jungle at level 10, are all worlds not just available from the start?

UTmaniac · 14 Mar 2018 at 16:24

The Road To ruins/ Jungle routes are extensions of Watopia, not new worlds, they were released late last year. Both open at level 10.

I might have my wires crossed, but the new Mega Pretzel at Watopia might need level 30.

If you use a "hack" to change worlds, do remember to revert to calendar schedule, so you don't get strange stuff happening in events (no other riders, riding a different course and length to event etc.)

Martynt74 · 14 Mar 2018 at 16:32

Cheers, looks like i'll need to chuck a few more hours on!

Have got my first half marathon in about 5 weeks so have decided to concentrate on running, but after that i'll throw myself into this.

lordrobs · 14 Mar 2018 at 16:35

Roady said:
It's a similar price to the Tacx Flow Smart (Decathlon, Halfords) then, which is FE-C compatible (making it interactive with things like Zwift & Trainerroad) so the choice is really between the two.

The Satori smart being usable away from a power source and head unit (due to it's manual resistance control lever), yet not as interactive as the Flow smart, which requires power and control from a head unit or computer.

Yeah my research last night pointed me towards the Flow. Just need to get a decathlon voucher sorted (via Quidco and Zeek

) and I'll get it on order. Doesn't look like I'll get it before the next batch of snow but good news for everyone else is that it'll be brilliant sunshine from the day it arrives

R0B75 · 14 Mar 2018 at 23:14

Seems like lots have Zwift and interactive trainers here. Never noticed this thread before but read the last few pages. Ever been an OcUK group ride on Zwift?

Adam-r · 15 Mar 2018 at 16:26

I wouldn't mind having a pop at that sometime. Will someone put a notice in here?

Steedie · 15 Mar 2018 at 16:39

OcUK group ride sounds like a plan to me

Roady · 15 Mar 2018 at 16:59

UTmaniac said:
I finally got to see the Jungle yesterday, having reached level 10 the other day. Did a kamikaze lap https://www.strava.com/activities/1451109587

Good work, almost a minute faster than mine! Disclaimer: I've not really hammered/raced it (220W & 71% intensity lap) yet!

R0B75 said:
Seems like lots have Zwift and interactive trainers here. Never noticed this thread before but read the last few pages. Ever been an OcUK group ride on Zwift?

Better to join an existing event/group ride and ride together. Or just all add a member (Leader?) and then join on them.

Setting up events and rides in Zwift is awkward and not automated, Zwift themselves have to add it to the scheduling so most '1 off' ride requests get ignored, only those associated with a sponsor or event which will get a large following get added. A scheduled group ride or event is more likely to get 'added'.

One of the reasons I joined WBR was their extensive amount of rides and leaders, they also have contacts within Zwift (and Zwiftpower) so have been known to rename and reallocate rides when some leaders can't make it or want to do a '1 off' ride, then reverts back to schedule afterwards.

SoliD · 15 Mar 2018 at 21:23

Jumped on the turbo for a delightful session tonight.

Warm up for 20 mins, then into 17mins of zone 3 which is about 225w for myself. Then 10 minutes zone 1 and into intervals. 1min at zone 5 (285w ish) 4 mins at zone 3, 3mins recovery. Then 2 mins at zone 5, 3 in zone 3, 3 mins recovery. Rinse and repeat until 4 mins z5, 1min zone 3. Found it relatively comfortable so pushed into zone 6 in the second and fourth intervals. Following a proper plan is clearly paying dividends as I would not have the capacity to push intervals like that just a couple of weeks ago.

lordrobs · 16 Mar 2018 at 19:16

Quite chuffed with Tacx Flow purchase from a penny pinching point of view. After voucher uplifts, BC discount and cashback it cost me £160

I've also found that Zwift will, in theory at least, work on my works mobile (iPhone 5S) so I may give that another go but most likely I'll stick to activities I can do directly from my Bolt.

SoliD · 17 Mar 2018 at 06:05

After riding my Kurt kinetic Road machine indoors about 10 times in the past 2 and a bit years I've owned it, I've now done 5 sessions in 10 days and with this horrible weather will be going again today and tomorrow.

Part of this has been driven by getting a coach and trying to get my head around what is required in certain sessions which is so much easier without having to worry about traffic. And partly because the weather has been bloody awful recently.

Managed to find one of the bigger flywheels for£40 for it, to hopefully make it feel a bit more road like. It doesn't have any of the smart features but I'm happy enough just changing gear as I don't use zwift.

SDK^ · 17 Mar 2018 at 15:18

merlin said:
Mark Cavendish was riding the Volcano last night. Like a boss, obviously.

One lunch time I passed Boasson Hagen, Cavendish and kittel on one ride - they were going pretty slowly

MM-Seat · 17 Mar 2018 at 16:28

Just managed 10 miles after a week of food poisoning. It was also pleasant that my back brake wasn't stuck on!!

Sgt_Pepper · 17 Mar 2018 at 18:32

Attempted a 100mile ride on Zwift this week, only managed 70, got off for a toilet break and a snack then just couldn't motivate myself to climb back on, didn’t help that i’d been at work all day before I started.

Im going to set a TV up next to my trainer and give it anther go when I’m off later in the month, even on zwift it sarts to get boring after a few hours.

See on FB they released a tease of Alpe D'huez .... should be fun.