The Indoor Riding/ Zwift/ TrainerRoad etc. Thread
- Thread starter randomshenans
- Start date
Any of you guys have Vitality Health insurance and an Apple Watch?
I've not had a single workout on Zwift be picked up by Vitality even though i'm hitting the required heart rate levels. My only option is to use the Apple Workout app to track my workout but then i won't get HR data into Zwift which would be annoying.
I've not had a single workout on Zwift be picked up by Vitality even though i'm hitting the required heart rate levels. My only option is to use the Apple Workout app to track my workout but then i won't get HR data into Zwift which would be annoying.
Id get a cheap heartrate monitor for zwift (which should be more accurate anyway) and use the app for you insurance?
Soldato
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- 9 Nov 2005
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- 9,178
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- Southampton, hopefully not too hot, or too cold
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01M8QD9Z4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00 (dual ANT+ and Bluetooth) is what I've been using since getting my Direto turbo, along with a £10 ANT+ USB stick and a £5 USB3.0 extension cable (to suspend the stick in mid air near the turbo).
I got sick of my Polar H7 Bluetooth dropping out while using the Zwift Mobile Link app as a Bluetooth bridge, the Coospo has been 100% reliable so far in ANT+ mode.
Hoppo finished his Zwift World Record ride, 2202.3 miles in 6 days (143 hours 45 mins ride time). Smashed the previous record by nearly 300 miles (which was his own anyway lol). I joined to help tow him to the finish on saturday morning and he was doing 5w/kg up the volcano ramp, utterly nuts to think he was able to finish it that strongly! Huge group of WBR riding as a great group to finish with him (tied into the WBR160 ride - he even sprinted for the finish!). He's raised nearly £3500 for charity. In doing so, he trashed his old reliable trainer - a 7 year old Computrainer which had done over 100,000 miles (and borrowed a Tacx Flow to finish his attempt). Quite a discussion amongst WBR members took place friday night and we all chipped in anonymous donations to see if we could raise enough to get a replacement for him, raising enough for a Wahoo KICKR SNAP and arranged a Sunday delivery from Wiggle, what a man & what a team I'm loving being part of! 
Yeah can't wait for Zwift'huez or whatever it's going to be called, maybe will eventually enable me to get my Tron bike unlocked!
Wahoo TICKR is expensive but they're a solid unit and well worth the money. Mine must be 4+ years old and gets used 5-10 hours a week on average.
Good deal!Quite chuffed with Tacx Flow purchase from a penny pinching point of view. After voucher uplifts, BC discount and cashback it cost me £160
Good to find the flywheel, I would've eventually got one if I had got the InRide working reliably enough and not changed mine for a Vortex. Thinking about it I never got around to flogging the InRide pod(s) I have so must have them somewhere. More than willing to send them you if you chuck me a couple of quid to cover postage and wanted to try out? Once of them is certainly faulty, the other worked ok, it was just the android app I had problems with. They've probably been solved by now and if you're iOS you won't have the same issue. I spent multiple hours 'troubleshooting' (felt more like beta testing it) with Kurt Kinetic after they launched their android app, before giving up.
Good work to do 70 miles!
Yeah can't wait for Zwift'huez or whatever it's going to be called, maybe will eventually enable me to get my Tron bike unlocked!
Good work mate, well done! Guy infront looks a bit suspicious?! Are they running these every weekend now?
Depending on your equipment you could record via Apple Workout AND Zwift on the PC outputting to Strava etc. All depends on the HRM you're using (Apple watch?). With an ANT+ HR you should be able to communicate with both? Or get a dual HRM and use BT with Apple and ANT to Zwift?
Wahoo TICKR is expensive but they're a solid unit and well worth the money. Mine must be 4+ years old and gets used 5-10 hours a week on average.
Cheers. I don't think i can use ANT+ because of the iphone not supporting it. Bluetooth should work.
I think if i use the HR strap and connect it to Zwift via Bluetooth and then keep the apple workout separate for getting my points.
@Roady - I run Zwift on my phone (Well in a few days it'll be on an Apple TV), so don't have a PC.
It's annoying really as when using the watch with Strava it all works quite nicely. I used to have a Garmin watch which did HR. Might just buy one of those used and use it for workouts as i know Vitality plays ball nicely with it.
I get a notification whenever they create an event - keep an eye on their FB / Twitter pages.
I'm not too bothered about comparing myself to other people on Zwift as it's pretty hard to know who is being creative with their weight and trainer settings. I just use it as a tool to improve my fitness. The March Hare has been re-scheduled to the end of April so I will see then who has the legs and who doesn't
I get a notification whenever they create an event - keep an eye on their FB / Twitter pages.
I'm not too bothered about comparing myself to other people on Zwift as it's pretty hard to know who is being creative with their weight and trainer settings. I just use it as a tool to improve my fitness. The March Hare has been re-scheduled to the end of April so I will see then who has the legs and who doesn't
If you think the MMH'18 is the END of April then I bet you right here right now that on the day I get around quicker than you.
I've just completed the Mad March Zwift event #2 and improved my time by nearly 2mins
2nd place on this list.
Strong riding, as ever!!
And yes obviously although Zwift is franky the cyclist's winter saviour it's not perfect and it's not cheat proof in any way shape or form. I can just FEEL I'm getting cheated in some of these races - you watch them toast you up a hill despite the fact that they don't look 60 kilos in their linked Strava account pics. I'm 69.9 kilos and I can prove it - if anyone wants a pic of me on the scales I'm happy to oblige. Some of these other Zwifters probably a) haven't a clue as to their weight or b) do know but have lopped a few kilos off for fun.
LEt me take a look to see if It'd be worth me trying, not too sure what the inride is. I've got your mail somewhere so will dig it out and let you know tomorrow if thats ok?
Soldato
- Joined
- 9 Nov 2005
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- 9,178
- Location
- Southampton, hopefully not too hot, or too cold
I've barely touched the race side of Zwift, after the noise complaints from downstairs before I moved my setup to the kitchen for sessions ~2 months ago, despite nothing being said/written since. To begin with, I would rode the flat and downhill sections very easy, because switching to the 50T chainring makes heck of a lot more noise in the room I'm training in.
But regardless of the noise factor, Zwift is open to abuse, just like Strava is (in that setting a segment time while drafting in a group is less of an accomplishment than setting the same decent time on a solo effort). I think the best way to treat them is to concentrate on your own power and/or time performance for a given race route and follow your improvements over time. You have no control over what equipment other riders are using and any "white lies" they might be telling about their weight, which could even be unintentional (eg. our own cheapy bathroom scales said I went from ~90Kg to ~75Kg from summer 2016 to Xmas 2017, I then got a fancy set of digital scales which said I was actually ~78Kg, so I guestimate my initial weight was really something much closer to ~95Kg).
IIRC, the GCN video clip regarding weight and climbing demonstrated in their basic test that a ~75Kg rider with a 5Kg rucksack at ~275W would take an extra ~5mins up a steady ~20min climb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW47gb01FeA
Using a dumb trainer with speed sensor combo. I rode as hard as I could for an hour and this should the average power across the ride as 123 watts or 1.2w/kg. On the sprint bit in London I got out of the saddle and put as much power as I could but, this only got me to 305 watts for a couple of seconds.
I know I shouldn't read too much into the zpower figures but, surely my readings are woefully inaccurate?
I know I shouldn't read too much into the zpower figures but, surely my readings are woefully inaccurate?
Sounds it unless you are a child.
More than likely you've not got the right trainer/power curve selected.
Suspected this was the case and I don't have a verified trainer. Suppose I'll just have to keep giving myself a beasting until I get a direct drive trainer.
You don't need a direct drive trainer, just to pick something that gives a more realistic figure to what you're actually putting out. A Wattbike or even a standard gym bike should be able to give you an idea.
If an all out sprint is only registering 300w then something is seriously amiss.
I've been planning to buy a direct drive trainer eventually anyway. Espicially as they are becoming more and more affordable. At this stage I'm not to interested in the actual numbers, would have just liked zwift to have felt more realistic with my current setup.
Of course. The 2 pods I have, have sat unused since I sold my KK ~3 years ago! Going to have a rummage and just check where I put them as so much stuff got moved around due to mini^me.
The InRide basically measures the roller speed and calculates 'power' from that before transmitting. Fundamentally the exact same thing Trainerroad/Zwift are calculating with S&C sensors. Realistically it should be more accurate (made for specific trainers and their known roller sizes) rather than the generalisation from the other measurements (wheel size & crank length etc).
Sounds inaccurate, confirm if there is a calibration/app for your trainer. The Kurt Kinetic Road Machine II I previously owned I was tightening the roller '4 turns' onto the 100psi wheel as per most recommendations. I still had slip but when I tightened it enough (6 or 7 turns) to eliminate as much slip as possible I had similar low power readings to yours. I basically went back to the '4 turns' and put up with slippage and put it down to my tyre and my torque. The KK had no calibration app so I had no idea how calibrated it was, even using it on Zwift (which calculates from a 'known' power curve for that trainer) is still reliant on it being calibrated and fitted exactly.
Switching to the Vortex, which again being an on wheel, but with a calibration app, I discovered even with my '4 turn' equivilent on-wheel fitting I had been drastically over tightening the KK. I had to go back to approximately 1.8 turns for it to measure in the middle of the Tacx calibration app. It had tons more tyre slip than I thought would be required but I continued with it. A drop in psi to 80psi or so would screw the calibration and cause loads more slippage so I would regularly pump up the tyre (weekly?) to the same psi (100) before riding. Even then it wasn't that accurate (around 15-20% over reading), but arguably more accurate than a trainer without a calibration app. Higher wattages it was more inaccurate.
Switching to a direct drive (Flux) I have a feeling is now under reading by around 10%, but consistently under, rather than variably over. Although does mean I've taken a 20-30% reduction in my FTP power, yet possibly closer to 30-40% variation in my peak sprint power (can now hit higher!), not a drop as kinda expected... Which I'm putting down to eliminating wheel slip.
Brutally harsh Benno lol
To me it sounds more like calibration.
Argh! Good luck, should still be covered where you bought it from rather than having to return to Tacx?
Mines been through the washing machine (mistakenly!) a handful of times. Once it was 'dead', but came back to life after being dried out and a new battery fitted.
EDIT: Will be Zwifting later, jumping on pretty much as soon as I'm home from work so I can finish before little ones bedtime at 6:45ish. Annoyingly not many races start from 5:40-5.50 and most of them take an hour so I can't start as late as 6ish to be complete & cooled down before 6.45, damn!
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