It’s a Tacx Neo, in default “Wind” settings (CdA / headwind / rolling resistance), I can’t ride it, there’s too low inertia, if I use an FEC controller app where you can control all the settings, then I can do “workouts” on it with fixed grade/inertia settings. But with zwift there’s not a single wind setting that works across all the different gradients.
Obviously I think I’m quite rare on this, most people prefer low inertia situations I think, as they get to really push hard and work the legs or something!
I was on Innsbruck yesterday at 30% trainer difficulty.
I was okay, never out of the 50T “big” ring but constantly shifting up and down the block.
That’s pretty normal to real life for me; as I’d ride a 4% incline in about a 50/21 or 34/14 - depending on the length of the rise and if I knew it ramped up later on.
RPM was pretty low at times, down in the 70s, but I tend to find my RPM is always lower indoors, by around 5-10% (generally 84rpm indoors versus 92rpm outside)
I just can’t get excited by e sports. I tried watching a couple of the zwift Pro tri races, and I just found them really boring and just couldn’t get into it. And that’s coming from someone that was happy to watch a bunch of blokes ride round and round a big oval for 2hours with barely a change in position!
I tried watching some of the TdF pro races and just didn’t engage.
Think it’s Zwift races, rather than the e sports bit for me. Very formulaic, only one way to win and it’s exactly the same whether you’re watching World Tour pros or Cat D’s. Felt wrong watching World Tour pros deploying power ups as well.
On the zwift settings is it worth turning the realism down to 30-40% as this minimises the big jumps in gear changes? You still get the benefit of feeling the resistance stepping up.
The above is with the minimallism turned down that low! In fact nearer 25%
Poet highlights the difference, I never ride at 70rpm unless I’m not working, in road situations even if I let the cadence drop that much I would (need to) then also drop power, so normally any extra demands mean pedalling faster, and that seems to be the difference.
I like the idea of realism in gradients to encourage work, and in bed last night I thought about basically building an inertia feedback loop, so whenever the trainer speed slows it increases the tailwind to accelerate the bike and the reverse, and that should make it more variable. I just don’t get why it’s so unrealistic compared to the real road when the equations should be quite simple!
Sadly today though, I need to get the soldering iron out to repair the laptop and do some actual work, so it’ll take awhile before I find out if this is viable.
i’m freezing cold in the house, just been on a really boring work call so i can’t be bothered to run down and set the shed up. Might do an easy spin later … or i might stroll to town, get a haricut, buy some milk and look for a hot pasty somewhere!
Had WiFi problems in the attic. Less than 10 mins to go I decided to move whole set up back into our living room. Got connected, in race and bike set up with less than 40 seconds til start. HR at 140 before I’d turned a pedal
Stayed with first group for 1 lap , fuelled by adrenaline. Then got shelled out the back pretty quickly. Stayed with another group which felt ok until final 2km when got dropped on little hill and couldn’t get back on.
Saw @Poet in the leader board at front of next group few times, thought groups might come together at one stage but don’t think they did in the end.
