Zwift, TR, Sufferfest etc

**Dee Hubbs** · 01-13-2021, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by VTskibum

Avatar also stands up if your cadence is under 70rpm I think. I don't tend to run the color line at the bottom, generally know pretty well my power numbers and certainly can feel it.

The orange we are talking about is in the other riders stats box on the right. When you see PMJ is 2 seconds ahead of you and doing 3.3w/kg. When he accelerates to over 8w/kg his w/kg number turns to orange.

**buttahflake** · 01-13-2021, 10:49 AM

Not the graph, the rider list on the right goes orange when you crush watts. I always use the bottom graph.

**jamal** · 01-13-2021, 10:59 AM

Light/grey under 4
brighter/white 4-8
red above 8

Standing is a cadence thing, but maybe is also related to grade and power?

Sprinting seems to happen at above 10 w/kg.

**Whiteroom_Guardian** · 01-13-2021, 11:06 AM

"jersey boy" has only done one TGR group ride because of said dumb trainer. WTF is "Z power shenanigans" anyway?

**Sandbox** · 01-13-2021, 11:10 AM

I got my smart trainer a couple of days ago, have signed up to zwift but still need to sort out my bike / pain cave so maybe in a week I can join but my lord you guys will destroy me!

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**jamal** · 01-13-2021, 11:16 AM

When you don't have a trainer that measures power, you can still have zwift estimate what it thinks your doing based on their curves for different trainers and wheel speed. It tends to be inaccurate and in a race or fondo or whatever there's always some guy with no little lightning bolt, meaning he doesn't have a real power meter, doing insane power numbers making everyone miserable. Even the wheel-on trainers with power measurement can be suspect because it's so dependent on tire pressure and tension. We have a guy in our local races who, well, I'm just going to say is a lot faster on zwift than in real life.

I did a fondo group ride a few weeks ago and like half the front group was all dq'd in zwiftpower after the fact (zwiftpower = results tracking website, zpower = estimated power, different things). One guy was just off the front doing 5+ w/kg the whole time and we never caught him. Then I got crushed at the top of epic kom by a pro woman. It was the hardest ride I can remember doing in like the last few months.

**Whiteroom_Guardian** · 01-13-2021, 11:19 AM

I'm all about level playing field so I'm not gonna ride with you guys until I get a new trainer.

**huckbucket** · 01-13-2021, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by Whiteroom_Guardian

I'm all about level playing field so I'm not gonna ride with you guys until I get a new trainer.

To be clear, this is all friendly stuff and not a competition anyway because M and P essentially win by default. So join in whether you have a smart trainer or not.

And Sandbox ... there are a lot worse things than getting dropped. Anyway, first two laps we really try hard to get everyone around as a group. Don't feel intimidated.

**Whiteroom_Guardian** · 01-13-2021, 11:35 AM

Ehh I might still join. I always save the invites just in case. I have a really hard time not racing though, so when I get smoked I want to know I got smoked with an accurate effort on my part haha.

**jamal** · 01-13-2021, 11:46 AM

Yeah you're fine, especially if you do the calibration stuff, it should be pretty accurate.

**buttahflake** · 01-13-2021, 12:28 PM

Seriously, this is a fun ride, no real competition. Just maggs on trainers! I don’t care what you ride, no points involved, come one come all

**VTskibum** · 01-13-2021, 12:29 PM

Absolutely agree not to be afraid of it. I pushed it a bit on the begging of the first lap (b/c I was really cold and needed to warmup), but I was keeping an eye on whether the group is together and backed off if anyone was getting dropped. We also slow down after the hill and sprint to let people re-join up until the last hill where it kinda goes nuts.

I've tended to ride up front as it gives me a bit more work while still keeping group together, Dee did a lot of the pulls last night as well. Think most folks were still doing 2-2.5w/kg when not on the front. There are no pro contracts coming out of this, and look forward to these as a good steady ride w/ one really hard ~5min effort at the end.

**huckbucket** · 01-13-2021, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by VTskibum

There are no pro contracts coming out of this ...

Wait ... what?

**Whiteroom_Guardian** · 01-13-2021, 01:06 PM

No pro contracts!?!?! Then why ride? I only do this stuff for the Strava and IG cred.

**rideit** · 01-13-2021, 01:38 PM

Damn, I need to join, but I have been fat biking and strength training.
Also, I am a little intimidated by the technology, and I still have some dumb questions.
I have a laptop with an HDMI out, and the Kickr. Is this all I need?
Do you all do this from a laptop, or could I mirrorcast with an LG phone and an LG tv?
I guess I could try it and find out, or (god forbid) search...
Sorry for being such a JONG

**VTskibum** · 01-13-2021, 02:06 PM

Originally Posted by rideit

Damn, I need to join, but I have been fat biking and strength training.
Also, I am a little intimidated by the technology, and I still have some dumb questions.
I have a laptop with an HDMI out, and the Kickr. Is this all I need?
Do you all do this from a laptop, or could I mirrorcast with an LG phone and an LG tv?
I guess I could try it and find out, or (god forbid) search...
Sorry for being such a JONG

I'd give both laptop and the LG phone broadcast to LG tv a try.

I run Zwift from my iPhone with a Apple HDMI connector onto a TV. iPhone running zwift is connected to my Elite Direto. Works pretty well w/o dropping a ton of $$ for a better dedicated setup. I've tried justifying a 4k AppleTV for my Zwift setup, but really never had enough justification over existing setup

**Sandbox** · 01-13-2021, 03:30 PM

another JONG question... do you need a HR monitor? I have an Apple watch but apparently it doesn't broadcast the HR signal so do i need to buy a strap one?

**Iowagriz** · 01-13-2021, 03:36 PM

Only if you plan on racing the big Zwift races. For general riding and joining us, not required

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**jamal** · 01-13-2021, 03:40 PM

I just use my laptop. The trainer and hrm connect directly to it with bluetooth so I don't need anything else. A bigger screen (this is 17" I think) would be nice so I could see the w/kg numbers of everyone a little more clearly- is that a 3 or a 5?

**EWG** · 01-13-2021, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by Sandbox

another JONG question... do you need a HR monitor? I have an Apple watch but apparently it doesn't broadcast the HR signal so do i need to buy a strap one?

I have one but have been riding without trying to solve a problem where zwift wasn't seeing my wattage. No worries without a HR monitor. I think I've fixed the wattage problem. I now connect the Core to the bluetooth and everything else (cadence, etc) to ANT. Seems to be working.

Originally Posted by rideit

Damn, I need to join, but I have been fat biking and strength training.
Also, I am a little intimidated by the technology, and I still have some dumb questions.
I have a laptop with an HDMI out, and the Kickr. Is this all I need?
Do you all do this from a laptop, or could I mirrorcast with an LG phone and an LG tv?
I guess I could try it and find out, or (god forbid) search...
Sorry for being such a JONG

Tons of ways to set it up. I use a laptop with an HDMI out to a TV, with my iphone open to the companion app so I can complain about people over chat.

Originally Posted by VTskibum

Absolutely agree not to be afraid of it. I pushed it a bit on the begging of the first lap (b/c I was really cold and needed to warmup), but I was keeping an eye on whether the group is together and backed off if anyone was getting dropped. We also slow down after the hill and sprint to let people re-join up until the last hill where it kinda goes nuts.

I've tended to ride up front as it gives me a bit more work while still keeping group together, Dee did a lot of the pulls last night as well. Think most folks were still doing 2-2.5w/kg when not on the front. There are no pro contracts coming out of this, and look forward to these as a good steady ride w/ one really hard ~5min effort at the end.

For example this guy. He came out a little crisp last night cause his basement was cold. I've sent him a space heater and wool jersey so you should be good next time.

Also it's only a 5 min effort if you are able to push about 350watts for 5 minutes. For the rest of us it's more like a 7 minute effort.

Originally Posted by buttahflake

Seriously, this is a fun ride, no real competition. Just maggs on trainers! I don’t care what you ride, no points involved, come one come all

Completely true. We wait for people stuck off the back even when they say to go on without them, whether its a mech, watt drop, or just not having the legs. Added bonus I've seen is that it's definitely helping me find a little form again after a long layoff. Last couple weeks I've had better legs. I am not, however, ready to push 650 watts for 40 seconds to bounce over that last hill like some of us. Not yet anyway.

Originally Posted by huckbucket

And Sandbox ... there are a lot worse things than getting dropped. Anyway, first two laps we really try hard to get everyone around as a group. Don't feel intimidated.

Yeah, Huck could give you shit. He's always mean to me.

Originally Posted by jamal

I just use my laptop. The trainer and hrm connect directly to it with bluetooth so I don't need anything else. A bigger screen (this is 17" I think) would be nice so I could see the w/kg numbers of everyone a little more clearly- is that a 3 or a 5?

It's a 1.

**XtrPickels** · 01-13-2021, 04:10 PM

One of the nice things about Zwift is that it runs fairly well on so many different platforms. Yes, a powerful system will give you 4K graphics etc, but a phone will also give you an accurate experience.

The simplest / cheapest for me is to run it off an AppleTV. I've also used my phone, my Microsoft surface, and my 10 year old Macbook PRO (Worked, but a bit stuttery).

**Iowagriz** · 01-13-2021, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by EWG

Completely true. We wait for people stuck off the back even when they say to go on without them, whether its a mech, watt drop, or just not having the legs.

I'll echo this. Watch Jamal's video from last night. That starts on lap 2, you can see me off the back on the climb and catch back up. We all agreed to go hard on the lap 2 sprint, that put me in the hurt locker. If look closely you can see me tell the guys to go on without me. They let up at that time and before you know it I was back in the draft. I sat on as much as possible and then blew my wad over the viaduct. Thought I'd spice things up a little and have hopes of not getting dropped there (as usual for lap 3). On the lap 3 climb, I get popped off the back easily and ride in at my own pace. Completely satisfied with the 45mins. Good group that will push you, but not leave you to find your own way home like so many outdoor road rides. My goal is to be within 10sec at the top of the climb on lap3 by EOM March.

**huckbucket** · 01-13-2021, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by EWG

Yeah, Huck could give you shit. He's always mean to me.

.

In fairness, you deserve it.

**wendigo** · 01-13-2021, 05:42 PM

definitely a good group ride - missed last one due to work, could have jumped in but y'all were at least halfway through, sounds like a hot one, glad i didn't jump in without a warmup!
i use my iphone, with the size 1 font I didn't realize there were any numbers on the screen?