Zwift indoor virtual reality trainer

Wattbike atoms can rebroadcast any heart rate monitors over Bluetooth, as can be seen on their app, not sure whether it will work on Zwift though

I imagine there might be a sweet spot in terms of course/route selection for those of us with puny dumb setups. At least, it reclaimed more than half the excess mileage it appeared to gift me (on my first flat ride) on my first 'mountain' ride - despite me flying back down it at 60mph and pushing much harder generally.

If that theory doesn't pan out I may have to resort to reverse height/weight doping to calm it down a bit..!

If you want the course to feel like the course then you have to set it at 100%.

I rode AdZ with it set to 100% and it felt fuck all like riding it in real life. YMMV.

It did get better when I worked out how it responds to gradient changes.
Definitely helps having a lower gear.

I think it's not bad to be honest and I've done maybe 15 ascents of IRL AdH.

All the physics are a bit weird though, I think it's the lack of wind thing.

Except that 100% difficulty is (sometimes very) different for different turbos depending on how they model the slope effect.

Especially if vibram free runners.

Works in WattBike app but not Zwift. Not sure if that’s because WattBike isn’t allowing it, or Zwift. It’s obviously possible with the hardware but not supported in the software.

All this debate about the difficulty setting rather depends on what you ride in real life, no? I rode AdH a bunch on 53-39, 11-25 and it was a grind. These days I have 50-34, 11-32 on my road bike. Is one “easier” than the other? Yeah, because the former is designed for pros not mortals. I don’t think it’s any less valid to use spiny gears. Same in Zwift. You’re pushing the same watts.

I don't think changing trainer difficulty is the same as running a compact. I think it effectively smoothes the gradient to zero.

Don’t think that’s right. Shane Miller does a really in-depth video on YouTube about it.

Yeah I've seen that but I can' make sense of it. Because the setting goes to zero - which is slope - ignoring all the in game gradient. Why wouldn't the sliding scale being going from 100% of in-game gradient to zero?

When you move the slider down it doesn't feel like you're on a compact. It feels like you're on a shallower hill IMO.

Zwift say different and the experiment bears it out: you need to put same watts in to move the same distance. So it’s definitely just gearing.

Laundry day?

That and it's the set of bike clothes that shed heat the fastest.

Erm.
You don't just wear bibs? #notop

Update on this. It's done with domestic moving about and has been sitting in Chicago since the 11th, awaiting a plane ticket I guess.

It also doesn't feel right when you accelerate and then coast. Like if I was climbing normally and I was fatiguing somewhere I'd stand up put in a couple of hard pedals, increase speed then stretch while coasting a little bit. But with the turbo lag it doesn't really work this way. It feels better to me if you just constantly tap out a regular cadence.

I briefly read about it and I thought it reduced the rate at which the turbo adopted the new gradient. So when the gradient is changing quickly I presume in some cases you would be skipping some of the higher gradients as it's already moved on. Like your power display spikes all over the place so most people use 3s or 10s rolling average to smooth it out a bit. That was the impression I got, but I wasn't really paying attention I just set it to 100 and moved on.

EDIT: nup

You don't ride topless?

#imighthavemanboobsbutcanstillflexmypecsliketerrycrews

https://zwiftinsider.com/using-the-trainer-difficulty-setting-in-zwift/

"This setting is really a “gradient scale.” Zwift is constantly sending current gradient numbers to your smart trainer, and the trainer adjusts its resistance to match the gradient you are riding. The Trainer Difficulty setting scales the gradients sent to your trainer.

Trainer Difficulty is set to 50% by default, which is why Zwift says it “treats the gradient as half of the true grade.” So when you hit a 10% climb in Zwift, your trainer is only giving you the resistance of a 5% climb."

Too late to cancel order and order that one from the UK?

I would have thought so. 14 day lead time on the UK one still, I’ll keep waiting it out. Happy bimbling along doing Sufferfest with a USB ANT+ stick on my ageing laptop for now anyway.

Just get the new NGECO P2M and a £15 HR monitor from aliexpress and go full Bluetooth .

. . or smart direct drive trainer

Slippery slope.
If I ever ride outside again though a 110bcd power meter would be useful.
Not found the tacx neo 2 in stock anywhere, plus smart turbos are for the weak of will.

a 110bcd

I didnt want to insult you publicly