Any Zwift users?

[Marty Canuck]

Well here is my setup. Waiting for the Wahoo Headwind fan to be shipped.

How is your Cervelo in the stand? When I had my R5 in my previous trainer any movement at all side to side could cause the rear deraileur (is that the correct sp?) to shift a gear too much so I put metal frame bike in instead. I blamed it on slight flexing in the rear triangle.

[kookie]

How is your Cervelo in the stand? When I had my R5 in my previous trainer any movement at all side to side could cause the rear deraileur (is that the correct sp?) to shift a gear too much so I put metal frame bike in instead. I blamed it on slight flexing in the rear triangle.

So far it's been fine but I haven't done any hard sprints coming out of the saddle (maybe I'll try it soon). Not perfect crisp shifting but I figure that is due to not adjusting the rear derailleur. Running SRAM eTap with Shimano cassette it came with.

I'm still a bit nervous using a carbon frame bike on a trainer. I used an aluminum bike on the dumb trainer then I sold the aluminum bike.

[Fore Warned]

Finally got my Stages SB20 smart bike assembled and linked into Zwift. The guy in the shop seemed surprised at my gray hair. Might be the oldest person he sold one of these to.

Its a heavy beast. I unboxed it outside and took it downstairs in pieces. The main frame was a real challenge. Had a few glitches downloading some of the firmware updates and getting the bike linked.

First impressions....this thing is a rock that will withstand anything I can do on it. It soon became very apparent that I have not been on a bike or trainer for two years. My butt hurts. My avatar looks 40 years younger than me. I did manage to pass a few people on my ride….some runners and riders who were stopped on the side of the road. Some people were going seriously fast.

I am still sorting out how Zwift works and how I to navigate through the programs, locations etc. This is a real difference from a spinning bike, where the rider controls the resistance - but that is the point of Zwift. I need to learn how to draft...I used to be really good a that.

I had a difficult time reading the topography and relating that to the resistance I was feeling....but I am sure I will get better at that.

The shifting is by electronic buttons on the brake hoods. I am used to Shimano brake lever shifting, so that is going to be a learning curve. There is no physical sensation of gear shifting either when the buttons are pressed, or sense of a "chain" moving from cog to cog. I still need to figure out how to get a visual display of the gearing.

I am working right now from a tablet, but an HDMI cable is on order to hook up a 50 inch TV.

I can see this becoming addictive.

[Ignatius Reilly]

Something to be wary of with a lot of indoor riding is salt on the handlebars and hoods (and elsewhere).

A friend just put on new bar tape and found a bit of a salt build up under the old tape. Yes, that's salt.

It's worth noting that he sweats way less than I do - we normally run through bottles at a 2:1 rate on a ride. He also covers his bars with a towel when Zwifting.

Anyways, this is just one of many reasons I use my old bike on the trainer. It was $550 - used - about 20 years ago. It has served me well but I'm not too worried about damaging it. After all, if it fails then I need to buy a replacement, possibly newer/gravel(er)/nicer.

[Fore Warned]

Dang, I've been found. Got notice that one of my old cycling buddies put me on his following list of Zwift riders.

There goes the anonymity of my suffering in silence out of sight, hidden in my basement.

His stats are amazing; level 50, with 44,992 km total, 1,820 km in the last 30 days and 430 km in the last 7 days.

He asks I want to go for a ride. Well...I will need a car.

[Fore Warned]

Something to be wary of with a lot of indoor riding is salt on the handlebars and hoods (and elsewhere).

A

I have never seen anything like that kind of sweat damage on a bike. Would make one wary of buying used trainers from a gym.

[Fore Warned]

Expert tip.....very much helps to have smart cycle calibrated to the correct crank arm length.

Otherwise working out on 172.5 cm crankarms gets defaulted to measure only 160cm - with corresponding results.

[Marty Canuck]

Expert tip.....very much helps to have smart cycle calibrated to the correct crank arm length.

Otherwise working out on 172.5 cm crankarms gets defaulted to measure only 160cm - with corresponding results.

Cm’s or mm’s?

A 172.5 cm crank would be taller than me.

[Fore Warned]

Cm’s or mm’s?

A 172.5 cm crank would be taller than me.

No wonder I could hardly turn those things over.

[Fore Warned]

Nice to have a supportive spouse.

I joined a pace partner today. My better half saw that when I started out, She commented on how it was such a big group.

I agreed, huffing and puffing, adding yes, feels like old times on club rides.

Fifteen minutes later, she came back downstairs and glanced at the TV, and asked....where did everybody go?

Ya....pretty much like my old club rides.

[Fore Warned]

Well....into this for almost two weeks now. Am up to Level 7 with 300 kms and doing a hour to an hour and a half most days. Time flies on this.

So much better than spinning - its just so much more realistic and engaging. Have been doing loops in Central Park, Innsbruck, London and York.

I am still getting accustomed to the Stages SB20 Smart Bike. One issue is that the gearing on that trainer is by small electric buttons on the inside of the brake levers -which I am not used too. And my hands start to go numb into the ride and I lose dexterity in changing gears. It causes me to be slow on gearing up and down as I enter into an uphill grade or start a downhill. I am really losing rhythm and speed in those situations.

I have also not mastered drafting. All too when trying to closing the gap, I end up going by my target, or slowing down too much and not getting on. Practice will help I am sure.

One thing that is helpful is that my experience on the road is coming back in terms of pacing. I have not blown up getting into a pace that will do me in. Also, on long hills, I can settle into a gear that I can stay with to the top.

I have to wonder however, if people are really being honest with their weight. I know it has been many years since I cycled seriously, and I am just that much older now, but still. So many people are not just passing me, they are flying past me - even on 8% grades. I was very honest when I filled in my weight and I set my level of intensity right in the middle of the scale. It looks like there are so many people who are capable of doing a 40klm time trial in les than an hour.

[Ignatius Reilly]

I think there really are some pretty good cyclists on Zwift. IMO cyclists are far more serious than runners so it's not uncommon to be passed by folks putting out high W/kg (high, relative to me) in the upper 3.n range.

FWIW I'm honest on Zwift because we do a lot of workouts, usually as a group meetup using the "keep group together" option that pulls the laggards along. I lie blatantly on Rouvy because we mostly do climbs there and the rest of the group are featherweights and would kill the real me on the hills. It's nice to be passing the same scenery at roughly the same time.

As for the drafting, it's best to look for a large group. Like you, if I try to latch onto anyone's wheel there's a 90% chance I'll blow by them. You can get better at it by approaching them way more slowly and carefully than IRL. Still fun.

We're about to join a Team INEOS workout at 4. We'll see how that goes.

[Marty Canuck]

Well....into this for almost two weeks now. Am up to Level 7 with 300 kms and doing a hour to an hour and a half most days. Time flies on this.

So much better than spinning - its just so much more realistic and engaging. Have been doing loops in Central Park, Innsbruck, London and York.

I am still getting accustomed to the Stages SB20 Smart Bike. One issue is that the gearing on that trainer is by small electric buttons on the inside of the brake levers -which I am not used too. And my hands start to go numb into the ride and I lose dexterity in changing gears. It causes me to be slow on gearing up and down as I enter into an uphill grade or start a downhill. I am really losing rhythm and speed in those situations.

I have also not mastered drafting. All too when trying to closing the gap, I end up going by my target, or slowing down too much and not getting on. Practice will help I am sure.

One thing that is helpful is that my experience on the road is coming back in terms of pacing. I have not blown up getting into a pace that will do me in. Also, on long hills, I can settle into a gear that I can stay with to the top.

I have to wonder however, if people are really being honest with their weight. I know it has been many years since I cycled seriously, and I am just that much older now, but still. So many people are not just passing me, they are flying past me - even on 8% grades. I was very honest when I filled in my weight and I set my level of intensity right in the middle of the scale. It looks like there are so many people who are capable of doing a 40klm time trial in les than an hour.

Keep up the good work! I just moved to level 25 (been at this a while) today riding in London. I love the London rides the most really. The climb from Embankment tube station up to Trafalgar Square I’ve done on foot for real and recorded it with Strava for a laugh. I tried to rent a bike in London once to do some real riding but the Boris Bikes don’t care for foreign credit cards and they don’t take cash.

Drafting? I don’t think it works too well honestly. Most of my experience is much like yours. I catch up and pass or just never catch up. Though tonight I did one lap and rode with 2 guys almost the whole first lap and for a bit I was able to draft it seemed, not that I noticed any difference though.

Some people might be lying to stoke their egos but there are indeed some really, really strong riders out there. Saturday when I rode there were over 20K riders online at once with most of them on the Watopia world. Never seen it that busy before!

[beeker]

The drafting effect becomes really noticeable in larger event or if you join one of the Pace Partner rides when a good ‘blob’ forms. If you lose contact with the group it really becomes hard work to catch back on. There are some seriously strong riders out there that can pass you like you’re standing still - Adam Yates (pro cyclist) passed me going up the Ventop climb cruising at 5w/kg last winter and Lionel Sanders (pro triathlete) did similar a few years back so it gives an appreciation for the power they can put out. What can sometimes happen when people blow by on climbs is they are doing workouts and will put out some really high w/kg numbers - when doing a climb in workout mode, it eliminates the effect of the grade on your smart trainer. You’ll see some vertical bars beside their name that will mean they are in a workout mode….but I’m also sure a lot of people out there aren’t honest with their weight.

I did a group workout on the weekend that took us through the ‘Mega Pretzel’ route - 4 hours 49 minutes to complete and was about an hour longer than my previous ride time on it - the most painful part of that was getting the ‘hot spot’ feeling on the balls of the feet. Debating if I try get the Uber Pretzel and Full PRL route badges which are the only two left for me to get - I’m just shy of Level 48 and hoping to get to 50 by the time outdoor season fully kicks in.

[Marty Canuck]

The drafting effect becomes really noticeable in larger event or if you join one of the Pace Partner rides when a good ‘blob’ forms. If you lose contact with the group it really becomes hard work to catch back on. There are some seriously strong riders out there that can pass you like you’re standing still - Adam Yates (pro cyclist) passed me going up the Ventop climb cruising at 5w/kg last winter and Lionel Sanders (pro triathlete) did similar a few years back so it gives an appreciation for the power they can put out. What can sometimes happen when people blow by on climbs is they are doing workouts and will put out some really high w/kg numbers - when doing a climb in workout mode, it eliminates the effect of the grade on your smart trainer. You’ll see some vertical bars beside their name that will mean they are in a workout mode….but I’m also sure a lot of people out there aren’t honest with their weight.

I did a group workout on the weekend that took us through the ‘Mega Pretzel’ route - 4 hours 49 minutes to complete and was about an hour longer than my previous ride time on it - the most painful part of that was getting the ‘hot spot’ feeling on the balls of the feet. Debating if I try get the Uber Pretzel and Full PRL route badges which are the only two left for me to get - I’m just shy of Level 48 and hoping to get to 50 by the time outdoor season fully kicks in.

Dang, and I was happy with the hour I lasted last night! LOL