Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 11/27/2017 02:00 PM |
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Just curious.....would be nice to have folks to ride with! Did an hour and 45 min on Saturday, including two trips up the "Epic KOM" climb....roughly 30 min of "climbing" each time.
Also tried my first "race" on Thursday....based on FTP - W/KG guidelines, I shoulda done the B race.....and promptly got my doors blown off! It was so bad that at one point they had me as 42nd out of 28....and no, I did not reverse the numbers! |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 11/27/2017 02:18 PM |
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| I'm going to sign up shortly, it's a present to myself along with a smart trainer. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 11/27/2017 03:34 PM |
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Ooooh....what trainer are you getting?
Cheapest Smart trainer that I know of is the Elite Qubo Digital....goes for $350 on Nashbar and the unit I currently use (paid $360 last year, I think). Resistance is pretty good, but not the most stable unit in the world....but can't beat the price. Since I still do most of my indoor training at the training center / shop, I only need a trainer to ride on those occasional mornings . afternoons. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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6ix
Posts:485
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| 11/28/2017 06:25 AM |
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I picked up a Kickr a couple months ago. Zwift is a whole new world for me. I thought it was silly at first but am now addicted to the constant available races (and they will turn you inside-out!!), group workouts (similar to Peloton's streaming classes) and general riding around the Watopia island. What I can't still believe is how realistic it is. The trainer is extremely smooth with how it changes the resistance based on the road gradient. And when it gets hard, it gets freakin' hard!! My legs feel the same way as they do when climbing real hills. When racing, you even benefit from drafting!
Bottom line is that it provides me with a workout that is exponentially superior to anything I could ever do on a regular trainer. I can already tell I will be rolling into next spring stronger and fitter than ever before. It's not so taxing mentally either. Like CK, I did nearly 2 hours and 46 miles on it just yesterday alone! Did a group workout, a race and a 20 minute FTP test. I could barely stand to do more than 30 minutes on my LeMond trainer before. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 11/28/2017 08:30 AM |
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Yeah, it really is amazing how Zwift makes riding inside tolerable. It is similar to the club / trainin center I use....we can get 8 people on a "road course" and chase each other around for a couple of hours over hills, etc. No way in hell I could do that on a standard resistance trainer or even rollers.
Interesting that you found the gradient can get really hard....I have yet to use my small ring on Zwift, even on those 15% grades going up to the weather station. I also see no benefit to drafting....my resistance doesn't seem to change at all. I'm guessing that is down to me using a relatively inexpensive trainer vs. a higher quality unit like the Kickr. That said, my "speeds" aren't anything crazy going up those grades either and seem pretty much inline with real world speeds. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 11/28/2017 08:39 AM |
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| Pretty sure the Kickr is what I'm getting. I'm such a cheap*** it pains me to spend that much but at the same time I tend to keep stuff for ever so amortized over 20 years (hope I'm still riding hard then) it's not that bad. |
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6ix
Posts:485
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| 11/28/2017 09:01 AM |
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CK, are you using ERG mode? I only use that for structured workouts where it locks you into a prescribed wattage based on FTP. For general riding or races, I don't have it on and have the 'trainer difficulty' set in the middle.
What you're describing is almost certainly ERG mode. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 11/28/2017 09:25 AM |
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| No, definitely not erg.....in fact, I don't think the QUBO has an ERG mode unless you select a prescribed workout. The resistance (and power levels) definitely change as I go 'round the courses...harder on hills, etc.....and I am "climbing" at realistic wattages (i.e. "sweet spot" power levels)....and again, my speed on the hills is not anything outrageous....+/- 10 mph depending on the gradient, etc. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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6ix
Posts:485
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| 11/28/2017 09:59 AM |
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Oh, I thought you were on a Kickr. Believe it's the whole ANT+ FC protocol that modifies the resistance per the gradient shown on the program and provides the drafting sensation. Makes sense now.
Have you ever climbed up to the ski station? Think it's a 'bonus' of the Epic KOM climb. I was all over my bike trying to go up that thing and was basically climbing in a 36/25. Don't think I completely bailed to the 28.
This is a good reason why a lot of people want to separate Z-power users from the other smart trainers. I can't hang with people on the descents because you can't get enough resistance. It's a common gripe. Difficult to explain unless you experience it. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 11/28/2017 11:02 AM |
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Yeah, I've gone up there a few times....always in my big chain ring! Maybe I'm just that strong....
Definitely sounds like how the trainers interpret the ANT+ signal and relates it to the game. Again, I'm not climbing at any crazy speeds up to the station (and often have guys pass me) and my power levels are realistic....but the unit is definitely reacting to the grades and increasing the resistance.
This is the trainer I am using.....it is a fully interactive "smart" trainer. Definitely not z-Power.
And I have still not felt any benefit from drafting in Zwift....if I hop on someone's wheel, i don't really see any changes in my power levels. Weird.....
And the whole zPower thing definitely gets people riled up....but then I don't understand why people take this so damn seriously. Sandbagging in races, guys just out riding with crazy w/KG so they clearly have unrealistic weights entered into the game....on Saturday, some guy came blowing past me on the Epic KOM climb putting out ~7.5W / KG. Seriously? C'mon, dude.....concraps, you "won" on Zwift.
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 02/02/2018 08:40 AM |
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@ 6ix, I think I found out why I am going up even the big hills in my large CR....I am just that awesome!!
No, seriously, I found a trainer resistance setting that allows you to dial up the resistacne of the trainer to make ti feel more "real world". Apparently the default setting is @ 50%, so a 5% grade "feels" like a 2.5% grade. This doesn't impact your "speed" in the virtual world since that is based solely o the power you are putting out. Their algorithm simply takes the power you are putting out and applies it to the physics of the virtual world. So even though I am in my big ring on my actual bike, my speed in the virtual world is more consistent with what the actual climb would be.
Changed the setting last night to ~75% and it amde a big difference in terms of feel and I definitely had to drop down into the little ring for the climbs. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 02/02/2018 10:04 AM |
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The "real world" had pissing rain wind and temperatures just above freezing this week.
Just sayin |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 02/02/2018 03:09 PM |
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Posted By Dale Dale on 11/27/2017 02:18 PM
I'm going to sign up shortly, it's a present to myself along with a smart trainer.
Dale, you are aware of that immutable law, Conservation of Intelligence - summed up briefly as - there is finite intelligence in this universe. The more intelligence incorporated into inanimate objects, the less available for the living.
I ran into this law hard mid '80s when I went back to school. I spent the evening on campus working on a computer program - write, compile, assess the errors, re-write and repeat. At the end of a fairly productive evening, I gathered my stuff and left the building. Walked smack into the all glass entrance door. Yup, I'd just transferred some of my intelligence onto that disc in my pocket.
That was 30 years ago. If you want to see that law in effect now, just park yourself where you can watch a busy sidewalk. Human after human walking with all their attention on a small black rectangle in their hands. Complete prey for anything. Humanity degenerating along a line parallel to that of wild buffalo to domestic cattle only at a radically faster rate.
I need all the help I can get, I keep my bikes (and trainer) dumb.
Ben
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 02/02/2018 04:41 PM |
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| Dale is probably safer on the Zwifter based on some FB posting I saw this week LOL |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 02/02/2018 07:12 PM |
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Posted By Orange Crush on 02/02/2018 04:41 PM
Dale is probably safer on the Zwifter based on some FB posting I saw this week LOL
Yeah... this ^ 
That was a freaking awesome ride! The Walton grandkids (the ones that bought Rapha) poured a boat-load of money into the trail system in NW Arkansas. There are hundreds of miles that weave on an out of the hills and communities there. Where the trails cross roads there are motion sensitive lights that alert cars that a cyclist might be popping out of the woods at any moment.
The minor get-offs resulted in not much more than a bruised ego and a few scratches.
It was the first time I'd ride there and it's a two hour drive from my place... I'll be making more trips there. |
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