Zwifting

Whyner

*Couldn't find a thread dedicated to Zwift*

Hey

Getting stuck into Zwift and was wondering what workouts people do. I've just done a few myself...

The McCarthy Special
SST (Med)
Jon's Short Mix

I enjoyed them all, love a bit of structure. Only other training I've done is GCN spin videos

Got round to doing the FTP short test this week so workouts should be more accurate from now on

I'm joining the group workout tonight - http://zwift.com/events/view/27778. Will be interesting to see how that plays out. Anyone done one yet? They're relatively new. They use a rubber-banding effect so everyone stays in the group irrespective of the power you're putting out

Anyone been on the new Mayan route?

tonytiger81

I think you need to be a level 10 to access that route. I tend to do the group social spins (it's fun watching people unclip and wait at the top of box hill) or just ride solo for now. Did one race which was pretty tough going. Sure beats looking at a blank wall for an hour. Keep an eye on the challenges / competitions too. Last month was the chance to win an actual TT bike (cycle a 25mile TT for entry).

Whyner

tonytiger81 wrote: »

I think you need to be a level 10 to access that route

or join a workout that will be on that route....

Wobs

I like the Gorby and the GCN hill climb workouts are also good.

I find any with with big jumps in power for short bursts don't really work on my trainer as it won't respond quick enough. I have only tried them in erg mode and have been meaning to give them a go in regular mode to see if thats any better.
a quick shift to a harder gear might work.

Milk_Tray

Was looking to get that zwift thingy! what exactly is needed? do you need a smart trainer?

Trekker09

Milk_Tray wrote: »

Was looking to get that zwift thingy! what exactly is needed? do you need a smart trainer?

I've just bought a smart trainer that can connect to Zwift, but need to get the Ant+ dongle (not supplied).

I think you can connect a speed/cadence sensor with Ant+ capabilities to your bike, and this will turn a normal turbo trainer into a smart one.

I've downloaded the app, looks good but have to wait till my ebay dongle arrives.

Milk_Tray

Trekker09 wrote: »

I've just bought a smart trainer that can connect to Zwift, but need to get the Ant+ dongle (not supplied).

I think you can connect a speed/cadence sensor with Ant+ capabilities to your bike, and this will turn a normal turbo trainer into a smart one.

I've downloaded the app, looks good but have to wait till my ebay dongle arrives.

thats good to know, I have a turbo trainer but its not smart :pac:

https://cart.payments.ebay.co.uk/sc/add?srt=01000200000050e9ecdba3f850180a439cb949d0c1513f2f4b1aba7508556578c7b6ef115a3b30febef94a9d3ce2dc56c190ad69d0f6c0361b14780b9244ece4747ea91a0c5f0a3390831abf032dd3a8137e359f3aa1ce&ssPageName=CART:ATC&item=iid:263247571066,qty:1

Something like this? Would that get my bike ready for zwift? Premuse I d have to buy 2

Trekker09

Milk_Tray wrote: »

thats good to know, I have a turbo trainer but its not smart :pac:

https://cart.payments.ebay.co.uk/sc/add?srt=01000200000050e9ecdba3f850180a439cb949d0c1513f2f4b1aba7508556578c7b6ef115a3b30febef94a9d3ce2dc56c190ad69d0f6c0361b14780b9244ece4747ea91a0c5f0a3390831abf032dd3a8137e359f3aa1ce&ssPageName=CART:ATC&item=iid:263247571066,qty:1

Something like this? Would that get my bike ready for zwift? Premuse I d have to buy 2

That link isn't bringing me to anything.

https://www.powertap.com/product/magnetless-speed-cadence-sensor

Thats the one I got with my new smart trainer (Cyclops Fluid). I have to get the Ant+ dongle so that the signal can be received.
You'll also need a fairly beefy laptop, as it's graphic intensive from all reports I've read so far.

tonytiger81

I use a non-smart Tacx turbo and invested in one of these: https://www.evanscycles.com/tacx-speed-cadence-sensor-EV220400 bluetooth sensors. Quite cheap. Note that Zwift allows either Ant+ or Bluetooth connectivity. I read up on some reviews and the complaint with the Ant set up was that it tended to drop signal more often than Bluetooth, and some guys extended the dongle to sit underneath their bottom bracket. Works perfectly fine. There's plenty of videos on youtube about both setups

denismc

I recently got the Elite Qubo Digital B+ smart trainer from Evans cycles,
https://www.evanscycles.com/en-ie/elite-qubo-digital-b-smart-turbo-trainer-EV256909
You will need an ANT dongle but other than that it is plug and play.
It takes a few runs for it to calibrate, on my very first run I burnt through a tyre in about 20 minutes.
Some people recomend using a training tyre but I am using a road tyre for now.

positron

Quick question, hopefully not too dumb... Seeing how expensive direct drive smart trainers are these days, at what point would it make sense to remove the road bike from the equation and get a stationary 'smart trainer' machine... Or does such a thing even exist? I can see this being useful if more than one person want to use the trainer.. Also reduces the wear on the road bike as well...

nilhg

positron wrote: »

Quick question, hopefully not too dumb... Seeing how expensive direct drive smart trainers are these days, at what point would it make sense to remove the road bike from the equation and get a stationary 'smart trainer' machine... Or does such a thing even exist? I can see this being useful if more than one person want to use the trainer.. Also reduces the wear on the road bike as well...

https://wattbike.com/ie/product/atom

There you go, you'll pay nicely for the convenience though.

Most other spin type bikes won't work with Zwift/TR/Sufferfest and any other apps you want to name

Whyner

Price has almost doubled. I joined this week for €8.80


In order to continue to make Zwift bigger, better and more beautiful, we are updating our membership price to €14.99 per month, effective today. As a way of saying thank you, however, to the awesome Zwifters who helped us get here, your pricing will not change for one year. If you happen to suspend your membership during this period and come back, you can still enjoy your current pricing level. (Visit our FAQ for all the details.)

py

I'm on Zwift now about 2 months and given I've done ~750Km on there, the price increase doesn't bother me all that much. Only thing I've not tried out on it is the group workouts which seem to work quite well from what I've been reading. The workouts/races are great and given their short duration it means I can jump any time of the day and get a good spin done in about 60 minutes.

Have decided to keep my 5 year old road bike just for Zwift now. Replaced the the worn out and filthy derailleurs, cassette and chain whilst also scrubbing the crankset clean. Just means that I'll have to persuade the boss to get a new road bike in the spring :P

Picked up an Elite Direto (direct drive) and have been really pleased with it. I'd a dumb trainer before and it got less than an hours use in total over a 2 year period. The Direto/Zwift combination is keeping me engaged indoors so I'd happily recommend it to anyone.

dahat

Anyone using Zwift with a non smart trainer?

My set up is Elite Muin which is direct drive and a Stages, tempted to give it a try but wondered about the non smart aspect of my trainer.

tonytiger81

see my post above. I use a tacx non smart turbo with a tacx bluetooth cadence sensor and run zwift through a mac

Trekker09

tonytiger81 wrote: »

see my post above. I use a tacx non smart turbo with a tacx bluetooth cadence sensor and run zwift through a mac

How old is your mac? I have a 2011 MacBook Pro that I use for programming and a Dell laptop that runs Windows. I'd prefer to use the mac as it's always at home but am not sure that the spec would work effectively

tonytiger81

I checked the specs on the Mac:

• Macbook Air (13 inch Mid 2013)
• Processor: 1.3 GHZ Intel Core i5
• Memory: 4GB 1600 MHZ DDR3
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5000 1536 MB

Check these specs against yours. Mine runs a bit noisy so I close all other programs when its running and make sure there is adequate ventilation underneath. This is common with macs though

Trekker09

tonytiger81 wrote: »

I checked the specs on the Mac:

• Macbook Air (13 inch Mid 2013)
• Processor: 1.3 GHZ Intel Core i5
• Memory: 4GB 1600 MHZ DDR3
• Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5000 1536 MB

Check these specs against yours. Mine runs a bit noisy so I close all other programs when its running and make sure there is adequate ventilation underneath. This is common with macs though

Cheers! Mine should run OK then. Tinkering with the idea of getting a new one through work anyways

Whyner

py wrote: »

I'm on Zwift now about 2 months and given I've done ~750Km on there, the price increase doesn't bother me all that much. Only thing I've not tried out on it is the group workouts which seem to work quite well from what I've been reading. The workouts/races are great and given their short duration it means I can jump any time of the day and get a good spin done in about 60 minutes

I've done a few group workouts and enjoyed them. Same as regular workouts but you share the suffering. It seems silly but it does make it easier completing the intervals as part of a group. Some people will post comments during the workout to say how they're doing but I'd have no interest in fumbling for the keyboard. Look out for workouts on the new Mayan route, one on tonight @9pm https://zwift.com/events/view/28313

mackeminexile

You can use a tablet with the app and it works well. Got mine set up to work from an ipad mini 2 with a tacx tablet holder that clips to the bars. Using a Wahoo bluetooth cadence and speed sensor too. Works really well and leaves the laptop free for netflix

Whyner

mackeminexile wrote: »

You can use a tablet with the app and it works well. Got mine set up to work from an ipad mini 2 with a tacx tablet holder that clips to the bars. Using a Wahoo bluetooth cadence and speed sensor too. Works really well and leaves the laptop free for netflix

I'd be dripping sweat all over it. Deep house music for me

tuxy

dahat wrote: »

Anyone using Zwift with a non smart trainer?

My set up is Elite Muin which is direct drive and a Stages, tempted to give it a try but wondered about the non smart aspect of my trainer.

I am with an Elite Muin also and a 4iiii . Works great, the only thing you miss out on is the dynamic resistance from hills but on the plus side your power numbers will be more accurate than most people. The workout plans are good but the selection is much smaller than trainer road. The races are great but really tough, it's pretty much like doing a one hour time trial! Very engaging and rewarding but you will suffer.

mackeminexile

Whyner wrote: »

I'd be dripping sweat all over it. Deep house music for me

it sits far enough forward thankfully. The bike thong is a necessary piece of equipment though! I also use a light DHB summer headband to catch sweat, usually go through 2 of them depending on the length of the session

py

Good video from Bike Radar

Lusk_Doyle

Did a one lap race last night. Uploaded to check the data and the last 2k didn't come across despite being on the zwift activity summary. Anger rising...

Whyner

Did a group workout on the new Mayan route last night, loved the bridge and the monkeys...



I've decided on a program that I'll start next week - https://whatsonzwift.com/workouts/gc-coaching-virtual-group-training-phase-1

Will be interesting to re-test my FTP once I'm finished

Wisesmurf

Zwift has been launched on Apple TV and will work from the version 4 on. That means you could be up and running for about €150 quid. Certainly cheaper than a gaming PC setup.

FYI you'll need bluetooth peripherals for Apple TV or an ant+ - Bluetooth converter.

rxchxy

I've just bought the Tacx Flow smart hoping to set it up through either my iphone or my laptop. Unfortunately it turns out that Zwift isn't compatible with iPhone 5 and my laptop is a couple of years old so I'd be shocked if that is high enough spec to work with Zwift. Are there any ways around this or alternative ways to set Zwift up? Or even another app that provides a similar thing?

tuxy

rxchxy wrote: »

I've just bought the Tacx Flow smart hoping to set it up through either my iphone or my laptop. Unfortunately it turns out that Zwift isn't compatible with iPhone 5 and my laptop is a couple of years old so I'd be shocked if that is high enough spec to work with Zwift. Are there any ways around this or alternative ways to set Zwift up? Or even another app that provides a similar thing?

There's no way around it if your device can't draw the graphics when it's at minimum settings. There are other programs but they don't offer virtual rides but do have good training plans.

yop

Was a BETA tester on it, so been on it since day 1 almost!
Find it good, the group races I am finding good so its a good chance to blast it for the full race.
They also have the academy where you can join it based on your w/kg. You could do a session here for example where you do a 15 min warm up then go at 3 w/kg for 6 mins, rest for 5, again 3 w/kg etc etc. It helps riding with others and someone calling out the segments.

I followed their TT plan in 2016 and did good in the really life TT races.

I've a Wahoo Snap.