Zwift - Cruzbike Activities (races and group rides)

[Seth Cooper]

in a bit of desperation, I bought a Saris H3 on black friday. desperation because I haven't been riding that much past 6 months, and felt a need to try and shake things up and maybe group riding on zwift would be the thing to get me motivated.

I got the trainer setup last week but I just joined zwift today. I am a really out-of-shape person at the moment, but hey gotta start somewhere. This zwift thread is pretty long, and I am not feeling like trying to wade through it all to find out what riding with others is like or when it happens. if someone feels like briefing me on the current CB zwift rider group rides that would be great.

 

[trplay]

Congratulations on making one of the best decisions you have ever made in your life I have never met a cyclist who didn't claim to be on the bottom of the barrel regarding conditioning. So with this thought in mind, you have several good options. First is to get on Zwift or other cycling apps of choice and ride while talking to other Cruzbikers on Discord. Josh and I are doing this right now. This morning I climbed the Alp Du Zwift in a group ride while Ken (cruzlike) did it as a free ride but we conversed all the way up and down. This is a great way to find options such as The tour of London that is going on right now. Josh is part of this and can give you all the details. If you want a little more spice and you can output 1.8w/kg or more the TTT is the hottest thing going. Please come join us. If you aren't ready that's ok a little work and you can get there. Here is a link for an invite to the Cruzbike Discord channel: https://discord.gg/Xdz4sF2 Start here or PM me if you prefer.

 

[RojoRacing]

@Seth Cooper I'd recommend just getting on there and start exploring the options and setting as well as exploring the routes. Trainer difficulty aka simulation % is set to 50% by default so if the hill is 6% it'll simulate 3%, go ride the hillier course and find the setting you like the best. There is no right or wrong way to use zwift, only the way that entertains you the most. Learning through experience will teach you the best.

 

[Pollock]

If you are just coming into Zwift after not riding for 6 months, I would recommend a few things.

1. Join a few group rides that are in the 1.2 - 1.5 w/kg area. The Herd has several per week and there is a Zsun ride on Monday’s. I would recommend Herd Sat AM ride at,9:30AM. Make sure to join their discord server as well.
2. Take an FTP test. I would wait a few weeks before doing it, but you want to do this before racing or trying faster group rides
3. Get a fan and use it. You will want a way to change the speed as well; at least I do
4. Have fun and free ride. There are a lot of roads in Zwift. Pick a world and course then go pedal an hour. This will start to give you a good idea of what to expect.
5. Look into races. There are a lot of formats. Right now, a number of us are competing in a Team Time Trial TTT each Thursday. It is great as you work as a team and compete against up to 100 other teams based on time. I’m usually in Herd of Coyotes and while we may be near dead last many weeks, we have a lot of fun.

When I a, just riding around, I usually play music and keep discord open. That way when someone jumps on, I can chat with them.

 

[Seth Cooper]

well that was fun. I rode the free version so just around central park. I was doing about 1.4 W/kg, so I'll take @Pollock 's advice and find rides on that power level. Zwift was giving me all sorts of advice and information as I tooled around, including mentioning there were "no drop"group rides where I guess everyone's avatar goes the same speed regardless of effort? That seems really lame. I feel if you want to ride at the same time, you can just connect and chat with people, but if you are actually on a virtual course together you should be putting out similar power levels. Shrug. At some point though, the goal is to get some exercise and make it enjoyable as possible, so if a no drop ride is your thing, then great.

Even on my little free ride trying to keep up with other riders was fun, getting the draft notifications, etc, so I can really see the benefits of the TTT. It's the group benefit of a tight paceline without the whole crashing worry.

 

[RojoRacing]

well that was fun. I rode the free version so just around central park. I was doing about 1.4 W/kg, so I'll take @Pollock 's advice and find rides on that power level. Zwift was giving me all sorts of advice and information as I tooled around, including mentioning there were "no drop"group rides where I guess everyone's avatar goes the same speed regardless of effort? That seems really lame. I feel if you want to ride at the same time, you can just connect and chat with people, but if you are actually on a virtual course together you should be putting out similar power levels. Shrug. At some point though, the goal is to get some exercise and make it enjoyable as possible, so if a no drop ride is your thing, then great.

Even on my little free ride trying to keep up with other riders was fun, getting the draft notifications, etc, so I can really see the benefits of the TTT. It's the group benefit of a tight paceline without the whole crashing worry.

 

[RojoRacing]

No drop group rides are for the endless people who sign up for regular group rides and then complain endlessly that they couldn’t keep up for a million different reasons.

Watopia is my favorite location to ride and I like to test myself be ether chasing down riders ahead of me to going after my segment PRs. Zwift keeps a record of you best segment times over the last 30 days so you can see your progress. I like to climb the epic KOM on the mountain route because it’s a good long climb to slowly catch others and the route has a lot of character to it.

Another cool thing about Zwift is if you have a friend you want to ride with who is way faster or slower than you, you can handicap the stronger rider with extra weight. That way to can ride together at the same effort which would be hard to do outside.

 

[trplay]

Agree with Watopia being the best place to ride. But you have mulitple choices and I think over 100 miles of roads/trails now. New places open up every 6 months or so. A brand new Crit City opened up this week.

 

[GetBent]

So still recovering on the couch while my ankle heals. I am thinking an indoor trainer could be useful for my recovery. After reading all 36 pages of this thread and watching all the videos on the Zwift web site (yes, I am seriously bored), I still am somewhat confused.

It seems clear that a "smart" trainer would be most useful. The elite QUBO Digital Smart trainer looks interesting, clamps to axle, no need to dis assemble the front wheel. So Zwift reads my existing cadence and speed sensors? So how does Zwift control the resistance of the trainer? That is not clear from the Zwift web site or the trainer's web site. Will I need extra hardware? Various "You Tube" videos suggest that.

Can the Zwift rides be downloaded then used off line? I would need to use my phone as a hot spot to get online out in the shop, which can be problematic.

 

[RojoRacing]

So still recovering on the couch while my ankle heals. I am thinking an indoor trainer could be useful for my recovery. After reading all 36 pages of this thread and watching all the videos on the Zwift web site (yes, I am seriously bored), I still am somewhat confused.

It seems clear that a "smart" trainer would be most useful. The elite QUBO Digital Smart trainer looks interesting, clamps to axle, no need to dis assemble the front wheel. So Zwift reads my existing cadence and speed sensors? So how does Zwift control the resistance of the trainer? That is not clear from the Zwift web site or the trainer's web site. Will I need extra hardware? Various "You Tube" videos suggest that.

Can the Zwift rides be downloaded then used off line? I would need to use my phone as a hot spot to get online out in the shop, which can be problematic.

Make sure the trainer is truly zwift controllable in that it reads data from zwift and adjusts resistance and doesn't just transmit power data to zwift. I'd be wary of any smart trainers under $400. If you buy the correct trainer you'll only need a $25 ant+ usb stick sold online to connect your trainer to your computer, unless you're doing bluetooth to say an apple device then you don;t need the ant stick.

You can't download zwift for offline use but you can run zwift on any phone made in the last 4-5 years, in fact not only does it run great on my iphone X it does so at better than minimal graphics. You can also run a hdmi cable from your phone to a TV and get it on the big screen.

 

[Bill K]

This may answer some of your hardware questions:
https://zwiftinsider.com/getting-started-smart-trainer/
and:
https://support.zwift.com/en_us/categories/what-you-need-to-ride-BJjM4TyeH

 

[GetBent]

Thanks to both of you. Your responses have cleared up many of my questions.

I have to admit, it annoys me to sink money into something that does not move. I would rather spend the $$ on a replacement for my commuter bike. But since I still can not walk, ride or drive, a trainer is looking like my best short term option.

 

[Seth Cooper]

You can also run a hdmi cable from your phone to a TV and get it on the big screen.

I only have a chromebook as a home computer, and Zwift doesn't work with chromebooks, so phone and HDMI cable is what I ended up doing, and it works great.
I still need a better way of holding the phone near me while I'm riding, as you will want to access your phone mid-ride (I didn't realize while free-riding you can choose directions as forks in the road). Right now I put my phone in a small bag attached to the wall next to the trainer so it is within arm's reach.

 

[GetBent]

Another dumb question. How about "smart" rollers? My thought process here is to not only get a work out, but work on improving my balance at the same time. I have never used rollers, but heard that they are a little more tricky than they look.

 

[Seth Cooper]

How about "smart" rollers?

I used a roller trainer before I switched to a recumbent. Once I tried to put the V20 on the roller trainer, but the V20 wheelbase was too long. I imagine there are people who would ride a recumbent on rollers, but even though I wanted to try it out, I doubt I would really ever feel comfortable riding it without some sort of harness or way to catch me if I fell over.

But I doubt you will ever see a set of smart rollers. The way forward for "realistic" indoor smart training is more reactive fixed trainers. There are ones like the kickr climb that move the front end (for normal bikes) of the bike up and down with the virtual terrain now, and there are the rock-n-roll people who use trainers that have some side to side play. I imagine a time where a little computer controlled leaning in turns will be added as well.

[makes me wonder, does the kickr climb allow it to work backwards for CB bikes, that is, can it be changed to mount on the rear wheel and go down on a climb and go up on descent, which is what a CB needs?]
[I didn't buy a kickr, I bought a saris so not a real question for me]

 

[Pollock]

I only have a chromebook as a home computer, and Zwift doesn't work with chromebooks, so phone and HDMI cable is what I ended up doing, and it works great.
I still need a better way of holding the phone near me while I'm riding, as you will want to access your phone mid-ride (I didn't realize while free-riding you can choose directions as forks in the road). Right now I put my phone in a small bag attached to the wall next to the trainer so it is within arm's reach.

your Chromebook might run Android apps. If it can, install the Android Zwift app?

 

[Seth Cooper]

Yeah, I tried that but zwift didn't allow their Android app to run on Chromebooks

 

[RojoRacing]

I wouldn’t recommend rollers as your primary option on Zwift, but once you’re dialed in a standard trainer you could have rollers as a secondary item for balance training. They are a great tool for what they are but for Zwift where the game gives you so much more to focus on, having to stay centered on rollers can be a bother.

 

[Seth Cooper]

But I doubt you will ever see a set of smart rollers.

ok, so I don't know what I am talking about. There is at least one company making a smart roller trainer now, the e-motion line, although the wheelbase range is only up to 42" too short for the V20.

SEth

 

[RojoRacing]

Another Zwift fondo down, this was my second ever and they are both easier and hard than normal races. They are easier because there isn't as punchy with people attacking to break away every chance they get, it's like a group ride with friends in a loose sense. On the other hand it is harder because the event is 2-3 hour or even more instead of 50 mins and there always seems to be more top tier riders in the mix as you can see from the results below. Where in a normal short race those fast riders attack hard to shell off people like me as soon as possible, in a fondo they still go hard is the same spots(every climb) but they don't attack into it so it gives people like me more of a chance to get dragged along with a false sense of belonging which just means I work even hard and longer than if they had just quickly dropped me. I did get dropped at like mile 40 I think, switched on supercross and spun it out till I got to the epic kom climb and then switch back to zwift to finish out strong. Not a bad finish when you consider I had to get off the bike and roll out some quad cramps just as I started the last climb which cost me like 3 mins I think.

The lead group was only like 20 riders after 5 miles but I'm sure the experience would be similar for slower riders as well.