Virtual vs Actual miles

[tyred]

I did nearly 50 virtual miles this evening. I was sitting in an armchair with a map mentally planning Sunday's ride

 

[uclown2002]

[QUOTE 4663916, member: 9609"]Never heard of 'zwift' until this thread -
Does it use google maps as in street view and you move along whatever road you want or is it more of a game sort of thing with other cyclists and races
Do you rave each other in a virtual way or even have group rides ?
Does it attach to a turbo thing and adjust resistance for weight, and do you get to free wheel downhill ?[/QUOTE]

It's more of a game. They have 3 very detailed courses, which are rotated throughout the month. However each course has multiple routes you can choose from, i.e flat, hilly, circuits etc
You can race (categorised) others, or join a social ride as they have dozens of organised events daily. You can also ride alone although you will obviously encounter hundreds of other users. There may be thousands of users on the course though.
You download the software to PC, laptop or ipad/phone. You need an ant+ dongle to communicate with turbo and zwift unless using iOS. You can get away with a dumb trainer but for a much more immersive and rewarding experience you are better off with a smart (control) trainer. That will control the turbo resistance when you encounter hills. It takes account of your weight also so heavier people will be slower on hills for same power output, all other factors being equal. Certainly my set up allows me to freewheel downhill (Tacx Neo) as naturally as riding outside.

 

[Deleted member 35268]

To be fair, I love the idea of virtual races with friends - I would really like to try it and it absolutely is a great way to get fit. But it ain't real miles.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Trainer mileage is nonsense, time and effort are not.

*Ok technically a lap of a zwift course is a set and measured mileage by extension of its GPS based routes

 

[psmiffy]

Question for Tacx Vector owners - how does it get cadence - or do you need a cadence sensor

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Question for Tacx Vector owners - how does it get cadence - or do you need a cadence sensor

It takes a wild guess, but you can pair another source of cadence, ie a sensor, or a crank/pedal based power meter

At the same time, if you had a power meter there would be no reason to use power from the trainer

 

[psmiffy]

I suspect that there is an order of magnitude in cost between a cadence sensor and a power meter - ditto the Vector and the bells and whistles turbos

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Absolutely

 

[nickyboy]

I get caned on all the weekly strava club league tables (distance, climbing metres) by zwifters in their nice snug houses while I'm out there in the worst January can throw at me

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

I get caned on all the weekly strava club league tables (distance, climbing metres) by zwifters in their nice snug houses while I'm out there in the worst January can throw at me

Sleep in the knowledge that virtual rides don't count towards KOMs and challenges.

Or, ride more than they do

 

[iggibizzle]

I know someone who used bkool (I think) to get a load of Koms out on the road. Only admitted after he'd done the whole 80 mile ride on a turbo. Don't ask me how it works as I haven't a clue, but all his segments stood on strava. People only spotted a problem when you could see his hr was the same as on the flat as 'climbing' at 25mph.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

I know someone who used bkool (I think) to get a load of Koms out on the road. Only admitted after he'd done the whole 80 mile ride on a turbo. Don't ask me how it works as I haven't a clue, but all his segments stood on strava. People only spotted a problem when you could see his hr was the same as on the flat as 'climbing' at 25mph.

This was rectified and strava now automatically tags indoor rides as"stationary trainer"

 

[iggibizzle]

This was only a couple weeks ago. Not sure if it's been sorted since. Not sure if he did it intentionally or it just uploaded that way. There will be some right cheats out there!!

 

[400bhp]

I get caned on all the weekly strava club league tables (distance, climbing metres) by zwifters in their nice snug houses while I'm out there in the worst January can throw at me

I've recently seen on one of the clubs that it doesn't record trainer miles. I've no idea how they have set this up or whether it's a new feature.

 

[Venod]

Trainer mileage is nonsense, time and effort are not

I am doing lejog on the trainer, the mileage comes from the GPS file so is accurate,I find hills are harder than the real world (with a smart trainer) I have done a lot of climbs that I have done outside and never beaten my time on the trainer going up, going down I have, as there is no traffic no potholes and no fear of over cooking a corner, there is no wind, no traffic, but no freewheeling, going downhill if you freewheel on the trainer it will soon come to a stop.

This was rectified and strava now automatically tags indoor rides as"stationary trainer

If you don't automatically upload to Strava but save your file as GPX. TCX or FIT you can manually load them to Strava as normal rides, I check to see if I have any KOM's if I have I change the ride to a virtual ride, I have only ever had downhill KOM's on the trainer.