Zwift Chat

[steverob]

@Girafitti, on the W vs. W/kg debate: I think that the differences for the top guys yesterday were minimal but if you look at the difference between me and @steverob it was massive.

Steve is 97.1kg and did 249W - that's 2.57 W/kg. Did the course in 42:20
I'm 71.5kg and did 211W - that's 2.95 W/kg. Did the course in 42:48 - almost 30s behind Steve.

The KOM was only 1.9km and I was around 15s quicker than Steve on that section.

So yeah, definitely looks like pure watts is king on a flat TT.

To be fair, my average is a little deceiving as I slacked off massively on the downhill and large parts of the flat run-in to the finish - basically as soon as I knew I wasn't going to be caught! Average to the top of the climb was 257W, which is 2.65 w/kg (remainder of course was 225W).

And yes, I did have better equipment - I'm not at high enough a level to get the very best TT bike and wheels, but they were certainly worth a good 10-15 seconds over the default.

 

[Norry1]

I believe it is the "A" part of CdA that Zwift changes depending on your weight. It assumes that you have more frontal area if you are heavier. On average, that will of course be true.

 

[Joffey]

I believe it is the "A" part of CdA that Zwift changes depending on your weight. It assumes that you have more frontal area if you are heavier. On average, that will of course be true.

What if you have a big bum? Asking for a friend...

 

[Whorty]

What if you have a big bum? Asking for a friend...

What if you have a very big frontal area in a specific region ... asking for myself

 

[mjd1988]

...and both Paul and Michael were using the DT Swiss Disc wheelset, which is 17.5s faster over 50 minutes (~12s faster over this course) than the Zipp 808s (which are the best I've got).

I was on the 808s too (and was heartbroken)

 

[Whorty]

I was on the 808s too (and was heartbroken)

I tell you what was hard and counter intuitive for my normal style of Zwift racing, was seeing you and @Girafitti just 4 seconds up the road for absolutely ages and not being able to do anything about it. In a normal race I'd have tried to sprint across to you to sit on your wheels and recover, but all I could do last night was keep tapping out the same tempo and hope I could hold the gap to something reasonable and not blow up.

TT's really are alien to my style of riding!

 

[Legs]

I was on the 808s too (and was heartbroken)

Strange, because Andy’s pictures seem to show you with a disc wheel! I’m aware that sometimes Zwift represents your avatar with different kit from what you actually have - maybe this is one of those glitches?

 

[mjd1988]

Oh it's an 808/super 9 which is a disc but not the best one. But yes better than just 808

 

[Girafitti]

Strange, because Andy’s pictures seem to show you with a disc wheel! I’m aware that sometimes Zwift represents your avatar with different kit from what you actually have - maybe this is one of those glitches?
View attachment 622447

And what is that string attached to my seat from your bike??

 

[Legs]

Aha! I was just on the plebby deep-rim hoops… 😟

 

[mjd1988]

And what is that string attached to my seat from your bike??

Haha yeah force of habit

 

[berty bassett]

All this waiting for spreadsheet !! I hope it’s spectacular 😁
What do people think of the system of handicap using weight ? Divide ftp by 3.2 to get new weight ? Used in RGT but don’t know if would work in Zwift 🤷‍♂️

 

[Peter Salt]

What do people think of the system of handicap using weight ? Divide ftp by 3.2 to get new weight ? Used in RGT but don’t know if would work in Zwift 🤷‍♂️

Aww, c'mon... Despite being on the receiving end of weight/kit differences I don't think I would enjoy an event where everything is normalised. It's all these little differences that make the races more fun. If you did 5k miles on Zwift and have better kit - you deserve it and should use it. If you're bigger and more muscular and that gives you an advantage on flats and downhills - again, use it and pray I don't get you on the hill

 

[Legs]

View attachment 622252

Do a 20-minute effort and you'll add another 5-10W onto that! Fast Fridays TT at 9pm tomorrow?

 

[steverob]

Sounds like you got away lightly - ain’t it strange how it effects people in different ways

Well it’s 24 hours later and I think it’s finally caught up to me!

My two rounds of AstraZeneca, apart from soreness for a few days around the actual injection site, I had no side effects at all. This jab looked to be going the same way, but from about 3pm onwards, my whole upper arm and shoulder felt super stiff like I’d been carrying too much. Then within an hour I just completely ran out of energy and feel like I could sleep for days. Good job I’m working from home tomorrow (was in the office today).