Originally Posted by
PeteHski
AFAIK pedal feel (resistance) is only a function of your trainer responding to the variable slope value Zwift is broadcasting to it. Drafting affects your avatar speed, but not your actual trainer resistance.
For Zwift to vary your trainer resistance with drafting would require another trainer control variable. I don’t know if this is possible with the current Smart trainer control protocol. I doubt it otherwise Zwift and/or other apps would probably have done this by now. I’m not aware of any other apps that can do this. They can simulate drafting on the screen and you can reduce power to maintain speed in the draft, but your trainer resistance is driven only by the slope variable.
If I’ve missed something then it would be very interesting to know.
The thing with drafting IRL is that effect of the wind disappearing and it would be hard to translate that into a resistance change, which the trainer could support. I was thinking a while back about wind in Zwift, before this thread came up, and I realized how hard it would be to simulate that. The power curve of wind is different than grade and of course it is invisible. Even on my best days when I turn into a wind it takes everything out of me. I did a ride outdoors the other day and I was feeling great, then I turned around. Not only was the wind in my face, it immediately felt 10 degrees colder.
It is always a wind free day in Watopia.