TrojanHorse

I put my "with power meter" bike on my kickr to compare output and ... it's not pretty. My kickr hates me.

I have yet to try NYC or Innsbruck but today is NYC day so I guess I will get my maiden voyage in.

Podagrower

I decided I had to improve my w/kg, and obviously the easiest way to do that was not to work harder but get lighter. 20 pounds lighter in 2 months, the last time I was this light (ha!) was 2015, at the end of cycling season. It's not even 2019 yet, I have a feeling the 2019 season is going to be awesome (since I already know what my training is going to look like). I rode 4 centuries and a 200K in 2015, what kind of trouble can I get into in 2019?

WonderMonkey

I'd love to jump in on this but I spend most of my time trying to keep everything connected and working. To date I'll fight and fight and fight then just quit and do a session on my own. I'm going to give it one more try and then I'll just take it all off the bike and throw it in the trash. I bought this a few years ago and had the same problem. Put it back on my bike making sure to watch videos and read and the same issue.

ericy

What specific issue are you having? ANT sensors?

WonderMonkey

Getting the sensor on the bike to recognize the magnet on the spokes. I get it to work after fiddling around with it and making sure I've got it setup right (videos, etc) and then when I go to ride it won't work. Then I hop off and it's not working and I go through it again, and again, and again. I've changed the battery, taken it off the bike, put it back on, and on and on.

Having it would make the rides more interesting, but I can't get it to work.

ericy

I have given up on the magnet-based sensors for this reason. I spent too much time fiddling with the things to get them to line up properly, and that was for my outdoor riding. I went with the Wahoo magnetless sensors - there is something in there that recognizes when you turn the thing upside down, and other than having to change the battery once in a while, they are pretty foolproof.

WonderMonkey

I've looked at that and it looks interesting. Do you track cadence, which would have to come off the pedal?

ericy

There are two separate sensors. One is the speed sensor which is fastened to one of the wheel hubs, and the second is a cadence sensor which is zip-tied to one of the crank arms.

For use with my wheel-off trainer, I only need the cadence sensor.

eja_ bottecchia

sdmc530

eja_ bottecchia

sdmc530

the "tron" bike is awarded if you are on that challenge and climb a total of 160,000 or something super high like that. Been working on it since day one of Zwift.

You know what is really funny, I get passed on everybody on every bike on Zwift

eja_ bottecchia

Genaro

NY is really growing on me - Knickerbocker route is becoming my go to when I'm crunched for time -

Beachgrad05

I haven’t used Zwift in well over a year. Bianchi was purchased with Zwift in mind as well as for commute. So I haven’t tried any of new routes yet (Innsbruck, New York and two new Watopia areas). I signed up for Zwift Academy and put Bianchi on Kickr on Sunday.

Ive done 2 of ZA workouts now. I hadn’t tried workouts before. I was not using Zwift in a constructive way before. That’s changing!

My FTP is estimated at moment based off Strava (use power meter). Need to do FTP test on Zwift.

For workout #1 I put FTP at 20 watts below Strava estimate. For workout 2 I put it at 10 watts below. I struggled in the last 10 min section at 95% of FTP with keeping cadence high. So maybe that FTP is close to my actual?

jadocs

Why don't you just take the Ramp Test on Zwift?

Beachgrad05

I plan on it but just hadn't had time before the first two workouts that fit my schedule. ZA started on Monday. I have an issue with the Bianchi tho. It has twice stopped shifting chain onto big ring since I got it. And it decided now is a good time to do that again. For the next workout I will need to be able to shift into hard gears for 20 second power to achieve my best in that. Taking off trainer tomorrow to take in to see what the heck is going on.

Podagrower

What is one to do when Zwift drops a new course the day after you've ridden a century? Yep, jump on the bike and check it out. The legs said it was total BS, but the eyes said it was worth it. I remember starting Zwift in 2017 and thinking it would be easy to get bored with the number of routes available, but they are doing a good job of updating and releasing new tarmac.

Beachgrad05

I did ramp test and FTP was set at 165. Yesterday I did Zwift Academy WO #4 and I could not hold 205 watts for 3 minutes I had to use companion app to reduce bias on the to reduce the power I needed to maintain. Maybe I was tired from doing WO #3 on Sunday? Tonight I am doing "group ride" with ZA but will get dropped as my FTP and weight put me at too low to keep up. That's OK. I can ride alone at the back. I have 4 workouts to complete and 3 group rides to finish ZA. I am determined to do it.

I finished CA challenge finally last week and earned the Tarmac. Tho I had used drops to buy Tarmac Pro so kind of anti-climactic to finally earn the Tarmac. Saving my drops now for the Canyon Ultimate bike.

Started the Everest challenge and am at 6% completion after two rides.

My pain cave just got more pleasant as posted in the Carb loading thread with an added smart TV so I can watch football, Hulu, Netflix and Directv. Sunday I watched 2nd half of Cowboys/Giants game and last night watched 2nd half of Raiders/Bronco's while I did my workout.

jsigone

I tried the FTP ramp test, I guess I should do this after a proper warm up and not first thing in the morning. I sandbagged it according to my HR, max is 186 and only hit 163 in the ramp test.

Beachgrad05

My legs quit before my heart on mine.

jsigone

@Beachgrad05 yah I was trying not to stand up during the ramp test which I don't really see why it would matter if ERG mode is on, you're not spiking power into the equation....or are you?

Beachgrad05

@jsigone - no idea..I can't really stand much on trainer. Too awkward.

I'm guessing the FTP I got which is not that great is rather accurate I guess. My Zwift Academy workouts are difficult in the sections that are suppose to be difficult. I was doing one last night while watching 2nd half of football game and I did route that ended up with me on Alpe du Zwift (working on Everest challenge now). When workout ended I was trying to U turn to head back down as the grade was killing me but it wouldn't U turn. So ended workout. Doing workout #6 of the 8 ZA workouts tonight.

A cool place to check out the various workouts and how they will go based on your FTP is https://whatsonzwift.com/

You can explore the pre-done workouts and see how your FTP affects each section.

ericy

There is a minimum speed for a U-turn to work - I don't remember what it is (maybe 3mph/5kph?), but if you are on a steep climb and your legs are tired it can be difficult to attain. In some cases I wait for a flatter spot in the road to do the U-turn (like on a hairpin).

Beachgrad05

Yeah, I know about the min but I was not able to get fast enough on the steep grade on the Alpe. I tried to get speed up but my legs were just not able. I have to do next workout tonight, so didn't need to fry my legs last night.

Will watch the WSU Cougar game on my new extra TV.

I have 3 workouts and 2 group rides to do to complete the Academy. I hope to be finished this weekend and maybe on to the extra credit group rides (4) to get the paint job for the Canyon Ultimate