Maybe a bit corner case but I find there’s a big effort gap between the highest 2.2W/kg in the D category and the next one, the 2.6W/kg in C.
In the 2.2 I often find myself way ahead of the pacer and waiting for it to catch up, and at 2.6 I’m struggling to keep up even at the back of the group.
If you ride with the 2.2 (Maria) Robo Pacer using a TT Bike, it would probably work out around that.
Also is you do a flat route with Coco (2.6) you’re probably going to be doing 2.4/2.5 if you’re drafting.
I feel the same, I wish they had a 2.4w/kg pacer. 2.2 feels a little easy like low zone 2 for me, maybe high zone 1. but the 2.6 can be challenging kind of just mid way my tempo.
Maybe try the 2.2 pacer, but with a gravel bike or MTB…
This is going to happen for the same reason that when you do a ramp test you go from ‘meh’ to ‘eughhh’ pretty quickly within the space of a few watts difference.
I’d guess that they’d have to add more and more ghosts if everyone wants one that goes exactly at their preferred pace - and then next wednesday when you’re either fatigued or had an extra slice of chocolate cake you’ll feel the new pace partner is too fast or to slow.
The best solution would really be that you can create a virtual partner of your own that rides around zwift where you are riding around at the pace you set, perhaps with an option to vary the pace so you don’t get dropped. i.e just like IRL if I’m riding with someone IRL and they pace me, they go at a pace but if I’m struggling maybe they back off or wait at the top of a climb. If it’s too easy and I catch up, they speed up again. That’s really how it should have worked. That’s what a pace partner is.
As it is, these are more like group rides and I’m pretty sure you’d find exactly the same issue in a group ride IRL, most of them are going to feel too slow (because riding in a pack is easier than riding solo) until they don’t and then you suddenly fall out the back.
There’s no perfectly paced Sunday bun run - well, unless you’re extremely lucky. It’s a group of people of which some are thinking it’s too easy and they’re cruising, and others are struggling to keep up or getting dropped.
If you’re looking for something where you ride at your own single rate of perceived exertion that’s more a time trial.
Perhaps another option might be to ride the route once and then use your ghost as the pacer instead? I see they’ve added a couple of ghost options now or what they called ‘holo replay’ or something like that.