Coasting

Maybe i am the only one. The way I race on Zwift is that I push the pedals hard like 3, 4 or 5 times and then coast. And so on. Are there more riders who ride like this? Any tips on how to stop coasting?

??? What trainer are you using?

An Elite Direto. But it isn’t the trainer that causes this, it is me. It’s my way of riding.
The strange thing is that when I am riding on my own (not a ride or race) I don’t coast. Today I did a race and I think one of the other riders mentioned he rides the same way, sprint, coast, sprint, coast and so on.

Are you a BMXer? :smiley: Burn and glide is pretty normal for them on the way to the skate park. =)

No, I am not. I have always been riding on the road and MTB. When I pedal my cadence is between 90 and 100.

One way to stop it might be to remember that when you coast on Zwift, it starts lightly applying virtual brakes (to aid positioning and stopping - I think it might be after a full second, but I’m not sure). So all that time coasting is wasted speed and effort for you! :hushed:

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I know. It causes me to drop to the back of a group and then I have to push hard to get to the front again.

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Wait, what?! Why the $%&@? I mean, slowing due to physics engine air and road resistance is one thing, but assuming we want to brake?

I’ve only been using Zwift for 3 years and didn’t know this! :smiley: Well that changes everything and is obviously the reason I’m so slow… O_o

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Haha! Unless they’ve changed it back - and I don’t think they have, but I could be wrong and I just didn’t notice - it’s been this way since beta. :slight_smile: Earlier in beta, it didn’t used to be that way, but I joined after it changed. Apparently, people were having a hard time with positioning in rides and races, as well as trying to slow down after yo-yo’ing off the front of a group. Zwift decided to add in a light auto-brake to help with this, and it must have gotten positive beta feedback because they kept it in.

Pressing “A”, on the other hand, gives you a nice hard emergency brake. lol

On flat ground, once I see my watts go to zero, it doesn’t take as long to coast to a stop as I’d expect for my in-game speed. This only seems to be cancelled out on a moderate-to-steep descent, where the level of braking applied is too small to overcome the acceleration caused by gravity. The supertuck seems to be immune.

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It does? I must read the manual some time. Oh… :smiley:

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tacx neo will put you in a tuck and carry speed and even pick up speed on steep downhills

This happens no matter what trainer you’re on. That’s just Zwift’s supertuck. :slight_smile: The Neo would also have the same braking effect as I described above, regardless of its downhill drive.

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annoying rider/style - how long have you had the elite trainer for?

Bought it in December 2017

This seems to vary with the trainer. I have a kickr snap and on a flat road in Zwift, when I stop peddling, the watts drop to about half, then trail with the speed of the flywheel. I recently tried a neo2t and hated it. Flat road, stop peddling and in Zwift you come to a complete stop in a few seconds. Totally unrealistic that you’re either peddling or a virtual brake is applied (on a flat road). I wanted to upgrade from my Snap, but having second thoughts. Being able to coast for a bit I really like. I’m not a racer, just a casual weekend rider.

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I agree. I started on Zwift using a wheel-on trainer and switched to a direct drive trainer at the start of this year, because so many people raved about how good they are.

The direct drive is definitely more responsive when you add or reduce power in a race, so I’ve found it easier to attack and to regulate my pace in a pack. But when free riding, I don’t like the auto-braking, or the way that when I put in a hard effort, I don’t get to enjoy the momentum I’ve built up. The wheel-on just feels a bit more natural.

My experience makes me think direct drive is better for serious racers, but maybe wheel-on is better for casual riding?

That’s what I’m starting to believe. It means for now, I’ll stick with the wheel on and maybe switch wheels (one with a trainer tire) instead of getting a direct drive. Interestingly enough, neither Wahoo support nor Zwift support have any idea about this difference. Wahoo just said to ask Zwift. Zwift just gave a non-answer response. For me, I don’t use it for racing (never will). I use it for solo rides, but also group rides. Purely for pleasure and if a more natural response (no virtual brake when I stop peddling for a few seconds) keeps me on the bike a little longer, great.

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