I have a Wahoo Kickr v5 and a 21 Allez with an 8 speed 11-32 cassette. I use the Canyon 2021 Aeroad in the game.
I am too fast for D Diesel but too slow for C Cadence. I would be happy if I could hang with C Cadence for an hour.
I know I need to up my FTP, but I’m wondering if something like the Shimano 105 R8000 groupset would help any? It would at least give me more gradual shifting, but would the extra gears provide a gear that I can more easily maintain that 2.5 w/kg?
Any other advice?
A couple of weeks ago I went from an old 3 by 8 speed mountain bike to a shiny new 2 by 11 road bike (with shimano 105). It is definitely noticeably easier to find a gear at my preferred cadence, but it hasn’t made any difference to my FTP.
Rather than changing your gearing, change your in-game frame. Ride with the D category Pace Partner, but first select a time trial (TT) bike instead. That will turn off Drafting and other aspects of game physics and make the ride more difficult than it would be otherwise. As your Fitness improves, you’ll be able to ride with the C category Pace Partner on a regular road bike!
That will totally eliminate the idea of riding with a group.
Rather pick the MTB it is slow on the paved road.
Better is to ride with C and every time ride a bit longer.
Gearing wont give you more power, it will just make getting the correct gear easier.
Shimano 105 beats the crap out of 8-speed setup and is one of the best upgrades you can do at that level/price 
yes it will give you a much easier time holding a specific pace, as the difference between gears will be smaller.
still, i use an 8-speed Allez on Zwift and mostly do alright 
just gotta keep grinding it out in the harder gears til you get strong enough to use them normally…! it’s good to get used to riding at a variety of cadences, so ur not screwed when you head outdoors.
I’m leaning towards riding C as long as I possibly can and then dropping out of the pack when I can no longer sustain. So far I’ve been able to hang in C for about 5 minutes. I still may upgrade the to the 105 when I have the extra $.
honestly if you can only hang with C for 5mins, I don’t think changing the gearing will help. sounds like you’re not strong enough/fit enough primarily.
but yes it is a good idea to try riding with them as often as possible, and each time try hang on for a little bit longer… if you’re chilling around in D and not pushing yourself then you will not see as much improvement…! gradually over time you will get stronger & fitter and find it easier to hang with the C pace bot in that very same gear that feels too hard now…!
Yeah, I think that’s probably accurate. The gains, if any, I would see with the 105 in terms of hanging with C Cadence, would be marginal.
I wish there were 2, 3 and 4 w/kg bots. That would be ideal. I’m gong to start leaving that feedback.
There are also group rides.
There are several sub 2.0 rides that I feel are easier to ride with than Diesel Dan.
They seem more consistent in speed.
I rode with C Cadence again today and lasted 10 minutes this time. I am going to try to last an extra 5 minutes each time, then switch over to D Diesel, until I hit 60 minutes. And, in a couple months will probably upgrade to the 105.
Good job.
I would suggest finding some group rides that you can ride with for the longer efforts. There are a lot of them that is just a tad slower than Coco Cadence.
You may consider warming up with D and then riding with C.
Def. 2.5 w/kg is insane for me. Made it 14 minutes today.
Please keep in mind, that riding at the limits of your fitness on a daily basis, according to MOST of the research that I’ve done, can lead to a number of over-training, over-reaching outcomes, including injury… not to mention an unpleasant ride experience. Riding at your 3-4 hour endurance pace for an hour or so each day (slowly building), will provide you with a much more FUN experience, whilst building your fitness steadily. Untrained athletes who do more than 2 high intensity rides per week, generally, are looking for untold troubles. These comments reflect my personal research only, and I am not speaking as a qualified sports physiologist, so take them with that in mind…
I usually alternate between intensities based on things like HRV, etc, each day. There are some days that I stay at 100 watts for hours just chilling to music. I definitely want to avoid injury. I’ve been cycling for 40 years (from 5 years old), but the trainer is a totally new experience. The ability to push myself and measure the results so accurately has me intrigued.
