I did a preset workout for the first time in a while and I noticed when the gradient on the map changed, it felt like the resistance changed. For example, going up the Watopia KOM, my cadence increased but the power output stayed the same and when going down the other end, my cadence slowed and it felt harder. Is this a feature or was it just my imagination?
I think this is all in our minds, It happen to me as well.
So I did a test, I set up a workout Z2 and picked the hilly road then minimized Zwift and watched a movie and the resistance stayed the same.
Our eyes and brains can play games on us.
Just show how realistic Zwift is,
Yeah, sometimes with trainer difficulty OFF I am convinced it still feels harder when the road’s going uphill.
As if even with the slider off, there’s still a small about of gradient adjustment trickling through.
Regarding what the OP indicated, it makes total sense: If you are in erg mode at a set power level and you increase your cadence the resistance will decrease, and if you decrease your cadence the resistance will increase. Theoretically, though, if you keep your cadence constant the resistance should also remain constant. Perhaps the situation is just that people tend to increase cadence when climbing (even if it’s just visual) and decrease when descending. Just thought.
I was going to ask the same thing. It is odd and I swear I feel a change in the trainer sometimes. Though, when I see a hill in workout/ERG mode, my brain says to my legs, oh no…better hit the gas . Another thing I wonder if anyone else does this…when driving along a rolling hill/road, my brain zips me back to riding my bike in Zwift. I kind of get a kick out of it. Maybe I ought to see a doctor about that…Anyway, everyone stay healthy and ride on!