I did my first ever Zwift race and because of my w/kg along with my racing experience I thought the C group would be a good starting point. I was on the rivet immediately and was dropped finishing near the back of all the racers.
I was over my threshold most of the time, RPMS at 110, and riders were dropping me Iike a hot rock. I’m using a Elite Quobo Digital Interactive trainer and wondering if I didn’t set something up correctly or is this how Zwift racing is?
Most races in Zwift start off at a crazy pace. You have to be chucking out well over your FTP level of power when the countdown timer hits zero. You then sprint for about 30 seconds then do your best to stay in the draft as things settle down. Using a power up after you sit back in the saddle helps as well.
Don’t be dishearted. Most of us have had our butts kicked on Zwift. I usually do quite well in real life races and beat most people yet on Zwift I’m often left for dead. Problem is you’re up against a portion of people on uncalibrated and or badly calibrated smart trainers. These people are usually unaware that their power is being overstated. Then there’s the out and out cheats using low body weights and fudging their calibration.
I gather the Elite Quobo can be tricky to get accurate power readings.
I asked this same question on the Zwift sub-Reddit and added the fact that the whole time I was either in my 52x12 or 13, spinning at 110RPMs, and still getting dropped.
It seems like there are issues with Elite smart trainers and would never have bought one knowing what I know now. That said from what I’ve read I can possibly adjust the settings on the trainer to make it seem more realistic. Hopefully this works or unfortunately, I’m going to bail on Zwift.
I have a Elite Aleno and I have to connect it via Power Meter section for good readings. Otherwise with smart trainer it goes always at 1200 watts.
Neil: can you post a pic of your paring screen. Lets see if we can help you. What you explain sound strange.
Is this the Pairing Screen you’re referring to? Everything seems to pair OK, it’s that I’m pedaling at 110rpms in a 52x12 and I’m unable to stay with anyone. I’ve tried adjusting the P Values of the trainer, but that seems to be hit and miss. If anyone knows the values for a 200lb guy please share them. Thanks for your help with this. It’s super frustrating and I really want this to work.
What is the difficulty slide set at?
It’s set in the middle.
These Elite trainers look to be challenging to get accurate power readings. The following Zwift topic has links to calibrating them. To be honest I would upgrade to something decent like a direct drive trainer. You’ll have a much more enjoyable Zwifting experience plus your power numbers will be pretty accurate.
https://support.zwift.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/203886633-Elite-smart-trainers-calibration
Thanks Nigel I was looking to share that post.
Once you have the P values set, the Elite trainers is pretty good.
I have a 10+ year old one and still good. Looking at the Cycleops hammer but I have to save $$
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