I’ve only recently started using zwift workouts and kind of like it. I’ve selected the 4wk Prudential Ride London (PRL) Prep training and am enjoying the workouts thought out for me. I have however one question: Sometimes a ‘just ride’ day is planned. Here the description suggests that it should me a easy ride (zone1 & 2). eg: Use today as a recovery ride, maintaining power within Zone 1 & 2, with cadence 90-100 RPM.
However when I start this ride it seems to still use the ERG mode. When I start pedaling with a 90-95 RPM the trainer keeps me around 300 watt (FTP is ~280). This is not very easy and I will not be able to keep those zones. When pedaling slower (80 RPM or so) it drops to about 230 watt but still not that easy. So I am wondering; is this normal? I would like to keep myself to the training but I can’t see how to do this the ‘correct’ way (zone 1/2 with RPM >90<100).
Anyone else noticed this effect in this or other training exercises on Zwift?
I’m almost embarrassed to say but that did indeed change it. Just hopped on the bike for a small test and indeed when shifting back the power did drop. I was just so used on ERG mode not making a real difference in gears.
I was under the assumption that in ERG mode gears didn’t really matter (except for inertia). I thought ERG was always a fixed amount of power being controlled by the trainer. And it does really show using ERG mode for these rides… so how does this translate? It is’t really using ERG mode in Just Ride workouts? It seems to use some average power setting in which you can make it as hard as you can by shifting (using an average cassette)? I just assumed that it would ‘adjust’ and that shifting wouldn’t matter?
I am using a Tacx Flux2 smart trainer with my old racing bike (105 11-32 cassette) and a separate Cadence Sensor from wahoo.
Normally when using training program’s (with ERG) it doesn’t really matter if I shift into a higher or lower gear; the trainer will put me on a specified number of watts; effectively undoing any lighter feel a lower gear would offer. But now with these free rides I am surprised that this does change. So in other words … is this still ERG mode or am I not understanding ERG correctly (fixes power output wright?)
I think each trainer has a ‘floor’ for wattage – lowest wattage possible given the mechanical workings of the trainer itself. That floor is lower in the bike’s lowest gear than it would be in its highest gear.
If it was a free ride workout then ERG should be off and you will have to manually adjust the resistance using the incline button on the companion app or the onscreen buttons. (Or ± button on KB)
This would explain the power difference when you change gears.
Hi @Gerrie_Delport_ODZ , Thanks for your reply. I checked how the settings for this specific training are and it really shows ERG in both the training selection screen (the ERG checkbox is ticked) and afterwards when the training is started in the Companion app. I can also switch to ‘incline’ mode but when starting ERG mode is selected in this ‘just ride’ training. How did you see in my screenshot that ERG is not selected?
So my conclusion is that it is somehow ERG mode but not fixed on a specific wattage because shifting does work. I’ve also checked that when going to the hard gears that the wattage will go as far as 500 and higher watts. (so it is really not normal ERG mode). Does this make sense? ERG with variable power requirement?
So I think that when using this specific training I can either shift down OR switch to incline mode (and click down). I am however still curious at how this training was intended; why is ERG selected when Incline seems better suited to build a training in which the user can select the resistance (and as a result the zones).
To be clear; I don’t really have any problem anymore (will just shift) but i am still curious at how this works.
