There are climbs even a 12-36 isn’t going to make easy. IMO you are definitely a lesser rider if you are changing difficulty to make climbs easier. Just don’t do the race or the climb if it’s too hard. Might as well use an Ebike if we’re trying to make it easier
This is completely untrue. The Td does not make it harder or easier it just change how you use your gears.
Having a triple on the front or mtb gearing anyone can ride at 100%.
Yes there is a difference between low and high cadence power but nothing is stopping you from changing the bike gear ratios.
5 Likes
That’s exactly it though. You’d need a 30+ tooth cassette in the back or a triple front crank. Let’s all be honest here, we’ve all gone up a hill in real life and had to grind it out because we had an 11-23 on the back. And it sucked. Never did we consider changing the hill gradient… we changed our gears so we could spin up it. Everyone knows spinning up a hill is easier than grinding. If you’re changing it in game so it’s easier to spin up the hills and less gradient change, that is being a lesser rider. This is mostly geared towards people who race. Riders roaming around I could care less. Still weird though.
Plus one of the hardest things about cycling is changing your gears at the right time and utilizing your whole gear set. Unless you’re in a Crit. But why take that away? I’ve lost races because of changing gears at the wrong time and it’s a skill in itself.
It is not just about changing gears. Some of us don’t use our climbing bikes (or mtb) on Zwift. We are also not changing bikes for flat and hill climb races/rides. So moving the TD slider makes it possible to ride with any gear setup.
I am not changing my setup just to say “oooo look I can ride at 100% TD”
3 Likes
If you’re going to race at the highest level, you might find your trainer set to 50% anyway. Take it up with ZADA if you think they are doing it wrong.
1 Like
In that case you might as well just use rollers and a power metre. Why even have a smart trainer with resistance. I understand for just riding around, but for races it’s not fair. Just don’t do races with big climbs if you don’t have the set up.
It is completely fair. The ZADA eSports rules say minimum 50% TD.
And even on rollers you still have to produce the watts to get to the top.
I say it again with low gearing and TD at 100% it will go just as fast as my current gearing and 50% TD.
With a MTB I will do it at 200% . Then I can say " look I climb the alpe at 200%"
I assume most on 100% have a 36 chainring and 28 or 32 cassette.
2 Likes
It’s questionable what “fair” means here but it’s a game with a particular set of rules which I had no part in designing. I find it quite convenient not having to shift out of my big chainring but if the rules were different, I’d be ok with that too. Shrug. This idea that I’m not sufficiently manly if I don’t ride at 100% is…mildly amusing but a bit silly really.
There are indeed many riders with rollers (or dumb trainers) and power meters. Would you have them banned or…what exactly?
1 Like
The lower the “difficulty”, the less engaging it is, meaning it feels like it turns your smart trainer into something less smart. Also, the majority of people dislike elevation and most will avoid it by any means available.
The consensus here appears to be that you have to do the work regardless of the setting, and the higher setting feels more difficult due to the more dramatic resistance changes and the subsequent need to shift.
My firm assertion is that 100% difficulty feels more like real life and prepares you better for when the time comes.
2 Likes
You keep referring to riding around while I’m clearing talking about races. Spinning is always easier. There is a reason it’s minimum TD50%. Producing consistent watts is a lot easier when there is no change in difficulty or gradient. You are right, you’ll go the same speed no matter TD%. But holding that speed with real gradient changes (TD50% or greater) is a lot harder. Climbs are what separate riders in zwift races. You’re practically eliminating the point of a long hard climb, the point where you run out of gears and start to panic is the best part. Cadence is everything.
You can substitute racing for riding same appy.
On a 42-26 gear you will run out of gears at 50% like you run out of gears with a 36-32 at 100%.
For some people yes. But for some 60rpm is better.
Exactly. 300 watts at 90 cadence is a lot easier than 300 watts at 50 cadence. And even with a 11-30 cassette I run into trouble (low cadence) on some big climbs. But at TD30% I can spin up anything with a fixie.
For races you need atleast 50% TD.
I Would rather do 300w @60rpm than 90rpm.
If the rules change that we need 100% for racing then I will change my bike gearing and nothing will change , onlt cost.
For Jan Ullrich maybe haha. But hey! Don’t let me ruin the fun for anyone. It’s a personal opinion more than anything.
Austin, I have a smart but non reactive trainer.(I previously thought it was an dumb trainer that reported watts). I have no trainer difficulty or change in resistance.
I hurt on the hills, just like everyone else, because if I don’t want to get dropped, I have to shift to a higher gear stand up and get on it.
I can’t try it both ways but you can.
Try a race with your TD set at 0 and see what it is like.
The reason climbs separate riders is that the draft is much reduced at low speeds so the weaker rider can’t hold the stronger’s wheel. Trainer difficulty has nothing to do with that. Too low a difficulty could make it hard to produce the sudden burst of high power as Tim says.
I agree 100% difficulty feels more realistic, if I was primarily training for outdoor riding I might use that myself. I did try RGT over the summer where 100% seems to be the norm and it felt quite different. If you want a system where that is the rule, there’s one obvious solution for you.
1 Like
Loving all the replies. I really don’t care what people do. I just know I’m flipping gears a lot more at TD50% or more. And I know that people use this to train for outdoors. I tried it on TD20%. I still produced the same sprint wattage as TD50% and TD100%. The only difference is I was spinning easier and faster with 20%. I was able to start in my highest gear for the whole sprint.
TD does not have any impact on flat roads, so I assume you refer to uphill sprints.
I think it’s all personal choice and preference. I like to ride at 100% because it feels more realistic and thus engaging to me, but I have changed my gearing accordingly indeed. I do feel that I add struggle on crests where I need to shift first before I can apply power whereas a lower TD might help to keep the pressure on for longer.
One more argument that I’d like to put forward in your considerations though; 100% TD without appropriate gearing can be straining on the knees. I don’t think this is a condition that should be “forced” on community racers. In the end it’s all just a video game. This obviously does not apply to high profile races on the platform.