It would be nice if it were possible to set a minimum uphill grade (for example 2%) so that there is always a minimum resistance on smart trainers and one would still be able to feel the terrain changes.
I really like the simulation-like feeling when going up Alpe de Zwift for example but for flat or rolling terrain I am not willing to cope with the insane resistance changes by shifting all the time. As my FTP is above 300w I have to use the big ring most of the time and that lead’s to trainer noise and stress, lot’s of shifting, all gears need to be properly adjusted, … - all that is not necessary indoors.
For example I don’t see a reason why I would like to go below 200w with 90rpms on my second gear indoors as indoors training is great for holding the power on a reasonable level and in races there is no time to go into recovery zone anyways (except downhill in aero duck).
My old non-smart trainer had the perfect resistance curve for indoor training - I could spin easily in the lowest gear but never needed to switch to the large ring except for sprint training - and I am looking for a similar experience for my new smart trainer. It would greatly enhance my Zwift experience, if it would be possible to set such a minimum resistance. Currently I don’t even use the ‘smart’ part of my trainer in Zwift because of this but set the resistance manually.
Yes, trainer difficulty only sets how hard the resistance is uphill for my trainer but does not increase resistance on the flat (at least I couldn’t feel a difference).
Furthermore it makes sense to be able to set both parameters independent from each other to optimize the ride feeling imo.
But I do agree a setting for Flat road resistance will be very helpful. I also asked for this some time ago. My solution was to put a 56 chainring on my bike. LOL
Maybe i don’t really comprehend the situation but with 300W ftp you may have a wrong gearing on your bike then? Compact chainrings/12-28 cassette? Go bigger then.
The problem is not the gearing.
If I pedal up the Alpe with like 250W steady, I’m in the 34T front and everything is fine. The Trainer has a low flywheel speed and is quiet.
If I want to do 250W steady on the Fuego Flats, I have to be in the 50T on the front and like 12 or even 11 in the back. The flywheel speed of the trainer is very high, the whole trainer is vibrating, the noise is high, louder than my fans, I even have to crank the music up.
Thank God I don’t have neighbours.
With my old dumb trainer, Tacx Blue Motion, I was always in the small ring, except for sprinting.
@Gerrie_Delport@Bench I fully aggree with you both.
Main issue is the trainer noise and stress going 53x11/12/… - there is simply no reason for that indoors. Also too much shifting is annoying when working out indoors and I don’t want to use the whole cassette range all the time (also because my rear derailleur is a little bit bent and not all gears run perfectly smooth). Best ride feeling is when the chain is relatively straight.
@Svenne_Vangoethemd My indoor gearing is 53/39 with a 25-11(or12?) cassette. I use Zwift for racing, group rides and unstructured rolling around (no structured workouts). Not every indoor trainer is the same, they have different response times and probably also different resistance curves, I guess.
In my opinion this feature is as important as the upslope difficulty setting (you don’t want to go up Alpe the Zwift with 39-25 and 100% trainer difficulty if you can avoid it) - it is it’s natural counter part.
It is essential for me for using the trainer in automatic resistance mode on flatter or rolling courses. Manual resistance mode is fine for me but it would really be great if I could use all the Zwift advantages for a perfect indoors ride feeling. I can understand that different people have different preferences. This feature request is mainly for optimizing the ride feeling to the personal needs of a single rider IF she/he wants it.
