I have a powertap, but sometimes I don’t use it. When I try zwift, I don’t have it, but I have speed, cadence and heartrate… I try ride without PT, but it’s impossible
Zwift uses watts to propel the rider. You’re exactly right, no power, no ride.
I think if you have a trainer you can get a virtual power curve if they support it. I don’t know what all works in that method yet though.
i think with the heartrate and weight It can simulate the power of a rider
Heart rate is too variable and can not simulate the power of a rider. I can push 200+ watts at an average of 150bpm, and friends of mine can push 250+ watts at the same because they are cat 1/2 and 250 watts is easy for them.
Heart rate and power are not interchangeable but as someone already said, there should be a virtual power curve for your trainer.
PowerTap (Saris/CycleOps) has some great info on heart rate and power for their PowerCal HR strap. The PowerCal uses algorithms to predict power based on heart rate.
http://www.powertap.com/pages/powercal-faq
In-Depth review from DC RAINMAKER:
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/11/cycleops-powercal-in-depth-review.html
Similarly, TrainerRoad does “VirtualPower” by calculating power based on the “resistance curve” for your trainer model, and your speed.
http://www.trainerroad.com/virtual-power
Maybe this thread could be filed under feature request for “VirtualPower”.
We’re riding virtual power in the office at Zwift currently. Once we like how it works we’ll release it for a few initial trainers sometime in December.
Our virtual power is very different from everybody elses, so we’re going to roll it out to select non-smart trainer owners and see how it goes.