We’re testing a new feature for Pace Partners starting next week called Dynamic Pace, and ask for your feedback on this thread.
With Dynamic Pace, rather than holding a constant pace as elevation changes, the Pace Partner will adjust its effort to maintain a smoother ride with the goal of keeping the group together. On constantly rolling, mildly hilly terrain, this more closely resembles how many cyclists ride in real life.
Currently, C. Cadence rides at 2.5 Watts / kg no matter the terrain.
We’re going to increase the pace slightly on uphill grades to about 2.7 W/kg.
C Cadence will let the group know to increase the pace on climbs.
The test is only for C. Cadence on the three Watopia routes she uses: Tempus Fugit, Tick Tock, Sand and Sequoias.
Depending on your feedback, we may make further adjustments to her pace.
Future implementations of Dynamic Pace may be different depending on the route being used, and the Pace Partner leading the ride. We’re looking forward to your feedback on this test!
Hopefully it works out and can quickly get put into effect for other partners , because the A and B pace partners right now are very weak on the climbs and you are constantly having to check your pace to not drop them .
Great news! I was just riding with her and she kept getting dropped uphill. Would be nice if downhill she when somewhat under 2.5 w/kg and then returned to 2.5 on flat, as that seems like it would be a bit more natural.
This tweak to the Pace Partner make sense as they usually get dropped off the back on the rises. Shuji that is a good call.
On the flipside, can the Pace Partner reduce pace on descends as they come down like a ton of brick holding the same pace as cruising. This will easy put lighter riders in agony trying to keep up. Say Cadence pace can reduce to 2.2/2.3wkg on descents. This will help smoothen out the effort for us keeping up.
Since several of you have already asked: we have done some internal testing with easing the pace on the downhill. The net effect of dipping below 2.5 W/kg on descents can vary depending on the section of the road you’re on. A subtle pace reduction that feels just right on short rolling hills is probably too slow on a lengthier downhill where gravity gives you free speed with no pedaling effort.
In this phase of testing, we’re focusing on the climbing pace. Adjusting pace for the descent is already being planned, don’t worry!
Improvements should be adds. Yesterday doing 1,6w/kg I was leaving MY CADENCE behind. After so bored I went to B, brevet. I cannot hold his wheel. I’m doing zwift for more than year… I know the draft dynamics, and I also know zwift, ONCE MORE, did sh*t on latest update! I want my cadence back, the only bot that has zwift riders together as pack
I think that it is us, the paying customers, that should have our word to say about those changes.
I don’t want the free trials to give the feedback about new features and in the end choose for the paying customer…
With that being said i think this new feature is an awesome upgrade and the future one about modulating the w/kg on the descents as well will make for a better overall experience. I can’t wait to try it!
Pace partners were broken earlier this week, the same happend to me. I think it is now sorted as it worked for me last night ok. The issue Zwift say is independent of this change.
With regards to your point about testing live, well, if it has been tested but Zwift are letting the community use the change to test how it goes on mass that ok isnt it?
Whats not ok if things are put out that blatantly are way off …
I’ve only ever done C.Cadence rides and quite enjoyed them. From a personal perspective, it would be nice to have something a little quicker (but not as fast as B Brevet). When I first came across the concept, I tried to get as much background info as possible to understand how this works, but it left me a little confused (and still am).
According to the Zwift Insider article from Sept 2020, it states that C Cadence rides “between 163-202w (2.5-3.1 w/kg)” and weighs 65 kg, whereas B.Brevet rides “between 263-320w (3.29-3.9 w/kg)” and weighs 82 kg. Is this correct? If so, why do the bots have different weights? The big jump in raw wattage required from Cadence to Brevet (because of their weight differences) is too much for me as a very lightweight rider.
Also, and sorry if I’m being a bit dumb here. Am I missing something? Is the bot’s pace supposed to mimic the race categories? If so, then surely they should vary their pace between the boundary limits (C Cadence = 2.5 to 3.19 W/kg) and not ride at a constant pace?
