They only go with her on the flat, then smash 5.5-6.0w up the climb in a group of 5, then slow down again. It’s probably not too bad on that route, but on Tempus it drags the whole bunch along more quickly when everyone slightly accelerates to go with them.
If they get away then it’s not a problem.
On a (very) good day I can do just over 3w/kg for just 1 minute, so don’t even get close to those numbers you describe. With my 100KG and almost 47 years on the clock it is not so easy as you describe.
If people really want a constant pace ride, can’t they get that already by using ERG mode?
I would like to see some dynamic variation in the power put out by the pace partners, within a specified range and according to a specified power distribution (like a gaussian say). This could be done intelligently to mimic the way people ride - as in increasing the power slightly to go uphill and decreasing the power when going downhill.
I’d also like to see Pace Partners at different power levels. A 100 watt jump between the 165 watt power in level C and the 265 watt power in level B is too much.
Regards
Neale
I feel your pain, Gerri.
In other news, just rode with Diesel around Makuri and it was hard work.
Latched onto Cadence’s wheel and found it much easier.
Weird, huh?
The issue for me is, one of the most boring things to do is a long zone 1 or 2 ride on your own, I’ve done a few of the long Z2 endurance workouts, and even if you have good music or a podcast on it is just so boring. That’s why I now jump into cadence now and again, but on a hilly route like Sand and Sequoias it’s already difficult to not vary power a lot through the ride.
Now, if Cadence is on Sand and Sequoias I’ll probably do an ERG workout, but it’s just so boring and lonely, ha.
I rode with Coco around Makuri yesterday and was keeping a steady 2.5 and staying in the pack with Coco close by. Suddenly the pack and Coco surged and I increased my power to 3.0 to stay in the group and was dropped out the back never to regain contact. And it was on 0% grade at the time. Anyone else experience this? I’m on a Cyclops fluid 2 with speed and cadence sensors, but have never had issues with this before. I did notice when I started riding indoors again this season that I was able to stay with the C pack only averaging about 2.2 to 2.4 as long as I didn’t fall off the back. And even if I did could still catch up again. With the adjustments I definitely have to stay close to 2.5, which is fine. I have no problem having to increase to 2.7 or so for climbs, but the sudden acceleration was surprising. I’ll have to try again and see if this was an anomaly.
people are asking for a constant pace bot, not a constant pace ride (although if the bot rides a constant pace, it could also be used for that too, frankly, it suits everybody). the point is so that we can do intervals or warmup efforts off the back or off the front and use the bot as a baseline to return to. if the goal is to have a roughly steady average pace ride, well, plenty of fenced, community run events already exist for that
FYI, I believe only the Watopia CC bot has been modified. The Makuri should still be the same as it was.
Just did 20 minutes with C. Cadence in Watopia (Tempus F.) in the usual, huge crowd. I didn’t detect any differences compared to before Monday’s change, including on the mild bump in the middle. I held an average 2.08 W/kg @ 81kg sitting comfortably in the bunch in front of the PP.
(Tron, Win 10 PC, KICKR 2018, Sterzo Smart steering)
I’m pretty sure you meant B group. To break 4:00 minutes on Titans you need to hold nearly 5w/kg for the duration. There are not very many C’s that can put down that kind of power.
I’ve raced a few C and B races and have a pretty good idea how much effort that climb takes. My best times on that climb are when I’ve targeted the effort for Zpoints. Yeah, it’s not hard unless you’re trying to go fast.
I’m 85kg and 59 YO and use C Cadence to improve my ability to hold power for longer distances without rest. I use D to recover as I find it hard to recover riding other courses- get tempted to go harder than I should. I can’t keep up with B for very long and prefer structured workouts to improve through suffering 
I rode 65 miles on Monday, around 40 with C, and have to say it felt harder. I also don’t seem to get the same boost in the beginning though I noticed that a few weeks ago. The problem with less boost is that I used to get a warm-up without actually warming up. Now I find it hard to not get dropped right at the start- not sure what the change was there. I prefer the old C but will see if I can adapt. I’m a bit concerned with the S and S route as I liked getting ahead on the climb and then resting on the descent. If you want it to be more natural you should taper C down on descents- who hammers descents? I’ll try to keep an open mind and adapt. One thing for sure- riding with the pace partners has been very good for me. Thanks for trying to get better- sometimes changes are good and sometimes they aren’t. We’ll see…
There are often plenty of B, A, A+ riders and even real life pros riding with the C pace partner. Many will roll away through Titans Grove and then soft pedal to get reabsorbed somewhere along the line. Like there’s also usually a group that will roll away from the C pace partner on Tempus Fugit to make that 9min-10min segment a 4-5w/kg effort and then get reabsorbed later. But there’s always more than enough people who stick around Cara’s pace to make a group.
Perhaps I’m in the minority because I have always disliked the pace partners feature. I feel it takes away from what I consider to be the DNA of Zwift- that every cyclist you see is a real person. And I’ve never found anything meaningful about riding with a Pace Partner- their comments are inane and their pacing is anything but realistic. I’d rather ride with a real person anytime and have been amazed by how much better a skilled cyclist can hold a pace compared to a computer.
I wish Zwift would provide greater tools to real ride leaders and focus on the real value of Zwift- its community.
Can anyone tell me what the current (avg) speed is for Cadence on the flat course?
The fact that Zwift is/has a community means precisely that different users are going to want/need different things from it. I love the Pace Partners feature, as do others judging by how many Zwifters choose to ride with them, and have an opinion on what should (or shouldn’t) be done to improve them.
If you don’t like them, that is absolutely your prerogative, and surely isn’t a problem as you can just choose not to use them … and keep campaigning for greater tools for “real” ride leaders. However, you don’t get to decide that what you enjoy about from Zwift is more important than what others do.
That’s kind of how communities work.
If it’s a closed community, at what point does it stop being a community.
I think you are missing my point. I wasn’t suggesting that what I want is more important then what anyone else wants. What I was sharing is a point of view that given limited development resources, I’d rather see Zwift invest in tools that help real people build community and in fixing long standing bugs in the core game.
The post below is a Zwifter to Zwifter conversation, not a Zwift HQ to Zwifter conversation, so please don’t consider this an official indication of anything.
I find this a really interesting perspective. If I may, I’d like to ask you a couple questions on that out of curiosity, and not because I’m collecting feedback for Zwift:
My personal two cents is that Pace Partners have a great foothold in the overall world of Zwift, and the best part about them is that you can drop in on them, drop out, and chat and ride with Zwifters at any time without having to peruse the calendar (which can be daunting depending on what you’re trying to find). To me, the fact that the Pace Partner is a bot is of little consequence as it serves only as a mechanism to help Zwifters gather in a communal spot.
Hello Flint, thanks for asking my thoughts on Pace Partners. I believe Pace Partners are a distraction from what I see as the core Zwift brand- a community of real cyclists. The magic if you will of Zwift for me was that every avatar you saw was a real person- until Pace Partners were introduced. I just don’t see the feature doing anything to amplify the Zwift brand.
I think the fact that the Pace Partner as the single ride leader does not represent a real person- and certainty doesn’t ride like one- is a key reason for my dissatisfaction with the feature. I sign into Zwift to ride with real people from around the world- not a computer. Even if I’m not engaging with the other riders by chatting with them or giving them a ride on, knowing there are real people on the other side of that screen makes me feel connected to a larger cycling community. There is just something special about that for me.
I find little to no value in the group that forms around the Pace Partner. There is typically no conversation that is sparked- no discussion of any kind- and no sense of community. There is a distinct difference in the experience of a group ride with a Pace Partner compared to a human group ride leader that sparks conversation with trivia questions, interesting facts about the course or other topics. A human ride leader also responds to the questions and comments of riders- something a Pace Partner would never be able to do.
I don’t think the value I get (or don’t get) from a Pace Partner has a lot to do with the level of realism. I just don’t find it very engaging to ride with a computer- it just feels artificial and lacking. Humans are unpredictable and spontaneous - a Pace Partner won’t ever match that.
A community member riding as a Pace Partner would be an interesting feature. Just not quite sure how that would differ from a group ride other than availability. I get what you’re saying about the ease of dropping in for a while a dropping out without perusing a calendar. Although I’d likely argue that just highlights opportunities for improving the usability of the calendar feature and introducing recommended group rides based on past rides someone has participated in or some other metric.
I feel the Pace Partner as a bot dilutes the Zwift brand. I’ve tried most all of Zwift competitors at various times and keep coming back because of the community of riders. There is something compelling about knowing everyone you see is another person. I think Pace Partners might make more sense as part of a workout mode rather then the core game experience. I also feel there could be some value if the Pace Partner was based on my best time for a course or some other goal of mine.
Thanks for asking.