Pace Partners are brilliant . The trouble is that you would be very lucky to find any but Angela in a partnership situation. The dynamics of the mass pelotons that form around the other bots completely negate any chance you can form either a partnership or maintain a pace. Firstly because the pace getting disrupted by the surging and riders going off the front and backing off , and the simple fact you cant just hold (or set ) the wheel of the bot directly.
I don’t wish to just trash them though , it know they can be a lot of fun and enjoyed by many just as they are .When you do manage to get Angela on your own its awesome training time . I would love to be able to have my own partner and be able to define what pace I would want it to set . That would be killer feature .
I might be an idea to look at how Pace Partner groups work to somehow stop allowing drafting amongst riders in it … Only the bot itself can offer draft . No idea if that is feasible or how it could work but it might make them less just a raging blob of riders with a pace partner somewhere nearby as now. It would encourage perhaps proper pacing the idea of this feature.
Actually, you SHOULD give the Pace Partner experience a try whilst using a Time-Trial bike. Given that certain of the so-called “game physics” are somewhat suspended when on a TT bike, the experience and ride-feel of being in a PP peloton is completely different - and much more difficult. For example, I use the TT method to span power zones when joining a PP. If I simply want an easy active recovery ride, but not quite as low as 1.0W/kg, I’ll join Dan with a TT bike. If I want to spin up prior to a race, I’ll join CC, on a regular bike. If I want a threshold workout on the flats, I’ll switch to a TT bike. And if I want to push the envelope with power in more rolling terrain, I’ll switch to BB on a regular bike. My fitness does not yet afford me the capability of going to 3.8W/kg consistently with Bowie using a TT bike, but I think you probably get the idea. Other power gradation can be achieved manually by using a gravel bike, for example. I support the idea of a Personal 'bot, too, but these are the tools we have so far…
As to your idea of turning off the draft, I’ve previously suggested elsewhere, a slightly different variation on your idea. One of the biggest problems that people have staying with the PP, is their tendency to change relative positions (randomly) within the PP peloton itself. Sometimes they zoom up to the front, and sometimes they drift down to the back. I’ve suggested turning off the game physics on the PP (rather than the riders around her), in order to actually keep her more relatively stable. Yes, the PP would still go slower on ascents, and faster on descents etc., but would not be affected by the random behaviors and sticky draft of riders around her etc. This would be an interesting experiment for me!
What would you think of having some fixed draft benefit for the pace partner (the equivalent effect of riding drafting directly behind a single Zwift, for instance) along with no draft lock effect on the pace partner? So the draft effect on the pace partner would be absolutely steady, as if they were always drafting right behind one other Zwifter, regardless of the PP’s position in the blob around them.
I would hesitate to turn off game physics entirely, so that the PP’s speed was always the same as their riding solo in the wind, leaving the riders behind doing less than advertised w/kg since they’re getting a draft benefit.That would add some additional confusion.
I don’t mind putting out the same power as the PP, especially if I were able to dial in a specific W/kg for a given route (or even route segment). Heck, I would like to be able to dial-in a specific work-out structure for a given route with a PP, instead of having to key on the HUD or ZCA. My suggestion does NOT entail “turning off” the effects of gravity, just moderating the response of the PP to external factors arising from other riders. Have you ever been in a group ride where the Sweep rides up to the front? It’s annoying to have the PP swinging wildly, and unpredictably through the peloton, say, for example, when a faster-paced group rides through the PP group. It’s bizarre. Yes, one develops skills to accommodate for these nuisances, but to the extent they are skills not required IRL, well, I find them less-than-useful. Clearly, the PP are quite popular, and so ANY changes are going to cause upset among some. But there are some factors which are fairly well settled consensus changes being sought by the broader community. Take the time to submit feedback along these lines after every PP ride, and keep up the pressure!
Cheers, @Wes_Free
