Power Meter vs zPower

General Discussion
1

I’m a newbie to Zwift and indoor cycling. I am currently riding a Horizon GR7 indoor cycle which I believe generates vitual watts from the speed sensor and delivers data to Zwift ie zpower. I would like to compete in races however I believe a “power meter” ie power pedal meter is required on the indoor cycle to “even the playing field” to record race results in Zwift Power. Is this correct?

Ron

2

Some races will allow Zpower.

3

And many races only prevent ZP riders from winning. I did a bunch of races early on with a dumb trainer and a speed sensor without any problems.

4

Interesting point…tks

5

thanks Gerrie

6

This is what 3R says in their race description:

“ Expect this RACE to be highly competitive across all CATs. In order to make the racing as fair as possible, racers on zPower, lacking heart rate monitors, riding an an inappropriate category, or riding very unrealistically may be disqualified. Race details and full rules may be found at 3r.team - Employee benefits Resources and Information.

I was never DQ’d but I also never won anything either. :joy:

7

Tks for the info Bob… it appears to be hit and miss each race… if you are near the pointy end then the officials may DQ you, if you are not at the pointy end then the officials do not have to make a decision… there should be clarity on whether zpower is allowed or not allowed in races… chrs Ron

8

Most races are community organized, and have different priorities. In general, though, zPower won’t get you on the ZwiftPower results of most races.
The race description on ZwiftPower should show whether zPower is allowed for each race.

9

You should probably be asking yourself if you want to race with inaccurate power and therefore not indicative of how you would realistically perform. If you do not care about actually knowing how good of a rider you are, then using Zpower is fine. However, there is also the question of whether or not you care about the integrity of the race itself by affecting other riders with your inaccurate performance.

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10

Thanks Craig

11

Fez, thank you, food for thought. Integrity of the race and even playing field with fellow cyclists has convinced me to attach a power meter for accuracy of performance… ie “never die wondering” whether my performance was real as well as improvement. Cheers

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