On Monday September 21 at 16:00 UTC, we’re updating the RoboPacer lineup to make it easier to find a pace that works for you and enjoy a more consistent RoboPacer experience.
The current lineup of 20 RoboPacers split between Watopia and a guest world will be replaced by 14 distinct RoboPacers riding exclusively in Watopia. The updated lineup removes duplicate pace options and introduces additional RoboPacers at the paces Zwifters most commonly ride.
Please join us in welcoming four new RoboPacers to the team: Cruz, Mochi, Dani, and Betty!
Updated Lineup
RoboPacer
Pace (W/KG)
Changes
Sofia
0.8
None
Taylor
1.0
Adjusted from 1.1 to 1.0 W/KG
Cruz
1.2
New!
Mochi
1.4
New!
Bernie
1.6
Adjusted from 1.5 to 1.6 W/KG
Miguel
1.8
None
Dani
2.0
New!
Maria
2.2
None
Betty
2.4
New!
Coco
2.6
None
Yumi
2.9
None
Jacques
3.2
None
Genie
3.7
None
Constance
4.2
None
What to Expect
All 14 RoboPacers will ride in Watopia
4 new RoboPacers: Cruz, Mochi, Bani, Betty
Updated paces for Taylor and Bernie
Routes will prioritize flatter terrain
Routes will rotate twice each week at 07:00 UTC
Monday through Thursday
Friday through Sunday
The updated lineup should make it easier to find your pace, find a good group, and settle into a smooth ride.
We’d love to hear what you think, drop your feedback below!
Nice additions. Will it ever be cosidered that teleporting between groups won’t reset the multiplier? So a warm up can be done in one group and riders can move up or down groups depending on how they are feeling.
Or Amelia Anquetil on the mountain courses. That was a good group.
Bowie flying down the descents in Titans Grove was always difficult. “B” grade riders would do the KOM sub 4 minutes then see if they could recover and remain ahead of the bunch before getting back to the desert. Always a good effort. Three laps of that - ouch!
The bunch would always thunder downhill, and no easy coasting back then.
The 65kg Anquetil was great at 4.2w/kg steady pace for 70-80km.
Might be a net negative change for me depending on route choices. I usually ride with Yumi or coco, and there usually is a hilly and flat option for both and I am trying to not have too many power swings - so I pick the flat option. Now from what I can see there is only one option for each of those, and if that option is hilly then the dynamic pacing will result in too much power fluctuation for them to be useful as a consistent ride experience.
yeah, I’m with you, I like the more steady power flat routes when in a pacer group. I’m just there looking for a recovery ride, not looking to push on hills etc… so this might be a net negative for me as well
My guess is one of two things will happen. Either they will run all of these pacers on flatter routes (which is not good for someone who wants to climb) or they will see a net decrease in riders using robo pacers (mostly from folks who have a much different weight than the pacers and don’t want to have big swings in power).
Prior to this change you could pick the hilly or flat option so this is a bit of a change.
The key to getting a steady ride with a RoboPacer seems to be going down a level from your usual RP and riding a gravel bike. Hills are good. Big groups not so much!
Because the rolling resistance is a big factor, you have to work (relatively) harder at higher speeds, and less hard at lower speeds. So the uphill surge of the RP goes away and you keep pace at your normal flat pace (for the RP you usually ride with) and on the downhills you have to work harder than usual and be alert to not get dropped as the speed rises.
I only got caught out once (answering WhatsApp messages)
For someone at say… 72kg, I expect the experience is relatively consistent - actually possibly close to the sweet spot where you work less than the pacer on climbs but not too far off on flats, and no problems keeping up on the descents. What I’m saying is for folks who weigh much more than the pacers the fluctuations on hills are not only compounded by the switchover to w/kg on climbs, but also the dynamic difficulty, so if you go set your weight to say 90kgs or something and run with a hilly pacer you will find a pretty big difference on climbs vs. flats.
Edit: And the reason this is relevant to the conversation is.. There is no change to the power for pacers coco and above, but before there was a flat and hilly version. So, if there is no flat version and they choose a hilly route for any of these pacers, then that is actually less choice for someone who is well off the robopacer weight but still wants the average watts from one of those pacers.
On hilly routes the bot w/kg fluctuates on the hills. Is there a risk of moving outside the bot compliance zone and resetting the drops multipler using watt lock?
New!
