Part of the inconsistency of the different level RPs is the pace of the group on the flats. In the higher w/kg RPs, the RP tends to set the pace at the front and tow the group at the advertised pace, thus you can draft at a slightly lower pace than the RP. In the lower w/kg RPs, the RP tends to draft inside the group and get towed along at a higher pace thus is not in control of the pace. Therefore, it is difficult to determine what to expect joining a lower w/kg group since the group tends to determine the pace rather than the RP. Can anything be done to develop consistency between paces so you know what to expect when you join a RP?
Yes. Put the RP on a TT bike.
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So I’m not the only one 
Robopacers feels like v1 all over again. Def some high speed on the flats, which seems to be carried into the hill so the short ones get sprinted over… the longer hills, the RP dies on so you’re having to suffer the elastic snap when the RP clears the hill. I almost wonder if the RP is really using coffeeBreak cuz it seems to chase the lead
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That’s because there are few people who can easily just cruise along at 5.5w/kg+ and tow the entire Constance group along at that rate for 3 hours. 
so everyone tries to stay in the group without being dropped.
There are plenty of Coco group riders who can easily do much higher than Coco pace so they can ride at the front and push the pace a bit faster.
The old Amelia Anquetil bot was great, 4.2w/kg and light weight on mountainous routes so majority of the group stayed with the robopacer as well as they could.
Tip: avoid the huge robot groups and go for the smaller ones with 10 or less people, the pace and dynamics will feel better.
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[quote=“Alex Pond [mbrc], post:1, topic:611721, full:true, username:Alex_Pond”]
Part of the inconsistency of the different level RPs is the pace of the group on the flats. In the higher w/kg RPs, the RP tends to set the pace at the front and tow the group at the advertised pace, thus you can draft at a slightly lower pace than the RP. In the lower w/kg RPs, the RP tends to draft inside the group and get towed along at a higher pace thus is not in control of the pace. Therefore, it is difficult to determine what to expect joining a lower w/kg group since the group tends to determine the pace rather than the RP. Can anything be done to develop consistency between paces so you know what to expect when you join a RP?
[/quote]
Yes, something can be done. Roll back PD4.1. RP consistency was not a problem for the last 2 years.
What I’ve observed is exactly the behavior you’ve described. Last night ~9PM central, the Yumi pack latched onto a solo rider on a TT bike holding a constant 3.5 w/kg. This caused an echelon to form (V) with everyone fighting to get to the center of the road on the TTers wheel. The end result is that it required more than 2.9 w/kg to try to maintain position in the pack - especially when “pushed” into the gutter where there is no draft.
I’ve posted in the other thread about my frustrations with RPs under the new PD4.1, and I’m not the only one having problems. PD4.1 makes pack riding more difficult, both physically and mentally, and is less enjoyable. Apparently, PD4.1 changes were made so that breakaways in races can be more successful and pulls on the front can weed out riders in the pack. These same changes have negative consequences outside of racing - especially in group rides or RP packs. If PD4.1 is so important for racing, then make it a race only implementation. Future PD changes should consider global implications beyond racing.
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It most certainly was.
RP on a TT bike should be given another chance. It didn’t work with the old pack dynamics because they couldn’t keep up with the churning pack. With the current dynamics it should work much better.
Sorry, I should have said RP consistency was not a problem for me for the last 2 years - at least not enough of a problem to hop on the forum and nag. I do realize that others have voiced issues.
And to clarify, I mean I used to have a pretty good idea of what to expect when joining a PR. Now, the required effort can change by quite a few w/kg from ride to ride and especially within the same ride depending on who is on the front and whether or not the pack is passing people on the course.
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