The big observation is- IRL are your cycling performances similar to your e racing results?
When I first started with z power, I thought the numbers must be close.
I was mid pack B.
I believed it because I have a bike that I ride and was used to swim and I generally look like I’m in good shape.
Right?
I then did a virtual race and some real life friends (26 years my junior) were in the race
I was comfortably hold on when one of them mentioned his heart was bursting at 175 but I was still 135.
I faked a mechanical and got a new trainer.
I would have been embarrassed to finish with those guys because they are clearly 1-2 classes above me.
I’ve emailed Horizon fitness to find out how they calibrate their bikes and how they are calibrated for ERG on ZWIFT… I aint diggin in just a bit disappointed to be called cheater when I cant afford to test it using wahoo pedals or spend 2 grand on a smartbike or neo
It’s really not your fault. Zwift allows spin bikes and places no restrictions on how they are used. If Zwift can’t give you realistic power numbers when using one it’s not your fault. It’s up to Zwift to deal with this problem.
That wasn’t the pretence of your initial post - your post was to tell people how good you believed you were and that they should simply over take you…
You didn’t come on here being inquisitive or to broaden knowledge… It was to suggest you were legit and people were out of order for (rightfully) questioning you performance.
He is probably a decent cyclist, but shouldn’t race against other user’s until he gets his bike calibrated. I see another victory on ZP (after this forum started). Also, weigh-in before each ride.
Anyone doing 5.0 for 20’, 6.0 for 5’, 9 for 1’, 15 for 15" should be suspended from entering any event pending verification. That could be dual recording, outside performances, in some cases a critical power test and video weigh-in may be needed. This would eliminate 95% of cheats and misconfigured equipment, restore faith in Zwift racing and make racing fair again.
It would be quite easy for Zwift to implement as most people won’t undertake the verification process because they know they will fail.
There are several approaches that “could” be undertaken but will anything happen.
I’m all for an AI protocol that monitors,flags and removes from the event any rider with unrealistic performance until verified.
Another approach is to move racing behind closed doors.
You can only enter an event if you have certain equipment or can demonstrate that your set up is accurate.
The AI program should also be able to detect unrealistic weight changes.
I’d be surprised if you hear back from them. And if you do, I’d be surprised if it was anything more than some generic “we calibrate to the highest standards” language. You’re not the first person to think some company slapping ‘Zwift-compatible’ on a product means it’s up to par with the expensive smart trainers.
It’s extra complicated because a lot of people will look at cost to see whether something is going to be comparable quality. Horizon Fitness has a couple of exercise bikes in the $500-$600 range (on sale), which is more expensive than the Jet Black Volt, an actual smart trainer. If people don’t stop to think about the bike that you also have to buy to pair with the smart trainer, it’s easy for someone coming in new to think the Horizon should be better.
And the companies making the exercise bikes know that. Shopping for a legit smart trainer involves looking for the signs that they are legit–mention of error percentage, for example. But where do you learn to look for that? There are companies like Decathlon who are offering trainers that do not measure power, but all of the marketing suggests that they do. Until you see one or two places where they list things like ‘simulated power’.
Those companies are actively trying to deceive buyers into thinking their products are as good for Zwift as actual smart trainers. It’s hard sometimes to not be deceived by people actively trying to deceive you.
The accuracy of your equipment is way off, but unlike many other apps, Zwift don’t care.
IOW…according to zwift, you are not cheating.
And that’s a reason why competing in zwift can’t be taken seriously
Zwift should have a list of supported trainers/bikes and put the rest in Zpower……Where OPs bike belongs, together with wheel-ons, Elite Misuro, and a huge selection of fitness bikes that also estimate power, not have an actual power reading
It would be funny if Zwift would put up a prompt when you get over 400+FTP with a picture of a known world tour pro who has about a similar FTP, and say something like …
“Wow, this FTP is in the top ‘x%’ of cyclists, if accurate you could possibly qualify for a professional cycling team at your weight. If you have not trained hard for years to get here, or don’t think you can keep up with <GT pro name/picture here> who has this same FTP you might need to check the accuracy of your power source”.
What’s that in W/KG? Unless you’re pushing 300 pounds I’m suspect of those numbers as well. Unfortunately many don’t know what they don’t know and those people have a hard time understanding the difference between 100 watts and 400 watts.