Hello,
I have a Power2Max Powermeter with Torque upgrade which I connect with Zwift to control my Smart Trainer. Are the torque values in the zwift.fit file the values from the Powermeter or does zwift calculate torque from power and cadence and overwrite the original values from the powermeter like Garmin does?
Regards
Hi @Manuel_man , welcome to Forums! I’m Francisco from Zwift Support.
I appreciate your concerns regarding the use of external setups, as they can indeed raise questions. Thank you for highlighting this.
A power meter is a device that quantifies the force applied to the pedals, cranks, crank spiders, or various components of your bicycle’s drivetrain.
I’d recommend checking the articles below:
Hello @Manuel_man
Shuji at Zwift HQ. I’m not familiar with the Power2Max meters specifically, but in general terms - Zwift captures power data broadcasted by the meter / trainer, not torque.
When you use a pedal or crank-based power meter outdoors - advanced head units (generally) have the ability to intake torque data and convert them into power. This ability is needed because crank length is a variable that should be factored in for the most accurate data conversion. Check your Garmin support documents for crank length compensation.
If you go to all this trouble on the Garmin to get accurate data from your power meter, why change this partnership to ride indoors? Would it not make more sense to keep your power meter paired to your Garmin head unit so you measure yourself using the same setup whether you’re riding indoors or out?
This is leading to the question of if you race, and are interested in dual-power recording?
Zwift’s recommendation is to pair the power signal from your smart trainer, not from your crank/ pedal power meter. At the same time, you can dual-record your power meter <> Garmin head unit if you race and also use ZwiftPower. Here’s how.
Know that there will be a small difference when you compare the two charts. Crank / pedal power meters will read a little higher than trainer / rear wheel power meters because a small percentage of power is lost to chain inefficiencies.
you could record the torque from your PM with a head unit while riding on zwift and compare the head units and zwifts torque values afterwards