It also depends on the trainer being able to simulate a grade that steep by producing sufficient resistance. Many cannot. The experience at 100% Trainer Difficulty will vary based on the equipment being used.
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10 posts were split to a new topic: Gradient on NYC escalator feels misaligned
Maybe zwift needs a āgets off bike and walks it rather than falling overā graphic. (been there many times IRL myself.)
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Just get rid of them full stop.
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They could also do a function to help the lighter riders zoom down hills faster, which would also be different and fun, depending on the individual rider. 
The simpler solution would have been to have 8% gradients and no escalator function at all.
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It provides a massive benefit to lighter riders relative to heavier riders because it provides the same amount of raw W boost to all. ZwiftInsiderās tests showed that a 50 kg rider loses 3.6 kph at a constant power (starting at 46 kph) while going up them while a 100 kg rider loses 16.1 kph (starting at 46 kph again) while riding up them at a constant speed. Massive, massive benefit to lighter riders to the point that itās incredibly unfair.
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And just like in the other thread, youāve neglected to mention this very important note from Eric S:
So Zwift clearly already is working on an improvement.
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Are they though? The other thread was started 2+ weeks ago. With Zwift, Iām used to āSoonā meaning any time from a couple of months to never (remember when rowing was 2 weeks away for over a year before it got cancelled?).
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Itād be fun if the boost was directly linked to your current 5 minute power. Gives people an incentive to maximise that interval which would make ZRS seed and zMAP more accurate, and also help prevent zFTP overestimating their sustainable power.
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In the recent game update thread:
So do we get escalators for every steep hill going forward?
I donāt know - doesnāt seem right. Are courses now going to be designed to cater only for a particular type of rider? Doesnāt much make for Making Racing More Excitingā¢ unless you happen to be in the cohort that benefits.
How many 50kg riders are doing 46km/h on the flat sections leading up to them? How many 50kg riders doing that speed are actually a real 50kg?
Iām 9 to 10kg heavier than that and Iām not doing 46km/h unless I have launched into a full on sprint effort, which Iām not doing because Iām usually doing a time trial like effort.
I lose a fair bit of speed going up those escalators even though Iām fairly light.
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No. I imagine we donāt.
Hope this helps.
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Doing 46kph going into the escalator is roughly how you should hit it in a group, using London as an example. I was in a group of 3 in London yesterday for ZRL and I accelerated from the right turn to hit the escalator at ~43, came off the escalator at ~23kph, being 7.5 - 9 w/kg all the way up. Iām 82kg.
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That wasnāt what I asked though. I didnāt ask about 46km/h in a group.
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Iām 106 kg, but I was solo and hit the London stairs at about that on lap 2 and also held 8-ish the whole way up. The group in front of me didnāt. Thatās how I caught them. Itās also how I had been trying to hit the NYC escalators because I lose so much speed going up them. I usually ignore the power segment that comes shortly before them so that I have the ability to push h to the escalators and hit them at high speed and try to sprint up them.
If youāre not doing a race (or a group ride where you want to stay with the group), it doesnāt matter so much. If Iām just riding a long solo in a free ride for exercise and z2, Iām not concerned about people passing me, may or may not attempt the power segment and will hit the climb at 30 kph and spin up it dropping to very low by the top.
The fact that we have to hit these escalators 6 times next week with these messed up implementations as part of a team time trial is where it matters a lot.
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Everytime I hit one my Stages SB20 bike unpairs, I get spat from the group Iām in whilst I wait for reconnection and play catch up. Iām now having to avoid races on these circuits. Is there a fix?
I understand your frustration, but thereās no need to ask the same question in three different threads.
@Steve_Hammatt this main Chat so it fine here. Ban escalators.
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Was hoping to reach different peopleā¦ then saw the āsupportā tab. All seemed relevant. Sorry if it bothered you.