I think it’s a safer assumption that the workout folks are more just collected, and end up at the same pace as the bot in the first place; so they aren’t intending to be there with the bot, that’s just where they ended up.
As technically there isn’t even a way to join a bot and then do a workout, or… prepare to do a workout and then join wherever the bot is in the first place. More just luck of the draw.
When we worked to drop one of them, he stopped and then started a new ride to rejoin
, username:Andrew_Nuse"]
As technically there isn’t even a way to join a bot and then do a workout, or
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Join the RP and in the countdown timer part you can set the workout mode. I assume that’s how people do that.
The other way is people use a Garmin Edge to set power on the trainer. I’ve heard of ride leaders in events using this method. But their power output isn’t natural using this way.
I don’t know why anyone would do that. I can see how some folks get ‘stuck’ for a bit in a pace partner if they are doing a workout with similar wattage when they meet up with a pace partner randomly, but those folks will probably eventually fall back or end up ahead of the robopacer after a hill as the pacer changes pace via dynamic pacing.
But why would anyone actually try to use a workout to stay with a pace partner at the same time? It would be easier to just use the pace partner and you’d be pushing the same power etc. and no need to fiddle with workout bias etc.
You can see they adjust the power to make sure they stay ahead or very near the front of the group. It works well on Tempus but not elsewhere when there are lots of gradient changes.
They tend to stay with the RP group a lot easier than people who are shifting gears themselves because they don’t experience any gradient changes. I can’t see any other reason why they’d do it.
One group of riders were constantly pulling the Genie group yesterday and dragging the Robopacer (and other people) along much faster than the group should have been going, these folk were in workout mode as well.
This time I noticed a number of people complaining and telling the folk at the front to stop it. More people are taking about the thing that supposedly doesn’t happen.
Yeah I got into a talk with someone two days ago complaining they were 10w above whatever they did last time, and they were swearing on their life that PD had changed in the past week.
Tried to explain to them the situation; and … it was a heavy ride with Coco, easily 3-400 people or more!
I was once again at my higher average; 172w (general reminder my power seems to vary as low as 158w into the 170w with Coco on flatter routes). So we were zipping along for sure.
Then of course at the end of the ride, I bumped into someone almost cheering on another RP, I don’t recall which, but it was one of the D pace bots, because they were getting faster and faster each lap on Tempus; stating they had a 15 second differential that time around.
Which is certainly not insignificant.
Still would love to hear any word from Zwift on this matter.
We shouldn’t be calling them pacers if we’re allowed to alter said pace this significantly.
If anyone having the issue can post their intervals.icu data it might be interesting to see what’s happening.
Today I ‘felt’ like I was averaging a lot more than Yumi, I felt like I was always pushing above 220W, but if I look at my intervals.icu data I averaged only 218W, which is not too far off from my normal Yumi experience. All the 30s power you see in the yellow is me pushing more power than I wanted to stay with Yumi as I work back up the pack to Yumi. I spent no time off the front in the wind at all.
I can understand how there would be a big difference in wattage from a small vs. large group (just because there’s more chance Yumi would be in the draft rather than off the front in a bigger group), or from a hilly vs. flat route, but it would be good to see the power profile from two flat routes rides with a large Yumi (or coco etc.) group showing a large delta in power to see if the changes were on smaller hills, etc.
Someone ride with mentioned the Jacques group was same effort as for Constance. He’s a strong rider too.
The other day we had Genie towing along Yumi bot. Yumi was even overtaking Genie.
It’s about a 20-30 watts average difference between the bots after looking through my logs for me to ride with each bot. From coco to constants. Except on Tempy, I can usually ride the C bots the same power and the B bots the same power, and then constants which, like I said about is not to much difference…
I like that the pace groups are always just enough of a lottery to keep it interesting (and occasionally very interesting, like when a B pack catches your Coco at the start of Tempus, or worse if you’re on the rivet with a B pack that catches Coco then 25 strong Coco riders start ripping your group in two!)
Workouts and solo rides on Tt bikes offer exact wattages.
