Why is the resistance set at 50% by default?
I find that I get a better training and road feel when setting it to max vs default 50%. Just wondering why that option is even there.
A better description for it is % of gradiant simulation. True you have the potential to get better training at 100%, but reality it is you still have to supply the watts and do the work.
Its there for various situations, one being is so you can keep a decent wattage on a group ride, or if you just want to maintain form.
Because driving up an escalator out of the blues is like hitting a brick wall.
In all fairness, I prefer the 100% setting as well. On Watopia and Richmond it feels natural. On the London map it’s alright for the most part. With exception being the escalator. The sudden, steep gradient for a very small segment feels very annoying on the trainer. A trainer doesn’t really allow that well for standing on the pedals on such segments as real life would. Hopefully that’ll be taken into account on future map releases.
As for why the setting is there, I can imagine the lower end of the trainer market may suffer from tire slippage if set to 100%.
I just did a few escalators and they are brutal when the resistance kicks in but completely possible on my trainer with the setting to the max. I think the elite rampa tops at 10% so maybe it gets worse with better trainers.
There’s a slight lag too so when I am visually on top of the escalator I still have 1-2 seconds of hard resistance until the trainer catches up.
I understand why the setting is there now. I will probably use it eventually when I want to do just a long slow recovery ride. Thanks.
As for why it’s the default - I think it’s to cater for the maximum amount of smart trainers, those at entry level can only simulate 6-7% or so, even some of the expensive ones can only do 10% so the 50% level means they have meaningful changes without maxing out.
There are good reasons for using the lighter resistance. I do it so I can use a modest amount of press on force between the wheel and roller on my CompuTrainer. This results in less wear on the tire. At 100% gradient simulation I need to tighten it down a lot more and it eats through the tire faster.