These are the races I’ve participated in these last 5 days: a “C” race that I won comfortably, and two “B” races that I’ve also won.
In this last “B” race, I rode with the group (at about 400-470W) up until the last 1.5km. That’s when I pedal as hard as I can and reach 1053W in the top left number. That’s when I get the “Miss my call as a pro” message.
If that’s the case, how do I fix this setup? I have a Rocky Mountain Vertex mountain bike, a Mag+ trainer, and a Wahoo device.
Is 1000W what pros dream of? I’m not a pro, but I ride often and I’m in decent shape.
Yes, you have to adjust your settings. I doubt that it will be possible for someone to hang with the B riders on a Mountain bike.
Did you select the correct trainer in the Zwift setup, and more importantly did you set the trainer on the correct resistance number as specified by Zwift.
You rode at 400 - 470 watts until the last 1.5 km. Unless this was a 10km TT and you’re world class then those numbers are total BS. If you want to race on Zwift and have your results count you need either a decent smart trainer and or a power meter. You’ll likely find that once zwiftpower.com is back up and running that if you do a race with similar power you’ll be disqualified and or excluded from the results because you’re using zpower (estimated power). Many races don’t allow zpower or they don’t allow zpower users to podium or race certain categories.
I’d suspect there’s something going on with your ZPower setup. I noticed you’re using a Wahoo BlueSC and you have a CycleOps JetFluid selected. If you don’t have a JetFluid trainer specifically, Zwift may be calculating your power output based on the wrong power curve.
If you are selecting the proper classic trainer type, you may want to check the mounting on your Wahoo BlueSC. If there’s no chance it may be double-registering your speed, please use Wahoo’s official support app to check for firmware updates and complete an official calibration, then unpair your BlueSC and pair it again through Zwift. Try to resist completing a new calibration just after pairing through Zwift, and please let us know if you continue experiencing higher than expected power output.
Obviously the OP was unaware he was putting out wattages a pro would be proud of on a mountain bike, though there are many zpower users who know exactly what they’re doing when banging out 6w/kg all the way up Alp D Huez. Cheating,
In my view, if you’re good enough to be putting out pro wattages you’d probably have a power meter or decent smart trainer and not be riding on zpower without a heart rate monitor.
Zpower cheats feel free to give my post a minus lol.
As others have pointed out - your numbers are almost certainly wrong.
Why?
Probably a combination of factors.
For starters, you say you’re using a Mag+ (magnetic resistance) trainer, but David K says that your current trainer setting in Zwift is ‘JetFluid’ (a fluid resistance trainer).
Magnetic trainers have a much more linear resistance / power curve than fluid trainers. What’s that mean?
Here’s the power curve for a Jet Fluid Pro:
I looked at your last race (WBR 1 Lap Volcano Climb Race). At 14.3 miles in 33 minutes, your average speed is 26 mph (just shy of 42 km/H). Looking at the curve you’re using (above) at that speed, your average (virtual) power in Zwift would be ~ 425W. This is in line with what you’ve reported above.
But…
(stay with me. this is important!)
Here is the curve for a CycleOps Mag trainer on the highest resistance setting:
Notice that at the same wheel speed (42 km/H) the *actual* resistance you experience on your mag trainer is ~ 250W.
In short, you’re only doing 55.5% of the work that Zwift *thinks* you are doing because you have selected the wrong trainer type.
Put another way, you’re getting an artificial boost in power, and your in-game speed is unrealistically fast as a result. [edit to correct this] The advantage this affords you relative to your actual power output of 250W represents an 80% gain! [(450W - 250W) / 250W] * 100% = 80%
1000W+? It’s not remotely possible on your trainer. Look at the curve. At 60 km/H, you’re only at ~460W. Even if we assume the curve remains linear all the way out to 1000W, you’d be spinning at a ludicrous wheel speed of 130 km/H (81 mph). Suffice to say that your cadence would be *impossibly fast* even in your highest gear.
Another thing to consider is wheel & tire size. Is it set correctly in Zwift for your bike? The vertex comes in 29" and 26" versions. If you’re using a 26" wheel/tire and it’s set to the default 700c x 23, this will *also* inflate your speed (and, in turn, power).
Hope this helps, even if it bursts your pro-level bubble.
It will either be 26 x 1.5 or 26 by 2.0 depending one the width of the tire you are using.
At best though, this is only going to give you an *estimate* of your actual power output.
If you’re serious about racing (in Zwift) and want to compete on a level playing field, you’ll either want a smart trainer or a power meter. Neither are inexpensive.
Single-sided pedal or crank arm meters are in the $500 - $600 range, double-sided systems add another $400 or so to that.
Same for wheel-on smart trainers. If you shop around and wait for a sale, you might get a Cycleops Magnus for $400. Typically, MSRP is (again) in the $500-$600 range.
A few hundred more (and up) for direct-drive smart trainers.
No. What I said was that the best you can hope for (once your current setup is configured correctly in Zwift) is a reasonable estimate of your power output. You CAN race with it as-is, and you can certainly use the setup for training. For training, as long as you get *consistent* readings from day to day - absolute accuracy doesn’t matter as much.
But - if you want to know your power output with a greater degree of accuracy? Then? Yes, you have to invest in a power meter OR a trainer that transmits power readings directly to Zwift.
