I have been using Zwift for over a year and despite tapping along at 90rpm, FTP ~170W and 1.7 W/kg I find myself unable to participate in any events because I am always at the back.
I have looked at countless YouTubes and even asked questions whilst riding. Nothing seems to help.
What I would dearly love is for an experienced Zwifter to guide me through how this all works. I do want to use Zwift properly, not mention I am paying a monthly subscription for this frustration. Any helpers gratefully received!
Somewhat delayed response as I have not been in the Forum for while. If you are still out there. I am riding a gorgeous 2014 carbon Cannondale Synapse 2014 on on Wahoo Kickr. At 80-90 rpm / 160-170W which is say my steady state for a long ride itās on the big ring (pedals) and probably 3rd smallest rear cog?
The new Zwift interface seems to make it easier to find events I can participate in although I am sad that Cat E is denoted as āEveryoneā as it still means itās really hard to find riders in the 1.5 W/Kg zone. I do a spin down calibration after 10mins warm up before every ride.
the E cat events are usually pretty hard because āeveryoneā means that most riders will be above 1.5 w/kg and will ride like that. Of course thatās frustrating for the not-so-strong riders. I bet youād have great fun in dedicated D cat events, for example the Vikings Valhalla Recovery Ride on wednesdays (18:20 CET) sticks very close to the advertised 1.5 w/kg. If you try to stay just ahead of the yellow beacon youāll have a great time. Of course you should never choose a TT bike in a group ride as that wouldnāt let you draft!
Unfortunately there are group rides out there that donāt stick to their advertised pace. Just ignore them in the future and try another one - youāll find out which ones work for you and which donāt. Ride On!
@Jamie_Macdonald2
From looking at your visible rides in Companion, Iād say that nothing stands out as evidently wrong with how youāre zwifting. Unfortunately, a heavier rider with a lower-than-average FTP will find it much harder to keep up in events (including with the multitude of riders who apparently donāt indicate an honest weight in Zwift). But you are by far not the āworst Zwift rider on recordā. And kudos to you for being honest with your data. Many cat D races are apparently still plagued by sandbaggers and cruisers, so arenāt fun for real D riders.
From your screenshots, you seem to be riding a road bike in game, which gives you the best chance of drafting successfully when in a pack. Thatās something that counts for a lot in Zwift events. While you work on increasing your FTP, maybe you could also focus on some technical skills, unique to Zwift, by joining Pace Partner (PP) rides and practising keeping with the main bunch at the lowest power output which doesnāt see you dropped. This will definitely help you to ride with groups in the future that are currently a little too fast for you.
Starting tomorrow and for the next week, the PPs are going to be on generally flatter courses, which should be in your favour. From the following list, Diesel, Dorothy, and Eddy would all be in your range:
Anquetil (4.2) - Tick Tock
Brevet (3.3) - Tempus Fugit
Coco (2.5) - Triple Flat Loops
Daniela (2.15) - Flat Route
Diego (1.8 ) - Volcano Circuit CCW
Diesel (1.5) - Volcano Circuit
Dorothy (1.15) - Volcano Flat
Also, is everything running smoothly on your Synapse? Iāve seen cases of people āwastingā some valuable power because their drivetrain/bottom bracket, etc. were worn and adding friction to the system.
Finally, Iām curious about your heart rate in your activities in Companion. In most of your recent rides, it rapidly hits and stays at a ceiling at which it remains for the rest of the ride. What monitor are you using? It is limited to that ceiling value? To be able to interpret your data and follow your own development, it would be much more helpful to see an accurate HR readout.
Thanks for the prompt reply, I have tried a few D rides and can only keep up for about 15 mins because it requires me to work at pretty much my max instead of being able to do a good 1 hr session. I guess I wish there was a genuine category for less powerful but nevertheless keen riders! Iām sure there must be plenty of us.
The only alternative as you say is to weight dope by saying I am 70kg when Iām actually 90kg which I donāt want to do.
Thanks for taking to time to make all those suggestions and indeed for looking ay my companion data, itās encouraging to know I am not the worst, even if I seem always to fall back to last place. WRT to my HR I have an ICD pacemaker which limits my max heart rate to 150. Whilst this may sound quite limiting my Dr. does not prevent me from working as hard as I like so I am hoping my aerobic capacity is improving.
I do lime the Paced rides so Iāll see if they help me improve my power / endurance.
stay with it Jamie and you will get there. I would stay away from the Cat D races and look for D rides and events and even ther watch what they say about the watts required - not all D rides are equal and come in a bit of a range. Your best bet is a PP at the 1 or 1.15 level. And donāt discount weight doping for a while so that you can enjoy more rides/events. You are supposed to be having fun while you ride and you arenāt racing. My wife is a very weak rider and like you couldnāt join anything and rode alone most of the time so I cut her weight in half and she finds the whole experience much more enjoyable. After you get fit you can adjust it back. Ride on.
Today you did a āfundoā event, and in those events the categories refer to distance, not pace, so D category will include fast riders looking for a shorter ride. Probably not your best choice for an easy group ride. It will be easiest for you to stay in the draft of a group on flatter routes.
The Zwift Easy Riders club (ZER) hosts many easy group rides that are probably suitable for you. Hereās a search that shows their events:
Rides like that also tend to be quite supportive of people who have problems keeping up. Donāt hesitate to ask for help in group rides and you will often find someone willing to pace you back to the group.
If you havenāt shopped for equipment in the game, that can provide a small advantage as well. On flat routes you can use the Zipp 808 wheels and the Specialized Allez Sprint frame. On hilly routes, you can use the Cannondale Evo frame with DT Swiss ARC 62 wheels. Those are all relatively low cost in the drop shop and are available at low levels in the game. Save up for the Canyon Aeroad 2021 frame whenever you are able.
How many hours a week are you riding? Do you have any injuries/disabilities current or former that prohibit you from riding pain free or training more?
Hey mate. Firstly I hope youāre alright and Iām very sorry to say this but my undereducated opinion when it comes to heart problems is not to push it. Unfortunately accepting a new reality it much better than finding out that you fried your engine. With that said, I would try to maximize your Zone 2 work. Iām not going to lie that youāre not going to make much progress with 60-90 minutes per week. You can maximize this with Z2 or sweet spot training though. Personally under 6 hours a week I see a decrease in fitness. 6-10 I maintain fitness and over 10 hours per week I notice the gains starting to come. If you Google Zone 2 training, there is a lot of good literature on that and other sub-threshold training styles.
Stay hydrated with a hydration solution that works for you, and stay cool - keep your core temperature as close to normal as possible. If you can get your core temperature slightly under normal during exercise, even better! If I remember right for ever watt that you see on the screen your body is generating 4-5 times that in heat.
Finally recover just as hard as you workout, if not harder. Your legs are sore after a ride, find a recovery mix that works for you to get those calories and building blocks to repair the damage that has been done in this workout.
Jamie, youāve already been offered great advice from experienced Zwifters here. I just want to add to the existing encouragement that you continue working as you have. Itās inspirational. If you ever want to meet up for a ride let me know. If the time works for me Iād happily ride along. Iāll do whatever pace and distance works for you. Just keep riding on!
Santa gave me an implanted ICD / pacemaker for my 49h birthday (99% paced) but I am not quite ready to get my pipe and slippers out yet.
As some have noticed this means I hit my capped HR (in my case 150) after about 10 mins and there it stays for the duration of the ride so in a way it makes my heart rate monitor redundant although I find it reassuring to see.
From an aerobic capacity point of view I think this means Iām probably operating at 85% although it certainly feels pretty hard; Iām hoping that this enforced UT effect may ultimately improve my aerobic efficiency!
No physical disabilities and no pain when riding apart from hard work. I currently do 20-30mins of proper riding 3 times a week, so itās not very much.
If I do find a compatible group, Iām sure Iāll ride more.
I absolutely advocate for finding a series, group, club, community, etc. that you can regularly ride with. DIRT, ZRL, BMTR, WTRL have all been massive help for me throughout various bits of the year to get on the bike. For most of us, better fitness really just requires riding more at a pace greater than Zone 1 (activity recovery) but under your threshold or whatever your current limit is. I hope you have fun and be safe!
