My wife and I purchased the Zwift pods a week ago to use at our gym but just decided to go out and get a smart treadmill that connects to Zwift. Since we have the pods is it worth hanging onto them and using them or just use the smart treadmill? Or can/should we use both if possible?
I don’t know how good the Zwift pod is, but remember that when you run on the TM, the speed displayed is not the speed you actually run but the one from the belt. Using a pod will ensure running indoor and outdoor will be identical.
Also remember to check the list of TM supported by Zwift!
And keeping the pods will allow you to use Zwift when you would run outside or on another TM that doesn’t connect directly to Zwift.
I use a Stryd, both in and outside👌
We made a point to get one that works with Zwift. I just finished setting it up as I was heading out the door to work so planning to try it tonight. Guess I will try with and without the foot pod and see how each work.
I’m using also a foot pod additonal to my smart treadmill. The reason was that my treadmill (MyRun) does not recognize any cadence if i run faster than 12 km/h… the Stryd does.
Smart tread mill definitely be more accurate than Zwift Pod because the pod is just estimating the speed
Yes and no… Only the speed and incline of a smart treadmill is accurate. In my case Technogym confirmed that their cadence measurement do not work at higher spm.
Speed of the belt… Not speed of running… That’s always the big thing with treadmills. And why I got a Stryd, I’m exactly sure of my real running speed with the pod!
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I have read what you have written about this in 3 or 4 other posts.
Speed of belt - do you mean the speed of belt being advertised by the treadmill or the speed the belt is actually running at ?
I accept that not all treadmill belts run at the speed being displayed on the console.
If a treadmill belt moves 10km in an hour whilst you are running on it are you running at 10km per hour?
I accept that a treadmill belt, particularly with less powerful motors, is slowed down by the impact of each stride. Is this slowed down belt speed the pace you are now running?
I mean the speed displayed by the TM itself.
Say you set it 0% incline and 10kmh. You go on and run on it. How fast you run is not 10kmh but less. (Taking into account you let it how you got it, without changing into configuration settings like roller size etc, which is most common cases especially should you be running on a gym TM).
The belt will slow down even with a powerful engine every time you step on it and accelerate when you are up in the air to get back to speed. So the belt will do it’s best to hold a speed of 10kmh but you will be slower. General rule is 0.7kmh slower more or less.
Which explains why often people would say oh I can go easily at that pace on a TM but it’s harder to get the same pace outside.
I’m using a Stryd connected to my Fenix 7x and I run outside and inside. I’m a bit nuts about having identical data inside and outside, same as riding, using identical gears in and out, so I was like ok I can’t be fast on a TM and slow outside. So with the Stryd I can get my pace on how I move my feet regardless on where I run. So when it’s hard to maintain one pace outside, showing the same pace displayed by the treadmill is easier, but this is because Stryd tells me I’m below the expected pace.
I can link some articles talking about that subject of you’d like.
Then comes the question, what do you do? I’m so OCD than I want to have the same pace and data in both, so I connect my Stryd (pod) as speed, even though I bought a TM compatible with Zwift (Sole Fitness F85). For racing, I would be faster using the TM as speed, but for me it wouldn’t be correct as in reality I wouldn’t be that fast… Trying to be fair🤣
So more or less: 10kmh TM is 9.3kmh me…
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Thank you.
Thank you for the offer - I have read quite a few. However if there is one that shows exactly how much each treadmill slows down per foot strike I would be keen to read that one. I can only find 1 or 2 useful write ups on this issue.
Have you measured what your treadmill belt speed is when TM says 10 kmh?
Have you measured what your treadmill belt speed is when you are running on it at Stryde/Me 9.3kmh.
I am keen to find out how much a good treadmill is slowed by a foot strike and how close an accurately measured belt speed (when running ) is to the Stryde - without having to buy one myself !!
Thank you for your help.
The best articles would be the ones from Stryd, Fllrnr and DC Rainmaker. They explains all about it. Plus my father who is actually a machine mech and works with belts longer than 50m to carry packages so he could explain me about how such a machine works.
I haven’t measured the actual speed of the TM when it says 10kmh if it’s really 10kmh.
What I know though: when I replaced the belt, I didn’t tighten it as much as the previous one, so I started running as usual and I was way off (slower) than with the old belt. As it’s mechanical stuff (a bloody screw) you can’t really be precise like a computer, so with patience I was able to tighten the same way to be again at the same difference than I was. Running outside, I was able to measure distance with both Stryd and Garmin GPS so I know that at least is correct as the distance is for sure correct (using multiple Garmin watches with friends of mine).
I would say also my TM is quite good, Sole Fitness is a good brand and the engine is pretty strong (that’s why I got this one). More detailed was not really needed for me as Stryd was matching the outside world so I give priority to Stryd for data…
Sorry I can’t help you more about measuring 
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