Today I tested the different gearing options on the Zwift Ride whilst going up ADZ in preparation for my first vEveresting attempt. Trainer difficulty was set to 100 for the ride today, and I used my fully upgraded Aethos with Lightweight Meilsteins for the ride.
After trying the Standard sequential, then the Shimano style with climbing gearset, I finally settled on Sequential with the climbing gearset. Does anyone know if there is really a difference when using sequential “standard” and the various gear set options available? Im trying to figure out if my mind was playing tricks on me, or if the sequential climbing gear combination actually did feel slightly easier.
Are you trying to get the absolute lowest virtual gears available – if so then i think the sequential might give you that. Also I believe probably offers the smallest steps between gears of all the options. Should work best for the ADZ since the elevation profile keeps you in a pretty narrow band of gradient the whole way up, so you don’t need the larger gear jump options that the other shifting modes offer.
So the “problem” I ran into was been able to keep my power output in Zone 2, some of the gearing options would push me all the way up to zone 3\4 even though Im using the lowest gearing available for the particular combination.
On the current sequential\climbing setup, I’m riding in gear one primarily so am effectively out of gears at this point. Main thing I was hoping to confirm is that sequential with climbing gears is different to sequential default.
I reached out to support and received the response Im posting here, in case anyone else is curious…
When using Sequential shifting, Zwift arranges all available gear ratios into a single, linear sequence—this gives you a smooth, one-click-at-a-time progression through your virtual gears.
If you’ve selected the Climbing gear range alongside Sequential, then yes, you are getting a different riding experience compared to the default Sequential setup, which typically uses the Mixed Terrain (1×24) gearing. The Climbing range emphasizes easier, lower-end gears that are ideal for tackling steep gradients with less resistance.
That said, it’s worth noting that the Climbing gear profile was originally designed with simulated front and rear chainrings in mind. When used in Sequential mode, this can occasionally result in slightly uneven jumps between gears, since the system is flattening a 2x setup into a 1x linear sequence.
So, while you’ll definitely benefit from easier climbing gears, the gear spacing may feel a bit less consistent than with the Mixed Terrain range, which is purpose-built for Sequential shifting and offers smoother transitions throughout the range.
For me personally, the sequential climbing setup gave me a smoother experience, and thats what Ill be using for my attempt.