Originally Posted by
nycphotography
I think its because it takes a certain amount of fitness and gearing to make it up a 16% grade with minimum cadence.
Not many people have the fitness AND grearing to do it. A 34x28 and 3.5 w/kg is about the minimum. Less w/kg and you better have a 34x32. More w/kg and maybe you can do it with a 39x28.
If they set difficulty to 100% by default, they would get many many people failing on Watopia mountain and just never trying zwift again.
Probably right, though probably also something to the fact that middle of the road smart trainers (eg. Tacx Vortex) only go to 7-8% -- meaning that 15% gradient is going to feel the same as an 8% in Zwift. I have no idea what any of this means for a dumb trainer. Put in the highest gear you have (eg. 53/11 would probably be the highest that can typically be found, more likely 50/11 these days), what gradient does this typically equal?
Sounds like maybe Zwift could add a new screen function! Maybe a little hot button that pops up on tough gradients labelled "Bailout Gear" that drops resistance in half, so as to avoid a fail.. kinda a virtual extended cassette range or imagining I have a Triple.