Originally Posted by
genejockey
Tried my first 'Tabata' intervals tonight. I knew not to use Erg Mode, but it was really frustrating trying to nail the wattage goals because Zwift responds so slowly - I'd be putting in a huge effort, but the power would lag by quite a bit, and then I'd overshoot, and then I'd back off and undershoot, then overshoot. Lather, rinse, repeat after 10 seconds of trying not to go over or under the "easy" wattage. I ended up completing one set, but getting only half a star because I had so much trouble trying to hit the wattage goals.
Halfway through the second set I gave up.
The phase lag makes riding to that power number virtually impossible. That's why I use ergometer mode on the trainer, but it's also hard to do on the road where the sampling is too rapid to follow and smoothing introduces its own lag. What I have done is to try to learn what a particular output feels like that day while warming up and on the first couple of intervals, and then use the power number as a periodic check on how I'm doing. I hope this makes some sense.