Zwift vs TrainerRoad Interface
01-12-24, 11:21 AM
#26
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 8,450
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4415 Post(s)
Liked 4,867 Times
in
3,012 Posts
01-12-24, 11:35 AM
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 8,450
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4415 Post(s)
Liked 4,867 Times
in
3,012 Posts
I've been going back and forth between Sufferfest and Zwift for years now. Each has its benefits. I agree that the workouts in Sufferfest are much better tailored than the ones in Zwift, and the music and video with the corny humor keeps you engaged. But there are lots of days I just want to ride at my own pace and for that I turn to Zwift. As a New Yorker that has been riding Central Park for 50 years, and knows every up, down, bump, turn of the perimeter road, I always look to do that same ride in Zwift if NYC is one of the worlds featured that day. It is a pretty good simulation, with the exception of the lack of horse carriages and horse manure! I almost never do the glass roads that soar above though. If I want scenery I turn to the newer rides in Systm with Mike Cotty which include his narration of history of the area, and also include a structured workout that sorta matches. I tried Rouvy a few years ago and always had trouble with it, maybe it has gotten better.
I just looked at Systm after I posted this and found the "Pro Rides" series, which put you in the pack and simulates the power the riders are putting out, but scaled to your own 4DP profile. I have never tried it myself as I hadn't explored it before. There's no music as it uses the sound from the race, and it doesn't display HR, speed or cadence as it is meant to simulate race conditions. Looks interesting and I'll have to try it.
I just looked at Systm after I posted this and found the "Pro Rides" series, which put you in the pack and simulates the power the riders are putting out, but scaled to your own 4DP profile. I have never tried it myself as I hadn't explored it before. There's no music as it uses the sound from the race, and it doesn't display HR, speed or cadence as it is meant to simulate race conditions. Looks interesting and I'll have to try it.
At one point I was using SYSTM, Zwift and Rouvy at the same time, but I'm now just using Zwift and another mobile app (PILLAR) for adaptive training plans. But I kind of miss the Sufferfest videos, so I'm going to resume my sub again. I like Rouvy too, but a 3rd sub is a bit OTT!
01-12-24, 02:10 PM
#28
Senior Member
There's an interview of the head of Wahoo by DC Rainmaker where he does say they are offering Zwift as part of a package. I didn't focus on the details. He also said they were redesigning the Sufferfest controls at the bottom of the screen, which they use for all of their videos, not just the Sufferfest ones. No idea when that'll hit, but I'm not holding my breath. RGT never caught on so they killed it rather than spend money on it. I never tried it but the word is you'd almost always be the only one out there so there was no social aspect to it.
In going back to Sufferfest this winter I see how dated they are becoming though. None of the bikes have disc brakes or thru axles. I feel like an antique riding my Campy 10 equipped bike on the streets now. At my age though I'm done buying bikes.
In going back to Sufferfest this winter I see how dated they are becoming though. None of the bikes have disc brakes or thru axles. I feel like an antique riding my Campy 10 equipped bike on the streets now. At my age though I'm done buying bikes.
01-12-24, 02:26 PM
#29
Newbie
save your money, just use an old worn out tire. no real need to spend $ on a trainer tire. the sound difference is not that much especially if you are going to listen to music anyway. i used an old CompuTrainer years ago and could not really tell teh diffence between my regular tire and the guy next to me wiht a trainer tire.
01-12-24, 06:24 PM
#30
Full Member
Join Date: Jul 2023
Location: "Driftless" WI
Posts: 387
Bikes: 1972 Motobecane Grand Record, 2022 Kona Dew+
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 157 Post(s)
Liked 146 Times
in
107 Posts
UPS Came through despite the storm, my Wahoo's here!
Yeah, I'm generally inclined to 'run what I have' before spending money on stuff that may be of limited value. None of the tires I currently have that I ride pavement with are particularly worn, and that tension adjustment I'm sure will be something to finesse to get consistent numbers out of the data feed.
I'll be 'weather-bound' the next couple of days so I may have questions about how to make what I have work with this new thingy. Glad there's a knowledge base via this BF forum as opposed to anything on-line from the manufacturer's tech support dept. Likely as not they don't work weekends....
Yeah, I'm generally inclined to 'run what I have' before spending money on stuff that may be of limited value. None of the tires I currently have that I ride pavement with are particularly worn, and that tension adjustment I'm sure will be something to finesse to get consistent numbers out of the data feed.
I'll be 'weather-bound' the next couple of days so I may have questions about how to make what I have work with this new thingy. Glad there's a knowledge base via this BF forum as opposed to anything on-line from the manufacturer's tech support dept. Likely as not they don't work weekends....
01-12-24, 09:31 PM
#31
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: reno, nv
Posts: 2,301
Bikes: yes, i have one
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1138 Post(s)
Liked 1,182 Times
in
687 Posts
UPS Came through despite the storm, my Wahoo's here!
Yeah, I'm generally inclined to 'run what I have' before spending money on stuff that may be of limited value. None of the tires I currently have that I ride pavement with are particularly worn, and that tension adjustment I'm sure will be something to finesse to get consistent numbers out of the data feed.
I'll be 'weather-bound' the next couple of days so I may have questions about how to make what I have work with this new thingy. Glad there's a knowledge base via this BF forum as opposed to anything on-line from the manufacturer's tech support dept. Likely as not they don't work weekends....
Yeah, I'm generally inclined to 'run what I have' before spending money on stuff that may be of limited value. None of the tires I currently have that I ride pavement with are particularly worn, and that tension adjustment I'm sure will be something to finesse to get consistent numbers out of the data feed.
I'll be 'weather-bound' the next couple of days so I may have questions about how to make what I have work with this new thingy. Glad there's a knowledge base via this BF forum as opposed to anything on-line from the manufacturer's tech support dept. Likely as not they don't work weekends....
for the Computrainer we used it needed to be calibrated each time. partly because the bike was just freshly mounted and partly because the tire was cold. it needed about a 10 min warmup then a calibration. the trainer took care of adjusting the contact force after that.
when we used the Computrainer we were told to not leave the resistance wheel in contact with the tire becasue over an extended period of time of no use (like when not riding for a day or two) a depression could form in the tire leading to a thump thump when riding later on. not sure if any of that was true though. this was all at an LBS so none of us could even entertain the idea of leaving our bike on the trainer. we were only there 2 dyas a week.
01-13-24, 06:45 AM
#32
Full Member
Join Date: Jul 2023
Location: "Driftless" WI
Posts: 387
Bikes: 1972 Motobecane Grand Record, 2022 Kona Dew+
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 157 Post(s)
Liked 146 Times
in
107 Posts
When we used the Computrainer we were told to not leave the resistance wheel in contact with the tire becasue over an extended period of time of no use (like when not riding for a day or two) a depression could form in the tire leading to a thump thump when riding later on. not sure if any of that was true....
Last edited by spclark; 01-13-24 at 03:10 PM.
01-13-24, 03:10 PM
#33
Full Member
Join Date: Jul 2023
Location: "Driftless" WI
Posts: 387
Bikes: 1972 Motobecane Grand Record, 2022 Kona Dew+
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 157 Post(s)
Liked 146 Times
in
107 Posts
OK it's unboxed & set up. Took maybe five minutes for that task.
Next I tried my 120OLD MB. Its skewer's too short by maybe 3/8", Kikr's adjustment's fully extended & still won't clamp to the MB's skewer though the Kickr's skewer nut does have the same thread. Likely as not this is 'cured' with a part or two in the accessory kit Wahoo sells. I may try a hardware store bushing or two before I order that, given the relative costs. Need to suss out if such a workaround is still properly SAFE too.
The Kona Dew+ is as close to "Plug & Play" as one could ever expect! It's mounted now, the Kikr's power module's plugged in & lit up.
Now I need an app or two to get Bluetooth connectivity. Suggestions invited (provide URL link please or proper name!) for what you find that works, whether 'free' (demo) or subscription. I'm all ears on this!
Next I tried my 120OLD MB. Its skewer's too short by maybe 3/8", Kikr's adjustment's fully extended & still won't clamp to the MB's skewer though the Kickr's skewer nut does have the same thread. Likely as not this is 'cured' with a part or two in the accessory kit Wahoo sells. I may try a hardware store bushing or two before I order that, given the relative costs. Need to suss out if such a workaround is still properly SAFE too.
The Kona Dew+ is as close to "Plug & Play" as one could ever expect! It's mounted now, the Kikr's power module's plugged in & lit up.
Now I need an app or two to get Bluetooth connectivity. Suggestions invited (provide URL link please or proper name!) for what you find that works, whether 'free' (demo) or subscription. I'm all ears on this!
01-13-24, 07:59 PM
#34
Senior Member
Just download Zwift. It’ll do the attachments right at the start. There’s the two week free demo. It’ll walk you through the setup
01-13-24, 08:28 PM
#35
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2023
Location: NorCal
Posts: 505
Bikes: Santa Cruz Blur 4 TR, Canyon Endurace cf sl, Canyon Ultimate cf slx, Canyon Strive enduro, Canyon Grizl sl8
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 219 Post(s)
Liked 847 Times
in
342 Posts
I pretty much only use Zwift for trainer sessions. I tried Rouvy and appreciated the more realistic imagery, but I was having power issues with it. I tried doing a workout on Rouvy and discovered that it wouldn't provide enough resistance during an interval. I messed with some stuff on it, but could only get about 400 watts of resistance. My Tacx Flux trainer has its own issues with random power drop-outs on Zwift, but at least it can meet my wattage demands.
I almost exclusively use Zwift for workouts. I'm deep in the mountains, so I get most of my zone 2 in on the trainer...it's hard to do a climb around here without turning it into at least a threshold effort. The virtual world is at least distracting enough for me to do 1-2 hours on the trainer...just a data screen would bore me to death. I'll also do some structured intervals and FTP tests using Zwift.
Zwift does have a decent enough data screen for me...has power, cadence, HR, and a graph of the previous power/HR data. Also a progress timer and list of the intervals.
I almost exclusively use Zwift for workouts. I'm deep in the mountains, so I get most of my zone 2 in on the trainer...it's hard to do a climb around here without turning it into at least a threshold effort. The virtual world is at least distracting enough for me to do 1-2 hours on the trainer...just a data screen would bore me to death. I'll also do some structured intervals and FTP tests using Zwift.
Zwift does have a decent enough data screen for me...has power, cadence, HR, and a graph of the previous power/HR data. Also a progress timer and list of the intervals.
