Hey Team!

This week we’ll talk about zwift! Being the launch of the zwift rides started this week I figure I can attempt to demystify awesome of the things Zwift has to offer. I’ll also briefly cover two other platforms I have experience with, Training Peaks virtual and Wahoo systm(now Wahoo X I believe). I also want to state, please reply all with any questions or comments I may have not touched on in here. It’s a very big topic and I know I’ll miss some things. First "dumb trainers" vs Smart vs controllable. Then we’ll talk about general trainer settings(resistance, feel and calibration). followed by free riding vs workouts. I’ll then talk about ERG mode and why/why not to use it. Well wrap the trainer side of things with general pain cave tips. Finally, I’ll talk about the other two platforms.

Trainers! Let’s start here. There’s three kinds of trainers: Dumb, Smart and controllable. Where a lot of confusion comes in is in the smart and controllable designations. While a controllable trainer is a smart trainer, not all smart trainers are controllable. By definition, "dumb" trainers don’t send or receive any data. These are the old school magnetic and fluid trainers. Companies like cyclops, saris, Kurt Kinetic started here before the technology and computers made it to the mainstream. These trainers work by applying resistance to the rear wheel of the bike turning your bicycle into a spin bike. They’re also dependent on tire pressure. pick a pressure(this is the one time I’d recommend relatively close to max pressure of the tire). You’d use either time or speed sensor to quantify the work you’ve done. I remember basically going by minutes. I would ride the dumb trainer for a set amount of time each session. In comes the smart trainer boom. Most companies added a sensor to their trainers that could measure a rough power output based on the resistance unit’s speed. This then transmits(usually via Bluetooth) to whatever you’re using. This was most people’s introduction to power meters. Then came the wahoo kickr and Zwift. The Controllable trainer was born. These trainers have an actual power meter in them and allow for a web based platform to "control" the trainer. This is when training at a high level came to the masses. Now most companies make a controllable smart trainer. The addition of platforms like Zwift, rouvy, MyWhoosh etc. make indoor training so much better. The trainers feel way more like riding outside, they change resistance to mimic the terrain in the game, making it so you actually shift your gears. For the best experience, a smart control trainer is best. Wahoo, tacx, kinetic, saris elite etc. all make wonderful trainers. At the store we generally sell wahoo and tacx consistently, with a saris sprinkled in. As far as design is concerned, there’s two major options, wheel on and wheel off or direct drive. Direct drive trainers have the best "feel" by this i mean it feels most road like. Wheel on(these look like the old school dumb trainers) have gotten a lot better, but still not as good as a direct drive. There’s a reason the direct drive trainers are the pick of choice, and the only ones allowed for legitimate e racing. A direct drive controllable trainer paired to Zwift is the best combination and is what everyone means when they talk about zwifting. This is the best and most immersive experience. to keep this email from becoming longer than it already is, please reach out with your specific set up questions, trainer opinions and actually pairing everything together.

On to the actual riding! I’m going to focus on Zwift here so all of this will be specific to that platform, but all of the platforms have the same or similar settings. When you start Zwift, you’ll have to pair the sensors you’re using. For most, this is the smart control trainer and a heart rate monitor. This is when the first hiccups occur. Bluetooth inherently has limitations with how many sensors you can pair. This is a big issue on apple tv. At the shop we have an apple tv connection I use most, I can only pair the trainer and a heart monitor. i find i also run my garmin simultaneously, but this is me being anal retentive and a data nerd, you don’t need to to do this. if you’re using a computer/laptop, an ant+ dongle can be used to allow for the computer to read ant+. My home setup uses this and will allow for me to pair directly to my power meter. When I do this, I don’t need to run my garmin with it. I do this to keep my power data all coming from the same data source. Be aware that if you’re having difficulty pairing things, it most likely is you trying to pair too many things via bluetooth, or you have a dead battery somewhere lol. Once the trainer is paired to Zwift, this will allow Zwift to control it. Next to the trainer icon in the pairing screen you’ll see an image of a wrench. This will allow you to perform a spindown. This is the trainer version of calibrating your power meter. I recommend doing this every 2-4 weeks. Next, make sure your metrics(height and weight) are accurate. Zwift uses an algorithm to calculate your speed and how the terrain affects your avatar. pick a course and go ride! This is free riding. When you’re free riding on Zwift, the trainer will mimic the terrain displayed in the game. If you’re going up a 5% gradient, the algorithm and the trainer will "clamp" down so it feels like it would if you were riding 5% outside. This is what makes Zwift so interactive. you have to pay attention to the terrain to know when to shift. Now for some nitty gritty. Zwift is default set to 50% trainer feel. so in that same scenario, even though you’re riding a 5% grade. The trainer is only mimicking your weight going up 2.5% and arbitrarily slowing down your avatar to the correct speed. For the best experience, change your trainer difficulty to 100%. This makes that same 5% feel like 5%.

The next thing you’ll want to try on Zwift is doing a structured work out. This brings up ERG mode. ERG is short for ergometer. ERG mode makes it so the trainer will only allow you to do the prescribed power output for the structured workout and only is an option for structured workouts. so say the workout calls for an interval of 225 watts for 5 minutes. In ERG mode, the trainer will "clamp" down only allowing for 225 watts to be pedaled. This won’t change, the only thing that can change is your literal cadence. pedal faster and the "clamp" loosens, slow your cadence and it tightens only allowing for an output of 225 watts. Referencing back to my FTP test email, this is how the ramp test works. Zwift and your trainer tightly control the power output the whole duration. ERG mode has some positives. It means that you’re exactly doing your workouts to the exact power that is prescribed. I do use ERG mode occasionally, but generally this is for early morning, pre coffee workouts where I can hop onto the trainer with my brain not awake and do the structure. During early season ERG can be useful. Sweet Spot makes it nice knowing the power output and essentially only being steady state efforts. The downside: what if you’re on a good day, and 84% feels light, kick it up to that top end 97% ftp. This is literally better training. The biggest issue I have with ERG mode, especially for new riders, is it makes it almost impossible for you to learn to feel a power output and feel the effort you have on that day. ERG can also prevent you from pedaling with proper form. As you get tired and start mashing, you’ll recruit whatever muscles to make sure you’re still doing the prescribed wattage. Form is a huge part of this. Knowing how to hold a power output takes practice. But when you start to understand it, it will make you a faster and more efficient rider. Tooting our own horn, it also makes pacing a TT way easier ;-). NEVER use ERG mode when we get to vo2 and maximal efforts. you need to know what you have in your legs on the day. In short: the best benefit is learning to hold the power output you need and not letting the trainer do it for you. Using ERG sometimes is totally fine, but never all the time. This covers most of the basic settings for riding on Zwift. Again please reach out if you have a question. there’s a lot in Zwift and I know I’m overlooking something.

The Pain Cave! Setting up the pain cave(if you have the space) can be a big plus to riding inside. Having your screen be at a normal height, think like riding outside and where your head is positioned and looking, is big. It makes it way easier and less strained when you’re on the trainer. Having a bigger screen also makes it more immersive. you can start to feel like you’re in the game. Apple TV makes this super easy. When my wife isn’t home, I HDMI cable my laptop to our tv. it’s much nicer than my laptop screen! Speaking of niceties, for those who are lucky to have multiple bikes, it’s truly amazing to be able to leave a bike set up on the trainer. This requires the space to do it and a spare bike, but when all you have to do is walk downstairs with your coffee and hop on, it’s truly amazing. any time you can eliminate a barrier, it is only a positive thing. Wahoo makes a desk, it’s super nice, but not necessarily needed. What I have found is having something that is height adjustable will do. I use an old keyboard stand to put my laptop on and this brings it up to a perfect height! Water and food are a must! make sure you’ve grabbed that before the ride. This is where the table can be nice, you can leave everything out and easily accessible instead of having to use your pockets. Fans! and especially one with a remote control so you don’t have to get off the bike to change the fan speeds. I’ve found a blower fan to be the best option. two is even better. Finally, let’s talk about protection. A trainer mat or something to put under your bike to catch sweat from getting into the carpet on your floor will make your partners happy. simultaneously having a couple towels or a sweat catch on your bike will prevent many headaches down the road. Sweat is corrosive so keeping off of your bike and floor is very important. Clean your bike every once in a while. Also, don’t forget to lube your chain. It’s easy to forget about maintenance when it’s cold and the bike isn’t going outside as much. In extreme cases, I’ve seen wheels come in flattened on the "bottom" from living on the trainer.

Let’s be honest, Zwift is the 800lb gorilla in the room. It’s the premier platform for indoor cycling and running. it has the most subscribers, the most vast "landscapes." millions of users all over the globe and an ecosystem that allows for group rides and training and truly is its own social network. This can’t be ignored. however it isn’t the only platform and it doesn’t offer everything. It offers by far the most, but not everything. I personally have experience with two other platforms, wahoo’s systm (now called wahoo x) and training peaks new acquisition, training peaks virtual(formally known as indie velo). There are numerous other platforms and they all offer something unique usually, but they are all trying to take some of the pie that Zwift owns. Wahoo’s platform is aimed more for training and coaching. Run by legendary coach Neal Henderson, the platform is workouts and AI driven coaching. they have since also acquired the sufferfest adding to the robustness of workouts. This was the first to utilize AI for workouts/coaching. I use coaching lightly here as there is no interpersonal relationship but it truly does a great job at getting you fitter, but with now calendar to plan for an event, my experience is that it over trains by the time the athletes main races come. That said, after interviewing athletes who have come to me for training, I’ve steered them to wahoo. it’s a wonderful platform and when the goal is just overall fitness it’s the best that I’ve found. I still find myself using it from time to time, especially the 4DP threshold test. When you get deep into the weeds of training and racing, I find power profiles to give more insight than just an outright FTP. If you’re curious, reach out to me about that, but truthfully where and how we all race(if you race) it’s a little much and I’m truthfully a nerd. New to me is Training Peaks Virtual. again with only a handful of rides on it I’m still exploring it, but I’m so excited for it. It’s more in line with Wahoo X. It does however offer some of the social platform that Zwift does, although nowhere near as vast. Currently it only has one "world" to ride in(Zwift is up to 9 worlds and ever changing and adding routes within, actually 7 new routes were just added to Wattopia this weekend). What Training Peaks does have to offer is better control for a coach(self plug here), some cool and different features(i can plan a -workout for you, than actually record me yelling at you at certain points of that workout). My favorite part so far is the actual ride feel. with a different algorithm and the creator really focusing on realism, it does actually feel closer to riding outdoors than the others. And with more data available to view in workout I’ve been very happy with the platform. I mean, it makes you slow down and re-accelerate out of corners! C’mon that’s pretty cool! Group rides and workouts are also possible within the platform as well, and you can’t just ride through the rider in front of you! the group tactics(It has tactics!) that can be employed to make it more interesting, at least for me lol. Every platform has its benefits and detractors finding what works best for you is the key. the downside to this whole thing, you also need Zwift. As I said at the start of this paragraph, they’re the 800lb gorilla. and it’s a damn cool gorilla.

As always I hope this helped. It’s a huge topic with a lot of little things to it. please reply all with questions and we can make a thread out of it!

See ya in Wattopia!