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Thanks! Yes unfortunately as a lighter rider in my opinion your at a disadvantage (until you're not). I have a video I did before the updates to categorizing by zwift racing score, which shows why heavier riders generally have an advantage (similar to the situation you pointed out), my watts vs wkg video. I say "until you're not" as a lighter rider because as you progress and reach A category, you don't see a ton of successful riders above 90kg (although there are a few). Eventually weight becomes a limtor as humans can only produce so many watts. I always give the example of the world's strongest man, they are usually heavier, but at some point just adding weight has a diminishing return (you might be the world's strongest man at 400lbs but getting up to 800lb probably won't double how much you can bench). It's so hard to say one thing works for everyone (I'm probably in the middle of weight ranges) but if you are having to push all out on the flat (as a lighter rider), a more aero setup might work better, so you're not at your limit when reaching the climb. The main point I was trying to convey is just don't take the advice from one website and think it's best for every rider in every situation. Sorry for the long response 😁

I don't have the underlying calcs for how they calculate it, but in my opinion I would say it's directionally pretty accurate. As long as you have had some hard efforts for zwift to gather data, it is probably just as accurate as the estimates that come from Garmin watches or other devices. That being said, it is just an estimate and the true reliable way to measure your vo2 max would be going for laboratory testing (they essentially have you run/bike with a breathing mask on that measures what you exhale while at a hard effort), this test would give you your true vo2 max, but obviously most of us don't have the time/effort/money to complete it (I think it's like $150, but I personally don't find the need to spend this to know my exact value as the estimates available from zwift/Garmin are "good enough" for me). Hope this helps!

@@ZwiftAnalysisNetwork That helps! I average over a race a week, so they definitely have data from hard efforts. I’m sitting at 61-62, but you’re saying that it would be accurate if it goes up or down, but not to put much stock in the hard number.

Yea that should be enough data! I do think if the estimates go up, you probably do have a better vo2 than the day before. If it goes from 61 to 63, it probably truly increased 2. But if you got lab tested for the same two days it could be actually be 57 to 59 or 65 to 67. Basically +/- a couple points. My assumption is the zwift number would follow a bell curve and work pretty well for most people, but of course there will always be some outliers

I watch a guy who does a lot of crit racing, called NorCal cycling. He primarily rides outdoors and just zwift's occasionally and said something similar. For sprinting I think there is probably a loss of watts when going all out (especially if you're more used to sprinting outdoors) due to the fact your bike is fixed (almost no side to side motion). I haven't noticed a drop in watts myself but I also ride primarily indoors.

I've been asked about that a few times! I am not currently, but have thought about doing it in the future!

Thanks for missing me! I've been crazy busy at work the last 6 months or so (mostly 50+ hour weeks) so haven't had time to consistently make new videos. I'm hoping I slow down soon and can get back into it!

I think the key difference on climbs vs descents is it's a tactic that works IRL for one but not the other. For descents you will see riders sprint out of corners, pedal on flatter bits and then try and get as aero as possible on the steep bits (RIP super truck 😂 ). On climbs the issue is that switching between pedaling and not pedalling would make you slower IRL. If it's steep enough you might even fall over if you stop long enough. That's the key distinction I make, but it's not set in stone and everyone is entitled to their opinion on the matter. Also true sticky watts happens on certain trainers and my trainer wasn't sticking (like I stopped pedalling and the power stopped half a second later)

That's a fair point the two numbers are similar. But to me there are two major difference: 1.) Your not racing (ill call it) as honestly as possible. I get others (probably not your or me) are probably racing below their actual weight, but i would rather just input my actual weight and accept that 2 second difference. Whereas the bike selection is a true time savings, you could get the same savings in real life by choosing different equipment. 2.) The 2 seconds saved is assuming you would also be able to hold the same watts. A lot of riders are capable of this after dropping only 1 pound. But as weight loss increases (dependent on the person/shape) watts may drop as well. For me personally, I have had a few climbing races were I overly focus on getting from 160 lbs (right near my optimal race weight) to 159 or 158 lbs, and end up cracking or performing a lot worse than i would have at 160. Basically, i view the downside risk as not worth saving 2 seconds.

@@ZwiftAnalysisNetwork I don’t update my weight before every ride, but I probably update it once a week after a ride. I also know my weight can ebb and flow by a pound or more over a week; high after meals and refueling, low after a visit to the restroom, or after sweating out two pounds in a Zwift race. I wouldn’t describe those swings as weight loss or gain that affects power output. My weight hadn’t swung much over the last two years, but with the Zwift fitness I gained over this winter my watts have been rising and my weight has been trending down steadily since February. So for me it hasn’t been one or the other, the power gains have come hand in hand with weight loss.

Thanks! Glad to hear it's the best one yet

Thanks! Just keep riding, it will be unlocked before you know it

😂you would be setting a lot of PRs then!

Inb4 he’s already 50kg and will just be banished once he loses 50kg 💀

No worries! everybody has a different specialization, I know a couple A's that are barely a 6wkg 1 minute.

thanks mate! they typically take me about 25-30 hours all in, but are always on topics I just want to know more about myself so i dont mind 😀.

Thanks! I actually prefer climbing at a higher cadence, usually Ill do longer climbs around 90 rpm. However, the watts I needed seemed so difficult to find to keep up, so it felt like I kept needing to get out of the saddle with a lower cadence to be able to match the watts

@@ZwiftAnalysisNetwork yeah got that but those guys are seated and definitely at least 95. I suppose their cardio is very advanced

I guess that would be a good challenge to myself. Just see how I fair, staying seated with a higher rpm. Maybe I could hang on longer.

Yup just watching the replay ride away, wondering why can't I keep up 😂

I actually just had 2 LED video lights arrive. I bought them after I noticed there was a shadow on one side of my face in this video 😂.

@@ZwiftAnalysisNetworkI think the microphone is more important. Good quality audio is one of the most important things.

Is the ask to look into something like the average TTT times between all men's and all women's teams? And maybe look at how speeds differ by category?

Not sure what is asked but for fun maybe make a test with a male rider vs female rider with the same height and weight, if there any difference in speed at the same power?

​Yes exactly, do it 😁plzzzzz, just for flat route, I'm sure female for 200w she got 50km/h,male 37km/h.

glad to hear you have been able to drop some weight and sounds like you have a plan for the last 5kg! it's always 1 type of food that gets everyone, for me it's sweets, if I have chocolate or donuts around the house I can't stop eating them! I hear your point on it not being marginal from your point of view and not only a cycling benefit but overall life benefit. it definitely isn't something that 1 plan works for everyone. My perception of it is probably influenced by my own history. I have had trouble in the past only eating salads or very light foods so I can drop an extra pound and it ends making me feel poor afterwords. part of it is that I'm pretty skinny to begin with though.

To your point, on Adz the only test i had to switch to my small ring was when riding at 100% difficulty.

I'm glad its not only me with the delay. I thought it may be poor connection, as i typically have about a 1 second delay. It does get annoying, especially on some of the hilly routes! I would think that it would be a fix that could be implemented as the game knows the routes you are on. Hopefully they can fix this (since it seems like people other than just myself experience it) in the future.

thanks for your feedback. Could your feedback also be in some part due to just personal preference on if its easier at 100%? I typically ride at 100% and when i set it to 0% initially it felt a bit alien to be, but i was able to adjust. I actually exclusively ride at 100% in races (except if im doing training, or for this purpose testing), but still found when testing it felt easier at less than 100%. At this setting was the only one i had to change from my big ring to small on Adz. To your point, in my test i didnt go so deep into the red that i would be able to effectively test the onset of muscular fatigue, but did point out that based on my experience ive always felt it is difficult to keep that consistent power when the gradient changes like on Adz hairpins. Cheers mate! always interested and willing to listen to different perspectives.

@@ZwiftAnalysisNetwork I agree that it is a matter of personal preference as to whether or not riding at 100% feels easier, but that preference is determined mostly by the training status and anatomy of each rider. If you don't practice climbing very often then you won't be used to the way climbing uses your leg muscles (feeling "on" for a longer portion of the pedal stroke) and it will feel harder and give you sore legs more easily than doing the same effort on flat ground. That's only because you are exerting force on the pedals throughout a larger range of leg motion, and making slower, longer contractions with your muscles. (Which is the same reason why it's more efficient at maximal intensities). You make a good point that depending on the gearing of your bike, using a higher or lower trainer difficulty can feel harder or easier. With a lower trainer difficulty the resistance changes due to changes in gradient are reduced, resulting in a smoother feeling and more consistent power output, like you said. But if you have climbing gears on your bike and are used to riding at different cadences, this isn't an issue.

None of that makes sense. "Trainer Difficulty" simply adjusts the percentage of gradient one experiences while riding a given grade. 100% of a 15% grade will always be harder to ride than 50% of a 15% grade, regardless of effort/output. As stated in the video, and several other videos on this topic over the years, its the changes in gradient over undulating routes, and extended climbs, that introduces additional difficulty, as one has to manage more of their effort. Being able to just "lock in" to a steady power level, and stay there, is much easier than trying to maintain a constant effort over constantly changing gradients. As for downhills, physics, at least on this planet, dictate that that one will travel faster down a grade than only a fraction of the same grade...at least until they hit terminal velocity. There's a reason Zwifters hit the 100kph badge down the steeper grades than others.

its definitely worth playing with the setting! you may find its more enjoyable at a higher or lower TD.

Thanks for the tip! watching and editing the video myself i realized my eye line needed to be different.

How often do you get dropped on the downhills? In the tests that i did, I wasn't able to recreate spinning out with my current setup. However, I do know I've had a few races in which i was dropped on the downhill due to this reason. Its for sure painful to get dropped on the descents after working so hard on the climbs lol.

@ZwiftAnalysisNetwork most ttt's hahaha, I then have to put in a massive effort of 9-10wkg to get back to my team, which would be impossible on a high TD. If it gets implemented, then I'll suck it up but light riders are already penalized enough in this game

Haha i can only imagine having to put out a 9wkg effort when your probably already tired. Never fun having to deal with that.

But isn't that how physics works in real life? Heavier riders descend faster with less effort? What about the heavier rider getting dropped by you going "uphill" that's also putting out 300W?