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Saturday 21st 10am, 60 minute group ride on zwift with an after party


thejanullrichdietplan
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The route will be 'Fire and Ice' which goes up Alpe Du Zwift. This is the Zwift version of Alpe d'Huez....the group won't make it to the top before the end of the 60 minutes (there is about 15-20 minutes of riding before the climb starts) so if anyone wants to race to the top after the 60 minutes is over (this is when the group sticking together option ends) feel free.

 

So far i've invited 18 to it, if you want an invite follow Johnstone Wheelers on Zwift and i'll add you as well.

 

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Looking to get set up for Zwift. I’ve been on their website, but I would appreciate any tips and/or insight from people who have actually used it. 
- what’s the easiest way to set up

- smart trainers - recommends 

- is a regular laptop enough or will I need something else such as an iPad?

TIA

Darryl 

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For me the easiest way to set up was via my Ipad - my turbo (which is a tacx neo) can connect to that using bluetooth and it is very straight forward pairing that (open the zwift app and then there will be options for connecting).

A laptop will also be enough (assuming it meets the minimum system requirements) however it may not be able to receive a bluetooth signal in which case you may need to do it via ant+ which will require an ant+ dongle to plug into the usb.

It's possible also to use some phones connecting via bluetooth and an apple tv 4k (also bluetooth) too.

I think most smart trainers can use either bluetooth or ant+ these days but i'm a little out the loop on what the current models are.

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3 minutes ago, thejanullrichdietplan said:

For me the easiest way to set up was via my Ipad - my turbo (which is a tacx neo) can connect to that using bluetooth and it is very straight forward pairing that (open the zwift app and then there will be options for connecting).

A laptop will also be enough (assuming it meets the minimum system requirements) however it may not be able to receive a bluetooth signal in which case you may need to do it via ant+ which will require an ant+ dongle to plug into the usb.

It's possible also to use some phones connecting via bluetooth and an apple tv 4k (also bluetooth) too.

I think most smart trainers can use either bluetooth or ant+ these days but i'm a little out the loop on what the current models are.

Yeah, I use the zwift companion app on my phone to link the turbo to zwift on the laptop. I think the phone uses Bluetooth to talk to the turbo and then it uses the WiFi to link to zwift on the laptop. Usually works smoothly. 

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Before the event is due to start make sure you have opened up the game and can see your avatar and bike -can ride about on any course or just sit waiting. When it is 5 minutes to the start of the meetup a dialogue box will appear on the bottom left of the screen (plus on the companion app i think) - select that and it will take you to the start of the meetup.

 

Anyway was a hard route today - 5 of us and at the end Conal and myself opted to continue to the top of the Alpe after the meetup...another 30 minutes of climbing. 😭

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For about £600 i'd be looking at direct drive (so rear wheel off and you attach bike to a cassette on the turbo) .

No experience of either of these but Tacx Flux S and Elite Suito are in that price range as are a few others.

 

You can get wheel on smart trainers for a bit cheaper

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Darryl,

I was treated to a tacx neo T2. If your budget could be stretched I’d certainly recommend it. As to general set up, Apple TV, a smart TV and an Alexa microdot for music is what we’ve done. Hopefully a pic below.

As for Zwift in itself, we have 2 bikes set up one for Zwift and one on a non-smart trainer (tacx flow). When we do joint sessions, Heather reports that just having the Zwift landscape on the screen does make an hour’s session go by quickly. Personally I do like Zwift -miles better than staring at a garage wall. 
Someone mentioned having 2 riders on a single screen. Potentially, I say potentially because I haven’t attempted this, you could with a smart tv run one account via Apple TV and a second via a laptop and split the screen with the laptop screen reflected to the TV. Heather uses this general approach when running webinars and wants illustrate something on her laptop mid broadcast. Admittedly it did take a bit of tech know how input from Apple. 
I’m going to look out for future rides Iain organises and join in. 
In the meantime, everyone out there stay safe and healthy. 
M

2E1CB975-9B04-46C2-9562-5BA25A2E1F7C.jpeg

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Darryl

I am in no way qualified but just a thought. There is an alternative to a smart trainer and that is using a power meter - of course the resistance won't change with the terrain automatically. I got on zwift today using the zwift  phone app which is bluetoothed to my power meter. I then have an apple lightning to hdmi cable and the phone is mirrored on the TV screen. This worked for me as we had an old and large TV in the loft.

The advantage of this is that if you invest in the power meter instead then you can use it on the road as well as the turbo.  For real flexibility get a transferrable power meter like a crank based one and you can use it on any bike by just swapping the LH crank (or both cranks for a dual crank system). I use my LH crank power meter on my winter and summer bike and on turbo and rollers. 

So many options ……...

 

 

 

 

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34 minutes ago, Mark O said:

Darryl,

I was treated to a tacx neo T2. If your budget could be stretched I’d certainly recommend it. As to general set up, Apple TV, a smart TV and an Alexa microdot for music is what we’ve done. Hopefully a pic below.

As for Zwift in itself, we have 2 bikes set up one for Zwift and one on a non-smart trainer (tacx flow). When we do joint sessions, Heather reports that just having the Zwift landscape on the screen does make an hour’s session go by quickly. Personally I do like Zwift -miles better than staring at a garage wall. 
Someone mentioned having 2 riders on a single screen. Potentially, I say potentially because I haven’t attempted this, you could with a smart tv run one account via Apple TV and a second via a laptop and split the screen with the laptop screen reflected to the TV. Heather uses this general approach when running webinars and wants illustrate something on her laptop mid broadcast. Admittedly it did take a bit of tech know how input from Apple. 
I’m going to look out for future rides Iain organises and join in. 
In the meantime, everyone out there stay safe and healthy. 
M

2E1CB975-9B04-46C2-9562-5BA25A2E1F7C.jpeg

Two points

1. only you would have a full length mirror 😉

2. tidy that cabling 

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Paul is right about power meters. I was in a rush today and just threw my road bike with Stages pm on the rollers in front of smart TV. Worked fine. Did not get the resistance feedback on hills but just had to work harder to keep up.

Of course I fell off a couple of times trying to "corner" my avatar and I couldn't fiddle with my phone but otherwise great. 

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Thanks Alan. So, you down load the APP to smart tv, laptop, iPad or whatever and this, with suitable connection (Bluetooth, ANT +) will then read your power data and use it to propel your avatar. Is that about it or am I missing something?

ill have to watch out for those tricky corners 😂

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Hi Darryl, I am total newbie but learnt in ten minutes yesterday, still barely understand but will give you newbie perspective.

download app to phone or iPad, laptop, pc. 

open app, you get free 7day/25km trial membership.

enter personal details.

you could use phone or pc alone but I mirrored phone to tv through Apple TV so entire phone pic is on the tv. (this was expensive but represents family Easter and summer holiday budget)

set up smart trainer or rollers with bike. The app asks you to hit “Pair” and luckily it found my power, cadence (from crank-based pm) and HR immediately. No idea what connection it used.

start riding.

I also loaded the entirely separate Zwift Companion app which connects with friends and allowed me to find Iain’s ride, I have not begun to explore it yet

rollers were excellent. Only real problem was difficulties removing clothing  when hot and I could not use phone while riding. 
 

worst thing was the ride did not save to Strava. I used to think that was important☹️

 

 

 

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Exactly what Alan says. Smart phone finds power meter immediately and basically that's it. Single crank 4iiii power meters (the one I use) dropped a lot in price recently to a bit over £200, I think. It has worked very well for me past 3 winters and 2 summers. If you want to use on road you will want a head unit but that is not what you are looking for right now. 

 

on subject of head unit ….

The one I use, a Lezyne Macro (£80) has a slightly different principle for tracking - it uses your phone for location computing power - ie.  you need to have phone with you on the run. That is why the head unit you require can be quite a bit cheaper. I took the view I always have my phone with me anyway so might as well get a cheaper head unit. In answer to next question, on the 8 hour run in Spain it was no concern about phone battery life - it just samples your location then the clever computer fill in the gaps (same as all trackers I imagine).

 

 

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Daryl

You should try Taxc Premium free 30 day trial it has all the real films of most of the iconic climbs and routes , it’s better than looking at an avatar plus you can ride any GPS route so you can replicate the bogs without leaving the house

RGT are a new training platform very similar to Zwift they are offering free access during these isolating times 

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