[Closed] Can Zwift give a SS fake gears?

In theory it could, but it doesn't.

Speed on screen is calculated from the power you are currently generating, not trainer wheel speed. In non-training mode the resistance is based on the current slope. The only adjustment you have control over is how much of that current slope is reported to the trainer. From 0-100% of the on screen slope https://zwift.com/news/4306-zwift-how-to-adjust-your-trainer-difficulty?__znl=en-gb

If your gearing is set ok, you could set difficulty very low and it would feel like you were racing on a flat course. But you would speed up and slow down as the road tilted down or up to match your current power. If you gears easy you might just end up spinning out when trying to put the power down.

Okay - is Zwift on a SS worth bothering with* or will I just get left for dead in every race so might as well just have a dumb trainer and ride staring at a wall?

*assuming it is worth bothering with at all. My hope is that it will gamify the dullness of a turbo trainer to a point that I will actually use it enough to get some benefit

I use Trainerroad with a smart trainer in ERG mode.

I’ve never had to change gear, just leave it in the middle of range. Seems to do what you are looking for but they set your target cadence / power output.

I think you would have to try it with the gearing you have and the power you can create. There is a free 7 days trial.

For racing I have found putting the difficulty fairly low means you don't have to change gear very much so can concentrate on putting the power down evenly and not get caught out with a gear change going up/down hills. It does remove some of the realism but makes it easier to get good results.

For sprint finishes probably going to be hard to hit big watts without gears

ERG mode would work fine as it just adjusts the resistance based on your current wheel speed to make you produce the required power.

Racing and most group rides don't use ERG mode, only solo/group training sessions do.

I used to use Zwift with my Pompino, only issues are, a) steep hills, b) spinning out on the flat/downhill, which is pretty much like real life strangely enough 🙂

I've now got my Fargo on it as I did want to be able to go faster down/flat, and easier up, but the grearing is still a bit low.

I'd definitely go for it, I found it a revelation, prefer Zwift to riding on actual roads.

If you want to -

Race and be competative - you will need gears
Do structured workouts - you will be fine on SS (assuming you have ERG mode turned on)
Just ride around - SS will just be like real life

I think you could just Singlespeed around zwift, it will still work. Might work quite well if you set the "relative difficulty" low (it's 50% by default). That means that a hill that looks 10% is actually 5% so you don't need to shift so many gears, so the trainer is spinning faster but the speed on the screen is still calculated from your power output. If you set that at 10% then it would only be a 1% hill, which would probably be just enough to drop your cadence as you would naturally on a geared bike and spin out on a descent.

You would probably need to pick you gear carefully though to get the cadence/power balance right.

This seems a reasonable way in. Thoughts on it and rivals.

It is at the top of my price limit so only compare to sub-£400 rivals and there doesn't seem to be much 2nd hand kit around at the moment but if you have one you're looking to shift then pm me

And with the link : https://www.wiggle.co.uk/kinetic-rock-and-roll-control-trainer-t-6500

At that price I can't see past a Kickr Snap at £429. I've no experience of that Kinetic though reviews aint great, however I do have experience of the Snap and it's a good piece of kit.

Kickr Snap seems very similar to the Rock and Roll now the R&R has ANT support - most reviews complain about it not being there but it is now - but the R&R is marginally cheaper and allows the bike to rock side to side a bit which makes it feel more 'normal' apparently.

Anyone any experience of this?

How much do you want to Zwift and how much do you want to just do some training?

For £400 you could just buy a power meter and use a dumb trainer with remote control resistance. E.g. I've got a minoura hypermag which sell for about £30 on ebay and has 7 "gears", although I leave it in the hardest and use the bikes gears to follow sufferfest workouts.

Last time I had a basic turbo trainer I found I wasn't really using it properly.

I would start off with good intentions but then get bored or staring at a wall and as my mind wandered I would suddenly realise I was hardly pedalling. This didn't improve when I tried it in front of a TV as I still lost focus on the pedalling and just ended up pedalling gently. Lack of self discipline and short attention span.

The idea of using Zwift and other such apps is that it will keep me engaged with the riding and maybe competing with friends will give me the motivation to actually improve as I am definitely back of the pack for fitness at the moment.

Kickr Snap seems very similar to the Rock and Roll now the R&R has ANT support – most reviews complain about it not being there but it is now – but the R&R is marginally cheaper and allows the bike to rock side to side a bit which makes it feel more ‘normal’ apparently.

On paper the Kickr simulates steeper gradients and has a higher max power by quite some way.
Every review of the Rock & Roll criticises the poor power accuracy, that alone would be enough to sway me towards a Kickr unless the extra £25 was a deal breaker.

This is how the kickr bike works I think.... it 'steps' the resistance to mimic gears..

Your best bet if starting fresh is too get a crank pm and dumb turbo, and use that with zwift... then you can stick it in a resistance that prevents spin out, and just ride..

DrP

In that case Id try what I thought, SS bike on a smart trainer with the relative difficulty turned right down in Zwift (you want some gradient to push against on the hills, but not the full 10% on a SS). Id expect the optimum gear to be different to the real world though.

Either that or source a knackered road bike, doesnt matter what BSO crap it is as long as the gears and rear hub work.

Looking at the crank PMs and they don't come in much cheaper unless I am missing something : https://www.cyclingweekly.com/group-tests/power-meters-everything-you-need-to-know-35563

The Kickr Accuracy is a valid point and £25 isn't a deal breaker so that is now top of the list unless someone else wants to chip in.

If I mount the Kickr on a wobbly bit of wood I get the best of both worlds 🙂

Sourcing a knackered road bike is also an option I was considering but running out of space in the garage already

https://www.mantel.com/uk/4iiii-precision-105-r7000-left-power-meter

You're going to have to comprimise on something, either SS is going to be uncompetitive/hard work/hard to make work well or adjust the difficulty, or you'll need to do the control independently of zwift (power meter + dumb but adjustable trainer).

I was using a single sprocket (16T) with 34/50 chainrings for several months on Zwift last winter, trainer difficulty typically 25-40%.

However, the baove gave me one gear for climbing and one for flat/downhill, finding a suitable setup with SS will be tricky unless you just stick to the likes of Tempus Fugit TT events.

Unless you have zero space, surely the answer is a super cheap geared bike? Doesn't need to be pretty, or modern, and if it breaks you are at home anyway.

I will probably stick my 1x10 hardtail on the machine and just ride the Leccie bike over winter.

Thanks for the help and advice.

Now we have done the fun bit of choosing the kit I just need to endure using the bloody stuff I guess 🙂