Zwift Trainer Difficulty: There's one more thing to know....descents!

Think you've got a grip on how the Trainer Difficulty setting works in Zwift? Well, there's one more thing to know. Zwift handles negative gradients differently. In this video I discuss and demonstrate the simulation commands sent to a smart trainer for uphill and downhill gradients and compare those to the in-game virtual gradient your avatar has to slog up (and down).

--------------------
#zwift #cycling #indoorcycling

[covboy]

Ok my take on this is the following. 1) 250w up a climb equals a given speed for your Avatar. You still have to produce 250w regardless of your cadence and what gear you use....but 2) the difficulty slider allows people to make full use of their gear ratios depending on their ability. If you build a trainer capable of handling 500w in a high gear, but a user can only hold 150w, then that Smart trainer would be 'too hard' for them, and they would spend whole time in bottom few cogs. The slider allows for the differences in smart trainer ranges, AND the differences in user's capability. It does not make pushing a wattage in game easier

[jimjimtiger]

Will just leave my trainer difficulty at 50% where it's been for the last 3 years. 😁

[jussa]

Don't even own a trainer but watch all your videos for the support.

[ucdengboss]

This is a concept I understood early on that seems to fool many Zwift riders. I do believe there is one big difference though that does not get talked about too often and that is flywheel inertia. If you are set to 0% difficulty you can climb a 12% grade in what would be a flat road gear, big chain ring. That gear will spin the flywheel faster and therefore give it more inertia. You still do the same amount of watts sure but one is done with low inertia (100% difficulty) and one is done with high inertia (0%). Maybe it is all in my head but high inertia on the trainer always seems easier than low inertia for the same exact power output. Not sure I know how to explain that though...

[LewLew]

Forget the trainer difficulty, I didn’t realise “ride on’s” collected in your back pockets!! #needmorefriends 😂

[aashiqkumandan]

This is a great video. I would actually say reducing the trainer difficulty to zero is basically like riding a dumb trainer and just using your gearing to produce the watts and in turn creating the resistance. Whereas setting it to 100% is probably the most realistic feel to actually riding on the road. I would probably leave it at 100% for normal training rides and maybe reduce it for races so the gradient changes don’t affect you that much where you need to drop multiple gears and then get dropped.

[LinkElmore]

Shane, this is the best explanation of the difficulty setting that I've heard/seen yet. Unfortunately, no good deed goes unpunished. Pandora's box has been opened. At least you'll get the views!

[tylerburgess]

Anyone else piece together that it was Jan Frodeno at the top spot of that KOM? Neat. Thanks for clarifying!

[norbsy]

The way I have always looked at it Shane. The slider just changes your cluster (virtually of course). 100% is an 11-21. 50% is a 12-28 etc etc. I understand it isnt quite as simple, but it seems a fair way to explain it.

[kiverrussell]

Title music "on" astounded! 😄 Great, clear video.

[evanbrighton]

This issue first seems like a mind-bender but hopefully it isn't ... my take on it is that setting "Difficulty" is equivalent to changing gear. In-game, it still takes the same energy to climb a hill - and higher gear/lower cadence = lower gear/higher cadence = same Watts. Setting 100% difficulty just means you will need to select a lower gear for the same energy output, and same energy output therefore means no difference in-game.

[davidwebber]

Shane, riding my smart rollers I am very happy Zwift does this, otherwise I would not be able to ride down hills as I need resistance to keep pedalling and stay upright.

[carusjohn]

On some trainers that attach to the wheel they are a lot more fluid at higher wheel speeds. If I am pushing op 11% at 300w at 7mph my trainer really doesn't like it. At 50% it allows more speed at the wheel for the same power which is in a better place for the trainer to handle as its rotational speed is higher. Also it is sharing the loaded force over more tyre rubber so is less harsh on tyre wear etc.

[steveking]

Trainer difficulty slider is the electronic equivalent of a cassette swap. If you put on an easier cassette to get up the hill, then you will need to do more pedal strokes to cover the same distance--because torque x rpm = power.

[ridesofjapan]

Clear as crystal, cheers Shane!
I’m sure this must have been brought up before... riding with higher or full difficulty will be more “difficult” by the simple fact that you need to shift more (In my limited experience)
Another thing I noticed regarding descents, after I foolishly joined a race, racing up a steep hill cresting over to a steep descent it was impossible to keep the power up going down at full difficulty and keep up with the bunch even with my fastest gear. Of course being on 1x is my own damn fault but I would still need to sprint like a maniac compared to a fellow racing on 10% sitting in the middle of the cassette the whole race.

Not complaining though... just an observation, having a lot of fun with this, especially at max trainer difficulty.

Looking forward to all your little zwift tip videos now🙏

[jeffmorgan]

If I knew then what I know now...With most of my outdoor miles spent climbing in Colorado I went compact a few years ago. When I finally got onto Zwift and bought the smart trainer last fall I also picked up a new compact crank for one of my older bikes to mirror my regular outdoor ride while training indoors. I could have saved some money and hassle by simply reducing the difficulty a bit with the standard crank for the same result.

[seandonnelly]

Hi gplama it’s Sean this is the video I was asking you the question on about the Wattbike atom thank for getting back

[Mariz]

50% or 100% i believe it will impact gearing alone. i allways get amazed how effortless it looks for you to go over 300w lol

[Enigma]

I totally understand how the difficulty works. The only thing I maintain is - at least on my Elite Suito - Max trainer difficulty seems significantly harder than real-life. I have a 52X28 low gear on my bike. In the real world, while tough, I can manage to get up 9-10% grades with the gearing I have. I can't in Zwift. In my lowest gear, a 10% grade is really a stand on the pedals struggle! I tried MAX at first because I wanted the closest thing to a real-world experience. But steep grades are just too much. I've turned it down to about 60% and it's more manageable. Easier than buying a new cassette too.

[Nathan-]

I think the real question is.... Do you still have to produce the same amount of Watts to travel a known distance with the difficulty changed. That would solve all disagreements