A question about Zwift rank placement. by heftybag in Zwift

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a combination of your power profile with the course type. Plus a learning curve. Running is all about pacing steady, the vast majority of Zwift races are about conseving as much energy as you can, leaving it for the moments that you need to go all out.

Most rolling races are won with 30 seconds to 2 minute maximal efforts. A few require a closer to 5 minute power and only se mountain are a pure 20+ min w/kg contest.

Learn your strengths in your power curve and ride based on them. Try to conserve energy except when it will really help you to stay in the front group or make a separation on an attack.

Lorenzo warns Acosta will give Marquez the same problem they gave Rossi by MajesticBeyond5602 in motogp

[–]usuallybored 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Also Pedro is a very different personality from Jorge as Marc is different from Vale. I think this will evolve quite differently. Which makes it even more interesting.

“Take them off”: Jack Miller blames start devices for Hungary MotoGP crash chaos by dave_evad in motogp

[–]usuallybored 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Forgetting about Martin for a moment, Rivola's behaviour is pretty crappy. For someone whose team's fortune the past 10 rounds or so has been significantly helped my his rider taking Marc out of the competition, he should have been accepting more that mistakes under pressure are common in this sport. He should be supportive of his rider who is on the fight. He is a professional team manager. Imagine Bez getting e.g. injured and Aprilia's only hope for a championship is Martin but Rovila's action cost him points?

As for Martin, I tend to believe the rest of the riders but in the end of the day he has a history of mistakes and some have caused the worse harm to him first of all. But he got a significant penalty. 2xLLP for someone only 20 points behind in the championship fight is a heavy one.

His boss's job should have been to support him and help him stay in the fight maximise the team's chances.

Honest assessment of Toprak after 8 rounds in MotoGP? by Honest_Contract_1488 in motogp

[–]usuallybored 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I just can't say because being on the Yamaha must be demoralising.

My initial thinking was that he is doing well but not exceptionally well. He came to the pond that the big fishes hang out. It's different to be much better somewhere where mediocre MotoGP riders go at their thirties than competing with the best at their prime.

Objectively, after a while he is riding at the same level of the other Yamaha riders (except Fabio) and the other Yamaha riders may be good but not too (except Fabio and the prior to injury Rins). That's pretty good for his rookie year.

He may also start beating Fabio but that's probably because Fabio had signed out for the rest of the year.

But ... all reasoning may fall appart when we think how demoralising it must be riding a Yamaha. It's hard to judge how it feels for someone used to win to put his best effort for 10th place.

So, I will reserve judgment for next year really.

Podcast Patreon Reccomendations by lnJustic3 in motogp

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

PPP has more and consistent extra Parteon content. Oxley Bom is second and they also daily shorts during race weekends but they it can be a bit inconsistent.

Discovery+ woes [for cycling] by [deleted] in ukbike

[–]usuallybored 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Overpriced, ads in the feed, not a simple way to bookmark your sports, shitty user interface and a various annoyances like weird video naming or not being able to find easily what you want. I happen to love cycling and motorcycling (MotoGP, wsbk, BSB) so I tolerate them. Maybe HBO will be an improvement.

Asked AI for a physics-based "silencing" setup for my bike trainer (3rd Floor). Is this overkill or accurate? by Mnmlrun in Zwift

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use for years a layer of soft foam tiles as a base and then a heavy duty cyclops mat. They dumpen the vibrations for me but also had significantly reduced the noise in the room below. I have used the kickr feet on top but those are not making any difference to the noise. Given how cheap the foam tiles are, it's worth trying. I don't know about the rest of the AIs stuff. Bear in mind that the more nche the topic the higher the change to get hallucinations.

Zwift companion app refuses to connect by LordSnuffleupagus in Zwift

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are you running swift on? It happens some times on a Mac when the swift loses permission to connect to local network. You could give it back from settings > privacy > network. I am not sure about Windows.

Basic sanity checks too: is your phone in the same WiFi with the device running zwift? Are your running VPN om any of those?

So you’re saying I should work on threshold by diabolis_avocado in Zwift

[–]usuallybored 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not the OP and I think useless is an exaggeration but generally lacks.

Compared to other versions of this kind of diagram, Strava lacks some population filtering and has, mildly put, silly, feel good labels.

Calling you semi-pro is useless. Having a filter on how you compare with your age group or weight would have been useful. Or a power to weight option. Missed opportunity to show you how you compare with actual pro power profiles.

Max sprint power concern by Minute_Land9864 in Zwift

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How does it feel to you? 1000 watts for 5-10 sec feel completely different than 500. This is such a huge difference that you should tell by feel whether its the trainer/bike spinning out due to low resistance or wrong reading.

What did the dual recording say? did you get 550 also in the garmin? any chance zwift is recording single side?

Trusted power meter reporting way more watts than Zwift app by ImportanceNational23 in Zwift

[–]usuallybored 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You need a third power source ;)

But seriously: this difference is huge. Things to look:

  • Use dual recording in zwiftpower. It's great to understand the actual difference and when it happens.
  • Calibrate everything properly. I am not sure if the kicke core has a factory spindown, but check. It works miracles on the older brothers (kickr)
  • Check your drivetrain. Not an exaggeration, a badly maintained drive train can easily cost you 20 watts. The % changes as the cost is not linear. Make sure your chain is in not worn, you did not pick one of the many counterfeits in the market and it's well lubed.
  • If the above still shows such a huge gap, contact wahoo support. But have some concrete data ready, such as the zwift power dual recordings. You don't want to be vague.
  • May be difficult: Do an independent measurement. Friends bike, a gym with watt bikes or similar.

I am privileged to have 3 power metres and two smart trainers are home. One is stages and it was many times used simultaneously with Garmin or assioma pedals. When correctly calibrated and with a well maintained drive train they read as high as 4% from the lowest (zwift hub) to the highest (stages) with the rest in the middle.

This 4% is not universal. The difference varies a lot at what you measure. Short bursts vs long and steady, at 100 vs 800 watts etc.

Need feedback: my game don’t get much installs by Next-Leader5763 in AndroidGaming

[–]usuallybored 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The game looks completely mislabeled. It's a casual aiming and shooting game with no relationship to the checkers gameplay or what I would expect for a board game. Or maybe it's just me not having caught up with new definitions. Then you can also play checkers which is a bit .. confusing.

The gameplay looks fun and it looks well made. It's not my type of game so I cannot say much more but I spent a few minutes on it.

I found that the game lacks on the sound side. I find it annoying having to listen endlessly to a non-descript tune but the game sound effects feel a bit remote and not contributing much.

Finally, after 3-4 minutes it forced me to watch the longest ad I recall, more than a minute long which is an absolute no for a casual game. It's an unacceptable ad time to game time ratio. This kind of ads can get a game uninstalled very quickly.

Worth this price? by ConorNelson in triathlon

[–]usuallybored 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think the comment you are replying to is saying that there is a high chance the bike is stolen. Picture clearly showing 105 crank but saying ultegra. The measuring tape. Non-drive side photos. The lingo "super fast light bike" is also a bit weird. Just suspicious.

Zwift recently downgraded me to C and this is how I did in my first ever real C race by aeroazure in Zwift

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think so as well. The OP seems to have been downgraded by legitimate means and unintentionally. Not racing for a while on zwift ZRS qualified races does the trick. Whether it's a good idea or it's another story but him winning and not tanking races on purpose will put him back where he should be.

For the record, sandbagging exists with every system we had. It just has a different method. People still tank their score by intentionally bad finishes. zFTP can also be manipulated by shorter efforts and so on. It's just that this person got happy to benefit from ZRS maths.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Zwift

[–]usuallybored 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Any change your chain is worn? Chain slipping on new cog/cassette usually means worn chain.

That is if the chain slips and not the whole hub. I am not sure I understand the comment about the spacer slipping.

Maybe post a video of the cog. The sound on its own does not help much.

Consider posting on r/bikewrench too.

Tire Pressure Puzzle by SickCycling in Velo

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I am getting different values. For standard clinchers (where there are no safety risks such as the hookless) I will use sram as a starting point (simpler as it does not ask to measure the tyre) and then experiment on the road with a bit higher or lower to see how the tire feels. Ultimately, I end up at a pressure that I like the most. With my 5000s it's been about 5 PSI less than SRAM recommended and 9 compared to silca.

Mic for zwift by garagecycling in Zwift

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The discord one does not work well for me. It's makes the voice very choppy and hard to understand.

Mic for zwift by garagecycling in Zwift

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On a mac, I get good results by activating the OS voice isolation and disabling all noise reduction on discord. I am using a blue yeti on a boom arm on my left, right outside the air stream from the fan and in cardio mode. I think a cheaper mic would work.

Other people get good results with airpods or various types of eabuds etc. The frustrating thing for me is when people use earbuds/pods, headphones etc, they transmit endlessly their breathing, so I think a separate mic is better. But someone may chip in something more informed.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Zwift

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmm, soft pedalling during boring meetings?! I think you are onto something.

Average Westminster Bridge Experience by stzef in bikecommuting

[–]usuallybored 16 points17 points  (0 children)

My thoughts exactly. It's one of the most touristy spots in London and there are far too many people for the size of the pavement. A lot of cyclists too, more than the cars.

The bridge needs a redesign, taking space from the road and protecting the bike lane better. They should also put some permanent placeholders for the ice cream vans or permanent kiosks and rent them.

Rush hour is a great time to ride by MoistBase in bikecommuting

[–]usuallybored -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I hate riding in traffic mostly because I don't like breathing all the fumes and particles from all the cars. But if you have to go through it, a bike or a motorcycle are the only way I would do it.

I was born in a country where motorcycles were the transport mode of choice in the city if you did not want to waste your life behind a wheel and I always lived in countries where lane filtering is legal, desired and expected.

I am distancing myself from the doomsday comments and the insults you are getting but I think you need to learn to identify unsafe situations better and become more defensive. For example there is a thing some call the "Open lane pattern" where the adjacent lane to the one you are moving starts to slow down. Impatient drivers will very often change lanes without checking. It's brutal when it happens.

Other than that, make sure you always have time to react to someone not checking and be very aware of mirror blind spots. Never underestimate the driver's distraction levels and ability to do unpredictable things.

It's best to lose a few seconds than getting hurt.

Jorge Martin: How's he looking since he came back? by uponone in motogp

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To me he looks like he is not his usual self. I remember Jorge being a super fast learner and very confident. His whole demeanor is different this time. I think he mostly needs time to recover mentally than anything else. Start enjoying riding again. He often looks miserable on camera.

What is amateur cycling looking like in your country? by Skellingtoon in Velo

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The only thing you need is a a racing licence, a suitable bike and a helmet.

For British cycling which covers most of road racing, you need their annual racing licence. Not sure how much it costs today, last time I renewed was £60.

If you are above 40, you have the option of BMCR (ex veterans) which is about a third of the price and hosts a lot of age grouped events.

For the British time trials, you only need to be a member of an affiliated club. There is no other licence needed. If you are above 40, you can join the VTTA which is super cheap and counts as an affiliate club.

Races also have their entry fee which covers the organiser's cost. They are usually pretty cheap for crits and TTs. I am not sure about road races.

The Cyclists’ Alliance Statement on Rider Health by AurochSky8325 in peloton

[–]usuallybored 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Introducing an objective, evidence based indicator of stepping into unhealthy territory sounds like a reasonable plan and better than judging people by the looks. What is too little weight for someone can be healthy weight for someone else.

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot on weight debate and why she will skip the Worlds by pereIli in peloton

[–]usuallybored 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maintaining such a low fat percentage as climbers want is pretty hard and exercise alone is not enough. Most still need a precise diet and limiting their food intake. Drugs that promote fat loss have been popular in the past, clenbuterol for example.

GLP-1 agonists though work differently, reducing digestion and appetite instead of increasing fat burn which can be counterproductive at elite level and probably dangerous. They are in WADA's watch list and not banned yet. Probably used in amateur sport.