A number of people on Facebook, including myself, have stated that climbing on Rouvy seems to be much harder than the same grade outdoors. I was riding a route in England today with a 12% max grade and was grinding hard with my compact crank in the small ring and a 28 on the back.

I'm working on a front page article on this, and have a question out to Rouvy about the best way of doing it, including where to put the camera, best camera options, etc. I like how Rouvy provides a means by which we can contribute to the overall Rouvy community and experience. I know there aren't many video routes from my area, either. Then again, central Indiana might not be described as the most scenic, either...

Regarding the grade and resistance, I need to do some testing on that. I have heard some people say they feel the grade simulation is more accurate in Rouvy than Zwift and vice versa. So, I am not sure what to say yet. I think there are some different aspects to where we arrive at different perceptions. Is it in how these products model real life (the grade, your body and bike weight, etc.), or something else? For example, I have noticed that when exporting a Zwift ride to multiple platforms like Strava, Map My Fitness, aGarmin, etc., The results are all slightly different. How are we getting so many different interpretations? Is that indicative of inaccuracies in what we feel during the ride, too?

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Travis Rassat
Vector Cycle Works
Noblesville, IN
BikeFit Instructor | FMS | F.I.S.T. | IBFI
Toughman Triathlon Series Ambassador

Yes much more difficilt climbing in Rouvy than zwift and much more than real life. No doubt about this.

Well, that's good news Travis. I look forward to reading it.


As others have agreed, the 5% on Rouvy seems to be like 7-8%, though it seems it's because I just can't sustain the power I can on the road when I'm on the trainer.
For example:
This morning I was riding up a 5.7% grade, @ 160 watts, slowly at 5mph, but it felt more like 250 watts.
On the road, (there's a similar hill nearby), it usually seems reasonable @230 watts, 8-9 mph with a similar perceived effort.
I always found my power numbers on a simple trainer to be significantly lower than on the road, perhaps this is just the same issue.
The power/effort difference may be between trainer and road rather than Rouvy and road. I don't think there is much difference on flatter rides.

Obviously this won't change the training effect but it means that I won't be able to have FUN rides on Rouvy doing classic TdeF climbs like Alpe d'Huez because I was already shagged out after the first 2 miles in my 36/28 😢