What is your trainer difficulty set at on Zwift?

Triathlon Forum
1

Intrigued to see where people are at
.

2

Dumb question, but what does that mean?

3

I always turn it up to 11.

4

I always turn it up to 11.

the only right answer.

5

Dumb question, but what does that mean?

The trainer difficulty adjusts how closely your trainer simulates actual hills. So the higher the trainer difficulty is, the more “realistic” it would be when you’re climbing zwift mountain.

Note, regardless of your trainer difficulty, it still takes the same watts to go up that mountain. Having it on an “easier” setting just makes it so you can maintain higher cadence more easily.

Think of it as “trainer realism”

https://zwiftblog.com/using-the-trainer-difficulty-setting-in-zwift/

6

At about 75% on a Cyclops Hammer
.

7

Red, because red is faster.

8

I have a kickr, set on zero when doing intervals and about half way if i was simulation on a longer z2 ride. If i went higher than halfway I’d run out of gears on the big climbs.

9

I’ve played around with it a bit, and went back to the default of 50%. As was said, it doesn’t change the power required to get up a hill. It only changes what % grade is simulated by your smart trainer. My understanding is that the feature is there because some smart trainers can only simulate up to a certain percent grade. So if, for example, your trainer can only simulate an 8% grade and you come across a 11% climb in Swift, the trainer would presumably explode and you’d die (OK not really). By setting the difficulty to 50%, for example, you trainer will treat an 11% grade in Zwift as a 5.5% grade. The net effect of all of this is that, the lower the difficulty, the less shifting gears. 50% means, for me, that I can stay in one chainring and cover pretty much all terrain across my 9-speed cassette.

10

So if, for example, your trainer can only simulate an 8% grade and you come across a 11% climb in Swift, the trainer would presumably explode and you’d die (OK not really).

I can provide video evidence this does happen on occasion. :smiley:

11

So if, for example, your trainer can only simulate an 8% grade and you come across a 11% climb in Swift, the trainer would presumably explode and you’d die (OK not really).

I can provide video evidence this does happen on occasion. :smiley:

As can I:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Removing_Blood_Stains_(Somewhat_Graphic)_P5356794/?search_string=blood%20stains#p5356794

12

So if, for example, your trainer can only simulate an 8% grade and you come across a 11% climb in Swift, the trainer would presumably explode and you’d die (OK not really).

I can provide video evidence this does happen on occasion. :smiley:

As can I:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...od%20stains#p5356794

Holy shit! And here I was JRA (just reading along) while eating my lunch…

Now it seems I have some extra reading to do.

13

Dumb question, but what does that mean?

The trainer difficulty adjusts how closely your trainer simulates actual hills. So the higher the trainer difficulty is, the more “realistic” it would be when you’re climbing zwift mountain.

Note, regardless of your trainer difficulty, it still takes the same watts to go up that mountain. Having it on an “easier” setting just makes it so you can maintain higher cadence more easily.

Think of it as “trainer realism”

https://zwiftblog.com/...ty-setting-in-zwift/

OK, maybe you know. I’ll read the above linked article but post my question anyway b/c, it’s more satisfying…

You know the sock slider switch? Regardless of where you slide it to, it seems there are 4 sock heights: not visible, barely visible, short, tall.
This leads me to ask, what are the “settings” for trainer realism? 0?, 10%, 45%, 100%? Or is it 0%, 50%, 100%? Or is there 25%, 75%? Any idea??

Thanks! (Now to actually read the link…, after the graphic blood splatter one, that is.)

14

Intrigued to see where people are at
Obvious question: which trainer do you have?

Some dumb trainers aren’t adjustable for difficulty. (No, that knob should be tightened to prevent the tire from slipping. It does not increase resistance.) Some dumb trainers are adjustable. With a smart trainer wouldn’t it be best to just leave it alone and let Zwift control it? Climb up the volcano, scream down the other side? That’s the appeal of a smart trainer and Zwift. If you want hard all the time, or ERG mode, it’s be better to just use trainer road workouts or watch a movie or something instead of playing Zwift.

Edit: never mind. just realized you were asking about the in-game setting. Not a setting on the trainer. Duh. I leave that slider at default (in the middle).