Why do you think when you turn off ERG mode in Zwift, it goes into ‘simulated resistance mode’, not letting you ride the course elevation?
I and I’m sure countless others, wished that if you turned off Erg mode in zwift, it would default to the resistance/elevation of whatever terrain you are riding. But that doesn’t happen, for whatever reason, it ignores the terrain elevation, and defaults to simulated resistance mode where you have to specify the level of resistance.
Is there a rationale for this? Will it just not work in certain situations if they just went from erg mode back to riding the course elevation?
(I’d personally love a toggle setting if you turn off erg mode so you can choose either resistance mode, or ride the course elevation mode.)
I imagine it’s a design decision to make it easier to follow the structured workout if you’re not in erg mode. In resistance mode, you just need to choose the right resistance and cadence to hit the intervals’ power targets. If it went into sim mode and followed the terrain, then you’d constantly have to shift to maintain the right power as the grade changes. Personally, I think that’s a good skill to practice and I’d prefer if it worked that way, but I can see why they didn’t.
I am 99% sure there is free ride mode if you’ve built the structured workout in Zwift. If you’ve done it in TP then that’s where it goes to resistance mode, but that’s as it’s still got a structured power set.
That said, I’ve not built a workout in zwift for a while, I’ve still got a stack in the personal library and my coach sets his via TP.
I do know there’s a free ride mode but you can’t toggle into it from a prebuilt erg session. You have to builld it into its own separate block in the workout, I belileve.
I’d prefer to be able toggle out of erg mode mid-workout into the free ride mode. Don’t know why it only goes to resistance mode.
So you asked it to do a structured workout and now you’re saying it’s frustrating that it supports the ability to hold a steady power?
I kinda hear what you’re saying, but personally then I’d hate it if it worked the way you suggest. If I drop out of ERG for some reason, then ‘hill mode’ as you put it provides the steady resistance that lets you get back in the zone.
I think the work around may beto have some free ride blocks in the plan and then fast forward / end the interval early. It really depends on what you’re trying to do/get out of the session.
When you finish the workout it switches to free ride automatically. If you ride without a workout it’s also free ride. It’s hard NOT to free ride. In fact I have to make a workout full of blocks and ignore the watt prescription just to ride steady at a moderate resistance. If I don’t, I have to spin a high gear as the trainer difficulty only changes how steep the hills are, not the minimum resistance.
Well, that’s when you FINISH the workout. If you’re in a workout, you can’t free ride unless you prebuild it into the workout. That’s not what I’m having problems with. I do long rides on Zwift regularly, and even though I prefer erg mode with my Trainingplan’s workout intervals in there, it would be great for both training as well as just for interest/fun to be able to be able to pop out of the workout and ride some of the key terrain features in the route I’ve chosen. In particular, like dropping out of erg to ride the Alpe du Zwift in freeride mode. Or coming out of it to hammer the radio tower climb. (And yes, I know I can toggle the resistance mode to simulate the incline manually, but that’s really annoying and not the same.)
Yes, I’m asking to be able to drop out of the structured workout forcing me into erg mode, so I can ride some of the key terrain features on the route I’ve chosen.
I love erg mode and rely on it heavily, but it’s still useful AND more fun to be able to pop out of erg mode to ride like the Alpe Du zwift, radio tower, etc. at my own freeride pace and then pop into my long erg workout. And sometimes I’d like to be able to practice modulating power mid-ride on a undulating section, like the route with dinosaurs which has a lot of rollers.
I’d mainly use this on my long erg rides which are 3-4 hours long where the intervals are mostly only up to z3 and more of sustained pickups. I’d find this pop out of erg not useful and rarely use it in <90 mins rides, as the workout on those is more fixed with harder intervals.
And sometimes I start that long erg mode workout mid-session and decide I’m in a more perky mood and would rather just go a little harder on the actual course. And then sometimes I’ve done that, not programming in the erg workout, and realizing in the last half hour I may have preferred erg mode to make me really hold the power and suffer more. I’d love to be able to have that option of activating erg when I’m mentally fading but I know that I do have the ability to power through if I just buckle down.
Isn’t the whole point of erg mode to stop you doing what you feel like on the fly? And a single workout design considers the right rests. Otherwise you would just do two separate workouts during the ride.
You can use the Tab button to skip the remaining parts of a workout and later start another workout mid-ride by pressing E. Tab again to skip to where you left off if you want to do that one.
Yes, but as I mentioned, on long workouts, it’s sometimes GOOD to mix it up and do things on the fly. Erg mode is a tool, it’s not a MUST-DO command from heaven. There are times it’s great and times it’s not. On <90 min workouts I’m all erg mode, no time to jump out of it, the intensity is really fixed. On 3-4 hr rides, there’s plenty of room for flexibility, and I think it’s even good to be able to do both erg and not as you will.
I see it similar to the advantages of being able to adjust erg mode in real time +/- with the Zwift shift controllers - that was a game-changer for me, as I could now adjust the erg mode up or down depending on how I felt on the day. (It ends up almost exclusively ends up adjusting up.) Sometimes you feel great, and more training stimulus is needed. Sometimes (rarely for me), I’m toasted and I bring it down. I could do it on the keyboard before but that was super unwieldly so rarely used it - with the Zwift shifters, it’s right there, and that pretty much removes most coach complaints about erg mode not being adaptable to how you feel on the day.
Doing 2 separate workouts doesn’t work well either. You still have no flexibility mid workout.
I think it’d be cool to toggle between modes during any ride, workout or not.
I.e., I start a free ride to complete a random route, but switch to ERG mode to veg out at a specific %FTP to watch a movie (perhaps it defaults to something like 60% FTP since you aren’t in a workout). I then change my mind and want it to hold a certain level of resistance without regard to the in-game gradient (“hill sim resistance mode”). Maybe at an interesting hill I toggle free ride mode to fully simulate the climb.
I love zwift, but this issue drives me up the wall. I wish I could start a workout and just use sim mode to hit the numbers without any assistance. I’ve even used the stopwatch feature on my watch to measure out intervals when I simply want to ride in sim mode, but have a workout I’m trying to complete. Seems like this could be a super easy fix
If you are wanting to toggle between XXX watts and free ride then it’s simple to achieve that. Just create a workout with 5x intervals of 2h XXX watts, 2h free ride. Then skip to the next interval (finish early) when you are bored/want the change. You may need to set a separate timer if you’re looking for something more complex, but for the 5 hour rides you’re talking about I find I’m not adding too much complexity in. The rides with lots of jumps between power intervals, complex ramps, 2.5min rest intervals, etc are the 60-90 minute ones where the freeride stuff isn’t something I’d need.
To be totally fair, then for the cool down, I have wanted to do the same as you, and achieved it like I described above.
In that case then it’s like riding the structured set outside where I’d use the Garmin to time the intervals / report on power. Leave Zwift in sim mode, run the intervals off the head unit (not connected to the trainer resistance, just picking up the broadcast power).
Perhaps TrainingPeaks Virtual is the solution you are looking for?
I switched across from being a long-time Zwift user and haven’t looked back. Some pros and cons between Zwift and TP Virtual and whether you like it or not will come down to your indoor riding habits and preferences.
Could be but man I love my Zwift virtual shifters. I never used virtual shifting when it was a keyboard command but if it’s on my shifter or aerobar it’s game changing esp for ergo workouts where you can toggle it up to exactly how you feel on the day. No more problem of erg-lock if you’re fatigued or feeling great.