Zwift trainer difficulty setting

[BigDL]

So I changed my difficulty setting last night from the default 50% to 100%, which is apparently the closest to reality. Ego smashed in one session.

 

Where do you guys set yours?

[HdB]

I had mine on around 50% the last few months. The gearing I had (53/39 and 12-25) was simply too much for me on Alpe du Zwift or the radio tower on 100%.

 

My new bike has a 52/36, and the trainer's cassette has been replaced with a 11-28, so once I've located the through-axle adapters for my trainer, I'll test the difficulty setting on 100% again

[BigDL]

I had mine on around 50% the last few months. The gearing I had (53/39 and 12-25) was simply too much for me on Alpe du Zwift or the radio tower on 100%.

 

My new bike has a 52/36, and the trainer's cassette has been replaced with a 11-28, so once I've located the through-axle adapters for my trainer, I'll test the difficulty setting on 100% again

I had this false belief that my new bike was somehow a monster on the hills and I had magically become a climber. This was truly corrected last night [emoji23]

[Jaco-fiets]

Stupid question but where do you set it?

[HdB]

Stupid question but where do you set it?

It is a slider in the Settings menu. The default is 50%

https://zwift.com/news/4306-zwift-how-to-adjust-your-trainer-difficulty

[BigDL]

Stupid question but where do you set it?

Not stupid at all. I have had my kickr for a year and only found out about it this week.

[bertusras]

Interesting, I thought that setting was for how quickly the trainer increases or decreases the resistance with gradient changes.

[Markellis]

I watched these vids on this a while back

 

 

[Furbz]

100% why train at anything less than the real thing

[Kiwi]

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

 

https://zwiftinsider.com/kickr-climb-trainer-difficulty/

 

https://zwiftinsider.com/how-much-trainer-resistance-do-you-really-need/

Edited January 6, 2020 by Kiwi

[BigDL]

So, if I understand correctly, 100% is what I need if my goal is to get better at riding hills?

[JanJan]

So, if I understand correctly, 100% is what I need if my goal is to get better at riding hills?

 

I would suggest so, depending on your bike's gearing. At a certain inclination, you can't spin-to-win and you would have to grind the pedals at low cadence. However, most people at these low cadence sections will get out of the saddle, which will feel a bit silly on an IDT.

[JohanDiv]

"Trainer Difficulty" is the wrong name for this Zwift function and it has been covered a million times on a thousand other Zwift forums. Essentially all the slider does is making your virtual cassette range bigger or smaller. Watts is Watts. You still need to push the same X amount of Watts to get your Y amount of weight up Z hill regardless of at what setting you adjust it to. If you slide it to 50%, the hill is going to feel easier, but you are also going to move up the hill at a slower pace than at 100%. Rather just think of that setting as your virtual cassette range.

 

 

Edit: The frustration in my first sentence isn't aimed at BigDL or any of the other posters, but actually at Zwift. The name "Trainer Difficulty" they gave it has been causing confusion amongst Zwift users for years while it actually has nothing to do with difficulty.

Edited January 6, 2020 by JohanDiv

[Furbz]

"Trainer Difficulty" is the wrong name for this Zwift function and it has been covered a million times on a thousand other Zwift forums. Essentially all the slider does is making your virtual cassette range bigger or smaller. Watts is Watts. You still need to push the same X amount of Watts to get your Y amount of weight up Z hill regardless of at what setting you adjust it to. If you slide it to 50%, the hill is going to feel easier, but you are also going to move up the hill at a slower pace than at 100%. Rather just think of that setting as your virtual cassette range.

 

that is the best explanation i've heard

[BigDL]

"Trainer Difficulty" is the wrong name for this Zwift function and it has been covered a million times on a thousand other Zwift forums. Essentially all the slider does is making your virtual cassette range bigger or smaller. Watts is Watts. You still need to push the same X amount of Watts to get your Y amount of weight up Z hill regardless of at what setting you adjust it to. If you slide it to 50%, the hill is going to feel easier, but you are also going to move up the hill at a slower pace than at 100%. Rather just think of that setting as your virtual cassette range.

 

 

Edit: The frustration in my first sentence isn't aimed at BigDL or any of the other posters, but actually at Zwift. The name "Trainer Difficulty" they gave it has been causing confusion amongst Zwift users for years while it actually has nothing to do with difficulty.

I understand this, and in the context of the game, it makes sense. However, would your advice still be to stay at 100% if I am looking to simulate the real world as best as possible, rather than allow for a cassette range that I don’t actually have?

[JohanDiv]

I understand this, and in the context of the game, it makes sense. However, would your advice still be to stay at 100% if I am looking to simulate the real world as best as possible, rather than allow for a cassette range that I don’t actually have?

 

Yip, then 100% would be best I'd say.