Confused About Slope in Zwift (VIRTUAL Edenbridge), along with a couple other questions

BrianAThomas · December 23, 2025, 11:27am

So I’m a bit confused on Slope mode. I started a Xert Workout that it sent to Zwift, VIRTUAL Edenbridge, which said something about Slope Mode. It was all free ride. No power target, though the intervals were colored, sort of hard to tell what I should be hitting.

I started getting ill about 20 minutes in, and had to stop. But before that I was confused anyhow, beyond the lack of a basic idea of what power targets to hit (I was taking a guess based on my FTP of 144, and doing quick math in my head (I also have a cheat sheet that shows Blue is 60-75%, green 76-89%, yellow 90-104%, Orange 105-118%, and red >118%). I was confused by how to adjust the slope, while in Zwift. In the Zwift Companion, is that where I adjust the incline on the left side of the workout menu?

I can’t ride in Zwift, and use the Xert app at the same time. My trainer is a Elite Suito, and it only broadcasts on one Bluetooth channel. (So side note small feature request, have the Xert App act as a Bluetooth bridge, so it can be used at the same time with Zwift, Rouvy and perhaps MyWhoosh, those would be the big 3.) Anyhow, as it only broadcasts one one Bluetooth channel, and it is going to the Companion App, which then sends the signal to Zwift on my Apple TV. So I got to figure out how to use it within Zwift’s Companion App itself if I ever get another workout like that again. So do I click that incline button up, so I can bring my cadence down to a reasonable level and still hit the power range? Like adjusting the bias would only change the goal if I understand that right.

And is there a way to show me the basic range on such a workout without having to guess?

Side question. On TrainerRoad, if you bail on a workout, it asks why. I don’t see an option here to say “started to feel ill”, “equipment issues”, “workout was too hard”, etc. As I’d think that is relevant.

As my trainer only can do one Bluetooth connection at a time, I’d guess if I wanted to do Magic Bucket, I’d have to do that in the Xert App itself, then just watch Netflix or something, but couldn’t do Zwift at the same time?

ridgerider2 · December 23, 2025, 5:22pm

Edenbridge is heavily sloped.
Slope, MIXEDMODE, and curvilinear interval restrictions with Zwift are described in detail here –
The Ultimate Guide to Training with Xert and Zwift – Xert
TL;DR – Substitute an alternate workout that isn’t MIXEDMODE or includes curvilinears or use EBC phone app for SMART workouts with those types of intervals.

No need for a post-workout Goldilocks survey with Xert.
Workouts scale to your ever-changing fitness signature.
Click here for an example of a scaled VO2max workout on Xert.
When your signature is dialed in you should be able complete most HIT works at 100% intensity in AUTO mode (EBC) whenever your Status stars count matches Difficulty diamond count. Workouts below or above your current count will be easier or harder to ride.
Here’s my original all-indoor experiment on Xert EBC at 100% compliance –
Pre-Base to TED; 120+ days; 100% recommended workouts completed at 100% intensity

I have since moved on from the 100% compliance mindset and come to realize there are numerous ways to achieve the strain goal for the day.
On a tough structured workout that might include skipping an interval now and then or slipping into Slope mode to do my best. Or use Slope for an easier RIB (rest-in-between). Plus, I can make up missed intervals by following XMB (Xert Magic Buckets) guidelines to address any unfilled low/high/peak buckets during an extended cooldown.
Or I can free ride to start with (no workout selected) and use XMB to accomplish the day’s XSS goal.
As to whether you have the option to do this while riding in Zwift world will depend on your equipment setup.
Do you have an iOS or Android phone?
Do you have a Garmin Edge or Hammerhead Karoo head unit?
Does your trainer bike have a separate power meter?
Do you have a laptop?

BrianAThomas · December 24, 2025, 3:41am

Slope, MIXEDMODE, and curvilinear interval restrictions with Zwift are described in detail here –
The Ultimate Guide to Training with Xert and Zwift – Xert

Okay, so I’ve looked at that guide before, but didn’t go back to it. I totally missed that slope is in the Athlete-Controlled Workout section.

No need for a post-workout Goldilocks survey with Xert.

I didn’t mean the 1-10 survey, I mean why did the workout fail. Such as Bluetooth dropout, which was the only reason I ever failed one with TrainerRoad, or Zwift. Don’t want a Bluetooth dropout to count as it was too hard an they bailed on, got to dial it back.

During my trial month, many months ago, I don’t think I failed any on Xert. I’ve now failed two in a row. One because I got sick (I think I ate too many cookies too soon before the workout), and the last one, SMART - Through The Fire and the Flames as my legs just didn’t have enough to make it through the last few intervals. I barely made it through the long 8 minute interval near the end. I did 47 of 56:30 though, so I guess okay. The gray difficulty background is near the peak of the 8 minute interval that I managed to finish, and just a tad below the interval I did soon after, that I ended up bailing on. The MPA bar never comes down much given how much effort it felt like.

This might be a limit of the Zwift controlling everything, as the SMART workout can’t do what it’s supposed to do, because the trainer can only put out on one Bluetooth connection. But it was free, so until I get a better trainer, I can’t complain too much. (Okay, I got it for free of FB Marketplace, but it had a bad board, Elite sold it to me for $100, but refunded that $100 like the day after I got it, not sure if it’s because that same day they announced they are no longer supporting that trainer, and released a few new ones, or what, but I’ll take the free board upgrade.) That is, I was under the impression, during a SMART workout, it would make adjustments during the workout based on performance. Like it might say 207 watts for 1 minute near the end, but if I’m having issued holding even 147, it might pull that back?

I have since moved on from the 100% compliance mindset and come to realize there are numerous ways to achieve the strain goal for the day.

So it to the strain goal the main goal Xert is looking at?

My phone is an iOS. I don’t have a head unit, or separate power meter, or laptop.

I might see if I can spin the bike to face the desktop computer, then maybe it can have Zwift on one screen, and Xert smart player on another, all using the same Bluetooth connection? The trick there is that my screen is a bit too small to see much, from the distance I’d have to be at. I got a couple 27” 1440p monitors on my wish list, but I’ll probably have to break down and get those myself. lol.

I’ll probably have to do YouTube, Netflix, and just put Magic Buckets on the app. Might need it for SMART workouts too until I get a way to get over the trainer’s single Bluetooth limit.

ulty · December 31, 2025, 9:20pm

Yes. The suggested workouts are selected based on XSS [low, high, peak] (i.e. strain) values that are calculated to have a desired effect on your fitness signature. How closely you matched the XSS scheduled for a day or workout determines whether you successfully achieved your planned training. For all of the different types of training programs, there is some goal that is defined as elevating certain values of your fitness signature by some amount. Xert then calculates how much XSS you need to accumulate at specific intervals over a block of time in order to achieve those elevated values.

So in a situation where you fail to complete all of the intervals in a workout, but still accumulate all of the required XSS for a day, you would have successfully met your training goals and schedule.

In that particular workout, SMART - Through the Fire and the Flames, the “SMART” portion uses intervals with dynamic power targets where the EBC app will increase or decrease the power of the intervals based on your current MPA. If you imported the workout into Zwift and had Zwift control the workout then you didn’t get those dynamic power changes. The Xert EBC app is the only workout controller that will do the dynamic interval calculation.

The “toughest” intervals in that workout are defined as “45% Reserve MPA”, so theoretically if you run the workout in the EBC app it would be monitoring your MPA during the interval and changing the power so that at the end of the interval your MPA would be 45% of your peak power. So you should see the MPA line in the chart only ever go down about halfway from the top at most. If the workout is being controlled by Zwift then those power changes don’t occur and the intervals could end up being either too difficult or too easy. However, if your fitness signature is close to accurate then the workout definition should be pretty close to sufficient when it’s imported to Zwift even though the interval power definitions will be static.

Everyone has good days and bad days (or sometimes eat too many cookies - also me the last 2 weeks that can affect how easy or hard a workout is. But if you are consistently encountering workouts that are too hard then your fitness signature might be off. Or as Scott has previously mentioned, some people are better or worse at suffering through trainer workouts than others. Whatever the case though if you just keep riding, your fitness signature should automatically adjust to a point where you can finish the workouts with an appropriate amount of difficulty.

There might be some manual profile setting adjustments or training plan adjustments you can make to change the overall difficulty of prescribed workouts as well. E.g. your training program might be too aggressive or maybe your body needs more recovery time in-between tough workouts, which can both modified in Xert.

(Edit: Had a momentary lapse of reason and mixed up “i.e.” and “e.g.” in the above. My profuse apologies to anyone who might possibly have noticed.)

ridgerider2 · January 4, 2026, 11:55pm

On Zwift you will definitely run into cases where SMART intervals are too hard or too easy than intended when the workout is converted to ZWO format for Zwift.
The simplest solution is to ride SMART workouts with dynamic intervals using EBC on your iPhone and watch whatever you want on your TV (Netflix, YT, etc.)
If your desktop can cast to your TV, you could also watch the Session Player while the workout runs on your phone.

If you have Automatically Schedule enabled under Planner settings, the routine randomly selects from the top recommended list. However, that selection isn’t the only workout you might do. Zwift Sync pushes four alternates to consider. See Workouts, Custom, Xert folder on Zwift. You’ll likely find an option to ride there.

If you’d like to add a comment to a completed workout you can edit the title of the activity or add a Note on the Planner for future reference.
Back when I was rating my compliance, I used to add a prefix to titles after an irregular workout such as MOSTLY, SORTA, or NOPE.
Nowadays I don’t bother since I usually fill any remaining buckets with XMB if the structured portion of the workout was a little too much for me that day.
Here’s an example (EBC + XMB) –

Buckets filled = strain goal met for the day.

At the moment you can’t do this since you don’t have access to XMB.

At the most basic level the goal for the day is either LIT, HIT or Rest.
LIT or HIT is further defined by estimated duration, strain score (XSS), target Focus Duration, and a Difficulty Rating.
Examples:
~1.3 hours, ~95 XSS, GC Specialist, ~3 diamond Difficulty
~2 hours, 120 XSS, Endurance, ~2 diamond Difficulty.

The ratio of low/high/peak strain determines Focus Duration.
For example, **95 XSS comprised of 91 Low | 3.2 High | 0.7 Peak equates to a GC Specialist (8-minute power) activity.

Difficulty is related to XSS per hour.
Easy: <45-50 (1 to 1.5 diamonds)
Moderate: 50-75 (2 to 2.5 diamonds)
Difficult: 75-110 (3 to 3.5 diamonds)
Tough: 110-150 (4 to 4.5 diamonds)
Hard: >150 (5 diamonds)

The other factor in play is Specificity (Pure, Mixed, Polar). I.e. how you spent your time.

Pure – You spent a majority of your time at or near the Focus intensity.
Polar – You spent a majority of your time at Endurance intensity with efforts above your Focus intensity.
Mixed – You had a mix of Endurance, Focus intensity and efforts above and below it.

More than one style of workout will achieve the goal for the day.
Recommended lists normally include a number of suitable entries.
When there isn’t a close match in the Library you can use the Magic Buckets Generator tab or Autogen to create a workout that closely matches the XSS ratio for the day. The other advantage is it’s unlikely the workout can’t be completed at 100% on Zwift.
Try that the next time a SMART dynamic workout is recommended.
When you save the Autogen or MB generated workout, it will sync to Zwift as your WOTD.

Here’s an example MB generated workout for a GC Specialist goal –

Autogen OTOH creates three sets of declining intervals to get the job done.
Here’s an example of a higher difficulty (3+ diamond) GC Specialist workout using Autogen –

The Hardness Test workout above was run with EBC iOS on an iPhone while I monitored XMB on my Garmin 830. The 830 was paired to my trainer (power only) via ANT+. I only saved the EBC recording.
Nowadays I mostly ride indoors with EBC Android which includes XMB. I can start with a structured workout, do my best that day, end the workout (at any time), and fill any remaining buckets with XMB.

Without a Garmin device or an Android phone (or Karoo), you don’t have access to XMB – yet.
XMB is being added to the iOS app but that won’t be ready for a while.
If you are keen to try XMB now you could pick up a used/refurbished Android phone. Lots of inexpensive options out there. All you care about is the battery is still good for as many hours you might ride indoors. You won’t use it as a phone (no SIM).
This would allow you to run EBC – without selecting a workout – and free ride by XMB guidelines. That includes micro-intervals of some sort on HIT days and easy endurance (below LTP) on LIT days.
This won’t solve your ride-in-Z-world dilemma but would provide another option to meet the strain goal for the day.