Zwift Cog and Click (and Ride) support?

so it works, but isnt perfect for an effort where the interval is short. only being able to use ERG means it takes 3-4 seconds to get into the power and really out of it into the rest. basically it lags a bit which is really fine for stuff over a minute in duration. so i came up short in the Yellow Bucket.

Yeah, 10s intervals are kind of tough on the timing, especially when they are in a series of 10s on 10s off repeats. I just try to spin up a higher cadence about 4-5s before the power hits, go until the power drops, and then just coast for 5s after since it’s nearly impossible to pedal with the flywheel momentum outpacing the low power of the rest-in-between.

Were you running a regular 100% ERG workout or a mixed mode workout? If mixed mode, were you trying out the slope adjustment strategy or just going with whatever power ERG mode was in? I haven’t yet tried doing slope adjustments in a mixed mode workout so just curious.

correct. really in a workout with intervals at 30 second or less it takes time to get into power when using ERG. i typically would not, but with my current combo i had too. :slight_smile:

this was a smart workout i used where i used EBC and it was in auto mode.

I finally upgraded to a direct drive trainer and also installed a Zwift Cog and Click. The Zwift Cog is a plastic piece of junk IMO. Being able to mix drivetrains (use various bikes) is cool and it’s quiet but it comes with a big cost that may cause more trouble than you realize for your training.

  1. I found shifting with the little buttons impossible when I’m under duress (training!), especially on a mountain bike. It looks like they would be easier to use on a road bike with drop bars for sure. You still have the hassle of moving them to whatever bike you want to use on your trainer each time.

  2. It may force you to use a Bluetooth bridge, for sure if you’re using Apple TV. A bridge adds more delay and complication to any setup and is just a bad idea in general. I think the delay can be enough to cause trainer control issues.

  3. Using different bikes opens a big can of worms with power meter accuracy. All these claims of 1% accuracy are essentially blatant lies because there is no standard method used to calibrate. I GUARANTEE if you test your setup you’ll find FAR larger discrepancy - more like 10% (actually a linear deviation so it will be better at low power and gets progressively worse at high power). A big number like 10% can seriously degrade your training. Not a problem if you use the same power meter indoors and out and across all bikes but that’s just rarely reality.

I’m putting a cassette back on my trainer. Zwift Cog and Click seems like a great idea until you actually try it and also give it some thought…

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It’s probably to each their own based on their equipment, needs & preferences…

I have the Click & Cog, but I opted not to install the cog & left my physical 11 sp cassette on the trainer to use with Xert EBC. But this does give me the option to use virtual shifting with Zwift (if trainer & click is paired to Zwift via BT). I was originally thinking that the virtual shifting was a bit of a gimmick, but ended up enjoying it far more than I expected and have enjoyed using it for free rides & racing once I got used to shifting with the small buttons. :slight_smile:

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I think the Click shifter pod things would be more tolerable on drop bars. There’s just no way to mount them in a useful (when training) position on a flat MTB bar.

I use SRAM wireless Blips for shifting. If I were 20 years younger, I would have hacked some way to use those for virtual shifting. I’m pretty sure they use a proprietary wireless protocol or a secure connection at the very least so it wouldn’t be a trivial project. Sure would be nice to just pull the battery off my derailleur and use the Blips as usual though.

PS. The SRAM wireless Blips actually are Bluetooth. One more reason to pull the derailleur battery when on the trainer. The other is to prevent accidental shifts off the Zwift Cog. It’s a clever design but all the plastic is a fail, especially when there’s too much space to prevent a 12-speed chain from derailling and getting jammed in-between said plastic and the steel cog.

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i came from a v5 Wahoo Kickr, with cassette, and my backup road bike on it. now i have the full Zwift Ride bike with the new Core 2 and Cog. The virtual shifting is indeed underwhelming. It is not something i see as a plus really. everything else is great. I got it as it was on sale and for ease of use. i wanted to free up the back up bike to ride outside more.

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There’s also another thing I haven’t seen mentioned anywhere. A trainer only has a finite amount of resistance that it can apply. Real gears maximize that range and also spread it out across a wider range of cadence. Using a single cog reduces the range of resistance and cadence. It must not be a problem for most people but it has to be for some at either end of the power spectrum.