Does changing your Zwift or Wahoo RGT trainer difficulty make a difference?

I am not the strongest rider out there. I'm mid-level "C" at best. So when I hit a big hill I really feel it.
In a comment recently someone asked if my trainer difficult was at max. I didn't know what they meant. And I didn't know if it would make a difference. If I turn it down does it make the ride easier? Will I go faster? To figure it out I thought I'd do the same short hill-climb 3 times in a row--with the trainer difficulty set to 0%, 50%, and 100%. The results were interesting, if not unexpected.
In the end I do think there are people out there (me) who can benefit from having the difficulty set at a lower level, and not because it makes us faster or seem stronger. But it can make long and hilly rides more enjoyable. Thanks for watching. Enjoy. And don't forget to subscribe.

[@mikecardwell6497]

I use Zwift for training purposes,so I have mine set to max. When I go outside it feels close to the same, as it should do for me . If you are not using it for training set it to what ever you want , but if you have it set lower than max don’t wine when you go outside and you can’t burn up the hills.

[@peters1992]

Interesting video. Would also have been interesting to see the HR for each effort. I think my take is… do what makes the ride completable, enjoyable, but also challenging. And find that balance.

[@edwiser]

So the problem is that you can not do this outside. An if you are trying to gain fitness you are not going to be able to do hills out doors. Doing 50% or less trainer difficulty. For actual training 100% is always best.

[@benturp3492]

Agree. Though my trainer really struggles with 100% difficulty when gradients are over 20% 😂😂

[@edwiser]

Sounds like a sh*t trainer

[@barriobarranco]

Good video.... Heard TD as being a way of lowering gears virtually. But then no point deluding yourself you'll breeze up 20% magic road in a road gearing setup using reduced then hit the road IRL and do the walk of shame as you blow up....would be good if some bright person could quantify it all- IE you have an 11-28 cassette in reality, what percentage TD mimics that 28 becoming 34? Then if you can do the hill in that setting but want to take it outside you know you have to either get lighter/stronger/fitter or you need to get a new cassette...

[@lkb3rd]

I use around 25% because it saves me from a lot of shifting, and I never run out of gears on a steep climb. I can still feel the hills, but I only need to shift a few gears, big ring only.

[@neilveitch5761]

The other difference is going downhill, where the gradient is reduced pro rata. So if you were racing say with 50% setting against someone at 100% you could run out of big gears to keep up. I've seen this often and especially in Team Time Trials.

[@frantheman4597]

Make sure your chain is not so worn if you’re going 100%

[@Drop82-o7o]

cadence is the big difference... slow cadence explodes the legs!! people keep saying that the effort is the same, but in real life there is no difficult trainer.. how are they going to do it on a 15% climb?

[@mostly-cycling]

Absolutely! I definitely felt the difference once the cadence dropped. Had to really push through. I think that's why I was a little faster--I didn't have a choice but to make more power to get the crank to turn. I still think adjusting your difficulty can be a good part of training for someone like me.

[@Drop82-o7o]

@@mostly-cycling I think that being able to change the dificult trainer is great, but it has to be used in a realistic way..

[@chris4221x]

I am super lightweight and ride Zwift and on the real road, for me, the grades in Zwift feel unrealistic and the cadence as well while on 100%. I am definitely going to start messing around and find what feels closest to the real road. Same effort put out, at a more realistic cadence. Cheers all, thanks for the vid.

[@mostly-cycling]

Thanks for watching. Do you think it feels easier or harder for you on Zwift? Are they under- or over-estimating the resistance? I'm coming in just over 75kg, so maybe I feel the difference between the difficulties more?

[@Gledii]

this is a bit weird as you use alsmost the same amount of power, so it should feel similar :P

[@benturp3492]

No the resistance changes so it's harder. Pushing 200 watts up a hill is not the same as pushing 200 on the flat. Or into a headwind.

[@Gledii]

​@@benturp3492hmm. It should be the same. 200w on the flat will make you go faster and in a climb, slower, however the effort that you are making to produce both should be the same

[@donwinston]

It doesn't make sense to me that the power is the same but it was more difficult or easy.

[@mostly-cycling]

Yeh, took me some time to wrap my head around it. What it felt like was as the resistance went up it was harder to turn the crank, and my cadence dropped. High resistance + low cadence = low resistance + high cadence. Not exact, obviously, but I think that's the idea. It ended up basically equalling out in the end.

[@kevinblades]

you ever thought about how your body generates those watts? do you think 300 watts on the flat vs 300 w up a 10% gradient is using the same biological pathways to generate the energy?

[@donwinston]

@@kevinblades Cyclists have gears for that. It should be the same. Power is power.

[@mostly-cycling]

That's an interesting thought. I wonder if riding outside on an incline puts youninto enough of a different position that you are using slightly different muscles to generate the power, which can make it feel more difficult. I'm in Vancouver BC, and hiking up one of our mountains is much harder when their are stairs vs a dirt trail. Even though the elevation gained is the same. I wonder if the same thing happens with flat vs incline riding at the same power.

[@user-xp7me9zw6o]

Maybe try maintaining a specific speed instead of a steady power. And see the difference

[@donwinston]

I think the trainer difficulty feature is silly. I always set it at the maximum.

[@FoobsTon]

Really? I go for eleven...

[@mjf1975]

The true comparison comes when you actually ride the same hill in real life. Then you can determine if 10% in the virtual world is the same as 10% in reality I think the virtual 10% is harder but there’s no science behind that

[@mostly-cycling]

Definitely. Interestingly when I created that road from Komoot and then brought it into magicroads it didn't get the incline correct. Though I didn't run it through GPX magic or anything. I'll have to try fix it and give it a go. Curious if it feels different.

[@pedalpatrol]

The real question still is why people compare Virtual Reality with RL?

[@mjf1975]

@@pedalpatrol Because technology allows us to. It’s exactly why Zwift racers have ended up in the Pro peloton and people playing car racing simulators have been given professional racing contracts

[@kevinblades]

that all depends on the quality of your turbo and the software being run; do this exp on wheel on turbo vs kicker core vs kicker vs neo you will get a different result for each. outside is outside and it doesnt care

[@user-fk8rb8ue5h]

Just another way of altering the number of teeth on the cassette. Saves a lot of faffing about. To be honest, it's old news can be found in other places online