Zwift Power Display Setting Query

hypster

In Universal Settings you can elect to Display Power with a 3 sec average or instant. My query is this, if you select 3 sec average does it also delay the actual power you put down in a sprint say or is it just the display of the increased power which is displayed?

E.G. Say you increase from 200W to 600W in a second or so does Zwift calculate you are actually putting out 600W or 400W?

wongataa

It will just delay the display of your power. You usually want some averaging for the power data display as without it the number will vary a lot making it less useful.

OnTheRopes

It not so much delays as averages every 3 seconds so it kind of damps the reading like putting oil in a gauge so it doesn't flicker about but reads smoothly. Without it, as wongataa said it will vary too much and make it difficult to stay within a desired range.
It only affects what you see and not what data is stored for the ride so if you hit 600w for 1 second it will still record that as your max power although you may not see it during the ride, if that makes sense.

hypster

I have the 3 second average set but what was concerning me was the apparent lag when putting the power down in sprints or intervals. Friends have noticed this effect too especially in races where you seemingly can get caught out as you react to another rider's surge but yours comes in a second or so later.

It's not the same as racing on the road because in the real World you can react almost instantaneously to another rider's attack. In Zwift you almost have to anticipate that or get caught out by the power lag. What exacerbates this is you are actually reacting in Zwift to the opponent's power number/speed increasing whereas in the real World you can see the other rider's body language.

cougie

From the Zwift site -

You can choose 3s avg or instant for power readings. 3s avg power will look less jumpy, but also won't show sudden power changes (i.e. sprints) as quickly.

hypster

cougie wrote:

From the Zwift site -

You can choose 3s avg or instant for power readings. 3s avg power will look less jumpy, but also won't show sudden power changes (i.e. sprints) as quickly.

Cheers cougie, I'll give it a try in my next race.