New Boost Mode events are setup for next week. I moved the morning events to be 2 hours later (10am PST) so hopefully more EU folks can participate. Evening event continues to be at 5pm (PST)
Here is the schedule
May 12th
Route: Crit City 10 laps (this time with proper boost charge/discharge rates)
Boost Options: 50w/200w/500w
May 13th
Route: Volcano Circuit Reverse
Boost Options: 50w/200w/500w
May 14th
Route: Richmond Cobbled Climbs (new test course for Boost Mode)
Boost Options: 50w/200w/500w
See the all events in the Club Jarvis Events list in Zwift Companion or on the web here: The at Home Cycling & Running Virtual Training App (you must be logged in AND in the club to have any events appear with this link).
Thanks @Wes for setting these up and letting us all test out the features with you. I had fun in the jungle route last week trying out the boost (took advantage of your fatigue to catch up to you after I got a late start).
Just a quick Q here: Do you really mean for the Richmond races on Thursday to be 10 laps? I think I would die
Iāve had a lot of fun riding in Crit City yesterday! There was one thing which could be improved, I think: The charging and boosting buttons in the (Android) Companion App are in relation quite small and thus hard to push during a race. Iāve actually boosted once by accident instead of charging.
What about introducing a āRace Control Screenā which very prominently, and thus in a size not to miss with large thumbs during 180bpm heart rate, provides the regular Power Up button together with the two buttons for charging and boosting.
Such a screen could also be filled up with helpful race specific info like:
1 - a few times I double-tapped the icons without realising, so I lost touch with the group with which I was riding. Any way to remove the double-touch option, so a rider has to wait till the first boost is charged before charging another?
2 - the screenshot in my Activity is a random blank one. No problem with that but not sure if a bug or because itās a beta race.
3 - I had a couple of total but momentary drops in power that coincided with charging. It hasnāt happened to me for years, so not sure if a bug in the boost facility or related to the recent update.
4 - agree that the buttons are too small on the app on the first screen. If on the second screen, the buttons are bigger but a bit close to the Stop button and could lead to an accidental stop
5 - did I misread the intro screen, because the middle boost did not give me 17 secs of boost, closer to 10 seconds instead.
Otherwise, great fun and something tactically and strategically different from the usual smashfests
Double click makes sense for using your entire boost, but charging should probably only ever be one press per segment. Accidently boosting might be annoying but not nearly as bad as taking your power away for longer than intended.
Just got off the Volcano beta boost race. Thanks Wes. It was fun. Two comments:
I agree with comments above about double tapping for two charges being frustrating. I ride via an iPad and itās hard to mash the buttons accurately and usually takes a few tries. Accidentally double boosting was a problem for me. I see the appeal of being able to trigger another charge during a charge. But maybe the button can gray out for a few seconds after the first press so you canāt accidentally trigger it twice?
I thought that boost efforts donāt count for PRs and the leader board but I noticed after the race my last lap showed up on the leader board. Maybe a bug?
Also did the Volcano lap Boost Race (5a). Was my first one, and I really enjoyed it. There was so much going on that I had no time to properly test if the features worked as advertised. Need to do it again then;)
Some observations:
Chose the middle Boost option (+200W). It seemed to go very fast, 10 seconds max.
I donāt know what other people think but the +500W seems too much for my liking, needs to be more subtle imho. 50-150-250 or something like that.
And then combine 50-150-250 with triple, double and single charges, in stead of 4-2-1.
Racing screen put forward by Michael Kroell is a great idea!
I loved the april 1st feature last year with the burning wheels. Would be great if was combined with boost mode. Itās also better as you donāt have to look at the right hand side stats all the time, but you can see it directly on your opponents bikes.
Oh wow, good bug find. You managed not only to get the boost buttons kicked out of ZC, but you also managed to get the directional buttons to stick. Since you canāt make navigation decisions in an event, those buttons shouldnāt be there at all.
Off-topic but just on this, am I imagining things or is the complete removal of on-screen choices (even though they couldnāt be made) and the indicator lights at intersections during events a recent change?
Rode Boost Mode 5A earlier this evening ā¦ First try and it was great.
Thoughts:
I selected the first option (4x50W) and found it really easy to āChargeā whilst riding in the slipstream ā¦ probably too easy to be fair.
Using the Charge & Boost was easy via the App, but i see the appeal of more prominent buttons.
One suggestion iād put forward would be the ability to change the selected Charge/Boost option mid race, rather than making a fixed choice pre-race. Upon changing option, iād suggest that the Charge should drop to zero again, but this flexibility would allow the rider to adapt to race conditions.
PS - Also like the burning wheels option above (or any similar suggestion) as it was difficult to see when others are using their Boost.
Hey @Wes I just did the Volcano 5b test race. I agree with the comments above about making the buttons bigger as I tapped the wrong one by accident in the heat of the moment and the double tap. I ended up charging 2x in a row as I tapped in haste unsure if it had engaged.
One suggestion I would add is the ability to cancel a charge perhaps by hitting the boost button. If you get attacked by someone who is boosting while charging you might as well be pedaling backwards.
