Cape Epic 2020 FAQ

:relaxed: Some of us don’t commute to work so we need to ride a bit more.

But I am also surprised at how few MTB’s I see.

Maybe some think they are slower than they are.

I guess many people only bother if they’re doing a route of decent elevation.

They do seem much slower, in my experience. I tried a couple of ToW stages starting off on it, but I was just getting passed by everyone on Fuego Flats, so I switched bikes. Might have been good to have the elevation through Titans Grove, but meh.

When I used it for the AdZ stages, I passed loads of people on the Jungle dirt section. Definitely the right choice there, but once I hit the slopes I was mostly getting passed again. Noticeably slower for a given W/kg than I’d expect on a standard bike.

Sure, if you’re tootling along doing your own thing, you might as well be on the Scott MTB. But in any group ride scenario, it’s quite punishing to be on it when no one else is.

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Hi,
I’ve done Stage 3 of Tour of Watopia on tuesday: Alpe of Zwift on the Scott Spark RC. It’s harder than a road bike. More than 1000 m d+.
I’m very surprised (and angry) that my climb isn’t counted in the challenge.
How can it be done?

Cheers

I do agree it is not as fast as the road bikes, same as IRL.
I would not use it in any group activity if I want to be competitive or just ride in a group.

So according to Zwift insider the MTB is about 7sec slower per km on flat roads, and 6 minutes slower up the Alpe de Zwift.

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Yeah, I always take those ZwiftInsider results with a bit of “yeah, but…” IIRC Eric uses 70kg and 300W or something, but there’s huge variance in real Zwifters weight and power.

I mean, I guess if a bike/wheels are slower for one person they should be slower for everyone. But the amounts could vary greatly.

I think recently he did a comparison with three different weight/power profiles or something.

Yes the bot results may not truly reflect what we see. But it is a good starting point.

Maybe a bot that randomly change pace…LOL

But yes accelerations will also play a role and that is not accounted for with a constant speed test.

As a heavy rider I have to put out a lot more power to keep up with sudden accelerations even just getting out of the start pen.

As a beginner with no consideration, I have also completed “Tour of Watopia 3: Alpe of Zwift” on the Scott Spark RC. My 1045m was safely counted by this challenge but the toughness was more than my imagination.
I have two related questions on this week’s events.

  1. When I started “Race Week Ride - Road to Sky”, I was moved to “Volcano Circuit”, keeping the same title “Cape Epic Road to Sky”.
    Sending messages with no reply, I rode alone 5 laps+ around Volcano without finding an entrance to Alpe and the goal.
    I apology to be late for 3 minutes at the starting time due to a connection.
    Did my 3-minutes lateness and my under-12 level block my access?
  2. Completing “Race Week event - TT Prologue - Tempus Fugit”, I could not unlock “the zebra-inspired Cape Epic kit”. Some did. How could I do?
    (Sorry. I have posted this second question at “Zwift Insider” but there was no comment).

Terry there were two Tour of Watopia stage 3 rides starting at the same time The A ride went up Alpe de Zwift the B ride did Volcano Circuit. I was confusing. .

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Thank you, Mike.You give me some ideas on the system.
“Absa Cape Epic Race Week Ride - Road to Sky” may perhaps share the switching algorithm between “Tour of Watopia, Stage 3 - Road to Sky” and “Volcano Circuit”.
However, “Absa Cape Epic - Road to Sky” has no option to choose “Volcano”.
Furthermore, I rode more distance than “Tour of Watopia 3 - Volcano” (22.5km), looking for either an entrance to the Alpe or the goal of Volcano and sending help messages in vain.
Anyway, it was my fault as a beginner to be late for 3 minutes at the starting time.

I had this exact same experience - so anti-climactic - and FRUSTRATING!

Thanks for your helps, I successfully completed AdZ, the kit and the Mission. I enjoy them as a novice hill climber :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:. Thanks, Cape Epic and all!

an update with a little more detail. I completed the Cape Epic mission (climbed the prescribed elevation) during and acent of Alpe du Zwift last night. I never saw the Acheivement popup. After finishing my ride, I logged back in and saw the mission panel still there showing that it was still active, however it showed that I had climbed the necessary amount. I logged into the game and noticed I had the badge in my Badges window, but I did not receive the 100,000 drops, nor is the bike unlocked in my garage (it still says I can ride it free while the mission is active). I also recieved an email from Zwift with the subject ‘Fin!’ saying I had completed the mission.

FWIW, I was using my iPad Pro for the game play when I completed the mission (not sure if that matters).

I’m not super concerned about the bike unlock, the drops, or the in-game badge, but I am not confident that i was entered into the drawing for the real bike. I doubt this will ever change (unless I win). No one at Zwift will ever confirm or deny my entry.

It’s really frustrating encountering these bugs. Especially when the are de-motivating and leave a bad taste in your mouth, and not wanting to ride. (I had and still have similar experiences unlocking the Surrey Hills Route badge - Lot’s of folks on the forum are experiencing the bug, but no one at Zwift has ever confirmed there is even an issue - how fun is it to ride 48km (or climb 9300ft) in anticipation of a reward, only to encounter a bug that effectively breaks the mission).

I’m glad the indoor riding season is over and I can finally start riding outside.

I think you misunderstand. In my garage, the bike is still showing ‘Free to use until the end of the Cape Epic mission’.

There is also the matter of the mission status page on the initiall login screen still showing the mission active, with the maximum number of feet climbed. This is strangely reminiscent of the Tron Bike confusion when we had to climb beyond the mission goal to get the Tron Bike.

And again, I’m not too fussed about the in game badge, or the paint job for the bike, I just want to know that my entry for the bike contest was submitted. This is obviously some kind of bug, and I/we have no way to know what the actual details of the bug are.

Hi Eric,

You seem mad. Not sure why?

I never claimed to have some kind of unique special circumstance. I’m just here providing information for others to see so they can see what is going on, including the developers and support staff who might benefit from it.

Mkay?

I have the same issue as Jim above.
It is a little irritating. I mostly did the challenge for the kit colors and being a sucker for raffle prizes.
I did all mine on the Alpe climb races knowing no matter what race I do I lose anyway. I just planned it as my second day in a row most weeks and rode medium hard. It was super fun to pass people on road bikes in the dirt section. I would have to sand bag D to win with my lower B race wattage numbers. I just focus on the workout.

Is there anyway to confirm you completed and get the kit and raffle entry?
Or did I have to do the entire race series to qualify?
I would have done but it over lapped with the other event Watopia so hard to complete both at the same time.

Let me know if I can inquire and verify.

Rob

I think this is quite likely. I say that because I also still see it showing as “available to use”, and not available to buy, having completed the mission today (I got the popup and the email).

I am late to getting started on the ABSA Cape Epic Mission, but I logged 3831 ft with my first ride two days ago, but even though I climbed another 2241 yesterday, on the same Scott Spark RC bike (no change in settings or bicycle choice), those additional feet are not registering.

Update: I am also unable to post screenshots of my ride history and photos of my current feet climbed on my Apple IOS devices to this forum post.

I rode over 1,300 feet today but it hasn’t registered. I was on the Scott bike etc. Annoying as I’m only 1,500 off the target. What’s happening?

Tried finishing up the challenge yesterday (last day, 3/31) only to get caught by April Fools early (was still 31st where I live) and couldn’t select the Spark. Extremely frustrating!

@Amy_Levang_FEAR

The April Fools was supposed to go live at midnight local time for our members, but it didn’t happen that way. For those whose Cape Epic mission completion was affected, your mission will be credited shortly. It may take us a little while to sort this out, but we’ll get this resolved as soon as possible!

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