Other platforms don’t support Zwift’s version of virtual shifting currently but you can put any Shimano compatible cassette on your trainer and use it with any cycling app. The Cog on your trainer is just a cassette that happens to have only one gear.
1 Like
Whoosh is the sound sportwashing makes.
5 Likes
No for sure–there are tubeless setups that go together like magic, and work flawlessly. I’m running Terravail tires on WTB rims on my Cutthroat, Orange Seal, and they’re painless. Combine that with a waxed chain and it’s the least maintenance I’ve ever had to do on any bike. Even my SRAM hydros are pain-free on that bike. (Maybe it’s the bike, lol)
But tubeless ‘standards’ are like bottom bracket ‘standards’, in that there are none 
So lots of tubeless setups are a massive PITA, both to setup and to maintain. Road tubeless in particular. Anecdotally, for every two easy tubeless setups there’s one headache. Maybe 3:1.
IndieVelo supports Hubs including the Cog version with their virtual shifting.
PS. but you use keyboard shortcuts, not the proprietary Z stuff that is a rort.
3 Likes
Yes that ridiculous foray into hardware has probably used a significant chunk. Why did they ever do that? I think maybe they got carried away on a peloton vibe and during COVID thought they were going to be worth a fortune. Cycling is quite a niche sport. Not tiny, but not football sized. Riding indoors on Zwift generally only appeals to cyclists. It’s not a huge pool of potential subscribers. Peloton appealed to fitness people. The debt problem is huge. Traineroad had to increase their costs to a similar level and they have no debt (but do have a restrictive grandfathering policy which I bet they regret)
$600m… really poor investment for where the game is now. I like Zwift…but looking at the state of the game…it is not a $600m platform. Quite clearly, no clear strategy, a lack of strategic direction. Built on a platform that hinders development…loads of bugs, a management team that takes the community for granted. I don’t see significant development in the next 12 months as they’ll be in consolidation mode, and in fact…they may not even survive the year.
4 Likes
Don’t really like the price increase, but will stick to Zwift awhile I think. Have been here since beta and have really been enjoying the experience (game AND community) on Zwift. But I also stopped using Tacx Trainer Software after around 8-9 years, before moving to Zwift, so who knows? For me it all depends on the route that Zwift is taking in the coming months/year. Think that many people here are too harsh, I’ve read a lot of comments in this thread of people saying Zwift doesn’t listen or even hate their customers. That’s not true, we’ve definitely seen multiple new features this last year that have been asked for. The main issue is that development HAS been slow and also for quite some time. In this way other platforms will get get closer and eventually surpass Zwift. I installed Indievelo a few weeks ago to give it a first look. It didn’t resonate with me (yet) but reading the lengthy, weekly (!) emails with release notes seems to indicate that development is quick! They’re nowhere near Zwift atm, but growth rate (in development and customer base) is the most defining part of future success…
1 Like
They laid off more folks earlier this year so I can’t imagine their development will suddenly become quicker.
4 Likes
I would pay the increased sub if I saw the value on the screen, but I do not. Will not be paying the increased price. I think Zwift has taken a bit of a gamble with this decision.
3 Likes
There was a DVD and movie out called ‘The Corporation’, and the premise of it is that if corporations were really people, they would be locked up for being a horrible menace/incredible danger to society! Corporations have killed, poisoned, and maimed millions of people. They have watched people be thrown into the pit of destitution, all without a damn care in the world. Corporations literally BUY politicians, they BUY sycophants that dote on every word, they BUY universities and even whole departments there and relentlessly push their agenda on everyone they can, and BUY the stupid people through their AstroTurf groups. (And they all generally do it to some extent)
Being ‘loyal’ to a corporation would kinda be like being loyal to Jeffry Dahmer, or Charles Manson (if he were still alive). It’s bad enough working for one I think, being ‘loyal’ to one? I mean, even Apple isn’t a white knight coming to humanities defense. Would someone be loyal to Shell Oil? Dow Chemical? Tesla? Ford? Coca-Cola? Jimmy Johns?
But it’s like saying ‘MY team’, etc…
With exercising, I’m loyal to MYSELF, and the by product of spending money on Zwift is I get to exercise, punish myself, etc… I don’t have to stay with it, or anything I don’t want to. shrug If I couldn’t ride, my world would change. I’d for sure have to eat a hell of a lot less… 
I agree to an extent–my claim is that corporations aren’t even the sort of things that could be loyal in any reality, because they aren’t persons. They aren’t conscious beings, any more than any stack of paperwork.
People in corporations do all sorts of horrible things, and legal corporate personhood might very well be one of the most harmful concepts in the history of humanity. But the corporations themselves are simply not the kind of thing that you can be in an interpersonal relationship with. Even ‘good’ (non-destructive) corporations cannot be loyal. They can’t be kind, they can’t be unkind, they can’t be happy, sad, angry, they can’t hold beliefs (looking at you, Hobby Lobby), they don’t think anything. People do all of those things.
And it’s more than just a casual comment, it’s highly relevant. As soon as people stop expecting a stack of paperwork to be loyal to them, the better off the whole planet will be. It’s not a knock on Zwift to say this, it’s just a fact about what corporations are. They are not people, so they can have no interpersonal relationships. Like loyalty.
1 Like
Not here it isn’t, with the cost of consumables like tyres and tubes. And the inevitable coffee stops on outdoor rides with friends, because they want to stop. Two days of the weekend and two coffee stops is more than the price increase of the Zwift here.
So I’ll stay with Zwift because there are things it still does that other cycling apps don’t do.
I’ve got a whole lot of them:
Fulgaz, Zwift, Rolla, PerfPRO Studio
3 Likes
On Zwift you get mocked for coffee stops 
Such a steep price increase - I found it ridiculous. I was not with Zwift for long enough - just over a year but that’s me gone now. I don’t really care whether Zwift has or hasn’t increased the price since 2017. It increased the price for me after a year with no additional content whatsoever.
4 Likes
OK, two thoughts; I guess since the weather has changed to nice in the northern hemisphere, the folks who are just getting a desperate workout are packing it in and the rest of us need to step up and take up the monetary slack.
Two; 25% increase. I am happy with the white socks, black shorts and orange jersey. That pretty much mates with my team racing kit. However, for all the increased cost, I think my jersey should show the advertising of my actual team jerseys. I’m waiting.
We have real coffee though, not just got a button to avoid the strenuous Col du Tempus. 
With all the rainy weather for many weeks, that covers nearly half the year of Zwift price increases.
Southern Coast of Watopia? Another new big climb soon to be released? Those are pretty big releases.
Oh and all the graphics changes to the entire Watopia world also. That was unexpected and a large amount of work.
2 Likes
There’s been no additional content this entire last year?
I pay $1/month to use my Trainer’s (ELITE) software.
You think I’m going to pay an extra 18$USD to see light saber wheels and that shitty background music? PER MONTH? It was justifiable due to the racing, events, training plans, and “community” but I haven’t used Zwift since May 2023 as an experiment and I do not miss it at all. You’re going to regret this price hike. It’s done out of greed.
good bye zwift
2 Likes
and almost all trainer software is free or $20usd/year …
There is TV that’s free over the air too. Some people find that to be enough. Others pay for streaming services they use daily 
No issue with a small increase but such a big hike without any real warning is unjustifiable. I won’t be continuing with my subscription
5 Likes