Customer contact with Zwift

Hello,

I recently purchased a Zwift Ride Smart Frame with a Wahoo KICKR CORE for Zwift Ride. I have some technical issues with some parts.
I tried to contact Zwift by email but no response.

Anybody has an idea how to get in contact?

Did you ever get a response? I’m not getting a response as well.

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Ok I completely understand that customer support can get swamped during certain periods. Then again, I has been a week since I mailed the support about not receiving an order.
Again, I don’t want to be negative, but as a customer I do think I should get communication on what’s happening with my order.

I am looking for advice for my visually impaired nephew, 23 years old.
He enjoys using my turbo trainer however he requires verbal information as touch screen is unworkable. Does Zwift have any app that supports visually impaired members?
Philip.

Unfortunately, I don’t think it does.
Here is a link to an older thread on this topic.
There may community members there who could tell you about work arounds they use or other platforms that may be more accessible…

Thank you for your reply, very kind of you.:+1::ireland:
Philip

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At present Zwift remains inaccessible for blind and low vision cyclists. The leadership and development teams are very well aware of this issue for us who are blind, along with being aware of solutions to resolve these barriers.

For those of us that has been in the accessibility training and advocacy arena, the stance by Zwift, My Whoosh, and other indoor and virtual cycling platforms offering community events, races, and other activities endorsed and leveraged by cycling’s national governing bodies, is akin to telling those who use wheelchairs, so sad you cannot enter a building due to stairs or other physical barriers. Its no different than other civil rights barriers where by access is being denied due to other demographical or identity related decision by leadership and supported by the community through ignorance or ignoring the issue.

Yes I am very passionate about this topic, cause I enjoy Zwift and other virtual cycling platforms as a blind individual with no sight. This is the only way I am able to hop on my Wahoo Kickr setup and join a group ride or race against other cyclists without the barriers I face IRL with finding a tandem pilot, transporting one of my tandems to the event, and then competing and not fully knowing if the results where due to my legs, my pilots, or what not.

Now how do I use Zwift? I have a YouTube video from a year or so ago that shows how I use an iPad, VoiceOver with Screen Recognition, and Zwift, with Zwift Companion running on my iPhone. This is a workaround and not a solution for what needs to happen when it comes to building an accessible interface. Another alternative can exist, and it would require a scripter to write a script for JAWS or NVDA, that so far I found no one willing to take on that task.

So its awesome that you are asking for your nephew, and I hope you and he, along with others reading this help me in advocating for Zwift to prioritize the inclusion of accessible and universal design concepts within their platforms. Yes this can fall under disability rights laws that protect against discrimination based on disability status for digital platforms, as Zwift does possess a physical presence with their Zwift hardware and being used by governing bodies for official activities.

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It seems like such a missed opportunity to recruit customers from the community with low or no vision. Indoor bicycle training is really perfect for them, and many of them yearn to reproduce riding experiences they had prior to developing vision problems. The first one through the accessibility gate would collect those people and earn their loyalty.

Exactly, that is one of the topics I do mention when directly engaging and talking about this topic, we are a very willing and presently untapped pool of perspective customers. Whether it’s Zwift, Training Peaks Virtual, or My Whoosh, first across the accessibility finish line will be rewarded. Just ask Trainer Road what happened when they worked with us in the blind community back in 2017-2019, they launched a completely accessible platform that gained the loyalty of the blind cycling user base. Now that eSports is a real thing, UCI and governing bodies are offering races and events, and more, we desire to be able to join the movement.

The sad part of all of this is the first set of barriers, the lack of accessibility of the login, setup, and menu screens. These are nothing more than screens filled with static text, buttons, banners, and other controls. Video games going back to the 80’s and 90’s knew how using arrow to create self voicing menus. More recently games like The Last of Us and EA’s Maddon NFL series went further to create fully accessible interfaces for us to navigate and get to the game playing aspect.

Many of the advancements Zwift would need to take do more than benefit us who are blind, but would be a boom for so many more. Think of those who are aging and needing to use readers and other visual enhancements to see text. They would love some of the universal design elements impacting readability to self voicing interfaces. Think of when you are racing how cool it would be to have an audio prompt that states you are starting a segment, you are on the 3 of 5 laps, or even your current power or HR. All of these items are cool features that the entire community could leverage.

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Hello Timothy,
Thank you for your reply. It appears everyone understands the issue but unwilling to support visually impaired citizens.
We need to engage with a leading sports representative to take the issue further.
Philip.

Phillip,
Yes, exactly. One voice is just one voice that is too easy for an entity to ignore or disregard. If more individuals are willing to speak up, then that one voice becomes many, and they no longer feel alone.