Feedback: ANT+ dropout, disappearing HR, Day cycle

Hey guys. Spent a little more time in the saddle today and have a stack of feedback. Before I jump in, like many of the others I’d like to thank you for the invite to this beta. There is still clearly quite a bit of work to do but the fundamentals are there and the initial experience is fantastic.

After weeks of failing to start a Training Peaks program it was pretty easy to motivate to wake up this morning for a few laps on the island. Keep up the great work!

Here are a few things I noticed today:

Over the course of an hour I had my output stats (power, cadence, HR) drop out about a dozen times. Outages measured ~1 second in duration. Normally my avatar would coast but if this happened while climbing my rider would dismount. Oof. I was simultaneously running my Garmin 800 and it did not register this drop out. I’m using the Zwift recommended Garmin USB Ant+ Stick (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CM381SQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and my computer is approximately 3 feet from the sensors so range should not be an issue. I can also provide a fit file if that would be helpful.

Speaking of coasting, I tried doing that down the hill. Avatar maintained a pretty believable speed considering my entered weight. Nice!

Speaking of weight, +1 to the other riders’ suggestions that your height and weight are required before being able to ride. Finding this and your country is a bit of work. I spent the first ride wondering where the heck this data would be entered since the game didn’t provide me with any interface for it.

I read somewhere else in these forums that some have had their HR drop out, never to return. I, too had this happen on lap 5 of my ride. Unlike some of the others, the data did not continue to be recorded, despite the “0” reading: https://www.strava.com/activities/255721422/analysis. Like my problem above, my Garmin continued to register the HR. I took my HR strap off while riding and waited for the Garmin to see it was gone, then put it back on again. The Garmin picked it right up but Zwift did not

I’m not sure I’m sold on the quick day cycle on Zwift planet. While it will probably be my only opportunity to see a sunrise ( <– not a morning person), it doesn’t jive with the virtual “reality” thing–if just doesn’t “feel” right. I had thought that when I set my country that it would at least roughly mimic the daylight there, but it did not. I also find that the darkness on screen reduces the sensation of movement–it doesn’t feel as fast or fun at night. While it would be nice for people to choose the time of day, I think it would make the most sense biologically to match the cycle of the day to the rider’s timezone, or middle of their country at least.

The blimp moves and steers too quickly to be real. It might also be flying too close to the ground

After you “save” or “Save and strava” a ride is the game supposed to exit or is it crashing?

Day 4: ANT+ Dropout, continued: Got in two solid laps before the data from my ANT+ started dropping. Most were around 1 second (enough to lose my draft) but a couple were in the 3-5 second range.

I should mention that the batteries for all of my devices are brand new for the season (Garmin speed sensor, HR monitor, power meter). I also moved my Garmin 800 head out of the way in the case that it was causing some kind of interference.

You can see the dropouts on the HR chart: https://www.strava.com/activities/256130676/analysis

As for my previous statement about Zwift crashing after performing a “save and strava” I’m pretty sure that is what is happening. Clearly the data is making it to Strava so that’s great, but since I’m running Windows in Boot Camp I’ll just sit it out waiting…patiently…for the Mac version.

Day 5: ANT+ Dropout roughly once per lap. All stats went zero at once which tells me it’s the USB stick or the software.

About midway through the ride and I was actually maintaining position in a pack pretty well when ANT+ went away on the climb.

Just found this thread and am going to try a USB extension cable to address the ANT+ dropout: https://support.zwift.com/hc/communities/public/questions/201336705-Tip-quick-way-to-improve-ANT-connectivity-issues-

I added a reply to the linked post but thought I’d also mention it here. A 6.5 ft USB extension cable 100% fixed the problem. After having multiple data drops every single ride this last one went off without a single hiccup, not even a blip.