I use several applications to store and analyze both real and trainer rides. I find some discrepancies on how the various applications handle the fit file from my Zwift rides. I have not seen this posted so far, so hopefully this is helpful:
Strava- Time of ride is wrong (I suspect this is a time zone issue). There is no elevation calculation.
Training Peaks- everything I expect comes through- including elevation, and the correct time of start.
Garmin Connect- refuses the file with an error. If I export the ride from Strava and then into Garmin Connect (GPX), it does work, but there is no power data.
Golden Cheetah- everything works as I expect.
It would be great to have Strava show the elevation- would be helpful for the segment comparison and other sprints.
Greg is correct. Speaking personally, my Strava and TrainingPeaks accounts are linked to Garmin. I import from Zwift into Golden Cheetah, export to TCX, import into Garmin Connect, and it propagates down to Strava and TP. The only weirdness is with Strava where, as you mention, the time zone is wrong and the “virtual elevation changes” don’t show up. But then, in my experience, Strava tends to do strange and frequently stupid things with data anyway.
I am new to this whole world and just did my first ever ride on Zwift. I want to export its data via whatever means possible to my trainer so he can review. I downloaded it to my computer, which appeared to work, but the file is unreadable (a bunch of binary stuff). Can someone please explain to me, in language fit for a third grader, how I can accomplish this. I would be grateful.
Yes, the FIT that gets exported from Zwift is a binary file but it’s a standard format. You’d have to import it into something that can read it, for example Garmin Connect, Training Peaks, Strava, Golden Cheetah, etc. Is the trainer you mention that wants to review the data a cycling coach? If so he probably already knows how to get the data into a readable format.