I am level 19.5 and have 2,550,123 drops as it stands. I unlocked the Zwift Concept / Tron bike at level 17 and am riding around on this.
Thus far I have the following bikes: Tron, Trek Emonda, Spec Tarmac Pro and the three standard Zwift bikes. The Trek I got from the climbing challenge.
I have the following wheels: DT SWISS ARC 1100 Dicut 62, ENVE SES 3.4 and the lightweight Meilenstein ones from the climbing Alpe challenge.
Is it actually worth buying any frames and wheels at my level, or should I just stick with changing the colour on my tron unit I am like level 40?
I am 6 foot 4 and weigh just under 90 kg, so racing and stuff on Zwift is pointless for me.
zwiftinsider.com has all the information you could ever want on which bikes and wheels to choose, which ones are faster, etc.
Basically, the tron is still the best all around bike unless you are doing massive climbs (I think). One of the new frames might be about the same or slightly faster, but I canāt keep up with all the changes Zwift makes. And they seem to change attributes a few weeks after a new frame is released anyway so it gets slower for some reason? Then you have the bug with the dura ace groupset making certain bikes slower right nowā¦ so I just stick with the tron.
Having read those and some others it appears Iām best served just using my Tron for the majority of routes. If I decide to get the 25 badge for the A.D.Z I will just use my Spec Tarmac Pro and the lightweight wheels I won.
Canāt see the point in buying the Canyon or anything as it will be a waste of drops.
If youāre looking to get a much better TT frame than the standard Zwift one, the Canyon Speedmax CF SLX Disc is the fastest in game at the moment. Combine it with the fastest wheels you can afford. You do need to be at level 26, but youāll be there soon.
Itās definitely worth using/having an MTB for the jungle area in Watopia, where road and even gravel bikes are quite a bit slower. The ones that you can buy in the drop shop are marginally faster than the Zwift model that you will own already. Gravel bikes are only the fastest choice in a couple of Makuri Islands routes, so very much a ānice to haveā at most, at the moment.
In the end, weāre shaving seconds rather than minutes off an hourās effort, so I understand people who stick with the Tron for almost everything. I do that much of the time, too, but I do like some variety. The drops arenāt doing anything while accumulating in our accounts, so why not spend them on shiny new stuff every now and then (even if it does clog up the virtual garage).
I wouldnāt worry about saving your drops now for stuff 20 levels later. If you spend all your drops now youāll easily earn enough for all the shiny things you want in the time it takes you to get from level 20 to 40.
The only other bikes youād want are Aethos and the Cervelo S5 2020 once you are able to afford them and at the right level. Zipp 353 wheels are pretty good too. Meilenstein wheels you have are great for climbing. IRL should be fairly aero too, but Zwift cares little for that.
I too wouldnāt worry about saving drops for later, but not spending them left and right on supposed marginal gains means your garage will stay easier to navigateā¦
Youāve had sensible advice on frames, Iām going to bite on the āracing on Zwift is pointlessā. You are heavy enough that youāre well suited to Zwiftās racing. Though it also depends a lot on your sprint. But you should be able to ride comfortably with the front group of whatever category youāre in, without tipping over the category limit. Which is what zwift racing is all aboutā¦
I have the whole garage now and only use 3 bikes the Tron and the Buffalo bike with a disk wheel or TT bike for races, stick with the tron jack of all trades
Yeah sorry should have elaborated a little on that point.
Iām a big guy, my sports at school and throughout adult life have been long distance running (half marathon kind of distances) power lifting and martial arts. Iām still recovering from ankle injuries from almost 18 months ago. I fractured my left ankle and it took almost 6 months to healā¦I then had an accident on my birthday and tore all the ligaments in my left ankle again, that was 6 months agoā¦Iāve not been out running since. So Iām using zwift as a way to keep active and do something whilst recovering. I donāt tend to go hell for leather on it as my ankle just balloons and Iām in pain again, so I kind of just play it as the day allows. Iām not really interested in racing on zwift and Iāve watched some videos online that show how height and weight impact riders on zwift, so see little point unless I want to play the game (so to speak) and wake up one day 70 kg and 5 foot 6 lol.
Iām just enjoying doing something for now if that makes sense.
I appreciate all the comments above, thank you very much.
Should add that some of my best Zwift rides have been aided by my previous prescription of liquid codine lol
Yeah, Iām not about to start changing my height and weight on the system to gain a speed advantage, I donāt see the point. Just enjoy it as it is and accept any / all limitations of the system and my build lol. Iām only in competition with myself
I do often believe Iām the largest person on the game sometimes when Iām riding around, everyone appears smaller than I am in game.
In all seriousness though you still shouldnāt count out racing. I mostly only do racing so far (but probably need to do some of the workouts/routes eventually). Even though Iām lagging behind at the back of most fields, Iām finding the racing is really pushing me; much harder than Iād push outdoors/in real life.
In one race there was a climb that took 15 - 20 minutes if I recall. I couldnāt quite keep up. On the descent I made up almost 20 seconds on the guy in front of me. It felt gratifying that I could keep up to someone who āchoseā a lower weight than me (and Iām only 170 lbs!!!). I lost a sprint at the end, but none the less had fun and got a great workout.
The disadvantage isnāt just weight, but also if you happen to have a trainer that more accurately shows your power (or even underestimates it). Iāll constantly be finishing towards the back of the rankings but Iām okay with that. Come summer time, Iāll be keeping up with people in the real world that I had no chance in keeping up with before Zwift. I just canāt imagine that someone whoās sandbagging/weight doping is getting the same quality of workout as myself. It must be boring (not to mention, a much less effective workout) to spin most the race and only āexertā themselves at key moments.
If the sandbagging gets fixed, I think that racing will become even more enjoyable. But even as-isā¦ itās a blast!
My avatar looks a lot bigger than most and thicker set.
Iāve always been strong, parents used to get me to move the stuff around the house rather than my brother lol.
Iām not a body builder, just a big(ger) guy. I squat, deadlift, bench, chins three times a week also and have my little martial arts gym and weights set up in my garage.
I often find Iām sat there at peddling away, showing a greater w/kg and someone tiny passes me doing half what I am doing. Going up hill, I have the lungs and can quite happily power uphill, but still get left for dead by others that have avatars half my size .
Iām not worried about it, or moaning as cycling isnāt my sport, I appreciate that. Martial arts is my sport and Iāve been doing those since I was 5.
if someoneās passing you in a free-ride doing half ur w/kg, itās likely theyāre getting pulled along by a ākeep everyone togetherā group ride rubber-band.
unless itās happening in races, i wouldnāt worry about it.
also in zwift races, if you can ride at the cat limits, the heavier you are, the faster you go (at same w/kg), so heavier riders actually have an advantage on majority of courses apart from pure climbing races. lighter riders wonāt be able to overtake you without getting DQād for WKG. (only exception to this is if their raw FTP lets them exceed the cat limits, but this is for very lightweight riders only and is not particularly common).
FWIW, Iām both taller and lighter than you, which means at the same W/kg (eg, any given category limit) I am automatically slower than you on all terrain, whether itās up, down, or flat, dirt or tarmac, whatever. Being a 53-year-old marathon runner I also invariably have the weakest sprint in any bunch. Nevertheless, I manage to enjoy racing, though it would be better still with a more intelligent pen/category system.
Iām not looking at racing and my post was about buying new equipment, etc.
Maybe one day Iāll have a look at races, but currently itās not a priority of mine, but I really do appreciate everyoneās comments.
Iām happy just burning calories whilst my ankle completes its recovery and I will move back to running (although I think I will keep cycling and my zwift account also).
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