I bought a VirZoom - where it includes the bike and you play games and ride in a virtual world. I have to say ITS GREAT and FUN… however it’s new and the “tech data” isn’t there yet. It’s more for gaming at this point and less for serious riders. So I stumbled onto Zwift. Since I have a VIVE - I’d REALLY love to use Zwift in VR. Is that in the works?
It’s pre beta right now.
Thanks!! I was a paid beta tester for activisn years ago I’d be happy to help if you need testers. I’ve tested lots of vr titles in the past 9mo.
+1 on beta tester for Vive…I was a beta early on also…
Happy to do alpha also if you have a public or nda.
I’d love to see this too, but the first problem that comes to mind when I imagine wearing a Rift or Vive headset while riding: massive amounts of sweat pouring down from my head onto my face under the seal where the headset meets your forehead and face.
When I ride on zwift, even with a fan blowing hard in my face, I drip like a rain cloud everywhere and have to wipe my face and head every 5 minutes with a towel.
I’m curious to hear what the pre beta testers are noticing with sweat issues.
If there’s a solution, a VR headset with zwift could be super fun. 
Well VirZoom is a good entry into it. virZoom is “FUN” my mind is NOT on when is it going to end! Instead I stop due to sweat, stop towel off take a 3 minute break and get back into it as it’s that much fun.
It lacks in it’s infancy the metrics at this time. Doesn’t show miles, doesn’t play well with Strava, tries to but each game is separate instead of one complete workout. I’ve been working with them heavily on improvement suggestions. I fear they’re focusing to much on “gaming” and not enough on “working out”. There isn’t anything to DRIVE you other than maybe “to get best score”.
But I’m SOLD on it… it takes your mind off the workout and before you know it an hour is gone. I’m on 3-4th day of free Zwift… It is HARDER before it drives you more. However its FAR LESS FUN. With Zwift there isn’t anything to do but ride. With Virzoom you’re shooting tanks and missiles and they have a cycling course two. (the later is quite boring).
Ideally the PERFECT solution will be the right mix of both. A workout that drives you further in addition to taking your mind off the misery with a fun entertaining experience.
Im’ hoping that a VR headset will make Zwift more immersive - so much as to take ones mind off the pain. My problem is I’m not on my TV. I’m on my computer. These monitors aren’t huge (28") and from 5-6 ft away they’re less than impressive. It’s hard for an older fart to see the screen and data. (I’m 59). Since many of us are where out computer is - (and no large TV near) we’re limited to small screens 6 ft away from us… and the fix for that would be VR! YEP we’ll sweat in them, but I do with most VR games (they’re often physical). As well I sweat in the Virzoom workouts. It’s not been a problem for my vive. I have replacement pads on the front that wipe right off (vs VIVES stock foam ones which are more like a sponge) . The replacement ones are like a pleather? not absorbant… I can remove the headset and towel it off and my face quickly - as I find myself toweling off my face and upper body during a Zwift workout. It’s really not been a issue. (ALTHOUGH) the lenses did FOG UP with the replacement face pads. I found I needed to cut some small sections of plastic straws and place a couple on each side of the head set in the velcro. This allows enough venting to eliminate any fogging I had when I switched to the pleather face pads. I have no problem with sweat and the vive - it’s plastic - and it wipes down and the lenses easily clean after getting a few drops of sweat on them. Thing is - I find the 800.00 investment for the VIVE to be a bit of a stretch for gaming. (I’m not real impressed, I don’t game much with it now more so without it). HOWEVER, I find it a small price to pay to make working out FUN and immersive. We spend thousands on our bikes, thousands on our exercise equipment - (often to learn we never end up using it). It’s nothing to drop 800 into a VIVE as part of a workout system. If it makes working out a pleasure - then it’s a SMALL PRICE TO PAY for the VR unit. Swift is awesome, but its weakness is in lack of VR and less of (things to do). I like that it’s serious, but for training it should have you pick up stars or bonus’s or some such. Luckily the training messages and "spring now and hold 220waat for 20 seconds etc.) helps. But I’m afraid after a few weeks that it will becoming repetitive and boring without VR.
I think Virzoom and Zwift are both on the right track - but it will require the merging of the two that really nails fun workouts that we can’t wait to get back to.
Cool to hear about your experience with Vive while working out, Ron
I’ve only had the Rift on for 30 min of a demo, and I wasn’t working out, so I have no idea what the experience would be like when trying to complete super structured workouts like the kind I get from my coach, and which I do in Zwift when it’s cold out.
95% of my time in zwift, all of my attention is simply on hitting the right watts for each interval in a given workout, which takes a lot of concentration…particuarly in periods that are way above my ftp threshold (where I typically just stare at my Garmin on my handlebars and have to ignore what’s happening in the Zwift environment.)
But for races in Zwift, man, a VR headset would be cool. I could look around and behind me and see what’s happening, just like in a race in real life. That would would be fun.
At any rate, thanks for sharing about your VR experiments with that other game.
Cheers!
Forest
hey all…
As we are waiting for Vive VR support thought i would share what i have been using and doing for workouts…If anyone else has a VR we could hook up for a group ride…limitation at the moment would be 4 people…
Im away with work this week but next week can set a date/time. Im on EST…
So i have bigscreen beta running now with multi monitor and have the Zwift in a full second screen with usually netflix or some TV running…bigscreen beta has builtin multiplayer and comms we can talk and ride…i have pinged the dev for bigscreen requesting a bike avatar
anyway let me know…
I’d like to try it - I used big screen when it was first released but never went back. I had considered trying the VIVE just as a big TV view in Zwift but haven’t yet. So we will each see the same screen but it will have 4 smaller screens on it? I’m EST as well (Michigan) and retired early so I’m available most any time.
Hey Ron…
They have just released multi monitor support…big improvements on the software…
We can view the same screen…the host of the room would have zwift as its main screen so you would seen the same…im also thinking that ther will be away to use another screen for stats…ie have garmin data running live…
Ill ping you to get something setup, im away all week now and weekend so will be march 1st before i can get on again…hopefully others will see and host :-)
found this out…so will have to try:
http://www.goldencheetah.org/#section-download
+1 to be included in alpha/beta with HTC Vive please.
AWESOME - I use to run near my desktop which has two huge monitors.
But the wife kicked me out of the kitchen desk area… I had to setup another computer just for Zwift downstairs. It has ONE huge screen. But I could setup another smaller monitor too. I have several around here.
GARMIN LIVE? tell me more when you get back. I leave Thurs for a week out east as well.