London expansion...Fail

C’mon Zwift team,of all the possibilities for expansion we get,drum roll… a few extra km’s of flat city streets…really?!? 

How about a another London portal to a MTB climb or a portal to a spectacular 10-20 minute Lake District climb for example. 

Smart trainers are made for undulations/climbs. The London course mostly squanders those capabilities and don’t let me get started on Richmond.

I love Zwift but I don’t get the sense that the design team are responding to feedback nearly enough.

I don’t agree that it is a fail, you may want something different, but I suspect there are even more people that wanted more options for flatter roads in London. I also love going up and down hills, but i have noticed that the are a lot less people up there. 

Hi Tim,

We certainly take feedback very seriously here! However, the London expansion has been in the works since the first course was released - we just finished it now with a chance at testing out some new features (such as crowds) :slight_smile:

I know we can’t please everyone all the time, but I think people will be pretty psyched about what’s coming up!

That being said, Richmond is a recreation of the UCI Worlds course that was also released when the race was happening. We’re still pretty happy with it!

Thanks for the response Eric. Of course any advance is better than none.

I’ve read many superb suggestions for improvements on this site yet the pace of progress in general does seem a little slow. No doubt there are significant technicalities involved however.

I will restate that IMO km after km of 0-2% gradients are less immersive and interesting than the undulations that a smart trainer can cater for.

Looking forward to what;s coming up and I’ll keep riding on in the meantime!

I am enjoying the added London course. Yes, there are some stretches of relatively flat terrain but enough climbing to make it possible to stretch yourself. Any ride is, to an extent, as difficult as you make it via your effort. A long stretch of 2% flat out can hurt if you make it hurt. Not every course will suit all the aims of a particular training session or rider. Chapeau to Zwift for adding to the mix of offerings. I guess the ideal for me would be to have further added routes, including some more challenging climbs, all selectable at will from login, so I can easily train according to what my needs/mood are for that day. I presume they are in the works. I know we have ZwiftPref for course selection, but incorporating this feature as part of the login would be great. It does feel a bit eerie going up Box Hill all by yourself having gotten there via ZwiftPref! But overall, loving the whole thing! Well done.

Thanks for the comments, Tim and John!

Course selection is coming (I know, we’ve been saying that for forever) so that will probably solve most people’s issues. I know there are some development challenges related to that which is causing the delay but it *is* still in the works.

It is what it is. I just want to say that nobody asked for a city expansion with flat roads and real buildings or spectator noise. I know zwift is not a democracy, but this failed to give zwifters what they want. I hope the Richmond expansion has something better to it. Especially after the volcano, this was a disappointment and I feel bad saying that, knowing some employees worked very hard on this.

Looking forward to wat. mt bike course and level 26-30 candy. Also, some more live race coverage would be nice. There’s nothing in my time zone.

I agree and disagree. Agree on your point that smart trainers - and Zwift is best with undulating terrain - see Watopia! And we need more of that! However there’s also a place for the flatness and for a flat course they’ve made a good job of it with London.

The only issue is that London and Watopia are seperate, I can’t so a lap past Harrods then go and climb the Watopia Epic KOM on the same ride.