The 5 star rating system for Aero and Weight doesn’t come close to providing enough information in-game to compare frames and wheels. There are numerous items in the Drop Shop that have the same rating but are not equal in performance.
Without referring to an external source such as Zwift Insider it is not possible to make an educated decision.
My feature request is to have a scale from 1-100 for each of the following key characteristics
- Flat speed
- Climbing speed
- Overall performance avg (i.e. An avg of all the above)
- Performance bias - this would be a line labelled “Aero (flat/rolling)” on the left and “Weight (climbing)” on the right. A line would start at the centre and extend either toward aero on a scale up to 100 or right toward weight up to 100, depending on what the bike is better at. The line could display the number in whichever direction it extends and the longer the line the more biased it is in that direction.
And we’ve just re-invented the whole Levelling issue. What happens when one bike is rated 100 and a new, better, bike is added in future? And do you want to see everyone on the same bikes because they’ve all chosen the best for the course?
Make all bikes within a “class” have identical performance and let folk choose according to brand loyalty or aesthetics.
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That’s definitely another way to go about it, but levelling frames and wheels by a class would be more game-like, and not akin to real-world performance. Zwift has always been based on real-world performance characteristics of the rider and the route and it’s effects on the rider. This also includes the performance of the frames and wheels (even if that wasn’t visually presented very well). If the ratings change as frames or wheels are added then Zwift should simply apply an update to the details for each. It’s the same in the real world. One day you might have the best rated wheels and then something new and better comes out. In zwift you need to go earn the drops and buy it.
To be honest it doesn’t bother me if everyone is riding the same bike in the game. At least then the competition is fair. The way the rating system is right now, some people might end up choosing the wrong setup for a certain route and be disadvantaged against others because there isn’t enough detail on drop shop items. Realistically though, it’s highly unlikely everyone will be on the same bike as riders will be at different levels, have earned a different number of drops and still make their own personal choices. Frankly, everyone already has the ability to use Zwift Insider to make a choice on what to buy and what to use in game and yet we don’t see everyone using the same setup as each other. What I’m asking for is a way to get this information in-game. It shouldn’t have to be externally sourced.
To differentiate yourself from other riders you already have the ability to customise your appearance and wear different apparel. As far as frames go though, a possible enhancement to address this could be to provide a feature to apply different colourways or unlock various custom paint jobs as a way to differentiate yourself better
Everything would get bumped.
Personally though I agree; IMO I wish everything was more neutralized on the frame side of things; let the complexities be with the wheelsets.
Frames; just give us:
Aero
Endurance
Climb
And just … let them remain neutralized.
Wheels can go wild (although, I could / would wish the Disc wheels we have right now would be neutralized; JUST to see different discs; and not the DTSwiss ones 24/7)
Programming wise though; I don’t know what they’d do; as indeed, there are a LOT of minutia details in the program files for the frames and wheels.
Fork weight, is not something you’d expect at all for Zwift… yet it’s in there.
At the cost of ruining 3 people’s days because their bike is now 1 second slower over 60 minutes…
I would far prefer seeing MORE frames and setups riding around on Zwift; than the same 3, especially during race events; where the option is… generally 2. Spec SWorks and Disc, and ConceptZ1.
I see no reason to complicate this stuff; the details about a frame or derailleur weighing 200g more really shouldn’t be there; it’s a bit silly (and has already caused issues in the past for the record.)
Let us buy other stuff in the drop shop.
Jerseys
Helmets
Liveries
Sock ground effects (fire socks, but perhaps grass chunks, smoke, rainbows, etc.)
Dear Zwift:
Keep It Simple Silly. 
1 Like
What would @Eric_Schlange_ZwftIn do with all his free time? Cue the banjos
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This I 100% agree with. Then people could ride the bike they ride IRL and not be penalized because it is not the best bike on Zwift. Currently everyone just ride the best bike possible. Just make bike choice a visual fun thing.
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Imagine all the real miles I could ride instead! 
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Love your work by the way! Nothing short of amazing!
1 Like