Would love to see “rough” routes where an MTB is the best tool for the job. Could even throw in “jump” lines (no steering required) where you have a target speed to hit on the approach. If you nail the landing, you get a boost, if you go too far or short, a penalty. (could use the same programming for those as repack rush).
Not looking to rewrite the whole game, just good reasons to use the MTB other than upgrading a Halo bike. Tons of zwifters are mountain bikers using Zwift to train for MTB. MTB routes could have a ton of surging and resting, but with enough bumps to make the MTB the best choice.
MTB’s are fastest on dirt surfaces, so you can go ride the jungle circuit.
There’s no reason you can’t train specifically for MTB on Zwift, you don’t need “MTB” specific routes to do this either. Over/Unders, VO2 Max intervals, cadence drills, etc… all can be done on the trainer, on any bike, on any route, and they will transfer to MTB very well when you are outside on a trail. Zwift even has MTB specific training plans already built into the game.
Why you might not see single track on Zwift might be because it was tried in the past and was very unpopular. There was a course called Repack Ridge, I rode it a few times and then never went back, you couldn’t really ride as a group on it, and Zwift is all about riding together, not alone on a single track.
Also, there is no need to duplicate you own posts.
I think this is unfair to Repack Ridge and bit of a false equivalence in terms of popularity. It was an experimental route that required steering via Companion. It was awkward or inconvenient to use, especially in a jersey pocket. It’s unsurprising it was less popular. That’s quite different from a normal Zwift route that just happens to be off-road.
In general I think a mini-game or something like this could work. It could somewhat mimic a 40-20 or 30-30 workout where you have to sprint on the run-up to jumps to really get the most out of the jump, and rest between jumps. Maybe if you have the play controllers you can choose your line to skip a jump, or choose a smaller jump, and plan to get more speed for the next one if you’re too tired, choose to do a different trick on the jump, etc, or have to brake around corners to maximize speed without getting a speed penalty etc. The loop could require you to bike back up the hill through singletrack etc.
That said, something like this would probably be a pretty big investment for Zwift so it’s hard to see them investing in it.
This is something I think Zwift could really use, along with more true gravel routes. I know there are a few “off-road” sections, but none of them feel genuinely off-road. I also get that Zwift has historically been built for road riders, but a lot of non-road riders use it too.
You wouldn’t even need a whole new world to make this work. Adding off-road sections to existing worlds could go a long way. I realize Zwift is running on older code, so this might be harder to implement than it sounds, but I honestly think these routes would get used.
I know I’m just one voice here, but I’d personally ride them a few times a week. Yes, there are workouts, and I’ve built custom ones that mimic some of my local trails, but it’s not the same. With proper routes, you could have group rides, events, and a much better visual representation of trail riding.
I know there are a lot of different MTB styles out there, but for Zwift, I think standard XC-style routes would make the most sense.
What about just putting in some features on Tempus Fugit such as sand storms in the desert where at random days the road surface in sections becomes covered with sand drifts, and these would necessitate using an MTB - (and going slower) or with a road bike you end up going really slow?
But people won’t use them unless forced to. There is a reason Tempus Fugit with a 2.5w/kg robopacer is most popular. People want maximum speed and distance. You’d have to force them into gravel / dirt routes and lock away other faster alternatives which wouldn’t be popular.
People do what they are incentivized to do, which in Zwift is largely about distance, distance, distance. Plenty of potential to change things up with new rewards and challenges