The Tron is now fastest on pan-flat routes - Speed Tests: Fully-Upgraded Concept Z1 (Tron) Bike vs Top Performers | Zwift Insider
Agreed. Thanks. I wasnât suggesting this wasnât the case. Just that the SL8 is now the go-to bike for routes that arenât pan flat if one is considering non-upgraded bikes. Pre v1.86, the Tron was pretty handy uphill too, I think.
And if you take into account the draft effect on flats in group rides (not factored into the speed charts as far as I understand), the climbing benefits on even slightly hillier routes are more valuable.
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The Zi frame and wheel set speed tests for fully upgraded frames, including up graded Tron bike, has been published.
The sky is not falling.
It felt positive seeing monthly tweaks to Zwift racing but after this latest round, I just feel tired.
I guess Iâm happy racing will be no worse.
Thatâs kind of winning, right?
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The benchmark test conditions are not race conditions. As was the case before, people will find success on the benchmark bikes and/or on something more suited to their speed and riding style.
and there are more course than Tempus Fugit and the Alpe. Pick a bike. Ride a bike. Enjoy the training.
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Is this a good thing?
Also, I think these upgrades will encourage people to use exploits.
I canât really see zwift punishing people. Maybe they will.
The history of gaming (and cybersecurity) tells us that each new feature adds multiple new potential exploits.
New features are great. Exploits may not affect me directly, but they harm the balance of the overall experience. If people progress by endlessly riding the Alpe, they skip other ways of getting unlocks, like pace partners and events. If they unlock everything in a few weeks, they may go elsewhere when waiting on new features.
How empty can an event or a pace partner feel before others find alternatives?
Thatâs why I frame this as platform health/revenue protection instead of anti-cheating.
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The SL8 is good enough for most riding that upgrades arenât necessary.
Iâm close to level 2 with it thanks to just riding the Ventop hill this entire week - but Iâll leave it at level 1. Leave any further upgrades and wonât touch the halo bikes.
Nothing wrong with that, provided they do the entire 30.7km route under their own power with no weight doping or other shortcuts. It might take longer to get your bike upgrades but you get fitness upgrades.
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They donâtâŚ
Zwift should have put in a KJ need as well as distance, time and elevation. 200km + 1200kj. Or every bike, all 3 methods.
As is, I am thinking Zwift will neutralize all bike upgrades in races.
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KJ needed wouldnât work as the burn is weight dependant.
It is too late to shut the stable door - the horse bolted and is miles away
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Could also do 200km counted while power > 0W similar to how drops work. All you have to do is move your legs.
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Please donât take my statement out of context. It is clear that they are not doing full Alpe rides. Most do 5-10 downhills and never go up.
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Tip: cycle another 300m for 20XP
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Oh I know that quite well, Iâve been going up and down Ventop all week (5x Ventop) killing myself while these lazy folks just teleport to the top and coast back down.
So many of them are groups of racing teams from well known clubs as well. I would remove their clubs, get rid of their events and remove their jereseys from Zwift.
I suspect most of them are using bots so this provision wouldnât work - the same two I spotted yesterday (and day before) from a very well known team both had âZpowerâ listed as their trainers. I know both of these two actually have proper smart trainers.
What stinks is one of the two is the boss of that club.
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Just for fun, I set out to acquire Halo Concept first. I arbitrarily picked the BMX bike, concluded all of the upgrades during the total 800km of riding yesterday (with much of it with Coco on Tempus Fugit), and evaluated my next two bikes during that period. Initially, I was going to upgrade Atomic Cruiser and Safety since those are the other two bikes I ride, but I thought, âI could do the Mountain Bike and TT Bikeâ since neither one I generally pick, it would give me a different experience.
My experience with Zwift Mountain is that it took 40% more power than my choice road bike would have on a road group ride using the route Greater London 8. I got a better workout and faster progress to my power socks, since power units accrue faster on âharderâ bikes at the same speed.
I rode the TT bike in a banded ride (many events are set to No TT Bikes, including The Big Spin ones), and there was nothing abnormal since the ride was banded. I continued on the route and caught a RoboPacer. Without drafting effects, I was going faster than the group uphill, pacing them well in the flats, and pushing for dear life on the descents. The power average was 15% higher for the part with pacer than I would have expected on a road bike. It also verified some things I have observed about Zwift drafting in general, because of the relative effort without the draft in play versus the gradient.
It will be the equivalent to 6 more Alpe du Zwifts on the Mountain Bike and 18 more hours on the TT bike, and I can purchase the Halo Concept Z1.
For the Specialized, Pinarello and Cannondale Halo bikes, I will give some more serious thought to initial bike upgrades. For the Zwift ones, I just picked something silly and rolled with it.
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Should any efforts be discarded then if they were within one of the various rubber-banded group rides found in the calendar?
Not-first-hand rumors here but a race organizer supposedly raised the question of if/what ZHQ is going to do about the upgrade shenanigans and the response was allegedly to just enforce everyone onto the Tron because no one has been able to get it upgraded yet.