Not enough drops to buy unlocked gear

General Discussion
1

Hi all. Newbie to Zwift and have a question regarding drops and purchasing gear.

My question is this - why make gear available at certain levels if you have nowhere near enough drops to purchase. For example, the ENVE SE 3.4 wheels @ 191,700 drops available at Level 4 but I only had 80,000 odd drops.

I’m now at Level 6 and have 105,000 drops so same issue with the Zwift aero frame (@ 319,500).

How do I accumulate that quantity of drops?

Thanks,

Mark

2

You receive Ride Ons you accumulate Drops at a higher rate for a short time. Also, while climb at grades over 3% you also get Drops at a higher rate.

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3

Thanks Paul.

So, I really need to be riding hilly routes all the time then?

4

You just need to ride. Drops accumulate quickly. “don’t buy upgrades, ride up grades!”

4 Likes
5

Thanks Mike. Just seems odd that I rode enough to get to Level 4 but didn’t accumulate anywhere near the required drops to enable purchase of the wheels unlocked because I achieved Level 4???

6

Hi Mark,
if you have been doing any of the tour of Watopia rides you may have noticed that you get double XP points for each Km or Mile you ride, which will enable you to level up quicker than normal, but doesn’t increase your drops.

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7

Thanks Troy.
Being a newbie (5 rides) I haven’t looked at group events/races etc. as yet. If I enter a race, do I actually have to race or can I go at the pace I want. I’ve read the race starts are pretty crazy for the first few k’s.

8

Soon enough you will have a ton of drops and nothing to spend them on,

Great article on what’s worth buying!

9

Yep. Found that article and that’s when I realised I couldn’t afford anything :smiley:!

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10

Mark … I’m afraid this is the same as in Real Life. When you are 18 years old (21 years in some countries) you are “leveled up” (from teens to adult level). Great, now you can buy a car. Probably very soon you find you don’t have enough drops to buy what you like/want.

And the question “How do I accumulate that quantity of drops?” becomes quite common in our life
:slight_smile:

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11

Hi Mark,
while you are finding your feet in Zwift do things at the pace you want. If you try a race or group ride start with the shorter distances. Group rides usually give an estimation of how hard they will be working so again start perhaps with recovery rides which will have a lower intensity. The Zwift Tour Series (currently the Tour of Watopia) are usually great events, as you will find large numbers of Zwifters of all abilities on the same route, so you can usually find someone who is riding at your preferred pace.
Whatever you do, enjoy yourself and if you have more questions just ask away, as there is a lot of help to be found here and a lot of helpful Zwifters here too.

12

So true Godmother_Fox. I’d like to buy a bike with Di2 and discs in the real world, but that ain’t happening in the immediate future :frowning_face:

13

Hi Troy.
Thanks for the tips. Tried to get onto one of the make up stages of the Tour of Watopia this afternoon and I couldn’t. Obviously a newbie thing by me. Will investigate further tomorrow to see where I went wrong :thinking:. That way I can try a couple of the stages on the remaining make up days. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough days to complete all 5 stages.
I’m guessing most people started out like me and took a while to get the gist of it all.
Mark

14

Hi @Mark_Oates

Check out this video Signing Up for a Run Event — Official Instructions | Zwift - YouTube

There a a few others that may also help you get up to speed.

15

Just keep riding man soon you will get enough drop to buy. I bought the enve 3.4 when I was level 5. Now I am level 8, riding in Watopia events does help a lot gaining drops.

16

Thanks Gerrie. Will check it out at home after work. Youtube access restricted here :slightly_frowning_face:

1 Like
17

Thanks Pond :+1: