I haven’t ridden the Jungle since the latest update, but this seems unrealistic to me and a bummer. I’d be willing to bet that most Zwifters are not happy with going slower in the virtual environment unless it is caused by an incline.
Whats next, random headwinds and tailwinds that slow you down or speed you up with no way to tell when or why it is happening? Will the Volcano melt your tires and slow you down?
Interesting. Yesterday I bought my first item. The Zipp 454s. So I better replace them again…
Correct me if I am wrong, but unless Zwift choose to make a change, there is no way to police which app version people use?
Well those that did not update wont have all the new features.
When Zwift start the first thing it does is check if it is the latest version. On a windows PC there is no way to miss an update. but it seem like ATV is a bit slow.
They could probably release features differently though.
For example, they could release them behind a flag that turns them off.
Once all platforms have updated, they flip a switch that enables the feature in the client when people log in. That way the feature only lands once everyone has the appropriate client, and not before.
Wouldn’t that be penalizing those who have updated by making them wait? What if someone has suspended their account for the summer, or just chosen not to ride? Then everyone would have to wait. Better to either force people to update once it’s available, or just keep them from entering events until they update.
It’s not really a penalty. As users we’ve no control or say over when features are released anyway.
That makes no difference. I’m talking about the updates being available to everyone. i.e. either by direct download through the launcher, or through the relevant app store.
I’m not suggesting that every single Zwift user across the world has to have updated. That would be madness! 
No, I just mean that a) everyone can access the update, and b) a person can’t join the game unless they update to the correct version once the feature has been enabled.
I’m also not saying it’s the only way they could do it. There are all manner of other approaches they could take so as not to repeat this situation where people who haven’t updated have a distinct advantage over those who have.
Ah, that makes more sense. I know I’m one of the folks who doesn’t automatically update. I use ATV 4K and have stopped the automatic app update because one of the past updates locked me out of my account until they could put out another update to fix it. I’m guessing this may be what happens with a number of folks; they just have the auto-update feature turned off.
This is possible? Holy 
Sure is. It’s iOS, so you can turn off auto updates just like on an iPhone or iPad.
An extremely annoying addition that I personally think is a mistake. Make dirt or MTB specific routes by all means if you want to change the way bikes feel on dirt surfaces, but don’t just change an existing loop/route that makes all previous riding/training on the route irrelevant and redundant. For those of us who use Zwift for training they have now made all previous PB’s on the Jungle loop irrelevant and the entry to the Alpe a frustrating trudge through what feels like mud. Not happy with this at all.
Well in that case, I’m keeping an old version of Zwift on a spare iPad so I can dominate gravel races!
Just kidding. I don’t really race and wouldn’t do that. But others could…
I have a few more updates:
Zwift support have fowarded the video I posted in this thread to the Dev and QA teams.
In my communications with them, support have repeatedly referred to different tires (and sometimes wheels) having different rolling resistances on different surfaces, so I imagine there is a feature in the pipeline to support tire selection. I think that could be fun if they get the tuning right.
Zwift have no plans to release any numbers to represent how rough each road is. We’ll have to figure it out on our own. Sounds like a project for the Llama labs or some other Youtube channel. (Just don’t use that Ant+ simulator to earn the Tron bike 
)
My first email response from support played this down as not a significant change worthy of a beta program, because it was not part of the “main experience”. The second email response referred to it as a “very significant change”. Perhaps the message is getting through.
I posted on the ZwiftPower forums and heard back that there is currently no direct way to identify competitors running out-of-date client versions.
For racers, my previous advice stands - stay away from the Jungle circuit for now.
Cheers,
Ben
I rode the jungle circuit yesterday as a free ride. Looking back on Strava at the Jungle Loop (Zwift Insider Verified) segment my average time prior to the Oct. 1st update was 17:09 with an average speed of 17.24 mph. My PR is 14:45, avg speed of 19.9 mph.
Yesterday’s ride:
time - 27:26
avg speed - 10.7 mph
60% SLOWER!!!
I could barely get over 14 mph on the flat sections of the road, the downhill sections were also much slower. This is a terrible new “feature” and I hope it reverts back to normal. The road to ruins has been ruined.
@Wes is there any possibility that this will change back to normal?
Hi Mike
Like you I rode it yesterday and thought I was going backwards at times. I was more than 4 mins slower than a few weeks back. Couldnt have loast that ammount of form. Now it all comes to light. Pity
This is a disappointing addition to say the least. Please, at least, at the very minimum, make this varying rolling resistance “feature” an option for race organizers which by default is off. So the ones that wish to apply this to their race, can do so, but are not forced to.
If I wanted more realism and to spend a lot of time to research and insane amounts of money on equipment to be able to race in more equal conditions, I’d just go race outside…
It’s also really demotivating for some trying to figure out a gear combination to not have a disadvantage compared to others.
Please keep “realism” additions strictly optional for racing. That way everyone would be happy. Minus, of course, the people who have been using certain routes and climbs for training and motivation in freeride mode as well, not just racing. Now their previous data is meaningless.
Jungle Circuit used to be my favorite race route. Oh well 
Completely agree… I did the Jungle route directly after the update, and couldn’t figure out why my time was so different. I also purchased a faster set of wheels and still couldn’t get near my previous PR. I like the innovative idea, but rendering all previous training irrelevant was not very well thought through. This should be a selectable option in Settings. I also like the idea of Routes specifically sculpted for particular race/bike types MTB/CX etc.
Please fix this Zwift.
I rode the Jungle Loop tonight, just to see the impact. I don’t ride the Loop much, so I’m not sure if I was a lot slower, or not, but it sort of felt ‘sloggy’. One thing I can say for sure, though, is that there were not many folks out there. I think it’s quickly becoming a route people avoid.
It’s not just the jungle route that is a problem; I did a 3 lap race on volcano flat yesterday. The difference across the short gravel sections across the bay and the short descent from the Italian village was demoralising… Just cooled down for the second half of last lap. This needs to be rectified…I’m not a great racer as it is, this latest update is a tad discouraging.
I guess if it wasn’t for the bug that some users could ride with an old app version, no one would have noticed this.
Things will change in the virtual world that is just as true as IRL.
I like the idea of different rolling resistance, this will require a bit of skill and knowledge for racing.