Spotted today that VirtuGo (formerly Road Grand Tours) have announced a Ghost Rider feature. If you follow them on Facebook there is a short video of it.
4 Likes
Zwift should be a little embarrassed that VirtuGo implemented this first despite it being requested frequently. I think this would be a great feature to motivate my training
5 Likes
Surely these are different things. Road Grand Tours is now RGT Cycling, but has no link to VirtuGO AFAIK.
2 Likes
Well VirtuGo may have beaten Zwift to the punch, but at least now we know that it can be done properly. It sounds like a great option that you can select a previous ride from your files/Strava and thus choose the pace of your ghost effort.
A flat out ghost of say 3.8 watts/kg would not be life-like, as it would not replicate the general efforts of racers who put in bursts of higher effort on hills (like the kom but also the short bit coming out of the tunnel and after the sprint into the climb of the Esses).
I would like Zwift to first fix the timer ahead/behind. Maybe just use distance (200 meters, 450 meters, 1.2 km). The timers only works on flat sections. A 2 minute gap will show as four minutes when going downhill and again as one minute going uphill. I’ve ridden the Alp enough to see that a 2 minute gap going up will time almost perfectly to 4 minutes, for example. Just the other day, the gap was 18 minutes but showed as 9 minutes as soon as I started up the Alp.
I’ve gotten used to doing the math in race. But, if this is for my training, it won’t be as useful if it is going to be very inaccurate.
More than just a ‘race against a personal best’, I think I would do an effort where I am a bit hard on the first half of the course, then a little slower on the second half. That way, when I go up against myself the second time, I may fall just a wee bit behind, but i will be challenged with catching myself during the second half. Otherwise, my previous effort will just be ahead the whole way or behind me the whole way. Perhaps, the first effort on my road bike. Then, the second effort on my time trial bike to give me a little bit of an edge. Or, first effort at my true weight minus one kg. Second effort at true weight. This way, if I just keep even then I am actually working harder.
What other ways are there to use a training ghost???
4 Likes
Embarrassed? Why? You think this has not been implemented because they can’t? I’d say it is more likely they don’t view it as a priority or it might not even be on their roadmap.
Either way, I personally am against having a bunch of ghosts all over the road. So I’m happy this is not implemented.
I do think they should add more Alpe style split times on more segments. But keep these only visible to the rider.
Oh. Maybe I’ve got confused.
Surely it could be programmed so that you only see your ghost?
7 Likes
Good job you weren’t riding Zwift in the early days then. 
Only you would be able to see your own ghost rider.
2 Likes
They have the pacer on an Expresso Bike at my gym and they have had it out for several years. They have both a pacer that is set to a certain wattage, and a personal best ghost. It makes you push yourself.
Would love to be able to enable or disable my own ghost personal best for whatever segment or route im on. The screenshot from VirtuGo looks cool. Ofcourse your own ghost should be only visible to yourself.
modes crying out for a bot in zwift:
Time attack - a seperate mode, any segment no draft seperate leaderbords. you will start from a proper tt ramp, from a stand still, not the existing warp thing. Bot is a copy of your previous PR (of ALL time btw)
Segments - during normal ride PR bot appears when you cross start line.
FTP test - BOT shows ideal pacing strategy for a well executed ftp test
challenge - in-put desired finish time. Bot rides at the best pacing stategy for a segment/lap eg Bologna
outcomes, all mentioned before in this thread, better motivation, better education of pacing, more options. please give us a bot.
2 Likes
I agree with attacks, pacing,and esp ftp efforts.
with Bologna time trial, there is a best way. For me, an ftp test has a gradual increase and a hard finish. I don’t think it would be the same for everybody.
I would love an ftp pacer, perhaps a 20 minute pacer based on ramp test results?
yes please do it!
I feel like this one would be very useful as:
-
You want to ride with someone but that person is not available. So then you have the option of bringing a bot that will be only visible to you. You can select a course(eg: Pretzel) and set the bot’s tempo at a certain watt/kg initially and then you can draft the bot. The pace can be changed through the zwift mobile companion app or through the keyboard.
-
This can be used as a practice for motor pacing. Higher the speed, more important is the draft so for instance you are on the sand and sequoias course and set the bot’s tempo at 4.0w/kg, the bot will cruise at that pace and you need to draft the bot.
-
You can also get used to riding with someone stronger than you at anytime you wish!
Lastly if the bot drops you(if the gap is 2 seconds minumum?), you have the option of the bot easing off for you at a certain w/kg which you set initially or you can bring back the bot.
1 Like
Ghost riders may be coming but you can’t draft them. I’m not saying it isn’t a nice idea but that sounds like a whole different request. I’ve talked to Zwift about motor pacing and they gave a pretty firm No. You can sign up a ride leader who is capable of holding a steady 4 w/kg. But no motors allowed.
Still waiting. Zwift Insider has an article and a link to this thread.
Vote at the top left corner. We are at 279 votes positive!
1 Like
PLEASE! My own Ghost Rider for my best or last ride on a rout.
1 Like
Implement Personal Best Bot togerther with unlimited “Personal Records” and Personal Best Bot for Route X …
I would really like to see this, especially if it is a feature you can switch on flexibly for selected segments (whole circuits or just particular sprints or climbs) or, as others have suggested as a pacer for an ftp test. Given the discussion and the interest from the ‘powers that be’ within Zwift I am hopeful it will be made available.
The only problem I see with it is that my wife already thinks I am a sad ‘Billy-no-mates’ by choosing to ride in the virtual world of Zwift rather than out on the road for real. If she finds out that I have have just been riding with another version of myself and don’t even have any virtual friends she may well disown me altogether.
5 Likes