Please fix the drafting logic

I would prefer not to have it at all because despite all their best intentions the drafting is a crappy experience. It does not come even close to real live physics.

4 Likes

last weekend i was riding against one of the BOTs which in fact is a pretty nice addition.
I saw there is a Drop Multiplier (DM).
Ok now keep up with Coco Cadence no problem.
Group was growing more and more followers.
At a certain point the group was so big you couldn’t even stay close to Coco the sling shot bullshit always threw my Avatar close to the edge of the map and away from Coco and the possibilitie in getting a higher DM therefore the DM always startet at 0.
I was wondering again is Zwift playing Zwift … sorry guys but man this is SO FCKNG FRUSTRATING!!!

2 Likes

Exactly, I have experience the same thing recently. What it appears to be for me is that I am getting stuck behind riders. I normally ride towards the front of the blob, but it’s nearly impossible. As soon as someone starts dropping back, I seem to get pulled back with them. So even though I am doing a much higher w/kg, I sooner or later end up at the end of the blob. The draft seems to work ok back there, but if someone drops off the back, I get stuck behind them. I have to do a huge acceleration to get by. Also, If I try to get to the front of a group, it is very difficult. I seem to get stuck on every rider even though I’m doing much higher w/kg. And sometimes when it finally allows me to pass them, they lurch back in front of me even though I am doing a much higher W/KG. Very frustrating and as you say, I am doing intervals all day.

I did notice that the drafting issue started at the same time as the blinking issue.

Yes TIm. That is the normal behavior when you get to the front and lose the draft. The problem I am experiencing is that it is happening when I am solidly in the blob. That used to be the easiest place to ride, but now I am getting dragged back constantly. It appears to be an inability to get by people (sticky), so it is nearly impossible to hold my place even in mellow group rides. I get pulled to the back of the blob. I dangle off there and have no problems, but if someone gets dropped in front of me, it is very difficult to pass them and keep from getting dropped. And I used to be able accelerate through the blob to the front. Now, it’s very difficult as I seem to get stuck behind every rider even though I am riding at a much higher w/kg. Very frustrating.

Probably going on my 5th year of ZWIFT so I have plenty of miles. For semi competitive riders it has become a joke.

  1. Break aways are impossible to hold because the pack can do 2.0w and catch a guy doing 5.0w
  2. If you fall 5 meters off the back you are toast and can’t get back into the pack if you weigh more than 70kg’s
  3. In ZRL you literally have guys 5 seconds off the back who are lighter, pedal hard 10 times and they are right back in the mid pack or even front.

So, racing in Zwift has become a complete joke. Especially ZRL. The length of the course is irrelevant, and everyone sits in and waits for the sprint or the KOM. You have teams sandbagging right at 4.0 W exactly on the TTT and running away with the league, and never getting promoted out of the category.

Proposed Fixes:

  1. Cut draft in 1/2 and see how it goes. How awesome would it be if someone could actually break away and people had to chase legit?
  2. Fix ZRL and promote the top two teams in a league to the next level. Marking each rider as the next highest category for 4 seasons. They can then move lower after 4 seasons at a higher cat.

The dynamics on RGT definitely favor those have big watts on the flat compared to Zwift. If you can swing it, you should do one of the mid-day mid-week USA time RGT races (since those are the better attended races).