Hi, I’m a novice Zwift user so this question may seem dumb but are there any real routes that can be ridden other than these sensory overload phony routes?
Thanks.
No that’s not a Zwift thing
Perhaps Zwift isn’t for you if that’s your assessment.
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Climb portal looks really realistic?
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For a user who’s still in the free trial period, I would ride it out and try everything that the game offers: free rides, workouts, group rides, races, group workouts, the big tours like Tour of Watopia that’s on now. When I first started I found it really weird and foreign but it grew on me. Outdoors I tend to ride alone for hours in total silence with just the scenery and thoughts in my head. Indoors I really prefer the social aspect with lots of people around (not the robots you tend to find on other platforms and not alone). Turning off the game sounds helped for me. I still usually ride with only the sound of fans but I like showing up in events where I’m recognized and I see familiar people. Zwift offers that and the others mostly don’t. Let yourself figure out what you enjoy. Do the free trials of all the other apps and see if you prefer what they offer. You can do a few months of free trials without paying anything to anyone.
There are no real routes aside from what is generated in Climb Portal which has no real scenery.
Even routes like Alpe du Zwift don’t really reflect the real thing accurately (I know, I’ve ridden Alpe d’huez enough in real life). IRL has multiple ways to reach Huez and of course the village at the top.
Ventop - well it does try to simulate the real thing (Ventoux) to a degree but a lot of people dislike it because it is long and difficult.
Most people are content to have a robopacer 2.5w/kg steady ride on Tempus for 60km at 40km/h average speed, that’s how it seems.
Fulgaz has real climbs but it’s only what is on the video, nothing else. Still reasonable if you care about riding the real thing. It’s something different to Zwift and not a replacement. They cover different needs.
Thanks. I’ve ridden Alp d’Heuz and Ventoux also and I’m in no hurry to do them again. lol
IIRC, Park Perimeter at New York is based on real GPS data.
And the UCI world routes - so Yorkshire, Innsbruck, Richmond and Paris (plus Bologna, if you can get on an event there) are all GPS accurate aren’t they?
And there’s the London world as long as you stay North of the Thames (though Box/Leith Hill are based on the real climbs, just not in the right place relative to the rest of the map - EDIT - though looking at some veloviewer profiles of Leith, it seems that “based on” is probably more correct than “GPS accurate”; but close enough for me)
And there is hope that Mt. Fuji climb will come to Makuri… although I have never seen a profile of the climb(s) so no idea whether it is a Box Hill or another Ventoux.
It’s a big one
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Certainly bigger than ADZ, but do Zwifters these days want big climbs? I suspect they want flat sprints or little rolling hills they can punch over and blast downhill, the better to drop lightweight riders.
I’d like a few of the very big climbs like Col du Galibier or maybe Col D’Izoard for those who want an easier climb.
For tougher you could add Col du Glandon (on my avatar) and Croix de Fer.
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