I’ve been a big fan of Zwift for 2½ years now. I love it to bits. But…
Your latest updates has left a lot to be desired. In particular the Rolling Resistance.
Personally I think this is taking Zwift in a wrong direction. But that is entirely your design choice. What really frustrates me is the lack of communication. It has left a lot of riders racking up bad experiences doing races. People being frustrated that they - for some unknown reason - is being overtaken by other riders doing significantly lower w/kg.
I totally get it that you want to add layers. But could we pretty-pretty please get more information? Such as the likely implications of the change and what wheels are good for what. Right now I feel I’m picking equipment for the races blindfolded. Thats not a place I want to be, getting ready to participate in a race with league points. :-/
Keep up the good work!
I came here to say the same thing. I don’t think changing the rolling resistance adds anything to the experience and even worse, it creates an unbalanced playing field as zwifters using iOS devices were not forced to update so they don’t incur the same resistance as people using other platforms.
Both these comments is not related to the rolling resistance but rather to the fact that some iOS people was not on the latest version of Zwift.
And I hope this get addressed in the next release of Zwift.
This can be done with a check in the start pen, if you are not on the latest version then you will not be seen by other riders and they cant draft off you. you also wont be in the results. There should also be a popup when Zwift start telling them that they are not on the latest version.
I would like to disagree, I think this will make racing more fun, similar to what hills do to races. You now have something more to account for, do you save energy for the dirt for a attack or do you just hang on and attack after the dirt. What are your strengths.
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That is true Gerrie - the imbalance is due to different clients observing the changes in rolling resistance. It’s a bit of a distraction in group rides and just unfair in races. It’s a bit of a miss on Zwift’s part, IMO.
I still don’t see the point of adding rolling resistance as a new dimension. On group rides, it makes it more difficult to stay together as riders using different equipment might have different speeds, even at the same watts per kg, which is how people determine if they can hang on in a group ride.
Hills are differentiators because we, as riders, as different shapes and sizes so its an opportunity to use a real world strength individual strength in Zwift. Someone will test and determine the best bike for the course and 95% of the racers will choose the same bike, assuming everyone has access to the same pool of bikes. It could be argued that it lays the ground work for future innovations but I just don’t see it.
Currently it is only the MTB that is fast on the dirt but it is super slow on the road. So if someone in a group ride start with a MTB then they will fall off the back on the road even before hitting the dirt. And if they change bikes in a group ride…why would someone do that in a group ride.
It races it may be different as people will try the bike change, but we all know they will, so I am sure there will be attackes before the dirt. I would hope that Zwift disable bike changing during races. I don’t think people want to try to switch bikes that fast, it could lead to other problems.
The same will be for dirt sections, strong riders can use that as a place to attack.
Yes, same as some people can do a group ride on the TT bike, you just have to put in a bit more effort. I was just thinking if they try to keep at the same w/kg as the leader.
Yes that was what I was thinkin, it seem a bit unfair.
I am optimistic that this can be fun in zwift, once all the iOS users are updated. I like the idea that I now have to relearn how to race certain routes.
Here’s what I think will happen: ZwiftInsider, or some other source whom I greatly appreciate, will run some tests to determine the best bike over a given course. Since everyone has access to the that information and everyone generally has acess to the same equipment, everyone in a given race will equip themselves with the same equipment. Take the tron bike - It’s widely used in races because it’s condiered a great all around bike based on testing. If everyone has the same equipment and the same rolling resistance, how can there be an advantage to capitalize on?
Your point would stand if one peice of equipment, say a mountain bike, had a clear advantage on a given course and everyone you were riding with didn’t know about that advantage but I don’t expect that to the case.
As it stands today, the only reason I can imagine why people attack on the dirt is because they use an iOS device and know that the computer/pc users will have extra rolling resistance. Seems like a big oversight that someone using an iOS device has an advantage in a race purly because of their chosen platform.
Attack on the dirt to catch other riders off guard or to unhook those that was just barely hanging on.
I hope the iOS thing gets fixed soon, no one should be able to enter a race if they are not on the latest version of Zwift.
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I agree. I can’t stand the change in rolling resistance now on the dirt roads. I just don’t think the speed reduction is realistic and quite frustrating. Doing the jungle portion of the Road to Ruins used to be one of my favourite routes but now I don’t do it anymore. In my opinion it’s just too much work for the speed at which you are able to go. Don’t get me wrong, I love a hard workout and love doing the hills but I feel the climbing I do and the speed I am able to go at more representative of what I can do outdoors as opposed to what I am able to do on the dirt roads in Zwift. Bad change in my opinion.
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