Would it be possible to offer transparency regarding equipment profiles ie. all bikes with 3 star aero and 3 star weight are identical in the software. Some issues arise when full disc wheels have the same aero star profiles as some mid depth wheels. Therefore there is no advantage for full disc rear as compared to some mid depth. The mid depth then have a weight improvement thus making them always a better choice. Some third party sites also rank frames although these frames have the same star profiles. This leads to mystery and confusion especially when working with real life bike companies for sponsorship. Please consider transparency on this topic. Perhaps an improvement of the rating system is warranted?
Sounds like you should spend some time on www.zwiftinsider.com
Tons of great speed tests there, the equipment you pick does make a difference…the stars are not helpful
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Zwift Insider has graphs and scatter plots showing all the frames and wheel sets for fastest bike/wheel combo for flats or climbing and a scatter plot for several popular all round bikes.
Really much more informative than the star system which has the short comings you described.
Summary - In most cases you should climb 50 K meters and get the Tron bike.
That’s the whole point. Zwift insider is not accurate, but a third party trying to guess if Zwift has cooked frames without telling us through their rating system. I guarantee that Zwift made all equal rated stars the same and he is coming to inaccurate conclusions (I mean 1 sec difference after an inaccurate study - really?). Zwift would not be building good relationships from real life equipment suppliers if they slanted the entire game to one or two frames. For type of bike, they should have a frame from each company that are equal so players can simply pick the brand they like. This is why I am asking Z to step forward and announce a much more transparent rating or confirm that all are equal. It makes perfect sense in being an honest member of the cycling community that is rampant with cheats. Otherwise we would all ride the same bike. Also, I would like more transparency on the tron and where it stands. To support bike co. relationships, the tron could be slightly lower or equal in performance than other top rated bikes but allow for a longer power up as a suggestion. It is an ebike after all. Haha
What do you mean with this.
From what I have seen is he let the bike ride at constant power and measure the time?
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Then wouldn’t having Z come out and make a statement on this be a good thing? So many variables - constant power, is it? - different login times, connection issues, program parameters, etc. Ever go at a constant power and your avatar runs into another and the speed drops? I would like them to step up and be transparent. Is it asking too much. Are you affiliated with ZIinsider? You seem to be taking as gospel without question. Doesn’t hurt to challenge and improve does it?
The tests are done off-line. More or less they log into Zwift, disconnect from the internet and ride by themselves. The test are in no way effected by other riders.
They ride in Zwift offline? Show the data then. Show that there is zero power meter fluctuation. No margin for error. Repeated multiple times with exact same result. I would like this information that you have. I’m hoping you’re not just going with heresay. Nobody would prove a point with something they heard from someone else. I will wait to get that proof from you. Please publish. I’m looking for complete transparency, not just something you read. It doesn’t help the topic.
One more thing. Have you confirmed this with Zwift?
The choice of bike is not that important since the +/- calibration error is greater then the speed difference in bikes and wheels.
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Actually just heard back from Z. Finally. All bikes and wheels with same star profiles are identical. Zwift insider and others are not supported claims and results are due to their testing and/or riding variables and connections. Third party rankings are not accurate. Thanks for the dialogue and resolution.
Zwift aren’t going to tell us implementation details like that. Which is why we rely on trustworthy sources like Zwift Insider, who have been carrying out detailed tests on stuff like this for ages. They’re trusted by the community. If you want full “proof” then you’re not going to get it.
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Ok then 
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Can you post the reply so we can see the info also, we don’t want to just go on hearsay.
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So you made the accusation that Zwiftinsider is not accurate, so I think you need to bring the proof.
I have done some tests like he (ZwiftInsider) has done it is very easy it just takes some time.
And to be honest the bikes don’t make that much of a difference. a few seconds up the Alpe and a few on the flats. that is like adding less than 1w.
I use either the TRON or Venge with Discs or the lightweight wheels. Depending on where I ride.
But it will be nice if there was a better scale so you can pick a bike iin game looking at the stars, maybe a x/10 for weight and drag
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They use an ant+ simulator to send a steady 300W/hour to zwift. There’s no power meter or person riding a bike on a trainer involved. Pretty sure you if you read the pages on zwiftinsider they explain it there, someone linked to the site upthread already, read the articles and you can even question the person that wrote it.
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Just a word of caution the use of those ANT+ simulators is against the Zwift T&C’s. Eric has an agreement with Zwift.
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Yep, and the tests are offline so there are no other riders around so drafting doesn’t mess with things.
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That’s a nonsense answer from a bozo in a call center. Also it’s wrong
You think zwift is going to tell you it’s own star ratings are useless?
In addition, the zwift concept z1 is not an ebike
TRON bike is a V-Bike.
Virtual bike, Very fast bike and Very cool bike …
and I got it!!!
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