After riding 50 miles over my 1st Zwift weekend, several suggestions (which have probably been suggested by all the more experienced riders before me):
Have some type of visual indicator (flag, line in the road, something) to indicate the start of a timed section (sprint and KOM climb). Took several laps to figure out where these started, as you add new courses will be hard to do from memory.
Remove the AI from the leaderboards. Like having them on the course, but it’s annoying to have them listed in timed sections.
More analysis during a ride - like avg/normalized power for a lap/timed section, avg wt/kg, etc. Also show this stuff by lap after the ride.
For us on lower tech trainers (I have a Kinectic), maybe some type of indicator to force us into a big ring on uphills. You can verify this by looking at our gear ratio, which can be approximated by our cadence and wheel speed.
Add an arrow to indicate which direction you are going on the maps in the upper right corner
Mass start race - maybe teleport all interested parties to the start line once an hour for a large race?
Of course, add the stuff you are probably working on: more courses, training mode, more appearance customization (like hair color, hair type).
I felt the same way when I was new but after a session or two you realize there are only the three actual segments on the island (Strava’s segments are another thing entirely… ugh) and you learn where they are. Now I don’t even need to think about it.
Agree totally! Okay to have them out there but I don’t want them in the leaderboards.
Yes! I should be able to customize the data fields that show and I’d strongly like to have a lap timer that reads during the lap and not just within the final bit when it’s displaying the segment.
no input on this
I was totally confused by this at first too! It’s weird to follow a profile from right to left on the screen!
Could be fun for sure but if they are going to integrate more competitive features, they need to figure out how to keep people from lowballing their weight and thus making their W/kg stupidly high… Like compare heart rates to power intervals. I saw a guy riding 6W/kg for a full lap (which is doping era TdF winning power) while ALSO getting a 6:xx sprint time which is very unlikely if the numbers are right. You can’t do a 1200W+ sprint in the middle of a 400+watt threshold interval like that.
yes! I’d love to somehow integrate coached training sessions as an option and of course more scenery to choose from. No reason we should be limited to 5km laps either
I too took a awhile to figure out that there were timed segments and where they started.
Yes! Get the AI off any scoring system. My preference is to just get rid of the AI riders altogether.
Analysis is good but I download the file and upload it to where I keep my records. How about auto syncing with with Strava, TrainingPeaks or other sites?
I had a glitch with my Kickr not getting the resistance feedback so the entire route I was at the power level I was geared in but the speed dropped appropriately on the hills. It really took away from the actual feel of cycling.
Adding the arrow will be helpful when you are allowed to ride the opposite direction.
Interesting as long as you can op-in.
all good suggestions. I wonder if they will include a recumbent bike!
Sorry, can’t see the numbering of your suggestions but here are some more which overlap
show the current time within the lap along with the overall ride time. I have no clue how far into the lap I am time-wise and it is improving lap times I am working towards.
as well as the sprint leaderboard and hill leaderboard and your personal bests for both of those have a split time board (reusing the same board) and have 4 or 5 splits per lap (perhaps 3 on the island as it’s shorter). I’d love to know my splits vs. my fastest lap ever, against my fastest lap today and against my previous lap, perhaps 4 times per lap. How can we improve our times if there are no clues to what our times are!
when showing the ETA don’t show the guy with the time closest to your current time - it’s not much use telling me Mr. X finished in 3:12 when I have 300m to go and am at 3:10. I would prefer to know the guy who is just faster and closest to my current ETA. So if it says my ETA is 4:10 then I want to know the guy at 4:09 or the closest below 4:10. That is the guy i am trying to beat. The current time being shown offers me no value or incentive. Knowing if I push a little harder and just knock off 5 secs that I will get up a place is much more incentive to go for it.
rather than put an arrow on the gradient map turn it round so you are going left to right no matter which direction you go round the circuit. It is a loop so why would you ever go right to left? Very confusing.
avatars - I’d like a fat one. It is a bit disconcerting watching this fit skinny guy riding in my place! Doesn’t even have to be fancy - an option to stretch the guy out to be fatter in the settings. Ok, this one is not high on the priority list
remember my setup for my trainer so I don’t have to set it up every time I start the app. It is already a lot of hassle getting the laptop down there, plugged into the wall, wired to an external screen, etc. Anything that can reduce the time to get started would be awesome.
setting to allow overriding day/night. I have been on rides where it is day and I round a corner and it becomes night. I’d rather just have it permanently day.
momentum - when doing the island with a few fast downhills followed by a tiny uphill then flat or down again in the real world momentum would take you over the little uphill barely noticing it exists. In Zwift you can go from pretty much freewheeling to pushing 300W+ very suddenly and it really breaks the rhythm and reality of it (not sure if 1/9 update dealt with this as it is not obvious on the new course with no real short uphills).
when completing the sprint or hillclimb or lap switch to the display of your times and put up the position you came. I noticed today as I was finishing the lap it showed the ETA and the position but then when I crossed the line it just showed the time. The position was not shown along with it. Then you have to wait for the leader board to come around.
Just suggestions, not complaints. Keep up the good work.
