The accurate rider weight discussion/suggestion

I was thinking a possible solution for riders who for arguments sake mistakenly enter a wrong weight. An automatic slider could be added to the avatar set-up based on the weight that is entered. Much like the skin tone slider, but it is the number that decides how skinny the avatar looks. This could be capped a something like 180 for guys and 150 for women. This may not help with people who are off by 10 or 20 lbs, but people who enter 60,70 or so pounds and are 5’ 10" would stick out like a sore thumb.

good idea…why cap it tho. can’t hide it in real life…maybe add the weight to our better of our bodies tho. :slight_smile:

However, some people who are quite heavy for their height might not want to look that way when cycling … so might be tempted to slim themselves down a bit! Another alternative would be for Zwift team to check BMIs and question anyone with a very low BMI. It would only detect those who have made a mistake eg entered kgs when it should have been lbs. Anyone who wants to cheat can just reduce their height AND their weight. Personally I don’t mind people cheating so long as they don’t take the jerseys off those who aren’t, there will always be some people who can’t live with themselves, sad really. In fact I sometimes wonder if some riders might even be doping …. or is that too far fetched … haha, do cyclists do that? Of course Zwift have sight of all our ride data, so people who have ridiculous power outputs could also be politley questioned.

I like the idea of creating an avatar appearance based on hight-weight ratio. I’m not too into figuring out how to keep users “honest” about their own weight. It is a “GAME” after all. Being a game, part of the fun is being someone you’re not in real life. I have had a lot of fun playing with my weight – both on the very heavy side – faster downhill and sprint-- and on the the lighter side – faster climbing. Also, the boosts affect you differently whether you are “heavy” or light" weight.

Really think about it – do you really want to care that people are being “honest” about their “real” weight? If so, then just make a universal default rider weight that users can’t customize.

Great idea. Although I’m 700 pounds so would need a much longer slider.

I agree with Mike, worry less about whether tinkering with your weight is cheating, but don’t hide the fact that someone has an unnatural combo by reflecting it in the appearance of the avatar. I’m a big guy who is also overweight at the moment, and it would probably make people feel better about the fact that I’m usually wearing the green jersey if they saw that I am 6’ 2" and weigh 255 :wink:

I do understand it is a game. And, honestly I do not care if people are cheating or accidentally not having their set up correct. I am using ZWIFT for training when I can’t get outside so I want my numbers to be anchored in reality, but that is just me. I think it just comes down to what ZWIFT wants to be. If is just a game, a training tool, or a bigger competition platform. If they aspire to be a legitimate competition it will need to be actually legitimate to truly take off. Or, it will only just be a game. Glad you guys are stoked with it and crushing it out there though!

i dont think capping is the answer as it works against anyone who doesnt fit the ideal rider criteria larger or smaller. I havent been 180 lbs since i was 14 years old .
Cheating to get better numbers No it goes against everything that games or sport are about
I also go on and mostly do my own training ride for triathlon and tt and like one of the other posters im 6ft 2ins 270 lbs and im sure some comments are made when going downhill lol needless to say no one makes the similar coments when they fly past me on the hills, which i accept as it would happen in real life.

I think there is some confusion around what I meant about capping the size at 180. What I meant is after 180, or 200, or 250 the avatar does not get any bigger that’s all. The actual rider weight would still be included in the speed and w/kg formula. Probably isn’t necessary I suppose. I think once achievements and rewards are offered for the jerseys the community will start calling out people who are averaging 38 MPH up hill, etc.

It would be better to allow users to customize it. It’s a game, let people look the way they want to and you’ll have more accurate weight being entered. I’m guessing most men don’t care but women are more sensitive to how they look.