Tron vs MTB on Jungle roads speed test

After the recent update which changed rolling resistance on dirt roads I did some speed tests between the Tron and MTB. Zwift released another update a few days ago which improved the speed of the MTB on dirt and I redid my tests. I do not have any numbers for before the changes to rolling resistance were implemented but I think we have all experienced the dramatic speed loss on dirt roads.

Course: 4km long on the Jungle Loop. Start at the first stone arch, down to the turnoff to Alpe de Zwift and back uphill again to the arch.

Rider: 183cm 80kg 201watts average for the course.

iOS version 1.0.40510 (update that added the steering MTB trial and first changed rolling resistance)
Tron time: 11 min 23 secs
MTB time: 11 min 44 secs

iOS version 1.0.41097 (update that made MTB faster)
Tron time: 11 min 24 secs
MTB time: 9 min 53 secs

Results: After the first update the MTB was slightly slower than the Tron bike but after 1.0.41097 the tron bike remains the same speed but the MTB is now nearly 2 minutes faster over the 4km long course and significantly faster than the tron bike.

Zwift Insider tests have also shown the MTB to be faster than the tron over the full Jungle Loop (13:47 vs 15:00).

Note that the Zwift Insider margin is less than the margin I had. Perhaps this is because I was at 200w against the 300w that Zwift Insider did. A slower speed means aero is less important and rolling resistance has a greater impact.

So now Zwift needs to implement another ‘upgrade’ that no one has asked for: The Team Car!

The ‘Team Car’ would be shortcut key somewhere on the keyboard or in the companion app that would allow the rider to specify two bike setup prior to a ride/race and when selecting the ‘Team Car’ option the rider would quickly come to a stop, bikes would be switched, and they would set off again!

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Never say no one. The team car has been suggested at least twice.

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Fair point. And I should have known that because I suggested it at least once. But that was as part of an alternative to ‘The Fence’, whereby fliers would get a ‘flat’ and have to go back to the ‘Team Car’ (behind the beacon) to get it ‘replaced’.

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These game physics are almost laughable. Clearly whoever did this has never done a similar comparison IRL. Between weight, CdA and Crr, an MTB is very very unlikely to be faster. If it was everyone would be running MTB’s are events such as Dirty Kanza.

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absolutely, the vegan guy rode the Belgium Waffle race on his road bike.