I would like to be able to turn off this message. On busy courses (Innsbruk), that message is constantly popping up, and can be pretty distracting.
If you can’t turn it off, then make it more context specific. For example, slogging up a 10% grade at 5 mph, I doubt I need to close the gap. The same could be said for when a rider goes by 5-10 mph faster, or you pass someone that’s going slower.
Thanks for listening.
A workaround is to use the TT bike as it doesn’t benefit from the draft AFAIK.
I think that is true and is a good workaround but it also limits you from certain events.
I tend not to change my kit or bike and would forget to do so if I was doing a race where it was not allowed
John
Yes please. Give us an option - like the blurred vision effect option.
Or replace the giant “Close the Gap” message and graphic with something less obtrusive - perhaps a Draft Effect bar.
I think the main problem is the size of the thing. It just made half the size or as some sort of sliding bar would me much nicer.
A drafting effect bar is a great idea! It would be awesome to see how many watts one is saving by drafting.
While the “Close the Gap” message can be annoying all on it’s own in a normal ride (for various reasons), it is getting almost DE-motivating during the Tour de Zwift “double-draft” event.
I frankly don’t know if this is more of a fix, or simply a request to enhance/fix the “drafting” component.
When riding in a group, I don’t know how many frickin-annoying times (seriously way too many to count even in a 20 mile ride), my avatar will be “just” left or right of the rider in front of me & I lose my draft - & boom, there’s mister annoying “Close the Gap” message. And actually, there’s been a few times, a group of us have formed bonified pacelines & my avatar is squatting nicely behind one or two guys & the message will still pop up! Even when it looks like I could be pedaling the guy in front of me’s bike! Seriously, I’m so close I can’t see his shorts, but I get that frickin message! “Close the Gap” After a while you mentally start feeling the perceived resistance!
Related: regularly, I will be riding in a group of 20+ people, several in front & behind, constantly shifting positions within the virtual peloton, when my avatar will all of a sudden swing out to the left or the right of the group & I’ll get the “Close the Gap” message. ??? WTF. I’ve been riding at a similar pace, with the same people for sometimes several miles & my avatar decides to go ride the curb by myself for a bit. ?!? Or, somebody passing our group comes splitting up the middle & seemingly shoves my avatar out of our group. —
This needs a fix IMHO, it’s moved passed annoying to demotivating. It’s started to make some of my rides not as much fun.
I think too a drafting effect bar is a great idea !
Agree… A ‘draft effect’ bar (showing % savings or % of draft benefit) would be beneficial and add a visible level of reward for ‘closing the gap’.
Cheers,
This needs to be optional. It’s so distracting and not at all motivating, which was likely the goal when it was dreamed up.
great idea!
Yes, please give us an option to turn off!!
Absolutely DE-motivating is when you are riding alone and get passed by a group that it seems allmost impossible to hook-on when you push low raw wattages like I do but knowing that you are far better when it is about W/KG.
Ps. Just select any other rider from the FlyBy and you will notice the double-draft is just ridiculous.
What should I be looking for?
Just select any other rider to compare and you will notice an insane difference of 1-2 minutes just because of double-draft within small group. In real life this difference will be far more smaller and also it will be more easy to hook-on when you get overtaken. Currently I just see this “Close the Gap” message and within 10 seconds the gap is already that size it is impossible to get into the group. The draft and especially the double-draft is too big for small groups.
Defo +1 for switching this off, especially on easy days when I don’t want to be encouraged to go faster than my intended speed/power/heart rate. But even on hard days, it just annoys me by its inconsistency - sometimes I’m hammering up fast to someone and it pointlessly displays, sometimes I’m only slowly catching up and it doesn’t. On crowded days its a complete nuisance, though the new world choice feature helps with that.
While I’m new to Zwift, I think the Close the Gap message has to be the most annoying feature, especially when there are so many people on a route. I find Zwift is constantly beeping at me to close the gap after people have passed me. I don’t want to close the gap, I don’t want to hear the beep, I don’t want the giant words on the screen. Ideally, it would be an intelligent feature and know that I’ve been drafting behind somebody for a few minutes and I’ve let the gap grow too big. That would be a reason to alert me. But otherwise, I’d like the feature turned off completely.
This is just an FYI, if you are using a TT or Tri bike you will never see that message.
or during a workout
Thank you both, I’m not riding a TT or Try bike and for now I’m not using the workout feature. I really do wish there was a way to turn off this setting. As others have suggested, there are superior ways to indicate drafting.