I am using Zwift as a recovery tool for a severe calf muscle tear. So I am riding very slow, maybe 30 watts, for 5-10 minutes at a time.
In the game, everything seems fine (everybody passes me). I save the activity when done. However, it doesn’t upload to Strava nor to Garmin Connect. In addition, even though the rides appear on my Zwift profile, they are incorrect–durations are a few seconds, not minutes. If I download the fit files from Zwift, they are consistent with what Zwift says, i.e. a few seconds, not the 5-6 minutes I actually rode.
This only started after the injury, prior to that I never had a problem in more than a hundred rides.
I think the cutoff is 2 kilometers before it will upload. Are you riding for at least that distance? (Try the TT bike, with the most aero wheels you’ve unlocked. You can’t draft or get powerups with it, but it will give you a bit more speed.) I’m not sure why your .fit file would only show a few seconds of riding… even if Zwift doesn’t upload the ride externally, I would think it still should be keeping record of it…
What type of device are you using for Zwift? PC, Mac computer, mobile iOS device, Android beta?
I am using a 10.5 iPad Pro (iOS 12) and a Kicker Snap.
Yes, it is interesting that Zwift records and saves a fit file, but then the file records a ride that is only a few seconds. I verified this by downloading the .fit file from Zwift and uploading to Strava, and also using https://www.fitfiletools.com/#/adjuster#view to look at the .fit file. So it isn’t quite as simple as the file not uploading.
Today, I’ll try riding at least 2 km and see if that matters.
With respect to the injury, this is a bad one–worse than any other I have had. I am 10 days in and still in a boot and on crutches. Spinning (slowwwwwly) on the bike came from my PT who wants me to be moving the leg to keep the lymphatic system working to help with the swelling. I do that and wiggle my foot carefully four times a day. I have at least made good progress on the swelling, but the pain level is bad and the leg is nearly useless.
Okay, so it is a distance limit, apparently and 2km is probably right. I rode 1.47 miles (well over 2km), and the upload works.
The ride took 6 min. It was surprising to me how much faster the same effort on London Flat first section was than Watopia flat. Nearly twice as fast, with about the same effort—very little, haha.
Thanks for the information in this thread. I just had the same problem - I’ve been recording rides to compare power meter data from my trainer and crank-based power meter… only to find out that the Zwift fit files either don’t sync with Strava, or they’re only a few seconds long.
Even more strange, when I finish the ride, Zwift.com on my iPad shows an activity of 4 mins duration. By the time I get downstairs to my Mac, Zwift.com on my Mac shows the activity to be only 5s long! I emailed the file from my iPad but it wasn’t 4 mins, it was 5s.
Rides need to be 2 km (1.24 mi.) or longer and runs must be at least 0.8 km to upload. This is to prevent shorter test activities from clogging up activity feeds, while longer activities should upload normally.
If you would like these shorter activities to show up on your third party connections, such as Strava or Garmin, to be able to track this activity, you can link your accounts and manually upload shorter rides and runs. For information on how to connect your third party accounts please see our support article Zwift and Third-Party Fitness Platforms.
To upload your ride you’ll need your .fit files; these files, that contain your ride and run information, save to your local device every 10 minutes. Information on how to find these files can be found in our knowledge base article, “Your Ride History and .fit Files.”
