XP is only accumulated for miles gained currently, but it would motivate climbers if XP were also awarded for feet gained!
Thanks!
Climbers are already especially rewarded for elevation gain with the Everest Challenge aka Tron bike or the more recent Wahoo Climb Mission where we can also get some additional kit unlocks.
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whilst climbers are “penalized” going uphill (slow and hard), they are rewarded later - going downhill - then you get miles/kms (and thus your XPs) in easy and fast way 
… it means never end your ride at the top! 
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Amen to that. Your average speed on hilly rides after accounting for descents should be in the ballpark for the same distance on a flat ride if descents and climbs are balanced. At least that’s been my experience when riding outside. Hilly rides i think are a little slower in Zwift, but in the ballpark. So there really isn’t much of a penalty for hill climbers, like you said, as long as they go back down.
Think about it. The 1 km = 20 XP or whatever is a joke.
More sense in my opinion would be gaining XP based on:
- speed in the flat
- Vertical Ascent in Meters (VAM)
- W/kg x over time y
- certain parameters like, races, workouts, group rides …
Also getting the 10 XP plus at a finish banner is just weird. Why so little why not 1000? It is something special. Same for the Alpe du Zwift Banner 300 or whatever XP seriously? That is nothing. Of course climbing is special and not many like it. The reward should be different and BIG. I guess people could be remote controled if you install an intelligent XP awarding.
Are you on the TT bike? You should get any of the random powerups on the line, but if you’re on the TT bike you don’t get them. Just the XP boost.
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I’m pretty sure you are wrong Aaron about average time up and down a hill being similar to the same distance on flat land. It sounds intuitive as if your speed up hill is say 5mph slower than on flat land and your speed downhill is 5 mph faster, you’d think it would average out, BUT, you are going up hill for a long time (because of going slowly) and you are going down hill for a very short time (again because you are going very fast) so the average mph goes way down.
In real life, my average time trial speed on a flat track is about 1.5mph faster than a track that has even small hills.
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At a fixed power, riding uphill and down will take longer than covering the same distance on flat ground.
For example: maintain 210 watts for 20 miles
case 1: uphill 10 miles at 6% followed by downhill 10 miles at 6%. uphill at about 8.4 mph, downhill at about 34.6 mph. 71 minutes uphill, 17 minutes downhill. 88 minutes total. Average speed, 13.6 mph.
case 2: 20 miles flat. 20 mph. 60 minutes total. Average speed, 20 mph.
Calculations from bikecalculator.com
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Putting the example in terms of XP:
-
Hilly Rider 1 does 210 watts for 88 minutes to get 600 XP.
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Flat Rider 2 does 210 watts for 60 minutes to get 600 XP.
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@1506 So rider 1 has trained harder and therefor are stronger. Sound like a win to me. LOL
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Sorry.
One rides at 210 watts for 88 minutes, gets a good workout and 600 XP.
The other rides at 210 watts for 88 minutes, gets a good workout and 880 XP.
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@1506 , @Rick_Hanes. That’s good info that i hadn’t ever quantified. This explains why i feel more spent after a hilly ride than a flat one when they average the same speed… because i worked harder!
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If you’re averaging below 30 kph, you’ll get more XP from a workout (except for free ride segments) over the same time period. Now, if you could plan out your climb as a workout…
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Full disclosure: this is how I’ve been climbing Alpe du Zwift. I free ride to its base then start my workout and ascend. My workout usually ends 2 or 3 switchbacks from the top.
Nico Comparison. Its just weird! No equalisiation here again. Even though both riders are getting the same XP one has to train close to 20 m longer … and i could bet this is the point why most of the Zwifters are training in the flats.
I said it already but what we need is something like this:
Km are senseless you have to see the big picture. A person training in time. Its not the distance you travel which is the key point for spreading out XP it is the training you should honor!
Blockquote[quote=“Steve_Ellis1, post:11, topic:15938”]
One rides at 210 watts for 88 minutes, gets a good workout and 600 XP.
The other rides at 210 watts for 88 minutes, gets a good workout and 880 XP.
[/quote]
That’s one way to look at it.
But the truth is, most people (particularly IRL) don’t (or can’t) ride this way on hilly terrain.The climber has the option of coasting down the other side and still picking up the XP w/o doing the work (or doing less of it). It’ll take a a minute longer vs. pedaling (or not, depending on the grade of the descent) - but still…
If the ONLY thing you care about is racking up XP, then - yes - you should ride only on the flats. But there’s no fun in that!
At any power, it always takes longer to ride the same distance going up and down, rather than on the flat, doesn’t it? In the example I gave, the rider on the flats completed 20 miles 11 minutes before the hilly rider completed 10 miles. Coast, pedal, or whatever, the hilly rider can’t ride the next 10 miles downhill in negative 10 minutes to finish just a minute slower than the flat rider.
The OP, as I read it, isn’t judging the fun of riding one course or another, just suggesting that the miles up and downhill represent more Zwift eXPerience than the same miles on the flat.
I agree with this, or believe it should be a toggle. I don’t have much time to ride so in an hour I’ll climb as much as I can, often leaving out the descent. I’d love to be able to toggle my XP to be earned from climbing rather than distance.
it is unlikely but maybe zwift could let you buy XP with drops? drops accumulate faster going uphill.
Agreed. It is ridiculous that over the same timeframe someone can ride Tempus Fugit whilst someone else climbs Ventoux and the individual that chose TF is awarded 100’s if not 1,000’s of additional XP’s. However it is also ridiculous to worry about what level we have attained in Zwift. I do it for the fun and the workout that makes me a better rider outdoors. I would like to see Levels eliminated completely and just show total distance in km/miles and total elevation in m/ft. From that use a reasonable calculation to generate a Level that is appropriate for the effort put forth.