I’m really sorry that you have suffered abuse whilst riding, that should not happen or be tolerated. I think everyone on this thread agrees with you.
I now hope that you don’t consider what I am about to write to be yet further abuse to you, it is intended as advice only.
Further up this thread David has given advice that riding fast on ZPower on your own will still gather all the quick miles and double XP that you desire without the risk of anyone knowing or caring.
Advice has also been given to not advise others prior to riding that you are on ZPower, that to me is a red rag to a bull.
I can understand your wanting to post here to gain support and justification for your wish to use ZPower as opposed to your Smart Trainer. My advice to you is not to post statements on this forum which can possibly be easily contradicted by your quite active ZwiftPower profile.
I can understand your wish to gain miles, XP and levels quickly, be at the pointy end of group rides and races, many of us want these things. However I can not support your wish to do that when you have several options available to you which do not affect the enjoyment of others who are using, in my opinion, Zwift as intended.
I have spent my whole life encouraging others to participate in sport so I encourage you to RIDE ON, hopefully fairly and with hopefully consideration of others.
My records in Zwift reflect exactly what I have been saying. If you bothered looking at my Zwift activities rather than Zwiftpower you will see that I haven’t used my smart trainer for a while. You would also notice that I started using zpower when the double points started. You should also notice that in most cases I don’t finish the events as I run out of time. Hence it is not recorded in Zwiftpower. You should also notice that my activities in social group events has increased because I have been convinced by riders on the forum are not getting a fair go. So I am sorry but I don’t know what you are to communicate. My initial statement was why if zpower is allowed by Zwift people are getting upset and verbal during non race event. My naive intent was to convince riders who read the forums to go easy . End of story.
Well just like riders want to win races which is impossible for me I want to increase my points . Yes I am greedy for points because an old man like me finds this to be a challenge. Something wrong with that . I don’t think so otherwise Zwift would not bother giving double points to encourage riders to join in. When i am riding in a group a lot of the talking is about reaching a certain level so riders are pretty proud of the level they attain. I think I will no longer use this forum as people misinterpret my intention.
I’m a bit surprised people care so much about zPower riders. When i see one in a race, i just ignore them. The only result that counts imho is the one zwiftpower and they get filtered out by default. I treat them like a different category, we’re not actually in the same race.
Sorry you’ve had to deal with the abuse. But my tips. Just don’t mention it and ignore the chat. Just get out of the events, what you want to get out of the events.
I feel your pain. For several months I used z power before I bought a power meter. I was surprised that I had been given about 50 watts more than reality. Zwift should just lower estimated watts 20% across the board for z power users. They have known this issue for years.
The OP apparently has a smart trainer and chose not to use it. He’s aware that people don’t like ZP users in races. He’s also in the front group of the big group ride he did, and he’s aware that people see that as a race. He thinks that he should just be allowed to use ZPower despite all this.
Are we sure he was abused? If someone said in game “ZP is like cheating. You should get out of the front group or get a smart trainer!” - is that abuse? Where’s the line for abuse? What actually was said to the OP?
The OP has done nothing wrong.
It’s not a race, he can do what he wants.
While this is true, he also needs to understand that there will be others who will be irritated by his actions.
It’s not a race but people still race.
Being in the front group affects the ride whether you finish or not.
People will complain, but it’s not a race.
The issue is not whether the OP is doing anything wrong.
He is not.
The issue is he feels offended because others feel his faulty equipment and dubious performance are affecting their experience.
It is, but it’s not a race.
I can’t see what possible satisfaction you get from knowingly collecting (ultimately meaningless) points at a faster rate than you deserve to collect them. Isn’t that ‘cheating’ (in the Cameron Jeffers sense), even if you don’t consider being at the front of a non-race ride to be cheating?
If your Zpower trainer gives consistent (if inaccurate) information, wouldn’t you actually be better off doing workouts to improve your fitness in a measurable way? Out of interest, how does the power on your Zpower trainer compare to the power measured on your smart trainer? You say ‘grossly exaggerated’… Frankly, I think you’re completely wasting your time on Zwift.
yeah. there’s a whole section in the ToS people like to skip over to get to the parts that suit whatever opinions they have, regarding personal conduct. probably, anyway. i aint reading it either
I have been on Zwift Hub One for the last 3 days and in my case the transition from a classic trainer (elite qubo fluid) was quite a reality check. I’d say, I am about 25% weaker from my wattage output I had with zPower. Not that it matters much in general terms, as I am 248 lbs and 6 feet, 6 inch tall, so hardly a competitor but I must say that it feels so much better now to know how much of actual power I can produce and use it as an input for my improvements and, of course, to know that in group rides, when I am able to endure the tempo and stay with the group, it is a result of real effort and not some power output inaccuracies.
Otherwise, I was quite content on my classic trainer but having been more hooked to the game wanted to feel more immersion…and perhaps “acceptance”.
Having said that, I quite understand the OP and agree with him that any belittling or abuse is unwarranted especially on a social ride in this animated game, zPower or not.
Great response . Thank you. I have used my Smart trainer and I really enjoyed it . While cycling on it I completely locked up and I could not cycle. It is with Garmin for repairs. Thank you for your very mature and unbiased rexponse
I am getting very frustrated with people not reading my initial complaint. I never said that (1) using zpower for Races was desirable. (2) I said zpower greatly inflated watts ( I never denied it) (3) that I use zpower while my smart trainer is getting fixed because I didn’t want to miss out on the double points. Sorry but I don’t think there anything wrong with wanting double points (4) as I only have 30 minutes allowed on the bike I go full speed but i rarely finish an event. And last if zpower is so bad why is Zwift allowing to be used ??? Get Zwift to stop it !!! As long as Zwift lets people use zpower they will use it for what ever reason . Zwift is only a game and my personal view is that it should not be taken so seriously . And abusing people no matter is not on.
Z power is good.
It’s a great way for beginners to experience Zwift and see what makes a good indoor riding set up.
It also allows the user to interact with other users and become accustomed to the riding culture.
There are many ways to use Zwift and the accepted behavior changes.
In a free ride or work out, do what you want.
Group ride - respect the leader and be mindful of affect inaccurate setups have on others.
Do you have to respect the leader - No.
It’s not a rule but the community will give feedback back that you’re doing something outside the expected behavior.
Race - it’s against the rules to have an indoor performance that exceeds your IRL performance.
You are in the zone of my #2 bullet point and the community is telling you to knock it off and ride your 400 watts elsewhere.
Do you have to - No.
