Interesting speculation from DC Rainmaker:
Given that Zwiftâs workouts are dreadful, I can see exactly they would want to purchase TrainerRoad.
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He doesnât do much speculation. I think there could be a lot of fire behind the smoke. Some real positives, especially if they incorporate the automatic FTP estimation as an input for race organisers to determine pens.
I wouldnât use the adaptive training myself, but I can see it being useful beneficial for A LOT of Zwifters.
If they do require a premium membership fee for some of this, hopefully something such as automatic (presumably better) FTP estimation is not a part of that additional fee, since it helps everyone if all riders have as accurate an FTP as possible in racing I imagine.
People often criticize the workouts on Zwift, (from what I can tell mainly due to the complexity and intensity randomness of so many of the workouts on Zwift vs. typical straightforward sweetspot, zone 2 and threshold workouts)⌠Whatâs stopping Zwift from just making another set of workouts modelled off the top Trainer Roads ones - I donât imagine TR has a patent for each workoutâs wattage⌠Now, AI generated workouts and workout analysis based on your own performance curve etc I can see how that would be much different.
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Yeah the value isnât in the workouts - theyâre not particularly unique - itâs in the adaptive nature of the plans. The biggest fit I think is the new âtrain nowâ feature, where based on your recent activities the right workout for that day is provided.
One of the biggest issues with the Zwift plans is you need to basically do them exactly when Zwift says, with very little flexibility. There is nothing smart about them based on your own strengths / weaknesses or training volume.
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As one of those people who pays for Zwift and TrainerRoad, I hope so. Ideally, integration. Itâs a bit of a faff to run a TR workout and Zwift for the graphical UI in parallel. Not a huge one, but enough that I sigh a little each time I do it.
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Oh thats pretty cool⌠I think I might actually train if I knew how to do it properly.
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Ok, yeah that makes sense. I totally get the inflexibility for the programs, and how a tailored program based on your recent rides would be orders of magnitude better. Whenever I watch a youtuber talking about how bad zwift workouts are I feel they always talk about how âcomplexâ and ârandomâ the workouts seemed rather than not being custom AI tailored to your recent riding. Yeah, Iâd like that a lot assuming the algos are solid.
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Noticed that Eric Min joined the Trainerroad Strava club and was about to post about it here!
I just hope Iâll be able to use the merged Zwift/TR app on my Computrainer without Jerry-rigging something. I decided not to use TR earlier because I would have been stuck with old legacy TR software. My CT is over 15 years old, but still works great.
Whether itâs a takeover or a âpartnershipâ of some kind, it sounds like a natural way for Zwift to add a premium service with extra benefit for people.
I feel like Zwift may need some more core features like this to keep some of the less engaged Zwifters on the platform. It all fits with âmaking it easier/simpler to get fit with Zwift.â
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As somebody who already pays full price for both Zwift and Trainerroad I just want to know if Iâm going to be saving money or not?
Optimistically Iâm hoping that maybe zwift would be free?..
Hope the guys and girls at trainerroad are able to tell zwift how to impement wahoo diorect connect at least 
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A problem with the Trainerroad eFTP implementation as I understand it is that its only calculates on your indoor Trainerroad sessions and not on outdoor rides or non-Trainerroad indoor sessions. By contrast Intervals.icu and Xert calculate it based on all rides.
Their eFTP hasnât been released yet, so itâs unknown. From what they have hinted at on the podcast, it sounds like it could be pretty intelligent versus the models that are out there from competitors (Training Peaks, intervals.icu, Xert)
However, their adaptive training and âtrain nowâ features indeed do not take outdoor rides in to account - although they have said this is a high priority item.
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I know TrainerRoad is working to âcategorizeâ non-structured rides. It is one of the biggest things on the road map.
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You know all the bugs that keep coming up every time a new client update is launched, or that havenât been fixed? The bugs are a sign that the code is complex and that maybe too many problems have had easy fixes rather than more fundamental ones (i.e. technical debt). Or you know how Zwiftpower had a whole bunch of hiccups when Zwift integrated it? Or how it hasnât been truly integrated in that you still have to sign up for an account separately?
What does this have to do with a potential TrainerRoad acquisition? Even though I donât have a TR subscription now, I would be concerned if Zwift acquired TR and moved to integrate its assets because of the complexity and technical debt in its existing code. The adaptive training algorithm isnât a simple algorithm, as I understand it. Itâs powered by machine learning. I would assume it needs constant monitoring and improvement, and using a very specialized skillset to boot. Same for developing good training plans.
I donât know how well Zwift might integrate TRâs people into the organization. I donât have faith that Zwift can integrate the programs on a software level without a lot of difficulty. Now, obviously I donât work there, and I may be completely misreading things. But I have a feeling Iâm not wrong here.
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5 posts were split to a new topic: Zwift crashing on me
I wouldnât get all hyped up about adaptive training.
It doesnât work for unstructured or non cycling workouts.
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I really like adaptive training. Agree it would be better if it took into account unstructured rides but it really does work as it is very well for me.
âOptimistically Iâm hoping that maybe zwift would be free?..â
Um, sure, as long as Zwift can buy TrainerRoad for $0. I donât see a problem with that idea.
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