Zwift is trying to kill me

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#1

I’m a bit of an old geezer trying to get back into shape. At 55 i should be training in a certain HR zone but the software when i log in keeps wanting me to do all sorts of high intensity work outs and other training stuff that i would have loved to do back in the days when i was racing. I have to click through all this jumbo to just ride. And even with all the visual garbage on the screen … can i please just ride without all the Picture in Picture windows? can i just have my HR, speed, and wattage on the screen please if i choose? Hey here’s a thought… since you folks at zwift are tracking every data point then why the frig can’t you show me if my avg speed for the flat course on Watopia is getting better?

Seems to me that there’s not enough effort being done on just the basics. and why is it when I’m using the treadmill my heart rate window changes colour as i go into the different heart rate zones, green for good, yellow for high, red for max HR… you can’t do this for cycling as well?

I’m also frustrated that my Elite Suito trainer … when i’m going down steep. hills doesn’t get easier to pedal… on a 12 or 14% downhill i should be able to spin 120 in top gear but NOPE not on zwift… LOL this software has a long long long way to go.

#2

Hey Scott. Great that you are back to training and riding! Lots in your post. If I understand:

  1. You want to just open Zwift, and ride, yes?

There shouldn’t be much ‘jumbo’ to click through to do that. Login screen, Paring screen, Then ‘RIDE’ (pics below)

Login
Login1005×520 175 KB

Pairing
Pairing1502×928 64.3 KB

Ride
Ride1406×1996 323 KB

  1. Visual garbage.

Yea, sadly there isn’t an (easy) way to turn all that off yet. (also, i would love to see colour-coded HR on a ride as well!)

  1. Downhill riding.

As far as i can tell, the Elite Suito does not support that. Pretty sure only the Tacx Neo range of smart trainers supports ‘Downhill simulation’. It’s not the Zwift software that is lacking; it’s the trainer that doesn’t make the resistance easier on downhill slopes.

Ride on!

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#3

The colour coded HR in running is there in order to show your workout zones as this is the only zonal metric for running.

The colour coded effort metric for cycling is power. If you press ‘G’ on your keyboard (PC/ MAC) or press the little graph icon on your companion app it will display a graph on the bottom of your screen. It draws real time power and rolls along the bottom of the screen to show your 10 minute history.

As for all of the other pop ups on the screen (sprints/ KOM’s etc) there is no way to stop them. It is up to the individual to stay strong and not get drawn in to making an effort!!

#4

Good to know about the downhill riding.

That sequence that you have is not what i get when i log in. I get the Pair with devices screen then i get this screen that has a workout button with a 'hurry up and do this recovery ride, hurry up and do this sprint session before thursday…"

I know how to train if i wanted to race again, i don’t want to race again, thx.

And maybe like real provincial racing there are age groups… instead of sprinting against a 25 year old i could only see others in my age group or age groups i choose… i just find the software discouraging.

It’s trying to kill me because it’s too stupid to turn off and just let me ride my bike and track my own progress.

#5

It sounds like you are signed up for a training plan. Try the following link and scroll down to “Canceling Your Training Plan” (Zwift’s spelling of cancelling, not mine!) to see if this works for you

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#6

When going downhill, Zwift halves the gradient for everyone. And then on top of that it applies your Trainer Difficulty setting. So if the latter is at the default 50%, then your 12% descent turns into a 3% one.

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#7

Hello Scott,

Have you noticed the Suito doing this in other cycling simulation apps? Does the descent get easier using another cycling app?
I have the Direto XR and just yesterday I climbed Alpe Du Zwift and then came back down at a steady 78 km/h while recovering from my climb. I did have a Suito that needed to be returned (connectivity and calibrating issues) before I bought the Direto XR. I think Suitos have been problematic.
Did you try the Diagnostics feature in MyETraining app? The day after I used that feature I got an email from Elite telling me to return the Suito because it was faulty. If you haven’t tried a diagnostics, maybe start there. I’m assuming you’ve done the calibration/spin-down set-up using MyETraining.
Hang in there and keep troubleshooting because it really does get fun and addictive. I’m in my mid-fifties as well.

#8

I just tested mine today because of what you said, and mine is ok. I think for the price it’s ok but during the pandemic i didn’t really get to test drive a trainer i just had to pick one and the top ten trainers for last year said the suito was a good value. I may get a Tacx Neo 2 next year, or the Wahoo… or something else. But yes, after using Zwift for a few months now i can see clearly why I’ve been so confused, the user interface is a dogs breakfast, confusing.

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#9

Exactly so. Go to Zwiftinsider.com and click on the “Getting Started” button. There are a bunch of well-written tutorials to help you get going on the path you’re looking for. I started this just over a year ago as a way to mitigate being stuck indoors. Before Zwift, I was good for about 20 minutes on an indoor trainer but in the last year, I’ve ridden nearly 11,000km. Never thought I’d see the day…

Watch out though, you say you’re going racing again. Zwift racing has a way of sucking you in. Don’t ask me how I know…

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