The simplest solution is everyone just rides based on pure wattage, and Zwift takes weight (and height) out of the physics completely. Give everyone a 75kg weight and 175cm height. It’s an interesting what-if… what if Zwift had started and had been that way from the very beginning?
I suggested this when some people were complaining that Zwift was a trigger for eating disorders.
(Mostly the same) people lost their minds.
You didn’t want to scroll down?
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You’re being limited by your skinny phone screen.
The pens have titles like “STAGE 2: FRESH OUTTA 24-GOING COASTAL (A)”
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You’re living in the past man, the future is now
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Why not take a step further and allow e-bikes in races as well? Can you explain why that wouldn’t be an equally good solution along the lines of your own?
Someone who is 120kg and can do 350w or more for hours will definitely like your idea, they will win every time. Provided it’s only in racing I don’t mind.
We have weight differences and height differences riding IRL and nobody seems to have problems with it.
(Whispers) e-bikes are allowed in races
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All the folks who do 350w would be in the same cat. No more debating about heavy vs lightweights fairness, climbing races vs flat and how organizers have to mix it up, etc etc. All of this makes for great drama and debate and I suppose it would be a shame if there was nothing to argue about.
There are all sorts of differences between people IRL, including their wattage. Zwift of course has chosen to base everything mostly on wattage/kg instead of just wattage, even though Zwift isn’t real life. The Yeti and Nessie are giveaways to that.
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That would be easier but not desirable.
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The recalculation of the seed score was good.
This indicated ZHQ recognized that V1 was flawed.
Recalculating the ZRS based upon the race results obtained under the previously flawed system just introduced the old flaws into the new system.
We need v3 - just reset the seeds and let’s go race.
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Let’s say you are 350w pushing 190bpm at your limits and my 350w is a walk in the park because I’m far heavier than you and stronger, I don’t suppose you’ll like being cannon-fodder in your 350w group.
In any case, your ideas are good for stirring up controversy, if nothing else.
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How about this, everyone starts at 500… go race, lose or win, your score will change over time.
ebikes, spinbikes, and other inexplicably flat 449+ power profiles get a 999 score and their own category for ‘winning’ Zwift. But are left with a perpetual feeling of emptiness that they’ll never make it to 1,000.
1,000 would be reserved for performance verification.
But on a serious note, can we have unusual power profile detection so we get rid of the flatline and on/off binary power profiles that often blow up races.
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Maybe they haven’t been decided yet as they didn’t know the distribution of riders until the new seed calculation was done. And if it’s going to be redone, they still don’t know.
I don’t see how they can possibly decide that yet.
I think you’d have a hard time detecting my pedal-assist e-bike if used judiciously. HR would be a tell but I can rock up to most races without one. It doesn’t have a throttle or massive power. Power goes up and down based on my pedaling input. If I used it to easily stay with a group and then smash the finish with an extra 250W I suspect I could get away with it. I have no plans to try this, but it’s a common piece of equipment that is in the homes of many Zwift users. US class 3 pedelec assists up to 28MPH.
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thanks Paul, are there other types of eBike other than pedal assist? My assumption was that maybe the flat power outputs are using a throttle.
Yes many e-bikes have a throttle. I see those more typically used by delivery couriers. There are also some spin bikes that have a max power level that people reach and stay there even if they work harder.
Sorry to have wandered off topic!
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