Zwift’s recent update to version 1.0.36387 included a modification to the aero helmet powerUp which reduces its length from 30 seconds to 15 seconds.
Learn more about Zwift PowerUps here >
This is big news for racers who choose events which include powerUps, as the duration of this powerful powerUp greatly determines when you trigger it in a final sprint.
Zwift’s Jordan Rapp shared this on the Zwift Racers Facebook group:
Hi all, so nestled in with the *BIG* update of the new Giro course was a small change that we made in response to a lot of collected feedback about what I heard to referred to by at least one user as “The Tyranny of the Aero Power-Up.”
I heard directly from many of the riders in the KISS Super League that they felt, “if you don’t have an Aero, you can’t win…” And that really didn’t seem right. So, along with the prior change of making it so you can’t carry power ups into the paddock (to prevent people feeling like they NEEDED to “farm” an Aero power up), in this latest release, we also have shortened the duration of the Aero power-up from 30sec down to 15sec (same as the Feather).
This is just a trial. We’re hoping it makes the racing more fun and that not getting an aero power-up will be less critical. Power-ups are an area where we’re putting a lot of focus in the next couple months, so look for more stuff coming down the power-up pipeline… But for now, hopefully those of you that may have turned power-ups off for this reason might turn them back on. And those that have kept them on will hopefully feel they are a bit more balanced…
Feedback, as always, is welcome. Thanks!
I welcome the change, as the aero helmet was too powerful, essentially deciding who would win or lose in a group sprint. So it’s good to see Zwift modifying the powerUp setup, including creating an event setting (used in stage 2 of the Tour of Watopia) which only awards certain powerUps at arches.
Hopefully, we’ll see even more improvements to the powerUp setup, and perhaps even some new powerUps?
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the change? Do you wish all powerUps would go away? Did you like them just how they were? Or do you think this is a nice change?
Feather is also down to 15 seconds, although draft stayed at 30.
Feather has always been 15 seconds…
Oh great so the super league has more clout than the majority. The super league races do not need powerups so ban them for those races. Let the rest of us mere mortals get that bit advantage when we can. Also the useless feather should be increased to minute and make it even more powerful.
My feather has always been 15 seconds.
Doesn’t really matter when… rode up the Alp today and got the +10 XP “power up” two times and I wasn’t on a TT bike ( was on the Tarmac Pro ) 🙄
I don’t agree with the change at all. I believe if you enter a race there should be no power ups. If you are riding solo or a group ride then the power ups should be allowed.
Whether or not powerUps are in a race is up to the race organizers… and I think that’s how it should be. That way racers can pick which sorts of races they want to be a part of. Me, I like powerUps in races, so I tend to pick those. But if that’s not your cup o’ tea, pick some of the non PU ones.
I think this might be a good change for races. However, ride organizers should be able to have more discretion in how powerups are used. For example many sprint rides (DIRT – Sprintapalooza) are more exciting with aero powerups. Thus, it would be great if the ride leader could decide whether powerups will last for 15 or 30 seconds. I believe now that ride leader can just toggle powerups on or off.
I also think that ride organizers can choose whether riders can bring powerups into the paddock. For races I am fine with no “farming powerups” however, it is disappointing when you go through an entire sprint group ride and without an aero.
First sentence of second paragraph should read: “I also think it would be great if ride organizers could choose…”
lol, like I’d ever win a race with or without the aero… people pushing +4w/kg with an average 120 BPM HR… :/
I wish all power-ups would just go away.