• Get Started
    • Get Started on Zwift
    • Zwift Course Maps
    • How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More)
    • Links Every Zwifter Must Have
    • More “Get Started” Posts
  • Tips & Tricks
    • Kit Unlock Codes
    • Training & Nutrition
    • Racing
    • Zwift Hacks
  • Reference
    • How Zwift Works
    • Course Calendar
    • RoboPacer Calendar
    • Smart Trainer Index
      • Top Wheel-On Trainers
      • Top Direct-Drive <$900
      • Top Direct-Drive >$900
      • Exhaustive Trainer List
    • Achievements & Unlocks
    • Frames & Wheels
    • Routes & Maps
      • Master List of Routes
      • Master List of KOMs
      • Master List of Sprints
      • Downloadable Watopia Map
      • Rebel Routes
    • Speed Tests
  • News
    • Events
    • Game Updates
  • Shop
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Get Started
    • Get Started on Zwift
    • Zwift Course Maps
    • How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More)
    • Links Every Zwifter Must Have
    • More “Get Started” Posts
  • Tips & Tricks
    • Kit Unlock Codes
    • Training & Nutrition
    • Racing
    • Zwift Hacks
  • Reference
    • How Zwift Works
    • Course Calendar
    • RoboPacer Calendar
    • Smart Trainer Index
      • Top Wheel-On Trainers
      • Top Direct-Drive <$900
      • Top Direct-Drive >$900
      • Exhaustive Trainer List
    • Achievements & Unlocks
    • Frames & Wheels
    • Routes & Maps
      • Master List of Routes
      • Master List of KOMs
      • Master List of Sprints
      • Downloadable Watopia Map
      • Rebel Routes
    • Speed Tests
  • News
    • Events
    • Game Updates
  • Shop
More
    Sign in
    Welcome! Log into your account
    Forgot your password? Get help
    Privacy Policy
    Password recovery
    Recover your password
    A password will be e-mailed to you.
    Tips & TricksZwift Hacks

    How Zwift Sizes Your Avatar’s Body

    Eric Schlange
    By Eric Schlange
    November 24, 2019
    14

    Your Zwift avatar is a virtual representation of yourself, and some people take that very seriously. Think of everything that goes into your avatar’s “look”–your jersey and shorts, headwear, head type, hairstyle and color, skin color, sock style and length, shoes, gloves, sunglasses, facial hair… it’s a lot!

    Zwift has a challenging task on their hands in building tools to create avatars people can feel good about.

    What about the avatar’s actual body? Sure, your avatar is “decorated” with all the clothing and accessories listed above, but have you ever wondered how Zwift sizes avatars?

    We did a little research to figure it out.

    3 For Men, 2 for Women

    Zwift’s avatar sizing is actually quite simple. There are only three avatar body types for men, and two for women. Here’s what they look like:

    • Men’s Small
    • Men’s Medium
    • Men’s Large
    • Women’s Small
    • Women’s Medium

    What determines which body size you see? It’s the rider’s weight and height. It appears body types change at a particular BMI.

    Men’s Avatar Sizing:

    • Small: BMI <21
    • Medium: BMI 21-26
    • Large: BMI >26

    Women’s Avatar Sizing

    • Small: BMI <22
    • Medium: BMI >22

    That’s it. Your body doesn’t slowly grow larger or smaller as you change weight or height–you are given one of three (or two if you’re female) body sizes based on your BMI.

    Example: men with a BMI of 26 or more will all have the same avatar body. Even if your BMI is 40 it will look the same as someone with a BMI of 26.

    Sometimes this helps: if you’re very overweight, you might be happy with how your “gorilla” avatar makes you look. But BMI can be a bit of a silly measurement: I have two real-life friends who sport the “large” men’s avatar on Zwift, but neither would ever be confused for being big or overweight guys. One is a very lean guy, all muscle, and the other is a very tall guy with a bit of belly fat.

    So it’s not a perfect system, but it works.

    Want to calculate your BMI? Go here >

    About Height

    Your height affects your speed in Zwift and helps determine (along with weight) which avatar body type you get. But it does NOT change the visual height of your rider in game.

    All avatars are the same height, regardless of your setting. This was probably done so kits and bike frames wouldn’t need to be scaled for each rider, but wouldn’t it be cool if you could see people’s actual size? It would add some nice variety to the visuals.

    Your Thoughts

    Any questions about avatar sizing, or thoughts on why Zwift does it this way? Comment below!

    Related Posts

    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    ReddIt
      Eric Schlange
      Eric Schlangehttp://www.zwiftinsider.com
      Eric runs Zwift Insider in his spare time when he isn't on the bike or managing various business interests. He lives in Northern California with his beautiful wife, two kids and dog. Follow on Strava

      14 COMMENTS

      Subscribe
      Connect with
      Notify of
      guest

      Connect with
      guest

      14 Comments
      Oldest
      Newest Most Voted
      Inline Feedbacks
      View all comments
      Simon Harrison
      Simon Harrison
      3 years ago

      Hi
      Thanks for clarifying this. If a waist measurement was used it may help with rendering the Avatar’s true proportions. I would like to see Zwift ‘embrace‘ all body types to ensure it’s not a dystopian world.

      6
      Reply
      elwood crayfish
      elwood crayfish
      2 years ago

      does hairstyle affect speed/aero?

      0
      Reply
      mulesrule
      mulesrule
      2 years ago

      I want to know why I can’t have a braid or ponytail, all the female avatars have really short hair!

      10
      Reply
      Pete Harrison
      Pete Harrison
      2 years ago

      Thanks for the explanation, makes sense now. Actually a little disappointing as it would be great to see the kind of rider you are actually competing against. Are they little climbing goats or muscle bound sprinters? It would add a nice dimension to the sim if avatars were more diverse in body type.

      0
      Reply
      Kevin Lewis
      Kevin Lewis(@kevin)
      2 years ago

      Hooray! I’ve finally become a medium Zwift avatar!

      2
      Reply
      Bob Holtsman
      Bob Holtsman
      2 years ago

      Why is my avatar ‘medium’ on my road bike but ‘large’ on my TT bike?

      2
      Reply
      Seon
      Seon
      2 years ago

      I want to know why men get defined muscles on calves etc but women don’t. Its annoying.

      2
      Reply
      Trisha
      Trisha
      2 years ago
      Reply to  Seon

      Me too! I have very muscular calves in real life, but my avatar has cankles.

      1
      Reply
      L D
      L D
      2 years ago

      I am an overweight individual and while my goal is to look like my current avatar, it is disheartening to me to see my avatar so skinny right now. I want to be able to have my avatar look like me. When people coming up behind me can see me struggling at 2 mph on a nasty hill, I want them to be able to see it is not because I am lazy, it is because I am fat, and that I am actually working REALLY HARD to push out those 2 mph. When I can’t cut it on a… Read more »

      11
      Reply
      Adamo
      Adamo
      1 year ago

      New to Zwift and this is good to know, it explains how a pack of riders can quickly look a confusing mess, there isn’t enough variation. The peloton / blobs are not all pro riders in real life of course so a bit of a dad bod or even obesity if the user can handle displaying it wouldn’t be a bad thing would it? Same goes for body type variation and height, it sort of spoils the illusion that we are individuals. Maybe a user option to allow more realistic bmi scaling? not everybody wants to see themselves squeezed into… Read more »

      0
      Reply
      Mike B NJ
      Mike B NJ
      1 year ago

      BMI is a pathetic, old school metric that any good athlete knows is not accurate or at least accurate for an athlete. Given all the bugs on Z, this could be the least of the issues the IT Gurus fix. Although, I think the Avatar for a shaved head dude could be easily made more realistic than what shows now which is like a head of short hair covered in a clear hair net. 😂🤣

      3
      Reply
      HeavyCyclist
      HeavyCyclist
      10 months ago

      It drives me absolutely bonkers that the heavy male avatar looks like a jacked bodybuilder, and the female avatar only goes to “medium” which is objectively skinny. Cmon Zwift, it’s 2022 – let’s get some body diversity up in here! At a minimum, women should have the option to have a muscular avatar – not just skinny or skinnier. I worked hard for my muscles!

      2
      Reply
      Carrie
      Carrie
      6 months ago

      My avatar always is sitting up on rides rather than down in aero like everyone else … why? What do I need to do differently?

      0
      Reply
      Eric Schlange
      Author
      Top Member
      Eric Schlange(@eschlange)
      6 months ago
      Reply to  Carrie

      Because you’re in the draft. See “Drafting Cues” under https://zwiftinsider.com/zwift-drafting/

      0
      Reply
      wpdiscuz   wpDiscuz

      Free Zwift Trial

      Create Account

      Newest Featured Posts

      Zwift Racing League Week 5 Guide: France’s R.G.V. (TTT)

      Racing

      Zwift Course Calendar – Current Guest World Schedule

      Reference

      Tiny Race Series – Results and February 4 Routes

      Events

      Support This Site

      Contribute a post, shop through us, make a donation, advertise on this site. See how you can support Zwift Insider!

      This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs.

      This site contains affiliate links to Amazon, Wahoo, and other brands. Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts.

      Terms of Use/DMCA Copyright Policy

      Privacy Policy

      [email protected]

      Latest articles

      “Loch Loop” Route Details

      “City and the Sgurr” Route Details

      “Glasgow Crit Circuit” Route Details

      Popular Categories

      • Racing984
      • News738
      • Training & Nutrition581
      • Events507
      • Interviews440
      • Routes & Maps311
      14
      0
      Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
      ()
      x
      | Reply
      Comment Author Info
      :wpds_smile::wpds_grin::wpds_wink::wpds_mrgreen::wpds_neutral::wpds_twisted::wpds_arrow::wpds_shock::wpds_unamused::wpds_cool::wpds_evil::wpds_oops::wpds_razz::wpds_roll::wpds_cry::wpds_eek::wpds_lol::wpds_mad::wpds_sad::wpds_exclamation::wpds_question::wpds_idea::wpds_hmm::wpds_beg::wpds_whew::wpds_chuckle::wpds_silly::wpds_envy::wpds_shutmouth:
      ‹ Back to Categories
      You are going to send email to

      Move Comment


    • Related Posts