Cyclists are notorious gearhounds, and while our budgets (and significant others) may not support our real-money purchases, we get to indulge ourselves virtually on Zwift! The in-game “Drop Shop” lets us spend Drops (the virtual currency earned by real effort) to “purchase” virtual frames and wheelsets.
Why Buy?
Just like outdoors, the virtual frames and wheels you use on Zwift influence your in-game speeds. Lightweight items help you climb faster, and more aero items offer dividends at higher speeds on flatter ground and descents.
If you’re racing on Zwift or just chasing speed PRs, you owe it to yourself to buy a high-performing setup. Everyone else is doing it!
How To Make a Purchase
Step 1: Click “Garage” 
Step 2: Select Frames or Wheels from Drop Shop side 
Step 3: Select a manufacturer 
Step 4: Click price (bottom left) to purchase 
Step 5: Click to confirm purchase 
Step 6: elect to equip or not
In order to make a Drop Shop purchase (or change your bike using stuff you already have in your Garage) you have to be logged into the Zwift game and on the actual Zwift map. But you can’t be moving.
Click Menu, then “Garage” in order to go to the Garage/Drop Shop page.
From this page, select which portion of the Drop Shop you want to access – the frames or the wheelsets. Then select a brand to browse items, and click a particular item for details and a purchase option.
Click the item price at the bottom-left to make the purchase. Click “Confirm” to purchase, then choose whether to immediately equip (use) your new stuff or not.
Your purchase is now in your garage, and can be selected whenever you wish. Here’s a step-by-step walk through the screens of a Drop Shop purchase:
Video: Buying from Zwift’s Drop Shop
Here’s a quick video showing how to make a Drop Shop purchase:
Gotta Be Stopped
Reminder (because this trips a lot of folks up): you can’t even get into the Drop Shop if your avatar is in motion. You also won’t be able to access your Garage in order to swap bike frames or wheelsets.
Once you stop moving, you’ll be able to do both.
How Pricing Works
Most of these frames and wheels are virtual versions of real-life bike parts, and their Drops price reflects real-life pricing, with 1 Drop being roughly equal to 1 US cent. (So a $10,000US bike frame will cost roughly 1,000,000 Drops, while a $1500US wheelset will cost 150,000 Drops.)
Level Locks
Most items in the Drop Shop are level-locked, meaning you have to reach a certain Zwift level before you can make the purchase.
Learn all about XP and levels for Zwift riders >
What Should I Buy?
Now this is the big question! Each bike frame and wheelset has its own characteristics in terms of “aeroness” and weight. The best setup for you depends on the route you’ll be riding, what sort of rider you are, and how you plan to approach your ride.
It can be confusing, but we’ve put together the “Zwift Shopping Guide” which lists recommended purchases at each Zwift level. You may also be interested in our speed test charts:
- Wheel Performance Charts
- Frame Performance Charts
- Wheel and Frame Performance Scatter Plots
- Tron vs Top Performers Scatter Plot
Questions or Comments?
Share below!
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