This week is the end of Tour de Zwift, so you’ll want to get those rides in while you can. Apart from TdZ, this week we’ve selected four unique events that are very different from our standard picks. See details below!
✅ New Route ✅ Popular Event ✅ Kit Unlock ✅ Highly Competitive
This weekend is the last two days of Tour de Zwift 2024, so if you’re looking to finish a particular stage/route, it’s your last chance! Featured Epic races from stages 1, 2, 3, and 4 are available, as well as make-up group rides and runs for all stages. Even the elusive stage 8 Spiral Into the Volcano appears to be scheduled!
This 90-minute ride on Triple Flat Loops holds a 2-2.3W/kg average and uses a zapping fence… but the group also attacks the sprints and KQOMs on the route. So you get a steady effort, with a bit of spice added in if you’d like. Sweeper team in place to help with stragglers, and “Dad jokes are most welcome.”
Here’s an interesting race: held on Triple Flat Loops like the event above, but this time all race categories start at the same time, and the stronger double draft is enabled to make it easier to sit in the pack.
So what’s the big idea here? It’s to push yourself. You may be a D racer, but how long can you hold the draft of the A’s, B’s, or C’s?
Working on improving your Alpe du Zwift time… or just want a longer, steady effort? In these events, the leader beacon holds a stated pace, so you can try to hang with them if that pushes your capabilities, or try to stay ahead if you’re even stronger. Ride description includes tips for improving your Alpe performance!
Are you a fan of Mike’s Bikes? As a NorCal native, I know I am! Join the Mike’s Bikes crew for 60 minutes on the Coast Crusher route, at whatever pace you’d like. Finishers unlock the Mike’s Bikes kit.
We choose each weekend’s Notable Events based on a variety of factors including:
Is the event unique/innovative in some way?
Are celebrities (pro riders, etc) attending/leading?
Are signup counts already high, meaning the event is extra-popular?
Does the ride include desirable unlocks or prizes?
Does the event appeal to ladies on Zwift? (We like to support this under-represented group!)
Is it for a good cause?
Is it just plain crazy (extra long races, world record attempts, etc)?
Is it a long-running, popular weekly event with a dedicated leader who deserves a shout out?
In the end, we want to call attention to events that are extra-special and therefore extra-appealing to Zwifters. If you think your event qualifies, comment below with a link/details and we may just include it in an upcoming post!
This week, Zwift released firmware version 1.3.0 for the Zwift Play Controllers. The update improves connection stability, adds diagnostics to streamline troubleshooting, and includes an updated LED status for firmware updates.
Zwift Play is still considered a beta feature. They were released to the public in June 2023, but I’ve been using them for nearly a year and have seen their stability and usefulness steadily increase month to month as new firmware and game updates roll out.
This latest firmware is the public release of an internal version I and other testers have been using for months. For me, primarily using Windows 11, it has delivered the most stable Play experience yet, with no noticeable hiccups.
I know some Zwifters have been plagued with Play disconnect issues and may even have set the Play controllers aside out of frustration. So I wanted to write a quick post about this latest firmware release to encourage Zwifters to update their Plays and see if things work more smoothly.
Here are more details…
Updating Zwift Play Controller Firmware
Play firmware updates are easy! Just power on your Plays and open up the Companion app. (Don’t have Zwift running, as you can’t update your Play Controllers’ firmware if they’re connected to Zwift.)
Go to “Zwift Hardware” under the More menu, or click on the homescreen if prompted. Tap “Zwift Play”, then “Update Firmware” and follow the instructions. The whole process should only take a minute or two.
Connection Stability Improvements
Version 1.3.0 updates Bluetooth connection parameters for “slave latency,” which is basically the amount of time that can pass before your Zwift device pings the Play Controller to make sure it’s still turned on.
Decreasing this latency (reducing the time gap) uses more Play battery but also makes it less likely that your Play Controllers will lose connection/synchronization with Zwift. Zwift says the increased power consumption is acceptable since the additional power consumed is a mere fraction of what the haptic motors and LED lights on the controllers consume.
Additional Diagnostics
One of the more difficult things in hardware and software development is reproducing a bug. Users may report problems, but if the developer can’t replicate the issue on their side, it can be impossible to implement a fix.
This firmware update adds additional diagnostics to the Play Controllers to identify more types of device/controller failures (which often happen without the end user even noticing). The result, Zwift says, is that they’ll see more failure reports with more detailed diagnostic info so they can quickly track down the cause and release a fix before the failure affects more Zwifters.
New LED Status
Play Controllers in device firmware update (DFU) mode will now show a yellow LED until the update is installed successfully. If an update fails because a controller turns off, powering the controller on will show a yellow light, and the controller can then be connected to Companion to finish the firmware update.
The penultimate race of Zwift Racing League 2023/24 Round 3 happens Tuesday, February 20, and we’ll be back in Makuri Islands to race the rather complexChasing the Sun route. Lots of sprints, with a big KOM to break up the pack – it’s going to get interesting!
There’s much to discuss, including bike choice, strategic options, and crucial segments. Let’s go!
Looking at the Route: Chasing the Sun
Makuri Islands’ Chasing the Sun route begins in the Neokyo’s harbor, climbs to its rooftops, then heads to the Yumezi countryside for a trip up the Temple KOM before heading back to Neokyo for the finish.
All riders will be racing a single lap of the route for a total of 35.1km with 315m of climbing.
Let’s discuss the key parts of this route, beginning just after we blast out of the start pen:
Alley Sprint (FAL + FTS): starting less than 1km into the race, this flat sprint is fairly long at 480m. Its effect will be to lengthen and magnify what is already a high-powered race start, stretching the effort for another minute or so before riders ease after the sprint banner. Powerup at arch: aero boost (helmet)
Railway Sprint (FAL + FTS): after a short climb up to the Railway level, this long sprint (640m) is going to hurt! Thankfully, it’s mercifully shortened by being slightly downhill. Powerup at arch: lightweight (feather)
Rooftop KOM Reverse: this is not an official timed segment, so no FAL or FTS points. But it’s 1.3km long at a 4% average gradient, so expect attacks to happen and efforts to be higher than on the flats. You will get a powerup at the top! Powerup at arch: draft boost (van)
Country Sprint (FAL + FTS): after a longer flat section, the Country Sprint marks the start of the longest uphill portion of our race. The sprint itself is flat and only 130m long, but expect the pack to stretch out leading into it, then stay stretched afterward as the road tilts up. Powerup at arch: steamroller(save it for the dirt Temple KOM!)
Temple KOM (FAL + FTS): the only climb awarding intermediate points on this course, the dirt Temple KOM (2.5km at 3.6%) will prove the key selection point in many races. Riders gapped off the front group may be able to chase back in the remaining 12km, but if the front pack is large and/or strong enough they will stay away to mop up Tower Sprint and finish points. Powerup at arch: aero boost (helmet)
Tower Sprint Reverse (FAL + FTS): at 320m and flat, this medium-length sprint holds an enticing pile of extra intermediate points for any riders chasing the front pack after the Temple KOM. Powerup at arch: burrito
Lastly, the finish. It’s a flat finish, but you can’t see the arch until the hairpin turn with ~300m to go. Timing and powerups will be crucial here.
Riders will receive particular powerups at each arch. See notes above for which powerups are give at each arch, and read our guide to powerups if you don’t understand how they work.
Study the route and the powerups and you’ll see WTRL has assigned powerups logically, so you can use each one before hitting the next arch.
Bike Frame + Wheel Choice
This route features flat sprints but also longish climbs, making bike choice a less-than-straightforward matter.
An aero bike will maximize your sprint speeds and let you sit in most easily on the flat roads that make up half of your overall mileage. A climbing bike would give you a slight edge on the two climbs where efforts are sure to be high. A gravel bike will give you a big advantage on the Temple KOM, but a huge disadvantage during the rest of the race.
We think the Tron bike is the best pick here, but there are other options. Strong climbers who don’t anticipate being dropped on the uphills or strong sprinters who just want to grab points before the big climb might go with a more aero frame + disc wheels. And if you want a bit more help on the climbs, the Scott Addict RC + ENVE 7.8 wheels is a slightly better climber than the Tron bike.
Any time a route includes the Temple KOM, consideration is given to the idea of bike swapping. It really doesn’t make sense anymore, though, given Zwift’s recent dirt Crr changes which made road bikes roll faster on dirt.
If the route ended at the top of the Temple KOM, a swap might make sense. But since the route ends ~7.5km down the road, you’ll have to swap back to your road bike, losing another 10+ seconds. It’s just not worth it.
More Route Recons
Many recon rides are now being planned each week on the upcoming ZRL route. If you’re unfamiliar with this course, jump into an event and do some recon! Here’s a list of upcoming Chasing the Sun events.
Si Bradeley
Strategic Options
Points Distribution, Chasing the Sun (1 Lap)
This chart shows the maximum points a team of 6 could earn in the race.
There’s something for everyone in this week’s race, so there’s no clear best approach that applies to all riders. Here are some predictions of strategies we’ll see on Tuesday:
All-In For the Sprints: as you can see from the chart above, sprints make up the majority of the points on offer. Riders who won’t survive the Temple KOM slog may go all-in for the first three sprints and even contest the final Tower Sprint for FTS points.
Chasing the Climb + Finish Points: riders who aren’t strong sprinters may plan to save themselves for the Temple KOM, attacking hard to grab FAL/FTS points then staying away with a reduced front pack to grab Tower Sprint and Finish points.
Sprinters Bridging Post KOM: the Temple KOM may see strong sprinters spit out the back of the front group, but watch for those wattage bazookas to put the hammer down in a bid to catch the front group and contest maximum Tower Sprint and Finish points.
Your Thoughts
Any insights or further thoughts on this race? Share below!
Speed Tests: Rubberbanding (Keep Everyone Together) Mode in Zwift Club Events
UPDATE: Zwift greatly improved their banding algorithm after this post was published. To see current “keep together” test results, read the updated post.
Have you ever done a “Keep Together” ride in Zwift? In this mode, all riders in the event are kept in the same group, regardless of the power you’re putting out.
“Rubberbanding” makes it easy to keep a group of cyclists together, and that’s a good thing, because any ride leader will tell you that keeping cyclists together without some artificial help can feel like herding cats!
A Short History of Rubberbanding
Rubberbanding or “Keep Everyone Together” mode has a colorful history on Zwift. It was first introduced when group workouts arrived in 2017, then quickly throttled to lower speeds after lower-power riders complained they were setting segment PRs in workouts.
For a couple of years, rubberbanding was only available in group workouts, and group workout packs moved notoriously slow. But then “Keep Everyone Together” was added as an option for Meetups in October 2019… and all hell broke loose.
The problem was that rubberbanded Meetups had a major speed bug. Groups would speed up over 45kph for no good reason, topping Strava leaderboards (see Box Hill as one example). And this went on for much too long (three years or more).
While rubberbanded Meetups were zipping around at silly speeds, Zwift rolled out Clubs, and eventually launched Keep Together Mode for Clubs in November 2023, along with updated “Keep Everyone Together” logic that replaced the speed-bugged logic used for Meetups.
Testing the Rubberbands
So how does Zwift’s “Keep Everyone Together” logic work? I’m not entirely sure, and Zwift isn’t revealing the secret sauce. So I decided to run some tests using rubberbanded Club events to find out what speeds rubberbanded riders reach at different power levels. For science!
The question I wanted to answer was: do rubberbanded speeds make sense? Or are they too slow, too fast, or some strange mix of both?
The riders in these tests were 75kg in weight, 183cm tall, and rode Zwift Carbon bikes with 32mm carbon wheels. I timed the riders on the Fuego Flats Reverse segment since it’s flat and long enough to get a stable speed reading.
Test 1: A Pair of Bots
This first round of tests used just two riders in a Club event with “Keep Everyone Together” mode enabled. Here are each rider’s power outputs, segment times, and average speeds.
Rider 1
Rider 2
Time
Speed (kph)
300W
300W
13:00
32.58
300W
225W
13:21
31.73
300W
150W
13:21
31.73
300W
75W
13:21
31.73
300W
10W
13:27
31.49
225W
225W
14:45
28.72
225W
150W
14:49
28.59
225W
75W
14:49
28.59
150W
150W
16:13
26.12
150W
75W
17:12
24.63
Observations
The first thing that stands out here is how slow the times are, particularly when the riders have matched power numbers. I know from other tests that solo free riders complete the segment at these approximate speeds:
300W: 40.23 kph
225W: 35.95 kph
150W: 30.81 kph
Why are rubberbanded riders moving so slowly, when they’re both holding the same power? Clearly, something in Zwift’s Keep Together logic is artificially slowing the riders.
The other odd thing is how the pair times don’t change as the weaker rider’s power decreases. That is, when Rider 1 is holding 300W and Rider 2 is holding 225W, they’re traveling at the same speed as when Rider 1 holds 300W and Rider 2 holds 75W. That’s strange. Shouldn’t groups travel significantly faster if the group’s average power increases significantly?
Test 2: Solo Rider
Next, I wanted to test if a solo rider in a rubberbanded Club event still traveled as slowly as the paired riders above. So I created an event with “Keep Together” enabled, but only had one rider join. Here are the results:
Rider 1
Time
Speed (kph)
1000W
9:01
47.01
300W
13:51
30.58
225W
15:22
27.57
150W
17:53
23.69
Observations
First, notice that when there was just one rider in the rubberbanded event, their speeds were still much slower than they would be when free riding. That’s goofy.
Also, notice how the 300W, 225W, and 150W solo tests all came in a bit slower than the paired rider tests, even when the slower paired rider was doing very low power. For example, a solo rider at 300W traveled at 30.58kph, while two riders holding 300W and 75W traveled at 31.73kph.
Shouldn’t the pair with a very slow second rider move slower, as the rider holding just 75W slows down the overall group?
The 1000W test is also interesting, since it’s sort of a “max speed” test that shows just how slow banded rides may be. In rubberbanded mode the rider only reached around 47kph, while in free ride mode the same rider holding 1000W reaches around 62kph. Or another way of looking at it: ~460W in free ride mode will get you the same speed as ~1000W in “Keep Everyone Together” mode. Sorry, sprinters.
Other Rubberbanding Discoveries
In the course of these tests, I also asked and answered a few Keep Together questions I’ve seen:
When does the elastic snap? When a rider drops below 10W, they’ll drop from the group.
Can you rejoin the banded group? Yup. In my tests with two riders, if a rider dropped back about 30 meters and then increased their power to 10W, they would rejoin the group. If they dropped back 40 meters before increasing power, they would not rejoin. (This “rejoin window” may differ based on group size, like it does for RoboPacers.)
If a rider is lapped, can they rejoin the group even though they’re “behind?” Yes. Same behavior as noted above.
I also noticed a few things that surprised me:
Coned riders disappear: one of my bots got the “cone of shame” for holding high power for too long. When that happened, the bot disappeared from the group ride. Well, sort of. It was more like a shadow ban: the shamed bot could still see the other rider, but the other rider didn’t see the shamed bot anymore. This is actually pretty cool, although perhaps Zwift should notify the coned rider that they’ve been hidden. I’m guessing this is how Zwift now treats coned riders in all events.
Pairing screen doesn’t stop you: if you’re pedaling along in a Keep Together ride and enter the pairing screen, your avatar doesn’t slow. This is counter to pairing screen behavior everywhere else in game, where entering the screen is like hitting the brakes!
Except when it does: interestingly, if both riders in the Keep Together ride enter the pairing screen, then they both stop.
Concluding Thoughts
Keep Together mode has always been popular in Zwift because riders want to be together, and the magic of Zwift allows riders even with very different abilities to go hard but stay together. That’s a big deal! So even when it was broken and zipping people around at silly speeds, people kept coming back because cycling is a social sport, cyclists are social people, and Zwift is a social platform.
Yes, rubberbanding is popular. And yes, Zwift fixed the algorithm so land speed records aren’t broken anymore in banded Meetups. But the results above show that Keep Together mode still has plenty of room for improvement. Specifically, banded Club rides are moving too slowly, and speeds aren’t fluctuating realistically.
I’ll admit these tests are very limited in scope, and it’s possible that the banded experience is better in larger groups. But I also don’t think that’s the case, as banded rides I’ve taken part in have felt much too slow, and other Zwifters have said the same. Plus, the experience needs to be good in groups of just two riders, because it’s often just pairs of Zwifters who want to ride together!
Coming Up Next
Soon I’ll perform similar tests on Alpe du Zwift, to see how rubberbanding behaves on long climbs. I’ll also be testing rubberbanded Meetups to see if they behave differently than Club events. Stay tuned!
This week, Hollie and Dustin talk with US Masters National Champ Em Nyquist! Em talks about women in racing, women in cycling, and the launch of the new zwiftinsider.com/wmn website that she helped create. Please give that link a click and share with any women cyclists or Zwifters in your life. Em is truly an inspiring figure in our sport!
Other topics include how to win your next ZRL race, and Dustin’s 51-watt sprint.
Each week Dustin and the Queen of Yorkshire, Hollie, get together to talk about Zwift, life, and everything else. Watopian Weekly is available on Spotify and Google Podcasts.
The Wrap, Episode 81: New Wahoo Hardware, Zwift Games, Restructuring
This week on the Wrap there was A LOT to talk about. Nathan and Anna give their perspectives on the upcoming Zwift Games, with more information now released in the race book for elite competitors. A big prize purse offered to the top 3, as well as some prime opportunities, means the racing should be very exciting and great for eSport popularity going forward.
Wahoo has been busy in the hardware department with the new Wahoo KICKR CORE Zwift One (a mouthful!) and the Wahoo KICKR RUN (which is a game-changer). Will we see more attention given to the run aspects of Zwift, are treadmills actually viable as an in-home alternative for the masses, or is this something that will enhance the gym experience?
There has been a big shake-up at Zwift. They are a leaner company now and no longer the co-CEO structure. Anna and Nathan speculate on what this could mean for the end-user in the coming year.
Finally, Zwift racing etiquette is discussed. When a competitor has a drop-out, what do you do? Is it better to wait for them to rejoin the group? Do you just maintain group speed, or do you attack like crazy and ensure they never get back on?!
The Wrap is live weekly on Thursdays 11pm CDT/5pm NZT (Friday). Catch it live on Youtube, Twitch, Facebook & X (formerly Twitter). Subscribe to Zwift Community Live on YouTube for all the latest episodes and live notifications.
Today, Zwift released changes to their avatar customization tools. Now Zwifters can choose between a male or female face and body, and also customize their body type.
Here’s a quick video walkthrough:
It Starts With the Head
To customize your avatar, go to the “Me” portion of your garage and select a head type:
You have 9 male heads and 9 female heads to choose from. Each gender has 3 head shapes organized into vertical columns, and as you move down the row your skin tone gets darker.
You may notice that the artwork for each head has been tweaked. What’s different, exactly? Larger eyes, for sure! More on that below…
Choose Your Body Type
The head gender you choose will determine your body type options. Males have 3 body types and females have 2. (This is how it’s always been in Zwift. Read this now-defunct article for details.)
Zwift tells us they are aware that females only have two body types, and “We are evaluating the timing for adding a larger feminine body shape in the future to be more inclusive and fix this imbalance.”
Hair Options
Hair options haven’t changed from previous versions, with 22 options ranging from no hair to longer styles, and 5 color options:
If you choose a male head, you will also see the option for facial hair, which is also unchanged from previous versions:
Old vs New Looks
In rolling out “Choose Any Avatar”, Zwift also updated the artwork for the avatar’s faces to better match the rest of the art within Zwift.
Here’s what the new and old male faces look like (new look is on the top row, wearing Zwift Insider kit):
And the female faces:
How is the new artwork different from the old? Larger eyes with more pronounced eyebrows. More chiseled noses and cheekbones. Yellower skin tone for the “Asian” face styles. Overall, a more cartoonish appearance that is bit less realistic. Which isn’t a bad thing… this may be Zwift purposely staying out of the Uncanny Valley.
Why the change?
Zwift says, “Every person on our platform should be able to represent themselves as they feel they are. This is one step towards making Zwift a more inclusive space as we continue to build a platform where everyone feels represented.”
Zwift version 1.58 begins its phased rollout today. This is a minor update, but it does include the new ability to “Choose Any Avatar.” See details below…
Choose Any Avatar
Zwifters can now choose the gender of their avatar, as well as the body type. (This feature change was announced as “Coming Soon” back in December.) The change is pretty straightforward: the gender of the head you choose determines your avatar’s body, as well as the body type options.
Here’s a quick video explaining how it works:
You may also notice that avatar faces have changed. Zwift says, “Your avatar has a new look! This new appearance better-matches the art within Zwift.”
Four new route badges showed up in this release: Loop de Loop, Mountain Mash, Zwift Games 2024 Epic, and Jurassic Coast. These routes will be used in the upcoming Zwift Games… more details on that soon!
New “Intersection Controls” Option
If you use an Elite Sterzo, Rizer, or a JetBlack Smart Turn Block, you have a new setting under “Preferences” that toggles using your steering device to determine direction at intersections:
This option is enabled by default.
Ride Streaks Stats Fix
Have you noticed that some of the totals on your Streaks screen seem rather low? Various bugs have meant that some of the totals on the screen weren’t tallying correctly, but Zwift has been making changes on the server side and in game to tighten things up.
One of those changes (albeit a minor one) is mentioned in the release notes: “Improves the accuracy of cumulative climbing stats shown on the Ride Streaks screen.” But there are additional fixes included in this release that aren’t mentioned. (There’s always more in each Zwift release than the release notes mention!)
Note that your totals may not be correct just yet: once the update rolls out, Zwift will need to run a server-side routine to fix everyone’s tallies so they’re correct moving forward.
“Spiral Into the Volcano” Route Fix
The Spiral Into the Volcano Rebel Route was recently added to the game to feature as the long route for stage 8 of Tour de Zwift. But there is just one problem: the route wasn’t correct!
Specifically, Zwift left out the lap around the Volcano Circuit that was supposed to happen just before heading up the Volcano KOM. And that, dear readers, is why last week’s stage 8 efforts didn’t match the route’s official Strava segment.
This has been fixed in version 1.58, but Zwift opted not to include this route in stage 8 make-up events because they don’t want riders who aren’t yet on version 1.58 to be routed differently from riders on version 1.58.
Tacx Flux S ERG Issues?
Zwift included a note for anyone using the Tacx Flux S trainer who has had resistance issues since version 1.57 was released on January 23rd. If that’s you, you’ll want to read Evan’s post on the forum >
More Release Notes
Zwift provided notes on additional tweaks and bug fixes in this update:
Fixed an issue where, after spectating runners via “Just Watch” mode and selecting “Back to Me”, Zwifters could potentially start in Ride mode instead of Run mode.
Fixed missing localized text for some languages in the Repack Rush report.
Corrected a typo occurring in some languages in the “Let’s Get Moving” workout.
Android: Fixed an issue where tall socks may not be displayed properly on avatars in the Garage.
Looking for some pain cave inspiration? Watch as two Zwifters share their ultimate pain cave! This week, we have selected a variety of videos, including one about a Zwifter’s return to riding, a comparison of w/kg and raw watts, tips to avoid dropouts, and a review of a mid-range smart trainer.
Watch as Caitlin and Tiffany, aka Team Saunders Tri, provide a tour of their updated pain cave for 2024.
My Zwift Return Didn’t Go to Plan…
Matt, Target 2.5, returns to Zwift after a while. However, shortly after, he hits another roadblock on his journey. Watch as he provides a recap of what has been up in his life and why he hasn’t been on Zwift.
W/KG Vs Raw Watts in Zwift
Michael from Zwift Analysis Network is back with another helpful video. This video covers a commonly asked question on Zwift: When are w/kg more important than raw watts?
Tips to Avoid Dropouts on Zwift
Everyone hates dropouts, especially when they come mid-race and force you to call it a day. Learn all about how you can avoid getting dropouts on Zwift from Michael at Zwiftalizer.
MAGENE T300 Plus Smart Trainer: Details // Improvements // Lama Lab Tested
Looking to upgrade your indoor cycling setup? Shane Miller, GPLama, puts the all-new Magene T300 Plus to the test. Included in the video are details on the trainer, power accuracy, and more.
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
