Home Blog Page 163

The Wrap, Episode 75: Festive Ride Ugly Sweater Competition, Zwift Update 1.55, ZRL Round-Up

2

The Wrap, Episode 75: Festive Ride Ugly Sweater Competition, Zwift Update 1.55, ZRL Round-Up

This week The Wrap celebrated the holidays with a festive “ugly sweater” ride.  Participants in the ride were encouraged to wear their “worst” combination of in-game gear for the 43km cruise along the new Coast Crusher route.  Lots of in-game banter was had around all the diverse kits on display.  Plenty were featured in the post-ride show in episode #75 but only one could come out as the winner on the day.  Chris Wallner took the honors and right to be on the judge’s panel for next year’s festive ride!

Going by Chris Crush MS on Zwift, after getting the news of winning he said, “I can neither confirm nor deny purposely adding in the KOM gloves and the Pink visor! Knowing the audience and research paid off. It was the Zwift Steel bike and some supersonic wheels as well. Love the show clearly and I’ll happily be a Kit Elf judge next year.”  Chris is obviously an avid listener of the podcast as each piece of riding attire seems to have been selected from Anna’s discreetly revealed “most despised” list of kit over the 75 episodes of The Wrap.  Well done being so attentive to detail, Chris!

Other EP #75 topics include: Dealing with tech issues around zwifting, XP farming updates, and a bunny trail into possible future race formats for ZRL and game event in general.  My personal favorite topic of the week is the potential of Zwift adding a place to “set up Fort Brag” after an event… or at least give all my excuses as to why I did not win!  A post-event “space” in-game that is exclusive to an event for discussion, banter, debriefing, and congratulations is a long time coming.  At the least a message board living on indefinitely in the Companion for us all to recognize each other’s achievements, talk thru tactics that were employed, and plan our next showdown!

0:00 Opening scene
3:38 Intro & Topics
5:55 What have we been up to: Anna ZRL racing and Nathan’s tech issues
14:42 How is XP farming going, leveling too easy now?
22:43 Festive Ugly Sweater ride rankings and winner!
37:50 Community Fashion pick
39:32 ZRL 2023 Round 2 Wrap-Up, format & course ratings, new ideas!
55:47 Stealth Updates? More workouts in club rides, PR notifications, social enhancements
1:06:00 Gun time vs Chip Time in events
1:10:00 Streaks, butterflies, & long animations worth the time?
1:12:55 Are riders leaning more in the pack?
1:14:42 More festive ride chatter
1:17:40 NPC Story Submission
1:20:20 Coming up, Teppi level 100 ride, Anna Ironman training and Nathan weight training

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.

The podcast is available on all podcast platforms. The audio version of all episodes is always available on the Zwift Community Live Website.


Zwift Hot Topic: The Next Level

Zwift Hot Topic: The Next Level

In the Zwift Hot Topic series we focus on popular discussions, controversies, questions, or creative ideas in the Zwift community. We’ll share a couple of different perspectives, but we want to hear your thoughts, too. So read on and chime in below!

Leveling up is one way that many modern video games show progression. It’s a clear indicator that your hard work and skillful gameplay are paying off.

This can come with fun rewards like new abilities or gear for your character or avatar. In Zwift, we can unlock fun cosmetic kit items and the chance to get new Drop Shop equipment.

It’s also a kind of shorthand for how experienced you are at that game. That level 60 rider you see cruising around Watopia probably knows more of the ins and outs of Zwift than one who’s level 10. That number signifies the time and effort they’ve put in over the years.

But recently, Zwift changed how levels work. The XP needed to reach each cycling level is now less than it used to be, and users are being shifted to their new number with accelerated leveling. (Learn more about the new Zwift level system in this article!)

Does this cheapen higher levels? Is it disrespectful to more experienced Zwifters? After riding so long to reach level 60, now someone else can get there with a lot less work.

In fact, it even takes less XP to reach level 100 than it used to take to reach level 60. A Twitch streamer called DrWeebles said this feels like a downgrade.

DrWeebles: “I worked really darn hard and put a lot of time into Zwift to get to level 60 and get the XP that I have, and I prefer if levels that are added increase my XP from where it is now, not bring it backwards.”

A Zwifter who goes by Hardclaws responded with some counterpoints. He pointed out that other games have rebalanced levels in a similar way so they can become more accessible and rewarding to newer players.

Hardclaws: “Reducing the experience required to level up is ok and it’s nothing new. If you get on World of Warcraft now you can level way quicker than you could when the game was originally released. It’s how the world is and always been when it comes to levels and makes it more appealing.”

Being able to level up faster helps to keep people motivated and engaged with Zwift, especially when they may not be riding as much as the “power users.” If the next level and unlock is just 100XP away, they’re more likely to ride just a little bit longer than if they had 500 points to earn.

I like having more rewards to chase. I know the promise of something new and shiny can tempt me to do more riding than I normally would!

Also, it’s not like the old leveling system really made sense. The amount of XP you needed to get from one level to the next would go up and down inconsistently. The new system gradually increases the XP needed to level up, making it more intuitive.

Zwift did try to give max-level riders something with this update. Level 100 riders will still see their progress bar fill up as they ride. Once it is filled, they will earn 50,000 Drops and the progress bar will reset again.

Hold on. Does there even need to be a maximum level?

Hardclaws: “I don’t get why there is even a level cap anyway. Just let levels keep ticking on. Who cares if someone is level 1000? (It) just shows they ride a lot. At least if you don’t have a cap on the levels then you never have to worry about this.”

Weebles agreed that he might be able to accept the XP rescaling if levels continued indefinitely. Of course, if that happened, Zwift couldn’t continue to give unlocks past a certain point. Maybe they could release more over time. At least riders would get the satisfaction of continued progress – and bragging rights!

Your Thoughts

What do you think? Did Zwift make the right call with these changes, or is there a better way to handle XP and levels that can motivate everyone?


Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of December 23-24

3

Heading into Christmas weekend, we’re seeing lots of long rides being spun up. So this weekend we’re featuring five of the most popular, each of which is special in its own way. See our picks below!


🤝 Rapha Festive 500 Begins

✅ Popular Event  ✅ Cool Unlocks

The Rapha Festive 500 challenge is simple, but not easy: ride 500 kilometers (310.7 miles) in eight days, from December 24-31, 2023. Outdoor bike and handcycle rides count toward the total, and so do virtual rides, as long as you upload them to Strava.

This year, as in years past, Zwift is working with Rapha to host events and give unlocks to finishers. It all begins Sunday. Are you in?

Read all about this year’s Festive 500 on Zwift >

Every 2 hours starting Sunday 8am UTC/3am EST/12am PST
See upcoming events at zwift.com/events/tag/f500


🤝 XpMas Madness with Tepi!

✅ Endurance Challenge

Teppo Laurio is a top Zwift racer known for doing crazy things on the bike around Christmas (including earning the Tron bike in 7 days back in 2021). This year he’s trying to reach Zwift’s new level 100 before 2024 arrives, and you can join his XP farming quest with this 200km ride on Crit City’s Downtown Dolphin. Join for all or part and level up with Tepi!

See him on last week’s The Wrap episode talking about XP farming >

Saturday, December 23rd @ 8am UTC/3am EST/12am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4032059


🤝 Zwift Insider Epic Ride – The Uber Pretzel

✅ Jersey Unlock   ✅ Endurance Challenge

We’re getting into the big stuff with Zwift Insider’s Epic Series, a progressive series tackling Zwift’s toughest routes as group rides and races. This weekend we tackle The Uber Pretzel as a group ride. Next weekend we race it!

Read more about the Epic Series >

Multiple timeslots this weekend
Sign up at zwift.com/events/tag/epicseries


🤝 ENJOYYOURBIKE @ ZWIFT – The Pretzel

✅ Popular Event  ✅ Endurance Challenge  ✅ Jersey Unlock

The Germany-based ENJOYYOURBIKE squad is hosting the most popular community-hosted ride this weekend based on current signup numbers. A group ride on Watopia’s The Pretzel, and the ride includes a Discord channel to help pass the time.

Saturday, December 23rd @ 10pm UTC/5am EST/2am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/3943619


🥇 Gran Fondo The Breakaway by SPSD

✅ Worthy Cause  

Want to go long… and hard? Here’s a race on Watopia’s Zwift Gran Fondo route, with a cool twist: the ride description says “And we have some guests with team “The Breakaway” ( a group of Belgian prisoners).”

Read more about The Breakaway project on Zwift >

Saturday, December 23rd @ 8am UTC/3am EST/12am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4007049

How We Make Our Picks

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!

Your Thoughts

Got other events that stand out this weekend? Share below in the comments!

All About Tour de Zwift Ride 2024

108

All About Tour de Zwift Ride 2024

Get a BIG Discount On Your Tour de Zwift Kit

Been riding Tour de Zwift and want to rock the same kit IRL as you do in the TdZ events? Here’s our tip: buying the Tour de Zwift bundle cuts the price in half ($190/£142.50/€172.50), then you can further reduce the price by using the TdZ discount code ZWIFT24 for an additional $60/£50/€55 off!

First launched in 2017, Tour de Zwift is the biggest annual tour on the platform – a celebration of discovery across all Zwift worlds!

This year’s tour has just been announced. Beginning January 3, it consists of eight stages spread across all of Zwift’s maps. Each stage has three group ride options based on how far you want to ride, with (new this year) races each weekend. (There are run options as well, which we’ve covered in this post.)

So grab a friend and join the biggest party of the year! Here’s everything riders need to know about this year’s TdZ.

New This Year

Fresh Route Badges

Recently-launched Rebel Route badges will be available on stage 8:

TdZ will be the first chance anyone gets to unlock these three route badges, since they were formerly Rebel Routes.

Weekend Races

This year TdZ isn’t just about group rides. Each stage’s long route will be available as an epic race event on the weekend! See schedule below.

Fresh Kit Unlocks (and IRL Le Col Kit Discount)

Zwift partnered with Le Col to bring the Tour de Zwift collection to life. Complete any stage to unlock a £50 ($60/€55/¥9000) reward from Le Col to use for the IRL kit (details below).

Ride and Race Categories

TdZ “Ride” events are group rides, not official races. The ride category you join determines which route you will ride:

  • A: Long Ride
  • B: Standard Ride
  • C: Short Ride
  • D: Women-Only Ride (uses the Standard route)

Category groups will leave the pens two minutes apart, with A starting first. Late join is enabled for TdZ events.

Weekend Epic Races will use Zwift’s category enforcement to automatically place riders into the correct pace group.

Stage Schedule and Route Details

Stage 1 (Jan 3-7): London/Yorkshire

Stage 2 (Jan 8-12): Scotland

Stage 3 (Jan 13-17): Makuri Islands

Stage 4 (Jan 18-22): France/Paris

Stage 5 (Jan 23-27): Innsbruck

Stage 6 (Jan 28-Feb 1): Watopia

Stage 7 (Feb 2-6): New York/Richmond

Stage 8 (Feb 7-11): Rebel Routes

Three of Zwift Insider’s Rebel Routes have been turned into official routes which will see their debut in Tour de Zwift! Here’s your first chance to earn the new route badges and extra XP.

Make-Up Week: Feb 12-18

If you missed any group ride stages, they will all be available to ride during the make-up week.

Make-up races for stages 1, 3, 4, and 8 will be available February 17-18.

Registration

Registration for TdZ is now open online and in game. Sign up at zwift.com/tour-de-zwift/ride.

Unlocks

Riders will unlock items progressively as they complete TdZ stages:

  • Socks: 1 stage (12%)
  • Bucket Hat: 3 stages (35%)
  • Glasses: 6 stages (75%)
  • Ride Kit: all 8 stages

To complete a stage, simply finish one of the group rides (three lengths to choose from) or ride the stage’s Epic Race on a weekend.

Discount on Le Col Kit

Zwift and Le Col are teaming up to bring the 2024 Tour de Zwift cycling kit to your closet:

Le Col is offering a £50/$60/€55/¥9000 discount to Tour de Zwift riders which can be used on anything in Le Col’s shop (not just the TdZ kit)! Discount code is ZWIFT24. Combine that with the Tour de Zwift bundle price, and you’ll get the kit to your door in the USA for ~$144!

Shop Le Col x Tour de Zwift kit >

Questions and Comments?

Post below!


All About Tour de Zwift Run 2024

0

All About Tour de Zwift Run 2024

First launched in 2017, Tour de Zwift is the biggest annual tour on the platform – a celebration of discovery across all Zwift worlds!

This year’s tour has just been announced. Beginning January 3, it consists of eight stages spread across all of Zwift’s maps. Each stage has two group run length options, so grab a friend and join the biggest party of the year! Here’s everything runners need to know about this year’s TdZ…

New This Year

Fresh Route Badges

Recently-launched Rebel Route badges will be available on stage 8:

TdZ will be the first chance anyone gets to unlock these three route badges, since they were formerly Rebel Routes.

Fresh Kit Unlocks

Unlock the Tour de Zwift 2024 kit as you progress through the stages. See details below…

Run Categories

TdZ events are group runs, not official races*. The category you join determines which route you will run:

  • A: Long Run
  • B: Standard Run

*Some runners will race the stages, while others will treat them as social events. Everyone is free to go as easy or push as hard as they’d like. Just have fun!

Stage Schedule and Route Details

Stage 1 (Jan 3-7): London

Stage 2 (Jan 8-12): Scotland

Stage 3 (Jan 13-17): Makuri Islands

Stage 4 (Jan 18-22): France

Stage 5 (Jan 23-27): Innsbruck

Stage 6 (Jan 28-Feb 1): Watopia

Stage 7 (Feb 2-6): New York

Stage 8 (Feb 7-11): Rebel Routes

Three of Zwift Insider’s Rebel Routes have been turned into official routes which will see their debut in Tour de Zwift! Here’s your first chance to earn the new route badges and extra XP.

Make-Up Week: Feb 12-18

If you missed any stages, they will all be available to run during the make-up week.

Registration

Registration for TdZ is now open online and in game. Sign up at zwift.com/tour-de-zwift/run.

Unlocks

Runners will unlock items progressively as they complete TdZ stages:

  • Socks: 1 stage (12%)
  • Bucket Hat: 3 stages (35%)
  • Glasses: 6 stages (75%)
  • Run Kit: all 8 stages

To complete a stage, simply finish one of the group runs (two lengths to choose from).

Questions and Comments?

Post below!


Installing ANT+ Drivers To Support Zwift On Windows 11

Installing ANT+ Drivers To Support Zwift On Windows 11

Many riders using a PC to run Zwift connect their devices using ANT+ because it’s a simple wireless protocol popular in the cycling world that just works. All you need is a cheap ANT+ stick (see our recommendations here) and you’re ready to go!

Well, usually.

I’m hearing from more and more Zwifters who have struggled to get their ANT+ dongles working on Windows 11. Windows 10 handled ANT+ dongles quite nicely, but Windows 11 sometimes struggles to identify ANT+ sticks as such and automagically install the ANT+ driver.

It varies based on which ANT+ stick you buy, and I don’t have a list of which sticks play nicely with Windows 11 and which do not. Instead, I can only provide simple instructions for getting your ANT+ stick set up on Windows 11 if it’s not automatically happening. Let’s go!

Method One: Windows Update

Screenshot of the Windows Update “Optional updates” page, showing a selectable driver update for Dynastream Innovations ANT USB-m, with an option to “Download & install.”.

You can use Windows 11’s advanced update option to install the ANT+ driver. Here’s how:

  1. From your PC’s search bar, search for and Check for updates. 
  2. Click Advanced Options, then click Optional updates under Additional options.
  3. Expand the list of driver updates, locate the ANT+ driver (it shows up as Dynastream Innovations), select it and press Download and install to complete the process.

If for any reason you can’t find the optional update, follow the next method to install it manually.

Method Two: Manual Driver Install

You can always install the ANT+ driver manually. It’s just a bit more hassle than doing it via Windows update. Here’s how:

  1. Download the driver directly from us here. (Ideally you would be able to download this driver from an official source like the thisisant.com website, but they hide it behind a login, so we’re providing easy access to it instead.)
  2. Unzip the newly downloaded .zip file and place the content into a new empty folder on your PC. 
  3. Plug in your ANT USB-m stick into a USB port.
  4. Open Device Manager (Start Menu > Device Manager).
  5. Locate your ANT stick under Other devices or perhaps libusb-win32 devices.
  6. Right-click the stick and select Update driver.
  7. Select Browse my computer for drivers.
  8. Browse to the folder you extracted in step 2, click OK, then Next.

Further Reference

If the instructions above aren’t working for you, here’s a page from Garmin describing how to install the ANT+ adapter driver in Windows 11, and here’s one from Wahoo with the same. (Both pages link to their respective hosted versions of the same zip file as we’ve linked above.)

Are you having other ANT+ connection issues? See our post on How to Fix ANT+ Dropouts and Other Connection Problems in Zwift.

Questions or Comments?

Post below!


Zwiftalizer Update: Log History & Group Event Info

1

Zwiftalizer Update: Log History & Group Event Info

Last week, Zwiftalizer wizard Michael Hanney updated the app to include two new features. Here’s a quick explanation…

Log History

You can now browse all the logs you’ve uploaded to Zwiftalizer. This is a handy feature, as Michael explains, because often Zwifters want to:

  • Compare their device’s performance across multiple Zwift versions and/or
  • See the performance of different devices they’ve used to run Zwift (perhaps they’ve recently upgraded their computer)

Group Event Information

If the log file you uploaded includes a Zwift event, Zwiftalizer now shows event-specific info such as:

  • Name of the event
  • Subgroup (Category) name
  • Start time
  • Braking available?
  • Steering available?
  • Rubber Banding v2
  • Late join enabled?
  • Video screenshots disabled or enabled?

Watch the Video

Michael walks you through these new features in this short explainer:

Questions or Comments?

Share below!


Tiny Race Series – December 23 Routes and Last Week’s Results

0

Tiny Race Series – December 23 Routes and Last Week’s Results

See zwiftinsider.com/tiny for current Tiny Race details.


Zwift Update Version 1.55 (123458) Released

The last Zwift update of 2023 was released today, with rollout to Windows/macOS/Android machines beginning today and iOS/Apple TV beginning tomorrow.

Given the previous update‘s pile of changes and the holiday season, it’s not surprising to see that this update is light on major features. But let’s dive into the details!

Workout Tooltips

Zwift has been tweaking the workout startup screen since they released it back in October, and today they added “tooltip”-style detail popups for intervals if you mouse over them (PC/Mac) or slide your finger over them on a touch screen device.

This is a welcome change, as it lets you see precise details for each interval in your workout.

Race Timing Display Changes

Today’s update includes this note:

Made a change for the timing of all competitive events (excluding team time trials and individual time trials): the time displayed in the HUD will now be the elapsed time from the event start (gun time) instead of the elapsed time beginning when the rider has crossed the start line (chip time). More information on this thread.

This is an interesting change. First, here’s a video showing how race timing behaved before this change. Note how my ride timer (and distance) don’t begin counting until approximately 30 seconds into the race. Then when I cross the finish line, the elapsed time on my HUD is around 30 seconds less than the time that pops up for the results.

The race result used “gun time”, while my HUD was showing “chip time.” (“Gun time” refers to starting the timer when the start gun is fired, while “chip time” references having a timing chip on your bike which is picked up when you cross the event’s start line.) This is a bit annoying when, for example, you’re competing in the ZRacing monthly GC and are chasing a particular target time.

With today’s change, the time shown in the HUD will now match the time shown on the results screen. That’s good. But the odd thing about this change is that it does not apply to time trial races, where time (arguably) matters a lot more, and gun time is used for race results!

My hunch is Zwift excluded TT events from this change because they need to do some code changes in order to display gun time for TT events, given the unique way TT events slot riders in at different start intervals. But this does need to happen, so I’ll bet this isn’t the last news we’ll see related to gun vs chip time.

More Release Notes

Zwift provided notes (and occasional jokes) on additional tweaks and bug fixes in this update:

  • Fixed a bug where cyclists could occasionally swerve into runners. That’s for other video games.
  • Fixed an issue where Climb Portal’s elevation scaling options could not be navigated using keyboard or Play controllers.
  • Fixed an issue with riders time in events that have the same segment and event finish lines.
  • Fixed an issue where the player’s name in race results could be displayed in the wrong font color.
  • The Save Activity screen now shows if you’ve connected your Zwift account to Wahoo SYSTM, which will post your Zwift activities to your Wahoo account.
  • You can now dismiss the new cycling Streaks screen via the Zwift Companion mobile app.
  • Fixed an issue where the road on the Canopies and Coastlines route flickered in some locations.
  • Steering-Only events are now categorized under the “Hardware Requirement” filter.
  • We humanely captured and re-released elsewhere the butterflies that appeared in the cycling Streaks screen after completing an activity in Climb Portal.
  • Windows/Mac: Fixed a potential crash that could occur when riding with a RoboPacer.
  • iOS & ATV: Custom workouts can once again be deleted

Discuss this release on Zwift’s forum >

Questions or Comments?

If you spotted any other changes or bugs in the update, please comment below!

Top 5 Zwift Videos: Zwift Alternative, Race Podiums, and Zwift Comfort

For this week’s top 5 we’ve selected a video about staying comfortable on the bike, a video to teach you all about indieVelo and how it compares to Zwift, two videos providing tips and tricks on Zwift racing, and a review of the Zwift Hub One.

11 Secrets to Ultimate Zwift Comfort

If you are getting back into the swing of things and realize that you’ve been very uncomfortable indoors, Katie Kookaburra has 11 tips to help you be as comfortable as possible when riding on the trainer.

How To Podium in a Zwift Race

Jake Sanderson shares his greatest tips and tricks to help you podium in your next Zwift race as he looks back at his first-ever podium finish.

indieVelo vs Zwift: Is indieVelo The Zwift Alternative We’ve Been Waiting For?

IndieVelo has been gaining popularity amongst Zwifters over the past few months, but is it a viable alternative to Zwift? Tariq Ali from Smart Bike Trainers provides an in-depth comparison of the two platforms.

Can I win this race in a breakaway?

Oli Chi from ZRace Central provides commentary and analysis of his latest Zwift race where he attempts to win in a small breakaway of 3 riders. Can he stay away for the win?

Zwift Hub One: One Trainer for Every Bike Ever?

James Dobb gives his thoughts on the Zwift Hub One and runs it through various tests to see if it lives up to the expectations.

Got a Great Zwift Video?

Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!