The world of Zwift holds a special place in our meta-hearts, and we’ve begun designing charts that speak to its unique nature. Thanks to everyone who commented on our first set of charts. Here’s the next bunch!
Riders swap bikes in real-life races… why not on Zwift? Well, because AppleTV’s remote sucks, that’s why! On courses that include swap-friendly sections like Makuri Islands’ Temple KOM, PC users have a distinct advantage. Learn how to swap bikes quickly >
Some Zwifters use smart scales that automatically sync their weight to Zwift. We salute these bastions of racing transparency. (BTW: Withings sync on Zwift has been broken for years – but there’s an easy workaround.)
The rest of us must manually update our weights. And while we’re convinced that the vast majority of Zwifters aren’t weight doping in any extreme way, we’re quite sure many riders have skipped updating their weight on “heavy” days, optimistically looking forward to the day when their weight magically drops.
And as soon as it drops below their current setting, you can bet it will be updated.
If you’ve ever searched for the Yeti or tried to unlock the coveted Lightweight Meilenstein wheels, this chart will speak to your soul.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of this first set of Zwift charts? Got an idea for a useful chart we could put together? Share below!
James Bailey and friends have continued with their weekly testing and tweaking Pace Partners to dial in the best mix of bots, paces, routes, and events.
This week Pace Partners head to hillier routes to help riders rack up some elevation, while runbots raise some dust on the Mayan Jungle road. Let’s dig into the latest Pace Partner news…
This Week’s Ride Routes
James has also updated the riding routes for each Pace Partner this week. All partners were placed on hilly routes for the week, to help Zwifters finish off the KASK Protone Icon Mission. (Next week will feature flatter routes.)
Zwift continues to test events paced by Pace Partners, and this week the events are easy-paced (1.8 w/kg) rides on Watopia’s Waistband. Word is the Pace Partner used for these events is going to be a bit chatty, sharing a few fun facts and perhaps even dropping a few trivia questions!
Run bots are getting their shoes dirty on laps of Watopia’s Jungle Circuit this week, with plans to change the featured route each week. There are now 11 run bots at a wide range of paces, so if runners want a bit of company, there’s a bot available:
Michael Midsole: 10:00/km
David Doubles: 9:00/km
Tracey Trot: 8:00/km
Albert Amble: 7:30/km
Sarah Stride: 7:00/km
Benito Bounder: 6:30/km
Hettie Hare: 6:00/km
Brendan Bolter: 5:30/km
Rebecca Rocket: 5:00/km
Stuart Speedster: 4:30/km
Patricia Pacemaker: 4:00/km
Bug Fixes/Improvements
Several changes have been made since our last post about Pace Partner updates.
A recent game update brought live power data to the Pace Partners window. The w/kg numbers for each Pace Partner are dynamically refreshed when the window is open, so you’ll see current power numbers for each bot.
Pace Partners no longer change color when their power fluctuates on climbs and descents.
Share Feedback
James is looking for feedback on all things Pace Partner. He requests that you share feedback (and any questions) in one of these spots:
Sprint for the win with this week’s Top 5 Zwift Videos! Two Zwifters will give you some tips to help your sprints, and another one will put them into practice. Then learn how to set up a free Zwift account for a child and see a comparison between Zwift and Wahoo RGT.
How To Win A Zwift Racing Bunch Sprint
Experienced sprinter Jake Sanderson (Snowman Cycling) shares six tips for winning a bunch sprint finish in a Zwift race – even without a PowerUp.
How to BEST Execute a Zwift Sprint
If you’re going for intermediate sprint points or a green jersey, ZRace Central has some advice for laying down your fastest sprint time.
How To Get Zwift For Free
If you’re under 16, you can get a Zwift child account for free with the help of a parent or guardian. ZRace Central shows you how.
Zwift vs Wahoo RGT: 5 Things To Know
Now that RGT is part of the Wahoo X subscription service, Tariq Ali (SMART Bike Trainers) compares it with Zwift, outlining each platform’s strengths and weaknesses.
Can I hold on for my first win? Tempus Fugit Sprint Race
Category C racer Jarrod Mower is going for the win in this fast, flat race. Watch his replay with commentary to see if he takes it!
Got a Great Zwift Video?
Share the link below and we may feature it in an upcoming post!
Browser Extensions for Zwifters: ZwiftMap for Strava (Map Overlays for Strava)
Zwifters have been uploading their rides to Strava for over 7 years now. So why does Strava still show real-world maps that put our Watopia activities somewhere in the Solomon Islands, instead of overlaying Zwift’s virtual geography onto the maps?
Who knows.
Eventually Zwifter Andi Pätzold stepped in and created his own solution, as software developers tend to do.
He created the Zwiftmap for Strava Chrome extension to “replace real-world maps with Zwift maps when visiting Strava”. Install it and Zwift’s maps are overlayed accurately onto Strava’s maps when you use strava.com via your browser to view Zwift activities.
Here are screenshots of the extension in action. It seems to work perfectly in all Zwift worlds:
It’s worth noting that Andi also created zwiftmap.com – a beautiful web app containing pertinent details of all Zwift routes. Check it out, install his Chrome extension, and make your Strava usage a bit more Zwifty!
Questions or Comments?
Do you use the Zwiftmap for Strava extension, or any others that play nicely with Zwift? Share below!
The world of Zwift is a fascinating corner of the metaverse. Hundreds of thousands of human-powered avatars ride and run these virtual worlds, and each has its own story. Trying to wrap your mind around it all could drive a person to madness!
But never fear, dear reader. With a nod to WIRED’s long-running Chartgeist column, we’ve put together some charts to help you peer into Zwift’s soul. Please note that our goal here is not statistical perfection, but rather a distillation of Zwift’s essential characteristics. Enjoy!
Zwifters come in all shapes and sizes, nationalities and ages, genders and experience levels. But if we really boil Zwift’s core userbase down to their essential characteristics, we’re left with just two distinctives: a proclivity for cycling, and enough nerd-cred to feel comfortable cobbling together the various bits of tech required to get Zwift working.
When you “Zwift”, what are you actually doing? “Zwifting” is a term that captures many different types of activities. We can ride or run. We can do a structured workout, a social ride, a competitive race. But which activities are most popular?
Speaking of activity types, have you ever wondered if you’re in a race while riding on Zwift? It’s an easy question to answer, thanks to our handy chart! Just count the number of nearby riders…
Your Thoughts
What do you think of this first set of Zwift charts? Got an idea for a useful chart we could put together? Share below!
Zwift’s May update included the first road frame in-game from US-based Ventum. The frame is named the NS1, and is available for 638,900 Drops at level 15+.
Here’s how it’s described in the Drop Shop:
The Ventum NS1 road bike can handle whatever you throw at it, whether that’s a casual meetup or an all-out race up the Alpe du Zwift. This all-road, performance-driven bike is made using the best materials available, resulting in a bike frame that is lighter, stronger, and longer-lasting.
The Ventum NS1 in real life
This frame is rated 3 stars for aero and 3 for weight. We ran it through our normal tests to learn exactly how it performs.
Here’s everything you need to know about the performance of the new Ventum NS1 frame in Zwift.
Aero (Flat/Rolling) Performance
The NS1 turned in precisely the same flat test time as the Zwift Aero, which is a decent racing rig ranked in the 70th percentile.
Its test time of 51:25 is 8 seconds slower than the current fastest road frame (Cervelo S5 2020) on our test course, which is two laps of Tempus Fugit totaling 34.6km.
Climb Performance
The NS1’s climbing performance is weaker than its aero performance, placing it at the 17th percentile with the Ribble Endurance and Factor One frames.
The new Ventum turns in an Alpe time of 49:26. The fastest overall climber in game (Specialized Aethos) completes the test 36 seconds faster.
Note: all test results above are from a 75kg, 183cm rider holding 300W steady using Zwift’s stock 32mm carbon wheelset.
Conclusions
The Ventum NS1 performs as expected given its Drop Shop price and level lock of 15+. While it’s not a top performer compared to other beginner-level bikes (the Focus Izalco Max 2020, Specialized Allez Sprint, and Ridley Noah Fast 2019 are all better buys), it’s not far behind.
It does include a color slider… which doesn’t work. Hopefully Zwift will start fixing these broken sliders soon:
The Ventum NS1 will be added to the following posts, and it can also be found on our Master Zwift Frames List:
Important note: this post contains speed test results for Zwift frames or wheels. These results may change over time, and a bike's performance relative to others may also change. We don't always revise posts when performance rankings change, but we do keep current, master versions of our speed test results which are always available. See the frame charts, wheel charts, and Tron vs Top Performers for current performance data.
‘Join Another Zwifter’ is Returning: 7 Enhancements We’d Love To See
As the “new” Homescreen UI continues rolling out to more riders, the most common complaint I’m hearing is “What happened to the ‘Join another Zwifter’ function?” A fair question, since it’s nowhere to be found in the new UI, which is of course baffling to Zwifters who relied on this functionality to ride with friends.
Removal Reasons
Join Another Zwifter, alive and well on the old homescreen UI
Why was Join Another Zwifter removed from the homescreen? One has to assume Zwift looked at usage stats and determined that this feature wasn’t popular enough to include in the new UI. But how do we reconcile this lack of popularity with the cries of so many users mourning their lost ability to join others?
I have a theory.
I think Join Zwifter was seldom used. But when it was used, it was essential – because there’s really no workaround for a lack of Join Zwifter functionality. Unless you can directly message your buddy outside of the game and get them to meet you somewhere on course or join the same Pace Partner group, there’s no way to join them in a free ride without using Join Another Zwifter.
Join Another Zwifter is probably the least-used feature on the old homescreen. But that doesn’t mean it is unimportant.
Bringing It Back
Based on forum posts from Zwift HQ, it’s clear they have changed their minds based on user feedback and are working to bring Join Zwifter to the new Homescreen UI. That’s good news, because its removal was a step backward from Zwift’s goal of bringing more social experiences to Zwifters.
We don’t have an ETA from Zwift, but they’ve said, “We are actively working on bringing it back for all OS platforms so you can join another Zwifter as on the legacy home screen.”
Potential Improvements
As I pondered the return of Join Another Zwifter, I realized that I’ve barely ever used this feature in the past few years, because I found it to be underdeveloped and thus often unusable. The only times I ever used it were when I knew (thanks to communication outside of the game) that my friend was online and riding a particular route with a particular plan, and I wanted to join them.
Those are pretty rare instances. But could Join Another Zwifter be improved to make it more useful? Absolutely. And doing so would just build on Zwift’s strengths as a social cycling platform.
Here’s my list of potential improvements for the “Join Another Zwifter” feature, in no particular order:
Show their chosen route: the old screen only showed a Zwifter’s name, total distance, and average speed. You also knew what world they were in, but that was it. I’d like to know which route they’re on, so I can decide if I’d like to join them!
More ride stats: This is about convincing me to ride with someone else, and in order for that to happen I need to know what I’m getting into without directly communicating with the other Zwifter beforehand. I’d like to know how long they’ve been riding, perhaps their average watts or w/kg. Heck, if I could click and see their location on a map that would be even better!
All worlds in one place: don’t make me click between worlds to see which riders are where. Show me a list of all active people I follow, along with enough activity detail so I know what to expect in terms of world, route, and level of exertion if I click to Join them.
Filtering/sorting: the old list of active Zwifters was sorted oddly, with no ability to sort it differently or filter/search the list. My Favorites should always be highlighted and probably shown at the top of the list, then I want the ability to filter by world, search by name, and sort by distance covered, average power, and maybe more.
Play nicely with events: on the old homescreen you might click to join a rider who was in an event, only to be dropped into free ride mode where that rider isn’t actually visible. The feature should be smarter than this – and it wouldn’t take much. If they’re in an event I can’t join, show them on the list but greyed out, with an event title visible so I know what they’re up to. But if they’re in an event I can late join, let me click and join, popping right into the event next to my friend!
Notify me when a friend joins: a quick on-screen notification to let me know when someone has joined me would ensure that I notice them popping in and can immediately say hello. Like yelling “Norm!” as your friend walks in the door, this just makes Zwift feel more intimate and friendly, and that’s always a good thing.
Do it on the fly: this may be an edge case, but if I was feeling particularly social, I’d love to pull up the “Join Another Zwifter” box while riding so I could click easily click and join other active Zwifters regardless of which map they’re on. A new activity would have to be started for each join, but imagine the fun of popping in and hanging out with a friend for a bit before popping over to another friend. Social butterflies with teleportation powers. What a time to be alive!
What About You?
Are you on the new homescreen and missing Join Another Zwifter? Do you have some ideas for improving the feature? Share below!
Zwift always puts on a good show and the GCN vs The World race certainly delivered – people were crowded below the stage to see if the 6 GCN presenters could hold off the Zwift pack, which had 261 signups including CEO Eric Min.
This is now the second live event I have attended after the Arena Games, and Zwift certainly translates well to a live audience. It’s strange to think that we get pleasure watching people push themselves to their limits, but that certainly is what happened in this event.
The race commenced at 18:30 CEST for the GCN presenters. The format was that 3 would start and halfway through the 13.1km Beach Island Loop the team would swap riders (literally) and the remaining three would take over.
Starting two minutes later and leading the chase for the World Team would be fellow GCN presenter Olly Bridgewood. All hosted on centre stage live in Saalbach, Austria, at the Global Bike Festival presented by Play Sports Network and Zwift.
The Zwift action was viewable via big screens on each side of the stage
The rivalry between the presenters and Olly was playful but you got a sense that there was an undertone of serious competitiveness, with some of the GCN presenters being former pro riders such as Sebastian Haedo from GCN Espanol.
As the race commenced, Olly sat patiently waiting for his World Team to start. He was the only rider who opted to have clip-in pedals connected to his Wahoo KICKR bike – the other presenters used flat pedals.
Like all Zwift races, the start was extremely fast and hard and a chasing pack of riders formed. The GCN team was going strong but under the Austrian sun the conditions were hard. With 3km completed, water was being thrown over the riders for cooling!
Olly and the World Team were chasing hard and I noticed familiar big-name Zwift riders front and centre as Olly was pushing 6.9 w/kg. He was all-in.
The riders go to work
As the race intensified, people got from their seats and a proper crowd was drawing closer, to witness first-hand the suffering the presenters were putting themselves through for entertainment.
The 2-minute gap was soon down to 1 and with 5km to go, it was increasingly looking like the World would take it by some margin. On the other hand, the GCN presenters were holding 390 watts, which was impressive.
As the kilometres ticked over, MC Chris Pritchard was giving time checks and I was with Obi Winters from Zwift who was constantly typing updates to the World to encourage them in the race.
The second set of riders digs in for team GCN
The World Team was gaining. This was going to be close! The GCN presenters were turning themselves inside out, the meters were ticking down, 9 seconds the gap with 800 meters to go. This was close. The finish line was in sight, the pack on the heels of the 3 with a few hundred meters. GCN opened the sprint, the pack responded, oh, so close.
GCN sneaked over the line with 4 seconds left.
What a race! The crowd cheered, Olly looked just how I do after an intense Zwift session: exhausted. What an incredible effort! The GCN presenters were celebrating and rightly so.
What fun! What an event!
The crowd cheers for the riders after the close finish
Zwift’s May update included two new gravel frames: the Giant Revolt Advanced Pro and the Liv Devote Advanced Pro. Both bikes are priced the same (298,200 Drops) and rated identically (2 stars for aero, 3 for weight) so we expected them to perform identically. And they did!
Here’s how each is described in the Drop Shop:
Revolt Advanced Pro:Get ready to crush some gravel. With its lightweight, endurance-friendly composite frame, generous tire clearance and smooth ride quality, Revolt Advanced lets you ride farther and faster on rough roads, gravel or dirt.
Devote Advanced Pro:Travel by two wheels into new terrain to satiate your true sense of adventure, plus bring all your gear for some “prepared-for-anything” peace of mind. Available in lightweight Advanced-Grade composite frame and fork to meet the needs of performance and endurance riders alike.
We ran both frames through our normal testing procedure in order to discover exactly how they stack up against other frames in the Zwift universe.
Here’s everything you need to know about the performance of the new Giant Revolt and Liv Devote gravel frames in Zwift.
Aero (Flat/Rolling) Performance
The Devote and Revolt turn in identical times on our flat tests, placing them mid-pack among the universe of current Zwift gravel bikes.
Both frames turned in a test time of 53:51. By comparison, the fastest gravel bike in game (Cervelo Aspero) is 4 seconds faster, while the slowest gravel frame (Lauf True Grit) is 6 seconds slower on our test course, which is two laps of Tempus Fugit totaling 34.6km.
Climb Performance
The Revolt and Devote turned in matching times on our Alpe climb test, placing them mid-pack just like the flat test.
Their Alpe time was 51:42, which is 40 seconds faster than the slowest gravel climber (Lauf True Grit) and 24 seconds slower than the best climber (Specialized Crux).
Note: all test results above are from a 75kg, 183cm rider holding 300W steady using Zwift’s stock 32mm carbon wheelset.
Conclusions
The Giant Revolt Advanced Pro and Liv Devote Advanced Pro perform identically, turning in times that place them just above the 50 percentile mark when ranked against other gravel frames in Zwift.
So their performance doesn’t stand out from the crowd, but neither does their price or level lock. If you’re a Giant or Liv fan, you may want to pick up one of these frames just to stay on brand in the dirt.
One bug note: currently both frames show a color slider, but it’s non-functioning (a common issue we’ve seen with many recent frame releases):
The Devote and Revolt have been added to the following posts, and can also be found on our Master Zwift Frames List:
Important note: this post contains speed test results for Zwift frames or wheels. These results may change over time, and a bike's performance relative to others may also change. We don't always revise posts when performance rankings change, but we do keep current, master versions of our speed test results which are always available. See the frame charts, wheel charts, and Tron vs Top Performers for current performance data.
This article is coming to you live from the beautiful mountain village of Saalbach where I am attending the Global Bike Festival hosted by GCN and presented by Zwift.
I am writing to report about a special event that is going to be taking place on Saturday evening, 18.30pm CEST called “GCN vs The World” (sign up here).
This is a special event and I would encourage everyone to join in because it’s where Zwift is transcending from the virtual to the real world, proving to be the perfect platform for hosting fun challenges at live events such as this.
The race will be hosted on centre stage in the main festival venue where Wahoo+Zwift will have set up race stations for the GCN presenters who will be racing against the world’s Zwifters. I’ll probably be watching in person, but if I can a Zwift station somewhere I will, because to participate in a live event such as this will be memorable!
Former pro rider Daniel Lloyd will be leading the GCN Team and it’s going to be spectacle as the race is broadcast on large screens, allowing the 500 festival goers to witness the drama unfold.
You can guarantee there is going to be drama for several reasons. Firstly, because it’s Zwift racing and there is always drama! Secondly, because the nature of the event as a “Chase Race” will create drama. The GCN Team will have a short advantage and it will be the job of the community to chase them down. It’s only 13.1km on the “Beach Island Loop” so it’s going to be tight because if the GCN Team work together, then they may have a chance, and a little part of me thinks they may have enough to stay away.
But whatever the outcome, it’s going to be exciting to watch and probably more exciting to ride. So don’t miss out on this unique event!
