There’s been a lot of chatter in the Zwift community since Zwift launched the Play Controllers on June 14. While I still maintain that one of the biggest benefits of Play is the ability to navigate menus, etc using its buttons, a lot of the buzz surrounding Play involves steering.
Specifically, many Zwifters are asking if steering makes you faster, and if so, is it fair to have steering in a race with riders who don’t?
I put together a few tests to get some hard numbers to help answer those questions. For science. Because that’s what we do at Zwift Insider!
Test 1: Crit City Lap Savings (Steering vs Non-Steering)
First, I wanted to compare lap times on a twisty course between two riders: one steering well into the corners, the other not steering at all.
I set my bot to 375W (5W/kg) on Bell Lap because that gave the solo rider a speed of around 46kph on the flats, which is comparable to an A or B race pack in Crit City. (Don’t let the power number confuse you – the important thing here is the rider’s speed and lap times.)
- Lap time without steering: 2:38.9
- Lap times with steering: 2:35.7 and 2:35.4 (I got better the second time around!)
Test 1 Takeaways
This test clearly shows that steering allows you to turn in faster lap times in a solo rider environment such as an iTT. Why? Because taking the inside line on corners effectively makes the overall course shorter for your rider.
That said, this test does exaggerate the time savings you would receive from steering, if you’re looking at the entire universe of Zwift routes. Steering time savings is higher on routes with lots of turns, or to put it another way, your “seconds saved per kilometer” would be lower on straighter routes like Tempus Fugit.
Additionally, in a race you may have to choose between steering to the inside of a corner (out of the draft) and staying in the draft while taking a longer line. In my experience, cutting the corner is still the faster move – but losing the draft does blunt the benefit of taking the shorter line.
Test 2: Draft Positioning on Tempus Fugit
We know that drafting is an important part of Zwift, just as it’s a key part of outdoor riding. But now that we can steer left and right as well as brake, it’s probably work looking at how the draft benefit changes based on your position relative to the rider(s) ahead.
For this test, I set up two bots in an event on Tempus Fugit. The front bot held 300W, while I modulated the power of the back bot to test what sort of wattage I had to hold to stay in the draft at different positions. I included a Sauce for Zwift draft overlay in the video below since it’s a useful point of reference:
In the end, I came away with three useful numbers:
- On the wheel: 212W
- Just off-center (by 1-2′, or 50cm): 240W
- Out of the draft (rider in the drops): 300W
Not surprisingly, I maximized my draft benefit by riding directly behind the front rider. Sitting on the wheel of a 300W rider at 212W means I received a 29.3% power savings. On flat ground, Sauce showed a draft as high as 124W in this position.
Note: Zwift says Sauce’s draft number is the “absolute watts” you’re saving in the draft.
If I moved just a bit off center from the rider’s wheel while staying in the draft, I had to up my power to ~240W to keep up. That means my power savings was 20%. On flat ground, Sauce showed a draft as low as ~40W in this position.
Lastly, if I moved far enough to either side that Sauce showed 0W draft and my rider in the drops (indicating no draft), I had to hold 300W to keep up with the rider ahead. Seems logical.
Test 2 Takeaways
This test clearly shows that left-right positioning greatly affects the draft benefit received on Zwift. When you’re just behind a rider, being just 50cm off to either side reduces your draft effect by ~30W, meaning you’ll need to put out more watts to hold position.
It’s important to note that this finding doesn’t apply only to steering Zwifters! If you aren’t steering in game, Zwift is auto-steering for you. While auto-steering generally does a solid job of placing you in a good position, it doesn’t always place you directly behind the rider(s) ahead. If that happens, you may want to bump up your power a bit to avoid losing position while the game auto-steers you to a better place.
Do steering riders have a drafting advantage since they can dial in their left-right position? Perhaps. But if they do, it’s minimal since the game’s auto-steering does a good job of keeping us in the draft. Consider also that steering brings adds a mental/physical load – you have to pay attention and manipulate your steering device in order to draft optimally. You can steer into the maximum draft, but if you steer poorly you can hurt yourself just as quickly.
Other Play Advantages
Zwift Play offers more advantages than just taking the inside line on corners or positioning yourself for the maximum draft benefit. It also places powerups, a rearview cam, and minimap changes right at your fingertips. And of course, steering lets you veer to the far left or right when attacking off the front, so auto-steering (non-steering) riders can’t grab your wheel. That’s a big deal when it comes to mid-race attacks or the final sprint.
Questions or Comments?
Does Zwift Play offer an advantage to racers? I’m not answering that here… just sharing data and observations. But please share your thoughts below!
I haven’t used steering in a while, so maybe it’s changed. However, with “auto steering” you are able to move through other riders in large groups. When you have manual steering, you are not able to move left/right through other riders. So you’re ability to actually take corners and find that perfect draft zone are more diminished the larger the group. When doing solo TT steering was worth it to manually steer. Doing any sort of group event I found the auto steering to be a faster and a more watt-saving option.
i see riders steering nowadays and just riding through other riders as if they didnt exist, i remember when i used the sterzo when it came out at the time, you would be blocked but this doesnt seem to be the case anymore
I think this is only steering riders moving through riders with steering. Still get block from moving by riders with no steering in a group.
I seem to be able to steer through some riders, but not others. someone said that, if you have steering, you are able to steer through other riders with steering, but not those with autosteering.
It might also be that you’re able to steer through the front or rear wheels of other riders but not your body through their body (so the central core is where the collision prevention is). If that’s the case, the fact that I was able to steer through some riders and not others might be due to how tight the pack was (so how many riders were in the space I was trying to get to) when I was playing with it. Typically, I play around with that sort of thing while doing pace partner rides.
you cant ride through if you are shoulder to shoulder. so if you are in a tighter group it could be hard to get from one side to another
You have a mistake in the copy. You say the rider dropped onto the hoods when out of the draft.
Fixed!
a couple of thoughts.
1) you should take a look at the Source for Strava as with this you can see the actual distance saving by taking the shortest line when you look at a Strava section. Using this when riding alone or in TT you can then work out the time saved based on not riding as much distance and your speed.
2) I’d also say that suggesting a course with less corners means less savings. You can make “big” distance savings on roads that don’t have actual corners but have long bends if you take the shorter route.
I also think that if you rode a route like Makuri 40 in a group and took the shortest line which will save around 500 meters you wouldn’t get to the finish quicker than the bunch but you’d have just ridden less distance. You would as you suggest have probably used more energy as you weren’t in the draft saving energy so there isn’t really any advantage.
Does steering and line choice affect the gradient you experience on climbs? So if you take the inside line on corner going up a climb does the gradient increase compared to taking a wider line? Similarly, can weaving across the road decrease the gradient on a very steep section?
Yes, the gradient can vary depending on how you take the turn on a climb. As for weaving… I’m not sure that’s a thing in Zwift. Never tried it though.
I think another important factor is where the big turns are on a course. In Crit City steering plays a much bigger role on Downtown Dolphin than it does on Bell lap due to the hairpin being the last turn. During the days of that course being used as a steering test environment nearly every race was won by the riders that could cut the last corner
Is Crit City exaggerating the benefit because it’s a small looped circuit. As compared to a wider circuit like Watopia wasteband/ Greater London flat
Yes. As I said above, “That said, this test does exaggerate the time savings you would receive from steering, if you’re looking at the entire universe of Zwift routes. Steering time savings is higher on routes with lots of turns, or to put it another way, your “seconds saved per kilometer” would be lower on straighter routes like Tempus Fugit.”
On a group ride around Tempus a coupla months ago, I concentrated on steering the shortest line for most of the route. I think it was more than 300 meters shorter than someone autosteering. And as an early Zi test showed, it was quite a bit shorter climbing The Alpe and resulted in about a minute saved. I’ve taken quite a bit of time off my PRs on Titans and Volcano with steering (and riding my ass off).
not sure how you would test but steering into a “faster lane” through traffic is also a likely benefit. Visually at least it appears you can nudge left/right to break draft on a rider and join a different one. You seem to be able to use this to surf the washing machine effect
From this self-professed old a#% wheel sucker, I definitely notice this new feature as whoever I’m latched on to moves and leaves me hanging out to dry/die, my heart rate raises with my being pissed 🤣🤣🤣 Guess I’ll jump on board soon…..Ride On
It seems to me that from numbers does not change much, a few seconds, less than the advantage that a more performing bicycle can give you. but you have more control over your actions and this is beautiful
I’ve found two things besides what you wrote about. First, on large group rides where the others are more fit than you are, steering can help keep you in the ride. Instead of breaking the draft permanently (and getting dropped) because you lose a few meters, you can cut a corner to latch back on. Thus, the distance savings helps you to ride longer with buddies who are lighter or in better shape (or both), if the course has enough turns. Second, steering around a slower rider to catch the draft of a faster rider a couple meters up the road is a simpler approach than with auto steering. This also helps you to stay latched on to large groups of you’re tail-gunning.
I steer with my wahoo bike. If I have nobody around me, a ride the tangents. If people are around, I’ll draft even if it is the outside of the curve. It seems to be faster this way.
Unfortunately, I have Campy shifters and can’t use the new controllers! Ugh.
Eric you have been corrected before.
Sauce represents draft as watts saved (which is what zwift say it is)
You continue to deny this.
Over a week, no correction.
Almost like Eric doesn’t care.
Never denied it – just didn’t know Zwift had acknowledged it.
Just updated the post.
Hmm, how can you be saving 124 W if you are drafting a 300 W rider and you are goind 214W. If it was watts then wouldn’t it be 86W? Where did zwift acknowledge the figure was in watts? I’d like to read/learn more about this.
My completely unscientific $0.02. I’ve used the Play Controllers on several Bot group rides. I can confirm that cutting the corners moves me up in the pack almost without exception. On the S-curvy descent away from the Italian Villas on the “gravel” surface, I can end up about 20 feet ahead of the whole pack before the road levels out, while keeping the same power output. You can watch the gap grow as you round each corner. YMMV…
Hi Eric,
how do you setup up your bots? With zwift offline or directly within the game?
Is there a howto?
Since I got the Play controllers, I find that without steering input, I am often out to the side of the bunch in group rides. I *have* to steer to get back into the draft. I also cover less distance in the same time because it will occasionally dive to the inside on corners (again, without my input).
This makes me wonder, if you don’t have steering but your avatar is off to the side, you must also be suffering from higher drag. Seems my avatar is always on the outside!
I’ve been using play for about a week.
My main observation is they give a way more engaging experience that is closer to the irl experience. And that makes it more fun.leaning and steering into corners…yes please!
There is a small advantage if you want to use it that way….but it also allows you to help others to get a better draft to…by moving directly in front of them for example.
Also like irl ….if there is no gap…you can’t steer into it. If other riders stay tight on the wheel in front ..or overlapped…you are stuck in your lane and there is little advantage to steering…again just like irl.