What determines if your Zwift avatar gets out of the saddle or stays seated?
Your avatar will stand when:
- You are putting out more than double your FTP watts
- If you’re on an incline over 3% with a cadence below 70
Sprinting out of the saddle: double your FTP watts Climbing out of the saddle: below 70RPM on inclines over 3%
Thanks to updates rolled out in late 2019, everyone else sees your avatar come out of the saddle at the same time you will.
Default Behavior
If you have no cadence meter paired, Zwift will automatically stand you out of the saddle on any climbs over 3%.
The Tron Bike Exception
There is one exception to the 3%/70RPM rule, and that is the Tron bike. Zwift’s animators did not include an out of the saddle climbing posture for this frame, so you will never see a Tron rider standing up on climbs (or sitting up in the draft, for that matter). There is a sprinting posture, however.
Changelog
- Dec 31, 2019: Zwift changed the standing threshold back to 70RPM, and made it so everyone else sees your avatar stand on climbs at the same time you do.
- Dec 10, 2019: Zwift changed the sprinting threshold from a flat 460 watts to 2x your FTP, and made it so everyone else sees your avatar sprint at the same time you do.
- October 2019: Zwift released an update which changed the standing cadence threshold from 70 to 80.
One assumes that this still excludes anyone on the Tron bike, or have they now built graphics for climbing on that?
“The Tron Bike Exception” section above explains it all…
It seems that one other limitation to the Tron bikes avatar motion is the inability to lift ones water bottle and take a drink. Since I achieved my Tron, my avatar has gone thirsty. Also, I have never seen another Tron rider take a drink. All other bike riders seem to be able to drink. I think that having a rider drink is a good reminder for the actual Zwift rider to make certain that they stay hydrated. Other riders serve as a reminder, but seeing my avatar drink would be the best.
I totally agree. I sometimes forget to drink when Zwifting but when I see my avatar take a drink from his bottle I find myself thinking, “Oh, That’s a good idea” Then I take a drink myself.