Zwift released an update last night, and while we don’t yet have release notes from ZwiftHQ, we’ve spotted a few notable changes.
400m Running Track
Runners requested this a while back, because a flat, standard-length track is a great place to do interval workouts and shorter events.
Read more about the new track >
New Bike: Ribble Endurance
New bike day is always a good day for cyclists. Based on its Drops price of 390,500 (roughly equivalent to $3905US) our guess is this frame is patterned after Ribble’s higher-end, lighter-weight Endurance SL R Series Disc.
How does it perform? Decently, but it’s not going to be on the list of the very fastest frames or best climbers. It came in at 2 seconds slower than the Zwift Aero frame on our flat test, and 2 seconds faster than the Zwift Aero on the Alpe. So a solid performer for the money and level lock, but there are plenty of faster frames out there for higher-level riders.
Changes to Out of the Saddle Climbing
Zwift recently modified how out of the saddle sprinting worked, and now they’ve modified out of the saddle climbing in a similar fashion.
First, they’ve reduced the threshold for standing from 80 to 70RPM, which seems like a good move. But more interestingly, they’ve changed in-game data flow so we only see riders standing if their cadence is in fact below 70.
Before this update, all riders (except your own) would automatically stand on any +3% incline. This was done to reduce the amount of processing and data flowing between Zwift’s servers and your machine. But Zwift has optimized their data flows and code so we can see the real-time standing status of all nearby riders.
Other Changes?
Notice anything else new in this update? Comment below!
Did they make any changes to the standing profile for the Tron bike?
Nope, still doesn’t stand on climbs.
Easy to test one bike at a time
Much easier than a slew of them!
Maybe one day Zwift will introduce Pedaling Dynamics to the equation so that it can tell whether the actual rider is truly out of the saddle, instead of using an algorithm that applies to all riders, irrespective of when the actual rider is sitting or standing.
That would be awesome – but I wonder if that would require dual-sided power meter pedals or cranks….
Could be something as simple as a small sensor that attaches to the saddle.
And I think added road feel to the Tacx Neo Bike
Also the Zwift running visor changed to an NYE party hat today!
Yeah, a bunch of the headware changed to a NYE top hat for today. Silly billies!
I hope they put some sort of bracketing in place for the cadence change. Something like, if the rider is sitting they need to be below 70 rpm to stand. If the rider is standing then they need to be above 75 rpm to sit. That would stop the rider going up and down that you get if you simply say below 70 rpm is standing and above 70 rpm is sitting.
No bracketing, although that does seem like a smart idea! Once you drop below 70RPM your rider will stand.
This is good change…80 to 70… But didn’t it used to be 70? I was off from say May to Dec and I swear it used to be 70.
Yep, it was 70 for a long time, then changed to 80 around October, then back to 70 yesterday.
I think we will see more changes that ensure that all riders are seeing the same reality, certainly at least in the serious e racing space.
Agreed!
Just wish they would add a bloody velodrome already
Too bad Zwift cannot be bothered to communicate changes on their own. It’s becoming a chronic problem. As opposed to leaving the community to guess, why not announce along with the release? Why not publish meaningful equipment stats?
That would be nice. Garmin connect app changes are the worst.
You can no longer change gender without contacting Zwift support. Bad news for those who share accounts
my wife and I each have our own accounts. For the cost of two or three pints of beer it’s well worth it.
I can still change gender in the application (windows) but not in the companion app. Also can’t change date of birth.
My gear changes now seem to show using wattbike atom and windows 10 surface pro.
They didnt prior to this update
App crashes with surprise me for biking on any world so far.
No sign of the latest release on Android. Anyone seen it in the Play Store? All I can see is version 1.0.43801
One thing I notice today when I started a route I hadn’t collected the badge for yet is that there is now a blue progress bar similar to the one you have in races that shows how many kilometers are still left. It was fairly accurate, except that the bar was already full at 66 km while the route badge was unlocked at the proper finish line after 71 km (Watopia Pretzel in case anyone wondered). I can’t quite tell if that is a bug or a feature, but I liked it.
Noticed today that NO One had any socks 🧦 on during my ride today Sunday 5th Jan.
Checked my setup and socks in garage, but despite wearing dotted socks, there was none on my Avatar. 😢
Tempus Fugit is now 12.x mi instead of 10.x?
Was that worth an update??? When are we getting the possibility to change track without rebooting?
Seriously, that’s a joke…