Yesterday Zwift recorded a new personal best: 10,453 active Zwifters. The previous record was somewhere in the 8,500 range, so our community didn’t just beat our personal best: we smashed it!

Typically the weekly high traffic points are on Tuesdays around noon PST, but yesterday’s Tour de Zwift kickoff certainly upped the numbers, with some of the Stage 1 events hosting over 4,000 riders. Of course, this is also the busiest time of Zwift’s year, with much of the northern hemisphere dealing with cold temperatures, poor weather, and shortened daylight hours.

Care to Make a Bet?

Zwiftcast hosts Simon, Nathan, and Shane have been wagering on what the winter season’s high point will be, with guesses anywhere from 11,111 to 15,000. If traffic seasonality is similar to past years we’ll see that high point in the next week or two. What do you think? What will be this season’s “peak Zwift”?

I’m going to be even more optimistic than the Zwiftcasters and shoot for 15,500. I’m basing this on Zwift Insider traffic levels, which have more than doubled since last year. We’ll see how well that translates to actual Zwift traffic.

High Traffic: The Good and the Bad

High numbers of concurrent users should generally be considered a very good thing for the platform. Popularity leads to additional investment and eventual profitability, which both lead to a stronger platform as ongoing development is funded. But there are also hassles that come with high traffic–like crowded roads in Zwift’s current “one world calendar.” Luckily we didn’t have 10,453 riders doing an endless conga line through the one-way streets of Richmond!

What do you think? Is Zwift’s new PR a good thing? What needs to happen to take traffic levels even higher?