#zwift

[hojetsala]

The bike that rides on the Internet

- my review of the Zwift Ride -

The days get shorter, the weather wetter and colder and every day it becomes more and more of a struggle to get up at the asscrack of dawn just so I can ride my bike to work for a commute of roughly 50k both ways. A thing I usually love doing. A thing I need to be doing to get my cracked marble of a brain to cooperate with me. But now, as they say, I have bike at home. This has been my experience with the bike that now lives in my home.

I went back and forth on wether to get a home trainer quite a bit. I dont have a bike for it, its expensive, I dont have the space, I dont know what to do with it when its summer again, I worry it will make me too lazy to ride outside.

Well, some of those problems I still have.

But it took very little persuasion by friends ("You could get it if you want it") for me to take the plunge on both the trainer and the bike for it. I got the Kicker Core and the Zwift Ride and I have been having a time ever since. Mostly a good time.

Recieving the thing was a bit of a war. It comes in several boxes, two of which weigh over 25 kg and I live on the fourth floor. Alone. Not the Ride's fault I suppose. I did eventually get it up the stairs and set up, where I hit the first real snag.

The chainring was bent. Which I only noticed once I started pedalling and the chain kept dropping off. Searching around online I gathered I could probably return the thing and get a new one, but. 25kg. Fourth floor. Alone. Not to mention the packaging is so complex and huge I dunno how I'd ever get it put back together.

I still tried contacting support about it, which was the next snag. They have an "AI" chatbot with a few rote answers and thats it. No phone number. I wrote an email to support@zwift.com and have yet to hear back. Judging by the forums, this is a common problem. If something goes wrong, you are on your own. That and the lack of quality control (the chainring was definitely not damaged in transit) are the major downsides I found.

Now to the upsides. The online community is really good. I immediately found posts and videos detailing how I could swap out the chainring myself (and find the correct one). It was easy and I learned some new things about bike anatomy. And I felt great about myself. I booked it as a win.

Then I set it up. This was straightforward enough. Bikefitting a bit less so. It comes with a table for your height with suggestions on how to set everything up, but this seems kinda off. Or maybe I just have weird proportions. I am still fiddling with it. But thats ok. Adjusting the height of the stem and the seatpost is fairly easy. Adjusting the reach of the handle bars I find more difficult as they tend to get stuck a bit. But I am managing.

And then I was off!

The Ride itself is remarkably stable and solid. I am quite a heavy person, especially for a cyclist, and never do I feel wobbly or unsafe. This thing is pretty damn bombproof. It's also quite comfortable and the saddle is good for me. I got some clipless pedals for it and that feels great. Very secure, even when I go all out.

For me personally, who has never ridden a home trainer or even a road bike before, there was a definite learning curve. I got a bit of motion sickness at the start from being stationary and looking at the game, but that has cleared up when I pushed through it. I can now go further every time I ride. I feel like I am getting more comfortable in the position. Admittedly, the position is as relaxed as I can make it. I might make it more aggressive as I get stronger on it.

Zwift itself is fun. It's nice to look at if you like the graphics and there is a good variety to the maps. And there are dinosaurs to find. :) I am really getting into the workouts. They are fun, easy to follow, and tough as nails (at least for me). Its also nice to always have other people around! But Zwift definitely reminds you that comparison is the thief of joy. Damn these people are strong its not even funny.

I thought I was comparatively good on the bike, I rode a lot outside this year. Indoor riding is hard. Hard hard. For some reason, on the indoor trainer, I dont coast. Not that you can't, I find that I just don't. I pretty much go full gas, all the time. And no matter how fast you think you are going, other zwifters will blast past you like you are standing still.

When Zwift tells you to "close the gap", don't. It is a trap. There will always be another gap.

But they are quite encouraging too.

Before I got it, I was definitely worried that I wouldnt use the Ride enough to justify the cost. This has not been the case. I find I really look forward to going zwifting and I do it when I can. I am having a great time overall, even if the effort often leaves me pretty wiped out and I might have to watch out not to overdo it. What do you mean I cant do sprint workouts every day of every week? lol.

So for me, it was definitely a good investment, despite the snags. I am having a good time, I now use my daily "Youtube and Podcast" time a lot better, I get to keep riding through the winter. The cost is significant and should definitely give people pause. But I feel like it's not too much for what it is and I am definitely very happy with it.

I still don't know where I will store the damn thing in the summer though.

Cons of the Ride

non existant support by Zwift

very questionable quality control

the adjustable bits can sometimes get a bit stuck

Pros of the Ride

good online community.

very solid and stable

Quite comfortable, and saddle/ pedals can be easily swapped out

Widely customizable to your proportions

Looks snazzy if you like that kind of thing

Cons of Zwift

Graphics are a matter of taste, objectively not the highest quality

The gamification is rather minimal. Pretty much only leveling and occasionally buying new bike bits and cosmetics. Again, taste

Pros of Zwift

Very active community with events going on all the time

good, fun workouts of many different levels

training plans of different levels too

interesting routes with varied scenery

dinosaurs :)

[thegreypedaler]

[zuzkana]

Ride time

[willbrakeforneature]

merry fitmas from the home gym. found our lights as I was getting the wrapping stuff out and thought might as well 🎄🎁

[writersmethod]

started using zwift two days ago already can tell i am going to become super annoying about it

[dimensionsvelo]

Zwift Companion évolue et tient compte des sorties en extérieur

Pour assurer une suivi de pointe, Zwift Companion bénéficie d’une mise à jour majeure. L’application va permettre de suivre la progression du Zwifteur de façon hebdomadaire, sur Swift mais aussi dehors ! Zwift Companion ne va pas connaître une, mais deux mises à jour cette année. Une première dès le 8 avril donc et une autre pour l’été qui vient, chacune apportant son lot de nouveautés ! En…

[atasingorneq]

Nachdem ich meinen #Smarttrainer in den letzten Monaten leider etwas vernachlässigte, habe ich jetzt mal wieder mit dem #Rollentraining angefangen. Da ich bisher #Zwift nutzte habe ich also erst mal geschaut ob es mittlerweile nativ auf Linux läuft. Natürlich geht das immer noch nicht, und auf meinem Google-freiem Custom-Rom Tablet läuft es auch nicht so richtig gut.

Eine Alternative zu Zwift muss her

Da auch die 20€ Monatsbeitrag nicht wenig sind, habe ich mich mal auf die Suche nach einer Alternative gemacht. Zunächst habe ich mir mal überlegt, was ich überhaupt möchte. Brauche ich diese Gamification von Zwift oder komme ich ohne aus? Ich habe mich gegen Gamification entschieden.

Und wo ich schon mal dabei war und #unplugTrump ja auch ein Thema ist habe ich mich nach einer Nicht-US-Alternative umgeschaut und bin sogar in Hannover fündig geworden.

icTrainer

#icTrainer ist eigentlich das, was ich gesucht habe. Die Software gibt es auf allen (fast allen) gängigen Plattformen, für Android gibt es die apk sogar als Download auf der Webseite und zu Linux habe ich das hier gefunden:

icTrainer.de hat geschrieben:

Linux: Für Linux ist eine Version vorbereitet, aber diese kann bisher leider nicht mit den Rollentrainern via BluetoothLE verbunden werden. Genauso fehlt es diesem Betriebssystem je nach Distribution auch an die Touch-Funktionalität. Daher bieten wir diese zum Download aktuell (noch) nicht an.

Auch wenn es also noch keine Linux Version gibt, haben sie Linux auf dem Schirm.

Und da das Jahresabo nur 29,99€ kostet (Zwift, #TrainerRoad usw. kann ich damit gerade mal eineinhalb Monate nutzen), habe ich icTrainer mal getestet (ein Monat kann man kostenlos ausprobieren) und jetzt auch das Abo abgeschlossen.

GoldenCheetah

#GoldenCheetah habe ich mir auch kurz angeschaut da es komplett offline funktioniert, aber dazu bin ich doch zu sehr Freizeitfahrer und die Möglichkeiten dieser Software waren mir doch zu viel (und zu unübersichtlich).

Also, wenn jemand eine Alternative zu Zwift sucht, und auf diese Gamification verzichten kann, sollte sich icTraining mal anschauen.

#Sport #Fahrrad #Rollentrainer #Smarttrainer

[sportaffin]

Heute Bundesliga vom Zwift aus geschaut – zumindest die erste Halbzeit. Ist eine wirklich tolle Möglichkeit, gleich zwei Hobbys miteinander zu verbinden.

[mylifelessonslog]

Good Saturday effort today. Having had a rest day yesterday, doing nothing bar hot yoga, I had some energy to burn today! Ploughed out the ride I wanted this morning and got my 1hr PB for average watts which is good (haven't had Zwift long so this should be beaten soon 🤣), I then got stocked on food before going for another slow treadmill run- done a few short sprints in the middle when the drum and bass tracks kicked in but still feeling twinges/tightness in my right knee so reigned it in so I could keep it going. Headed home for a mass of food and chill time before heading to club swim where we done a group competition of how many lengths in an hour, 5 people per lane. It was hard but a it was good fun! Not a lot of distance but plenty of effort was put into this.

Have to remind myself today that it's about the doing it that's fun, not being the fastest. So easy to feel a bit naff when loads are faster but the fact is loads are also slower or not doing it at all. I love the outdoors, I love feeling fit, I love doing it and the fact is the fastest times are ridiculous so there will always be people faster, so what the fuck does it matter. Wind it in, relax and love just being you.

Did manage to kick a tile in the swim session and my second biggst toe on my right foot has already turned blue at the nail and I can feel it throbbing 🤣 going to be interesting getting to sleep with that. Hopefully it'll be in fine condition for a ride and jog tomorrow.

Anyway, time for some well earned sleep. Tomorrow I shall begin my love for living again. If you can't be the fastest, be the one who enjoys it most 🔥

[thegreypedaler]

[unechainedeuxroues]

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[tripeakathlete]

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[tagnoob]

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[dimensionsvelo]

Le Zwift Ride a plusieurs longueurs de manivelles maintenant !

Quasi-parfait, le smartbike Zwift Ride n’avait qu’un défaut majeur : n’être disponible qu’en manivelles de 170 mm. La plateforme solutionne cela avec une mise à jour. Payante. Avec le Ride, Zwift propose un smartbike accessible et complet. L’amplitude de réglage est parfaite pour retrouver sa position habituelle. Sauf au niveau des manivelles, uniquement ne 170 mm donc. À partir du 16 avril…

[zuzkana]

I really miss live streaming my rides. Maybe by this fall I can get enough fitness back to actually steam once or twice a week again. Then again I would need a new mic , lights ,and webcam because my husband took them over when he started working from home .

But I do miss it.