Zwift Chat

[IrishAl]

Always makes me laugh how people are such tightarses about Zwift subs then show you their new bike with SRAM Red and it only weighs 6kg and cost 5 grand Then off to the cafe to spend £8 on a bacon bap and a coffee.

Just priorities are different, I guess. Makes me giggle though.

😂

I’m one of those…I cancel Zwift April through September, I even plan the majority of my outdoor longer spins to come back home for coffee and a bit of cake 🤩 and my ‘new’ £5k Ribble has only been out on the road about 5 times in the 16 months I’ve owned it - £1k per ride 😭

Edit. PS high all 👋 only 9 weeks until October 😫

 

[Dorset Boy]

Given the amount of bad weather over a typical summer, unless you like riding in wind, rain etc, then you either keep subscribing, or don't ride at all. I reckon you'd ride at least 4 times a month, probably double, during a typical British summer.

 

[KingstonGraham]

if you’re not using it, you don’t need 25 km free each month 😂

Its true - I didn't use it in July so paying would have been a waste.

I honestly don't think it's good for them to encourage me to try somewhere else if there's a rainy weekend in August. And it's an annoyance for me.

 

[Brusgaard]

Things are much easier now but I got so used to being careful with my spending that I have to force myself to splash out now. I will probably subscribe to Zwift or TPV but not both and also use MW, since it is free.

TPv is free to use every 1st Tuesday of the month.

 

[ColinJ]

TPv is free to use every 1st Tuesday of the month.

Excellent - thanks! I won't be doing much on the turbo trainer until foul weather arrives but then I want to give TPV, Zwift and MW good tests.

 

[Norry1]

Given the amount of bad weather over a typical summer, unless you like riding in wind, rain etc, then you either keep subscribing, or don't ride at all. I reckon you'd ride at least 4 times a month, probably double, during a typical British summer.

I've only ridden indoors twice since the beginning of May - and done about 2,500 miles outdoors.

 

[Norry1]

.... just re-subscribed to Zwift. I took the Free 60 day Offer - even though the email said it lapsed after 15 July, it still worked for me First payment 3 Oct.

 

[CXRAndy]

I did my Zwift first race in many 🌙

 

[bridgy]

Is anyone else thinking ahead to racing in the autumn/winter and which bikes to prioritise upgrading when using Zwift now?

With racing in mind it seems like upgrading the SL8 is the obviousl choice first, but after that it's not so clear cut. I'm thinking to do the Specialized Aethos next as it's the best climbing bike so might be useful in some mountainous races, and then maybe a TT bike. I can't really see what else I'd be bothered about upgrading after that!

Anyone else prioritising different options to those for upgrading?

 

[Norry1]

....... I,ve been off Zwift for several months now and missed all this bike upgrading stuff.

Can anyone give me an idiots guide to things I should consider doing that have changed or arrived in the last say 4-5 months?

 

[CXRAndy]

You pick a brand, keep riding it until for like what seems thousands of miles, buying small upgrades on the way. Then do it again with another bike and another. Spend all your drops buying a halo bike. By then 3 years has passed

 

[bridgy]

....... I,ve been off Zwift for several months now and missed all this bike upgrading stuff.

Can anyone give me an idiots guide to things I should consider doing that have changed or arrived in the last say 4-5 months?

Well, with bike upgrades it basically boils down to when you ride a particular frame, you get to upgrade it in 5 steps to improve things like aerodynamics, weight etc. The amount you have to ride it depends on whether the bike is deemed to be low end, medium, or high end, with high end taking more effort. Most road bikes you upgrade by distance ridden, but specialist climbing bikes (i.e Spesh Aethos) and mountain bikes by elevation gained, and TT bikes it's by time ridden. Each stage upgrade you unlock, you have to spend drops to get the upgrade.

It's all quite complicated, and theres an added layer involving special "Halo bikes" which take even longer to upgrade becase you first have to upgrade 3 ther bikes of the same brand before you can even start on them.

The performance differences between not upgraded and fully upgraded are actually quite significant so if you race, it is worth thinking about what to focus on and using that bike for workouts etc to build up the miles towards your upgrades.

More details here - https://zwiftinsider.com/bike-upgrade-details/

 

[bridgy]

....... I,ve been off Zwift for several months now and missed all this bike upgrading stuff.

Can anyone give me an idiots guide to things I should consider doing that have changed or arrived in the last say 4-5 months?

There's also been some changes in terms of the fastest frames and wheelsets so that's worth looking into if you start racing on Zwift again as you might make different choices now.

E.g. the Tron is no longer the best all-rounder so a default choice for most races like it used to be - it's one of the fastest on the flat, but pretty rubbish at climbing now. The Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8 seems to be the best all-rounder

 

[alex_cycles]

Is anyone else thinking ahead to racing in the autumn/winter and which bikes to prioritise upgrading when using Zwift now?

With racing in mind it seems like upgrading the SL8 is the obviousl choice first, but after that it's not so clear cut. I'm thinking to do the Specialized Aethos next as it's the best climbing bike so might be useful in some mountainous races, and then maybe a TT bike. I can't really see what else I'd be bothered about upgrading after that!

Anyone else prioritising different options to those for upgrading?

I have about 66km left for level 5 on the SL8 and I haven't really thought further ahead than that.
As you mention, I would suppose Aethos would be a good bet if you plan to do any climbing races.
Honestly though I don't do many TTs or climbing races so I'd expect the SL8 to have given me the biggest bang for my bucks and km.
I think the upgraded SL8 is better than the unupgraded Aethos though on climbing - but fully upgraded the Aethos is best.

 

[Peter Salt]

Is anyone else thinking ahead to racing in the autumn/winter and which bikes to prioritise upgrading when using Zwift now?

With racing in mind it seems like upgrading the SL8 is the obviousl choice first, but after that it's not so clear cut. I'm thinking to do the Specialized Aethos next as it's the best climbing bike so might be useful in some mountainous races, and then maybe a TT bike. I can't really see what else I'd be bothered about upgrading after that!

Anyone else prioritising different options to those for upgrading?

Not too much. I'm upgrading different frames as I'm riding but there's no massive plan. I am riding the ones that eventually unlock Halos though.

I've got the SL8 and Aethos at max level and Venge at lvl 3. Dogma at max, and Zwift Buffalo, Handcycle, and Aero all at lvl 3. Will get the Halos when I do all the necessary upgrades as have loads of drops and nothing else to do with them.

EDIT: I think Tron is still best all-rounder once you upgrade it to max. But not sure.