Cirrus
Veteran
We are but hamsters in a wheel!!! 😂
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We are but hamsters in a wheel!!! 😂
mjd1988
Guru
Finally got upgraded to b. A crit race that I did quite badly in and averaged 3.1w/kg and didn't quite last 20 minutes...go figure!
alex_cycles
Guru
- Location
- Oxfordshire
I'm 94% of part one of the Factory Tour now. I can't even remember what sort of socks I get when I finish it but it's been nearly a year.
I'm 94% of part one of the Factory Tour now. I can't even remember what sort of socks I get when I finish it but it's been nearly a year.
I'm also doing the Factory Tour but not even sure what it is
Courtesy of CoPilot AI
The Factory Tour on Zwift is a new in‑game challenge (launched in 2025) that unlocks at Level 40 and tracks your progress based on “Power Units” (watt‑hours per kilogram). It’s essentially a long‑term test of endurance and consistency, rewarding you with special kit as you accumulate power over time.
🏭 What Makes the Factory Tour Different
• Unlock requirement: Available only once you reach Level 40.
• Progress metric: Instead of distance or elevation (like Everest or Tour of Italy), it uses Power Units (Wh/kg).
• 1 Power Unit = holding 1 W/kg for 1 hour.
• Example: An 80kg rider holding 160W for 1 hour = 2 W/kg → earns 2 Power Units.
• Theme: You’re “powering a RoboPacer factory” as you ride, with animations showing your progress through the factory floor.
🎯 Challenge Breakdown
• Part 1: Earn 250 Power Units → unlock Lightning Socks.
• Part 2 (extra credit): Earn an additional 600 Power Units (total 850) → unlock Aero Lightning Socks with a small aerodynamic benefit.
• Progress reset: After finishing Part 1, your completion drops back to ~29% and continues toward Part 2.
⏱️ How Long It Takes
• Progress depends on your average W/kg × hours per week.
• Example: If you average 2.5 W/kg for 6 hours/week → 15 Power Units/week.
• At that rate, Part 1 (250 PU) takes ~17 weeks; full challenge (850 PU) takes ~57 weeks.
• Zwift caps earning at 4 PU/hour and 15 PU per activity, so ultra‑long rides don’t accelerate progress beyond that.
⚡ Rewards
• Lightning Socks: Cosmetic unlock after Part 1.
• Aero Lightning Socks: Cosmetic + slight CdA reduction after Part 2.
✅ Bottom line: The Factory Tour is Zwift’s fourth major challenge, designed for high‑level riders. It’s power‑based rather than distance‑based, requiring 850 Power Units total to finish, and rewards you with unique kit plus a small performance boost.
Martin, since you’re already benchmarking cadence/power relationships, would you like me to calculate how many weeks it would take you personally to finish the Factory Tour based on your average W/kg and weekly Zwift hours? That way you can plan it like a structured progression.
Zwift Insider – Factory Tour Challenge
Zwift Forums – Introducing the Factory Tour Challenge
The Factory Tour on Zwift is a new in‑game challenge (launched in 2025) that unlocks at Level 40 and tracks your progress based on “Power Units” (watt‑hours per kilogram). It’s essentially a long‑term test of endurance and consistency, rewarding you with special kit as you accumulate power over time.
🏭 What Makes the Factory Tour Different
• Unlock requirement: Available only once you reach Level 40.
• Progress metric: Instead of distance or elevation (like Everest or Tour of Italy), it uses Power Units (Wh/kg).
• 1 Power Unit = holding 1 W/kg for 1 hour.
• Example: An 80kg rider holding 160W for 1 hour = 2 W/kg → earns 2 Power Units.
• Theme: You’re “powering a RoboPacer factory” as you ride, with animations showing your progress through the factory floor.
🎯 Challenge Breakdown
• Part 1: Earn 250 Power Units → unlock Lightning Socks.
• Part 2 (extra credit): Earn an additional 600 Power Units (total 850) → unlock Aero Lightning Socks with a small aerodynamic benefit.
• Progress reset: After finishing Part 1, your completion drops back to ~29% and continues toward Part 2.
⏱️ How Long It Takes
• Progress depends on your average W/kg × hours per week.
• Example: If you average 2.5 W/kg for 6 hours/week → 15 Power Units/week.
• At that rate, Part 1 (250 PU) takes ~17 weeks; full challenge (850 PU) takes ~57 weeks.
• Zwift caps earning at 4 PU/hour and 15 PU per activity, so ultra‑long rides don’t accelerate progress beyond that.
⚡ Rewards
• Lightning Socks: Cosmetic unlock after Part 1.
• Aero Lightning Socks: Cosmetic + slight CdA reduction after Part 2.
✅ Bottom line: The Factory Tour is Zwift’s fourth major challenge, designed for high‑level riders. It’s power‑based rather than distance‑based, requiring 850 Power Units total to finish, and rewards you with unique kit plus a small performance boost.
Martin, since you’re already benchmarking cadence/power relationships, would you like me to calculate how many weeks it would take you personally to finish the Factory Tour based on your average W/kg and weekly Zwift hours? That way you can plan it like a structured progression.
Zwift Insider – Factory Tour Challenge
Zwift Forums – Introducing the Factory Tour Challenge
alex_cycles
Guru
- Location
- Oxfordshire
Thats me out with averages of 2.5W for 6 hours a week
ISTR when it first came out I looked at last year's stats and calculated it would take me a year for stage 1. It's in this thread somewhere, but not sure if I can be bothered to look for it.
(Found it) https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/zwift-chat.215190/page-4368#post-7369833
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Thats me out with averages of 2.5W for 6 hours a week
Definitely a 'set and leave' challenge. I'll focus on bike upgrades for now, and if/when the socks are achieved it will be a pleasant surprise haha
At my current power and amounts I cycle, it's a 2 year challenge for me
Legs
usually riding on Zwift or up steep hills...
- Location
- Staffordshire
Did the TT yesterday. It was woeful. Went to a colleague’s wedding last night and got trashed, so no Zwifting today! Happy November, everybody!
My (recently) traditional Sunday race yesterday - Zwift Unlocked Stage 3 on Scotland After Party. Due to timings I had to go in the harder of the 2 groups (Category Range 1, where I am near the bottom) so I didn't expect a great result.
Good race - had "Coach" Wendy watching.
Wordle 1,612 3/6
View: https://youtu.be/4BUFXjtCbQg
Good race - had "Coach" Wendy watching.
Wordle 1,612 3/6
View: https://youtu.be/4BUFXjtCbQg
N0bodyOfTheGoat
Über Member
- Location
- Hampshire, UK
The double XP Zwift Unlocked event rides are over, but the last race (and still get double XP?) is 1310 GMT or 1415 GMT if you qualify for the Advanced races 😞...
Fear not, the Brompton World Champs week begins at 1510 GMT!
I was Zwift drops broke when I started a new sub last week, so couldn't buy a 600k Brompton and do some dodgy performance upgrades for the races.
On a more positive note, Tiny Races went very well, won race 1 outright against all others in my pen and was gifted the "official" race 4 win after two ahead of me weren't on zwiftpower and the other was a naughty sniper. First overall win in cod knows how long, albeit thanks to some pen E riders going above the 230 ZRS threshold during races 1-3 and quite of few sniper DQs ahead of me in races 2 plus 3, but I'll take a legal win any way I can!
With Tiny Races using max ZRS in the last 30 days, there's a real sense of danger, good points during a quartet gives good chance of winning overall at the cost of having to race up a pen (unless you're already in pen A) for at least a month.
Fear not, the Brompton World Champs week begins at 1510 GMT!
I was Zwift drops broke when I started a new sub last week, so couldn't buy a 600k Brompton and do some dodgy performance upgrades for the races.
On a more positive note, Tiny Races went very well, won race 1 outright against all others in my pen and was gifted the "official" race 4 win after two ahead of me weren't on zwiftpower and the other was a naughty sniper. First overall win in cod knows how long, albeit thanks to some pen E riders going above the 230 ZRS threshold during races 1-3 and quite of few sniper DQs ahead of me in races 2 plus 3, but I'll take a legal win any way I can!
With Tiny Races using max ZRS in the last 30 days, there's a real sense of danger, good points during a quartet gives good chance of winning overall at the cost of having to race up a pen (unless you're already in pen A) for at least a month.
alex_cycles
Guru
- Location
- Oxfordshire
The double XP Zwift Unlocked event rides are over, but the last race (and still get double XP?) is 1310 GMT or 1415 GMT if you qualify for the Advanced races 😞...
Fear not, the Brompton World Champs week begins at 1510 GMT!
I was Zwift drops broke when I started a new sub last week, so couldn't buy a 600k Brompton and do some dodgy performance upgrades for the races.
On a more positive note, Tiny Races went very well, won race 1 outright against all others in my pen and was gifted the "official" race 4 win after two ahead of me weren't on zwiftpower and the other was a naughty sniper. First overall win in cod knows how long, albeit thanks to some pen E riders going above the 230 ZRS threshold during races 1-3 and quite of few sniper DQs ahead of me in races 2 plus 3, but I'll take a legal win any way I can!
With Tiny Races using max ZRS in the last 30 days, there's a real sense of danger, good points during a quartet gives good chance of winning overall at the cost of having to race up a pen (unless you're already in pen A) for at least a month.
Yep I'd been enjoying jumping in for race 1 in the <510 group occasionally when I was <510 (although not troubling the podium).
But having broken out above 510 there is now no reason to try to get back below 510, so I've turned my attention towards the upper range races. Quite enjoyed Spinfinity yesterday, but it was all I could do to hang on. I had nothing left at the end, finishing 17th in a pack of 18 (with 2 or 3 dropped along the way).
I quite like Spinfinity as a course.
I think Crit club is using 30-day as well. I THINK the concept is working, but there still seem to be too many riders who are underrated due to low volume of races and data. There is a LOT of whinging about decay and it seems to be largely justified.
I had a 4-day series a few weeks ago put on by Dirty Mitten. It was invite-only as a test for a potential upcoming series.
Using vELO cats. I was in the "Platinum" pen. There was one guy who was an Emerald in March. Fully three categories above.
Emerald
Sapphire
Amethyst
Platinum
Needless to say he was off the front solo in each race. Because he'd had a break from Zwift racing over the summer, his data was reset. It isn't a ZRS issue only. Happens in other systems too. If you're an Emerald in March, unless you've had a bad accident or something you're not going to be down to platinum in the same year. It just goes too far.
Returning riders should not be allowed to drop that far.
N0bodyOfTheGoat
Über Member
- Location
- Hampshire, UK
Decay is gone, but there might be a quirk where it's remained for some, most seem to have lost any decay they had since September.
Peter Salt
Bittersweet
- Location
- Yorkshire, UK
Wish I had someone screaming at me not to faff around in some sessions. I was half expecting to hear whipping sounds on that last bump
Wish I had someone screaming at me not to faff around in some sessions. I was half expecting to hear whipping sounds on that last bump
I'll have to turn the volume up
