Anyone else on Zwift? - Page 4

old fat man · #46 02-24-2015, 08:30 AM

I'm trying to give it a chance, but boy, Zwift stinks so far. Won't work on my Lenovo laptop due to a graphics card compatibility issue. Barely loads on my new Macbook and regularly loses the ant+ signal to my powermeter. The worst thing is that I can't mute it and listen to my own music or video, or show on the Mac at the same time.

Definitely not something I'd pay for.

djg21 · #47 02-24-2015, 09:04 AM

It works well on my Dell laptop, which is 4 years old and has an NVIDIA GeForce video card. I use a Computrainer, and the only thing that has been an issue is the cadence, which reports high frequently.

Overall, it is fun, and is useful as a diversion. I still prefer doing structured intervals using Ergvideos, and then use Zwift when I'm done to get some additional endurance "miles."

FWIW, I'm skeptical of amateur riders claiming to have FTPs close to 400 watts. FTP is the average power one can sustain over an hour. Pro cyclists have FTPs in the range of 400-500 watts. http://www.bicycling.com/training-nu...files-cyclists.

Dr Luxurious · #48 02-24-2015, 09:48 AM

finally got it running.

did a few solo recon rides. definitely better than staring at a garage wall.
also did ride with 2 other guys. took turns hammering each other on the hills and sprints. that was pretty cool. an hour went by really quickly and I wanted to keep going but I had to do other things. pretty significant that I actually wanted to stay on the trainer after my allotted time!

a little glitchy with power & speed - pretty jumpy - wattage will regularly spike/dip by 50+. not a big deal when riding solo but it's crappy when riding with others.

One cool thing I noticed: your on-screen legs match your real world cadence. I was doing leg speed drills while riding with other guys. on the hills, my guy was spinning and in the saddle while the others were standing and mashing.

kramnnim · #49 02-24-2015, 10:43 AM

Quote:

prob needs to be optimized. It doesnt look that good that needs the latest and greatest card.

The graphics are scaled down to match your GPU. My Laptop's GT750M runs in "Medium".

A GTX 750Ti will run High nicely, but you need a bit more to get Ultra. (1920x1080)

Ultra looks quite nice, lots of detail. (stitches between the jersey pockets are visible)

Anyway, I've logged 60+ hours so far, including a 5 hour century on Saturday. Usually I leave it in one corner of the screen and watch tv in another corner.

Oh, and Jens says he will be on in a couple of hours.

Dr Luxurious · #50 02-24-2015, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramnnim

including a 5 hour century on Saturday.

Oh, and Jens says he will be on in a couple of hours.

5 hr century

who's Jens?

kramnnim · #51 02-24-2015, 11:56 AM

Recently retired Pro Tour rider...

Or if that was a subtle jab, it made me smile. Not a big fan of his, but know many are.

Dr Luxurious · #52 02-24-2015, 05:09 PM

Oh! That guy.
Kind of assumed it was someone at the company; developer, programmer, etc...

bcgav · #53 02-24-2015, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djg21

It works well on my Dell laptop, which is 4 years old and has an NVIDIA GeForce video card. I use a Computrainer, and the only thing that has been an issue is the cadence, which reports high frequently.

Overall, it is fun, and is useful as a diversion. I still prefer doing structured intervals using Ergvideos, and then use Zwift when I'm done to get some additional endurance "miles."

FWIW, I'm skeptical of amateur riders claiming to have FTPs close to 400 watts. FTP is the average power one can sustain over an hour. Pro cyclists have FTPs in the range of 400-500 watts. http://www.bicycling.com/training-nu...files-cyclists.

Definitely some gaming of the system going on, most likely people not being honest and way underreporting their weight to get their W/kg unrealistically high. Saw some guys going steady between 5.5W/kg - 6.5W/kg for way over 5min.

Virtual Dopers...

djg21 · #54 02-24-2015, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bcgav

Definitely some gaming of the system going on, most likely people not being honest and way underreporting their weight to get their W/kg unrealistically high. Saw some guys going steady between 5.5W/kg - 6.5W/kg for way over 5min.

Virtual Dopers...

I was referring to the post above, and not to Zwift. But I did laugh when I saw someone riding at about 9W/kg for a good long time tonight.

There was a very funny exchange on the Zwift support forum a day or so ago. Someone was complaining that he had the green jersey, but had it taken from him by someone named M. McCarthy who was putting up huge numbers -- the inference being that the numbers were suspicious. Of course, Mike McCarthy is a former pro road and track rider who won a world champion jersey in the 4km pursuit and now works for Zwift. It was a very funny exchange.

Tonight I passed Taylor Phinney. His avatar was standing still on the side of the road, so he likely was just starting of finishing a ride. This is probably the only time I'd be able to pass him!

bcgav · #55 02-24-2015, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by djg21

I was referring to the post above, and not to Zwift. But I did laugh when I saw someone riding at about 9W/kg for a good long time tonight.

There was a very funny exchange on the Zwift support forum a day or so ago. Someone was complaining that he had the green jersey, but had it taken from him by someone named M. McCarthy who was putting up huge numbers -- the inference being that the numbers were suspicious. Of course, Mike McCarthy is a former pro road and track rider who won a world champion jersey in the 4km pursuit and now works for Zwift. It was a very funny exchange.

Tonight I passed Taylor Phinney. His avatar was standing still on the side of the road, so he likely was just starting of finishing a ride. This is probably the only time I'd be able to pass him!

Ha awesome. If I run into Mike McCarthy I won't even try to hang!

fiataccompli · #56 02-25-2015, 08:47 AM

Mine continues to work pretty well. Riders ahead tend to dart off in the side and then reappear over my left shoulder but as far as the general idea, function, data display and (most importantly) it being almost entertaining, it works. Some of my glitches are probably due to an old wireless router and less than ideal Comcast speed. There was a huge group yesterday mid-day (EST) perhaps because a lot of people wanted to ride with Voigt. I can say I dropped him on a climb...woohooo!.....but in reality he was probably spinning is petals backwards to calibrate his power meter or letting one of his kids ride at the time-ha!

they have added some video game kind of features that seem really silly to me but maybe they're addressing the crowd they are aiming for

(That's me in the orange/black and Voigt in polka dots......but something tells me you need more than 199 watts to actually beat a freshly retired pro at...well, anything. But it made for a funny picture)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

makoti · #57 02-27-2015, 12:41 PM

Used it again today. It updated before I could start. I thought that they put in a new course, but it appears that they just turned it around & we went the other direction. Fine, but still need more choices.
However, what ever the bug is that tosses you around the road for a few seconds before straightening you up again seems worse. Now, not only do I spin around wildly, but I can watch other riders do the same thing. That, at least, broke up the day a bit.
I'd never know if I was riding with a pro or not. I'd need my glasses on to see the print on the screen & that's not something I do.

Michael Maddox · #58 02-27-2015, 01:03 PM

I've been on Zwift since Day One, and have actually enjoyed it. Switched from Computrainer to a Kickr a couple of months ago and am still liking it, though I spend most of my time using TrainerRoad. The system isn't perfect, but it's a darn good shot at a MMO racing and training simulator. To their credit, creating a large distributed app for such a widely disparate set of hardware is VERY difficult.

We should get up a group ride!

djg21 · #59 02-27-2015, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael Maddox

I've been on Zwift since Day One, and have actually enjoyed it. Switched from Computrainer to a Kickr a couple of months ago and am still liking it, though I spend most of my time using TrainerRoad. The system isn't perfect, but it's a darn good shot at a MMO racing and training simulator. To their credit, creating a large distributed app for such a widely disparate set of hardware is VERY difficult.

We should get up a group ride!

I may attempt a century this weekend. Probably tomorrow AM. I wish the course were longer. Something about laps of a 3 mi. virtual course triggers my PTSD and flashbacks of long races in Prospect Park. At least I can binge-watch something on Netflix.

Andreas · #60 02-27-2015, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fiataccompli

There was a huge group yesterday mid-day (EST) perhaps because a lot of people wanted to ride with Voigt.

Recognize the names, I was riding then.
Is that really Jens? Common name in Germany and could have been Juergen, Johannes etc. Either way, he was going slow and I went past the crowd on the screen.

Ted was riding on zwift until he left for Spain 10 days ago or so.

Overall it is ok, it has been sub 20F for 6 weeks and is distracting enough.
All I do is steady pace riding, no hard efforts. Still in the top 100 for climbs and loops, so I do not think there are too many people manipulating.