Talk to me about Zwift.....

[ian in lancs]

Comacchio said:

ian in lancs said:

Mad!

Couldn't agree more! Some 'living inheritance' from cycling daft FIL under the instruction it's used towards a turbo setup is the only thing that made it possible.

Ha! Even better! Free money!

[stuarthat]

I used a tacx vortex for years they are very good and few of my mates still use them ,second hand around £150 ,also spd pedals insider info boardman pros are up there with the best lighter than xtr and much stronger ,couple of times on the start line and xtr just fell apart ,so far boardman pros have been flawless and with a deal around £22 , my zwift is set up on Mtb 1x10 pushing 46t up front and works for me you really can do it on a budget for taster use free trial if not sure then use a family members email and have another shot at it .

ian in lancs said:

Comacchio said:

Seventyseven7 said:

With no current equipment how much would it cost to get setup on Zwift?

Buying everything from actual online shops that is, not ‘you’ll get a bike for £50 off gumtree’

There are much (much!) cheaper ways to do it, but I went for the 'buy everything from online shops' option just before lockdown.

Wahoo Kickr 18 - £999.99
Wahoo Kickr Climb - £499.99
Wahoo Headwind Fan - £199.99
Wahoo Kickr Floor mat - £69.99
Merida Speeder 300 Hybrid bike - £575.00
Ant+ dongle - £29.99
Shimano SPD pedals - £33.99
Shoes for me - £54.95
Shoes for the better half - £54.00
Cleats - £9.99
Zwift subscription - £12.99 (PCM)
Bottle cage * 2 - £30.48
Water bottle * 3 - £24.98
Quad Lock phone mount - £82.90
Cycling shorts - £ 42.74

Total - £2721.97

Ouch!!

Mad!

Admittedly I already have Bike, kit, clothing et al, and a decent fan, so all it cost me was a smart trainer at £499 and £ 13 pm for zwift.

Edited by ian in lancs on Friday 17th April 12:29

[frisbee]

ukaskew said:

My main issue (having set this all up recently) is that text etc is incredibly small on Zwift, so using a phone is very challenging if you actually want to know what's going on.

Particuarly hard for me as I'm on rollers, so I'm moving around a fair bit compared to a trainer! I've been looking at gooseneck phone clamps to try and bring the phone across in front of me. I do have a laptop but a bit nervous about having £1500 of kit directly in front of me on rollers! I haven't come off yet, but sods law it'll be the day I'm using the laptop.

Apparently one of the "marginal gains" of top Zwift amateur racers is to display Zwift on a large screen as opposed to a laptop, ipad or phone.

[Usget]

I bought a large (32") monitor and a cheap portable stand to balance it on; and I must admit it has made the Zwift experience a lot more immersive.

I did try with my tablet mounted on a bracket for a while, but the low frame rate (it's quite an old iPad) and the slight movement of the bracket gave me motion sickness.

Best bang for buck is an Apple TV 4k and a cheap-ish monitor capable of at least 1080p. To get a more immersive experience with better graphics you're looking at four figures at least, unless you already have a high-end laptop with a standalone graphics card.

If you're just getting started and want to see if you like it or not - I'd definitely recommend balancing your laptop on something.

[DJFish]

I treated myself to an elite Drivo the outer day.
Combined with an old work laptop and a projector (someone borrowed the screen so I had to knock one up out of some skirting board and an old sheet) It works rather well.
I’ve just signed up to zwift and am really enjoying exploring all the different routes & functions.

[CooperS]

Ok to report back 100% + first attempt of Alp Zde Zwift...... bailed halfway up. I think for the time being 50% or when possible a new cassette is required.


On another note. I know in game skins or items are about time spent riding but surely opening this up to common items being bought with real money would see greater income for Zwift.

I'm level 9 as it's been a little like a gym membership . But now I'm back on i kinda want some jazzy tops and just like my PS4 dont mind throwing £5 - 10 to get the look I want.

[random_username]

https://zwiftinsider.com/kits/

Might be of help - a lot of them can be unlocked via 'cheat codes'

[Comacchio]

CooperS said:

Ok to report back 100% + first attempt of Alp Zde Zwift...... bailed halfway up. I think for the time being 50% or when possible a new cassette is required.


On another note. I know in game skins or items are about time spent riding but surely opening this up to common items being bought with real money would see greater income for Zwift.

I'm level 9 as it's been a little like a gym membership . But now I'm back on i kinda want some jazzy tops and just like my PS4 dont mind throwing £5 - 10 to get the look I want.

Good job even getting halfway! I've started the 6 week FTP builder workout plan - ramp test gave me an FTP of 161. Carried out one of the workouts on the Road to Sky route.. think after an hour and 6 minutes I'd just hit turn 11.

[frisbee]

CooperS said:

Ok to report back 100% + first attempt of Alp Zde Zwift...... bailed halfway up. I think for the time being 50% or when possible a new cassette is required.


On another note. I know in game skins or items are about time spent riding but surely opening this up to common items being bought with real money would see greater income for Zwift.

I'm level 9 as it's been a little like a gym membership . But now I'm back on i kinda want some jazzy tops and just like my PS4 dont mind throwing £5 - 10 to get the look I want.

I ride on 100%, I like the different feel that riding in low gears gives.

I can get up reasonably comfortably on 36x28. I'm pretty light though, 65kg.

[CooperS]

frisbee said:

I ride on 100%, I like the different feel that riding in low gears gives.

I can get up reasonably comfortably on 36x28. I'm pretty light though, 65kg.

So I'm currently down to 97kg which started at 103kg 4 weeks ago.

Tbh alot of it is down to my gearing. Bought cheap 105 groupset for my bike not paying to much concern to the cassette sizings just crank arm length and in the 8 months I've had it set up normal riding doesn't bother me but riding continuous hills on Zwift you feel it. My concern is being to boisterous and damaging my knees.

[anonymous-user]

CooperS said:

Ok to report back 100% + first attempt of Alp Zde Zwift...... bailed halfway up. I think for the time being 50% or when possible a new cassette is required.


On another note. I know in game skins or items are about time spent riding but surely opening this up to common items being bought with real money would see greater income for Zwift.

I'm level 9 as it's been a little like a gym membership . But now I'm back on i kinda want some jazzy tops and just like my PS4 dont mind throwing £5 - 10 to get the look I want.

But that’s the nice thing about it, if I see someone with an event kit or a rare bike, I think fair play you’ve earnt it. In all honesty I couldn’t give a toss what virtual bike someone rides in an imaginary world and whether they bought it with cash or got it through riding miles and miles, whilst it may bring zwift a bit more cash, i think for many it would dilute the appeal.

[Mannginger]

Just back into Zwift this week after selling my Peloton and replacing it with a trainer. I only dabbled first time around but it's been very enjoyable so far. 12 week FTP builder is on my to-do list!

[ian in lancs]

First attempt at the Watopia 'hilly route' on the trainer - baseline set - 23 mins and 143 watts average. This could get addictive!

[CooperS]

As someone who has been using Zwift on Apple TV i have never really understood how much easier navigating Zwift on PC is.

Anyway loaded the game on my home notebook tonight (running in mid settings) and now I have some new kits and actually got a new bike with my unspent drops.

It's a small change which I'm sure 5 mins in I won't notice but the bike is lighter and the Sigma Sport is nicer than any level 9 kit I can choose atm.

[anonymous-user]

Ryan Mullen (Trek Segafredo) set his new ftp on zwift yesterday

He seems to be moving quite well

https://twitter.com/ryanmullen9/status/12559128310...

[Usget]

CooperS said:

As someone who has been using Zwift on Apple TV i have never really understood how much easier navigating Zwift on PC is.

Anyway loaded the game on my home notebook tonight (running in mid settings) and now I have some new kits and actually got a new bike with my unspent drops.

It's a small change which I'm sure 5 mins in I won't notice but the bike is lighter and the Sigma Sport is nicer than any level 9 kit I can choose atm.

The Apple TV interface was designed by a misanthrope, I swear. It is wilfully disobedient. Considering buying/building a PC just to run Zwift so that I don't have to use it any more.

[ArnageWRC]

When the lockdown started, I dug out the old Elite 'dumb' trainer, ordered an Ant+ dongle and signed up for the free 7 day trial. Hmm, I'm not sure - I felt 45 mins was enough each day for me, and found it harder than a proper real life ride. At the moment, I'm not sure I'd get my monthly moneys worth. If it was about £5 a month, I'd probably go for it - and I do wonder if a modern 'smart trainer' may make a difference.
I maybe tempted in the autumn to buy one and then sign up.

However, I can see why it's popular.....

[Scabutz]

ArnageWRC said:

When the lockdown started, I dug out the old Elite 'dumb' trainer, ordered an Ant+ dongle and signed up for the free 7 day trial. Hmm, I'm not sure - I felt 45 mins was enough each day for me, and found it harder than a proper real life ride. At the moment, I'm not sure I'd get my monthly moneys worth. If it was about £5 a month, I'd probably go for it - and I do wonder if a modern 'smart trainer' may make a difference.
I maybe tempted in the autumn to buy one and then sign up.

However, I can see why it's popular.....

I started with dumb trainer and power meter. Got quite into . Was lucky couple of weeks ago to find a smart trainer in stock. It certainly makes it more fun and if you want to do training plans the ERG mode is great. You just pedal and the trainer does the rest adjusting the power. No need to fart about changing gear / resistance trying to hit a number.

I used to hate the turbo but now doing 4/5 sessions a week

[Comacchio]

CooperS said:

As someone who has been using Zwift on Apple TV i have never really understood how much easier navigating Zwift on PC is.

Anyway loaded the game on my home notebook tonight (running in mid settings) and now I have some new kits and actually got a new bike with my unspent drops.

It's a small change which I'm sure 5 mins in I won't notice but the bike is lighter and the Sigma Sport is nicer than any level 9 kit I can choose atm.

It doesn't make a great deal of difference in the grand scheme of things, but this page tells you what you should be spending those hard earned drops on:

https://zwiftinsider.com/what-to-buy-at-each-zwift...

[Comacchio]

Scabutz said:

I started with dumb trainer and power meter. Got quite into . Was lucky couple of weeks ago to find a smart trainer in stock. It certainly makes it more fun and if you want to do training plans the ERG mode is great. You just pedal and the trainer does the rest adjusting the power. No need to fart about changing gear / resistance trying to hit a number.

I used to hate the turbo but now doing 4/5 sessions a week

I picked up a Kickr at the end of March - coming from a relatively non-cyclist (Have a hardtail that I've used perhaps 5 times in 2 years) and having never used a turbo before I'm loving it. I'm on the bike (Bought a hybrid) at least 5 times a week now - have racked up 421 miles with 27000 feet of climbing totalling about 10000 calories I wouldn't have otherwise burnt off - that equates to 88 bottles of Bud!

Once lockdown is over and we're all back to work I'll probably start cycling to work too.