Whats happening with Zwift these days?
Anonymous
Posts: 79,667
Am going to be able to have Turbo in living room soon so wanted to get into Zwift.
Thinking of Rock and Roll 2.0 smart (as I need fluid resistance and movement of bike) but am I going to need a power meter anyway?
Getting a new TV so anything special needed there, or will any decent new TV work as a monitor?
Its the PC bit I need help with mainly. What do I need to buy (whats the best thing to buy) to put near TV?
Alienware Alpha? What else does that do?
Do PS4's or Xbox's handle Zwift?
I don't really want to buy a new PC just for Zwift. I need it to have some other use in the living room.
Laptop?
Thinking of Rock and Roll 2.0 smart (as I need fluid resistance and movement of bike) but am I going to need a power meter anyway?
Getting a new TV so anything special needed there, or will any decent new TV work as a monitor?
Its the PC bit I need help with mainly. What do I need to buy (whats the best thing to buy) to put near TV?
Alienware Alpha? What else does that do?
Do PS4's or Xbox's handle Zwift?
I don't really want to buy a new PC just for Zwift. I need it to have some other use in the living room.
Laptop?
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whilst I can't help I would be really interested in all of the above as I am in a similar position to you (albeit not in the luxury of my living room!)www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes0
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Knocking 2 rooms into 1 so will have dedicated TV area with solid floor.
Only realised today that I will not have to use garage anymore, so suddenly I am a lot more interested in wife's 'remodelling' plans :P
I hope Zwift is in Dolby Digital 7.1
Be cool if you could have a mic and speak to your buddies virtually!
Hear them saying "I'm up" (from behind) when they have caught up behind you, or hear them whizz past if they make a break etc.etc.
Virtual Sportive's soon I wager :shock:
I can hear the haters now....... "Pay someone to ride in my own home!!!"
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You'll want a relatively mid-range PC. They say 4Gb Ram and 1Gb on the Graphics. They say they are stopping support for 32bit windows, so you'll want Windows 7/8/10 64bit. Check the Graphics card has an HDMI out so you can connect to a flat screen TV and off you go.
(You'll want an ANT+ USB dongle as well for the computer to pick up any sensors on the bike).
Zwift is coming out of Beta now so not sure what it costs a month.
I suggest trying it on any old turbo you have first to see if you like it before investing in a high end turbo like that Rock n Roll one, isn't it £380? Zwift looks like it might end up having the biggest community but it's not the only thing out there and has subs charges.0 -
Zwift is about to start charging about a tenner a month.Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
ABCC Cycling Coach0 -
Make sure the Ant+ stick / dongle is USB2 too. The older Garmin Ant+ sticks aren't supported, but i've just ordered a new one from Amazon for £25 incl postage.0
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Charging starts at the end of the month although it will bring with it structured training as well as just the riding around. Not sure exactly how that is going to work yet but I do hope it includes an editor so you can create or modify your own.
Another thing sensible to buy is a USB extender cable so you can get the Ant+ sensor right next to the trainer. Various amounts of interference flying about so it really helps to get it as close as possible.0 -
Am going to be able to have Turbo in living room soon so wanted to get into Zwift.
Thinking of Rock and Roll 2.0 smart (as I need fluid resistance and movement of bike) but am I going to need a power meter anyway?
Getting a new TV so anything special needed there, or will any decent new TV work as a monitor?
Its the PC bit I need help with mainly. What do I need to buy (whats the best thing to buy) to put near TV?
Alienware Alpha? What else does that do?
Do PS4's or Xbox's handle Zwift?
I don't really want to buy a new PC just for Zwift. I need it to have some other use in the living room.
Laptop?
I just started using Zwift at the weekend and it's reall good. First thing I would strongly recommend getting a smart trainer which is compatible with ANT+FE/C, the likes of the Tacx Vortex Smart are pretty good value, having the trainer change the resistance so you feel every little rise and fall in the road changes everything, doesn't feel like 'training' just like riding outside. Plus you don't need a power meter as the trainer will report that for you.
Zwift is only PC and Mac compatible. If you're getting a PC then the most important thing to look at is the graphics card, I have an Intel i3 (so modest processor) with an Nvidia GTX 960 graphics card and it runs Zwift very smooth in 1080p. You can get the Alienware if you're stuck for space, but they are expensive for their specs.
Thankfully for me my wife welcomed the idea of buying a new PC as the one she used for working was 10 years old.
Any modern flat screen TV with HDMI will work fine, although I would try to make sure it's 1080 rather than 720 if you want the best resolution.0 -
Have just returned to Zwift after a Summer break on the roads outside...
It is working faultlessly for me on a Core i7 laptop with a 2 Gb graphics card and Windows 8.1. I am using a USB extension cable out of one of the Laptop's USB3 ports and have taped the ANT+ dongle (from my Garmin Vector 1) to the bike's downtube close to Vector pedals as I did suffer from lots of signal loss early on - it's mildly inconvenient setting this up but less inconvenient than having a signal dropout.
Bought the longest, cheap HDMI cable (from PC World) to link to the telly, otherwise you'll find that you're almost on top of the telly if you use a short cable. I think it is also possible to link out a laptop to the telly using Chromecast (if you're clever).
Also if you download the Zwift app onto your phone it will work as a "remote control" whilst you're cycling which will prevent you from sweating all over the family's laptop otherwise you will have to cover its keyoard with clingfilm etc.
Heard its gonna be £8 per month when charging comes in next week with no annual option yet. At the moment there is only one course per day (swapping between their own virtual circuit and the Richmond World Champ course) although they have said that they are looking into expanding this.
Zwift also links in with Strava so it will automatically upload your ride to Strava when you finish your ride of you want.
Having said all of the above I'm not sure that I will sign up for the pay-model especially as the rest of the world (including Europe) can get it for $10 per month... about £6.50 at today's FX rate (They are blaming UK VAT laws).0 -
I just started using Zwift at the weekend and it's reall good. First thing I would strongly recommend getting a smart trainer which is compatible with ANT+FE/C, the likes of the Tacx Vortex Smart are pretty good value, having the trainer change the resistance so you feel every little rise and fall in the road changes everything, doesn't feel like 'training' just like riding outside. Plus you don't need a power meter as the trainer will report that for you.
+1 on a smart trainer like the Vortex or Bushido. I have a fluid trainer and the level of concentration required to get anything out of Zwift is limiting for me whereas a friend with the vortex really likes it with the automatic adjustment of resistance according to terrain. I certainly don't expect to be stumping up for the paid version when Trainer Road is available and that's much better suited to a "dumb trainer" IMO.Vaaru Titanium Sram Red eTap
Moda Chord with drop bars and Rival shifters - winter/do it all bike
Orbea Rise0 -
Having said all of the above I'm not sure that I will sign up for the pay-model especially as the rest of the world (including Europe) can get it for $10 per month... about £6.50 at today's FX rate (They are blaming UK VAT laws).
It is because of the VAT in the UK. The UK law for VAT is quite complex, I tried reading it but decided it was a bad idea. The founder of Zwift is British and I believe they have some sort of registered office in the UK, so as far as the VAT office is concerned that makes them a UK company selling to UK customers so subject to UK VAT.0 -
Looking at their website, how does this work?
You log onto a "ride" and just join in?, or is it like multiplayer where you can create a "ride" for other to join etc,... so you could get lots of people joining and create a race type thing.
I cant see how it works :roll:0 -
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Looking at their website, how does this work?
You log onto a "ride" and just join in?, or is it like multiplayer where you can create a "ride" for other to join etc,... so you could get lots of people joining and create a race type thing.
I cant see how it works :roll:
Yeah it's a virtual world where everyone logs into the same place, so there's always people riding on the course 24 hours a day. So you just log in and start riding and you can ride with those already there.
There are regular races and group rides but these all take place in the same world as people who are just out for a ride on their own etc.0 -
I'd have a mini form computer permanently attached to the TV - that way you can put it out of sight and use bluetooth/wireless keyboard & mouse.0
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I cracked a rib a week ago (my fault, stupid collision) and have been looking at zwift.
My turbo sessions are usually watt based intervals. Which have the benefit of simplicity, but cn be dull. I'm starting to be able to breath a little easier so might get back on the turbo at the weekend.
For the modest cost of an ant dongle I think i'll be giving it a go shortly. Anyone linked a wahoo kickr to zwift have any advice or comments?0 -
I cracked a rib a week ago (my fault, stupid collision) and have been looking at zwift.
My turbo sessions are usually watt based intervals. Which have the benefit of simplicity, but cn be dull. I'm starting to be able to breath a little easier so might get back on the turbo at the weekend.
At the moment Zwift is riding around the island / Richmond. But Thursday next week is the big official release where they will be introducing watt based interval training, if you want to carry on with that.For the modest cost of an ant dongle I think i'll be giving it a go shortly. Anyone linked a wahoo kickr to zwift have any advice or comments?
The majority of people on there seem to be using a Kickr!0 -
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I have Zwift running well on a 5yr old desktop windows 7 Pc…and its fine..but i would agree with several others.. a smart trainer is the way to go… I got the Bushido smart as a wedding anniversary gift!!! I obviously "steered" her that way!!!
The resistance is brilliant and sooo smooth..I tried TACX and the Bkool simulators..the resistance was all over the place on them…the only other smooth software appears to be Trainer Road… just my 2pennorth0 -
I've got a Lemond Revolution which is a fabulous trainer. It's not smart but I have the wattbox which gives me estimated power reading that very closely match my p2m. Even though it's not smart I still find it very good with Zwift. I find the Zwift experience realistic enough that I automatically ride harder up the hills just like I would on the road. I used to ride in Richmond Park, but moved to the SW. Watopia reminds me of RP, but without the chelsea tractors trying to force you off the road.0
