Zwift is more acceptable than strava
mbrig11
Posts: 22
Zwift is fun, a good training aid and convenient, especially in this post apocalyptic weather.
Strava is a saturated mess of noobs and peacocks.
Thoughts?
Strava is a saturated mess of noobs and peacocks.
Thoughts?
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Comments
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They do completely different jobs though, so not really comparable0
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Use zwift and you might get quicker on Strava so you hate it less.0
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Don't people post their zwift rides to strava anyway?
I've never used Zwift but I'd rather spend an hour riding in rain than an hour riding in the garage.0 -
IMO Zwift is great for training but please, don't ever mistake it for cycling.FCN = 41
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Why are you comparing oranges with alligators?1
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I have brought this up because its a cycling discussion forum. Also, I am bored and woke up much too early for my night shift.
I have been sneered at for using both at one time or another.
Strava used to be great, with meaningful challenges but now it's more of an advertising board for cycling brands. Also, they shut down my friends brilliant website which he spent hours making because they saw it as being in direct competition with Strava and it used their api. It was a segment competition, so I don't see how it was in competition.
Personally I would rather ride in my spare room than in the rain, but I live in an area with malicious drivers and awful road surfaces. And I have ridden my routes so much that none appeal in the wet muddy conditions of early winter.
But I think zwift should be looked on more favourably than it is. I am using it to build my fitness for our traditional NYE (outdoors) century ride. And it is cycling, just not outdoor cycling.
I was only joking about the post apocalyptic weather, although the constant dreary greyness does remind me of the film 'the Road'.
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For me, Strava is more acceptable than Zwift. I use Strava all the time, I like logging my rides, and I like to use it to plan new rides and revisit old ones. If I have been out with my mates and gone well, I'll use it as ammo with them, but if I haven't, it isn't the end of the world.
A friend has Zwift and it has transformed his riding. He has the mental traits to have made these improvements outdoors on real bikes anyway, but he has got where he has in less time by using Zwift.
What really gets my goat is the data from Zwift appearing on Strava like proper rides. I know that you can go as hard as you like on Zwift, as you can outside, but just getting on a bike outdoors in winter is harder, takes more mental effort. Someone riding 10k in doors will probably be fitter than me riding 5k outdoors, but it is not the same.0 -
Strava's fine.You can fool some of the people all of the time. Concentrate on those people.0
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I detect little child syndrome.I ride a bike. Doesn't make me green or a tree hugger. I drive a car too.1
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People looking back at "the good old days" when Strava was different makes me feel old.
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I'm the second of three, and the only one who cycles.StillGoing said:I detect little child syndrome.
I just wanted to see what people thought.
If I can't sell my brand new venge that I acquired through insurance then I will probably be back on Strava next year anyway.0 -
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It was only a few years ago they had the challenge to climb 21000 metres in three weeks but it feels like longerkingstongraham said:People looking back at "the good old days" when Strava was different makes me feel old.
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I detect the OP is trolling.... And a only child!StillGoing said:I detect little child syndrome.
Zwift is ok for keeping a base level fitness when the weather is to pants to be outside.
It is biased to small light people, which means a lot of people put their stats in wrong.
In the real world I can average 21/22mph on Zwift I get my arse handed to me on plate by everyone of my friends who in real can can't even avg 19/20mph in real life.
Why?
Because I'm 2 meters tall and 100kgs and all of my friends are at least 10-20cm smaller and about 20+kgs lighter.
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I remember when I rode up Alpe d'Huez on the day the tour went up it. Nobody passed me going up. I rode it on Zwift this week when it was too icy to go out. Loads of people passed me. And passed me at twice the speed I was going.
Maybe some are near professionals but I think its more likely some of their power readings are too high.
At the end of the day though - it doesn't matter - out on the roads is a much more accurate test.0 -
"Weight dopers" might be quite common in Zwift, but there is such a huge community that there's always likely to be better riders. All you can do is be honest with your weight, use an accurate power meter and focus on your own efforts.
At least in RGT it shows you the total weight of you and the bike, so I used to increase it to take account of the weight of my Cube and 1.5Kg of water, to make climbing a bit more realistic for when the outdoors season begins.================
2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo0 -
I'm the second eldest, why lie? And I weigh 66 kgs, I'm 5ft 10. Which made all four of my outdoor everests easier than they would have been had I been heavier. 👍jollygiant said:
I detect the OP is trolling.... And a only child!StillGoing said:I detect little child syndrome.
Zwift is ok for keeping a base level fitness when the weather is to pants to be outside.
It is biased to small light people, which means a lot of people put their stats in wrong.
In the real world I can average 21/22mph on Zwift I get my 20p for the swearbox handed to me on plate by everyone of my friends who in real can can't even avg 19/20mph in real life.
Why?
Because I'm 2 meters tall and 100kgs and all of my friends are at least 10-20cm smaller and about 20+kgs lighter.0 -
It tells you the w/kg people are supposed to be riding at. I agree when it says 6w/kg for an extended period of time it does seem unlikely.fenix said:I remember when I rode up Alpe d'Huez on the day the tour went up it. Nobody passed me going up. I rode it on Zwift this week when it was too icy to go out. Loads of people passed me. And passed me at twice the speed I was going.
Maybe some are near professionals but I think its more likely some of their power readings are too high.
At the end of the day though - it doesn't matter - out on the roads is a much more accurate test.
I have a super bike for outdoor riding, I suppose some people would take umbrage at too.0 -
To be a devil’s advocate though, you might as well say that someone lucky enough to be living somewhere with nice weather in winter wasn’t doing “proper” cycling either..davep1 said:For me, I know that you can go as hard as you like on Zwift, as you can outside, but just getting on a bike outdoors in winter is harder, takes more mental effort. Someone riding 10k in doors will probably be fitter than me riding 5k outdoors, but it is not the same.
At the end of the day you are sitting on a bike and turning the pedals. How about track cycling, should that not count either?
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You forgot to tell us how big your willy is.mbrig11 said:
I'm the second eldest, why lie? And I weigh 66 kgs, I'm 5ft 10. Which made all four of my outdoor everests easier than they would have been had I been heavier. 👍jollygiant said:
I detect the OP is trolling.... And a only child!StillGoing said:I detect little child syndrome.
Zwift is ok for keeping a base level fitness when the weather is to pants to be outside.
It is biased to small light people, which means a lot of people put their stats in wrong.
In the real world I can average 21/22mph on Zwift I get my 20p for the swearbox handed to me on plate by everyone of my friends who in real can can't even avg 19/20mph in real life.
Why?
Because I'm 2 meters tall and 100kgs and all of my friends are at least 10-20cm smaller and about 20+kgs lighter.
Oh hang on, maybe you just did.0 -
You forgot to tell us how big your willy is.
Oh hang on, maybe you just did.
To whom are you referring, Jolly Giant or myself?
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Zwift is miles better, my fat mate that averages 16mph outside manages 23 -24mph consistently on Zwift.. Plus he can climb so much better in his garage and all the miles add up. this year he's nearly ridden as far as me and in a fraction of the time.
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They are both perfectly fine with me though I have never used Zwift, acceptance is not something I really care to much about in cycling and neither should you1
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I've used Zwift once when it first started and felt it was too much like a video game, also I wasnt what i'm looking for which is a personal 1:1 training session or plan, no carrots to chase just myself to beat up.
What I dont understand is all the other virtual training programs i've tried seem to represent virtual speed very close to actual, Zwift on the other hand is totally BS as described above, known riders putting out speeds and power they can no way match on the road and going up climbs like its flat when those that know them know full well they can not do that, so is it the companies 'Game' element to keep people engaged and paying subs or is it because Zwift default settings are 50% of the real world combined with inaccurate riders settings and no wind drag factor?
Perhaps there are literately tens of thousands of undiscovered could-be-pro +6W/kg riders out there?
All that being said, i'm not putting it down, any riding is good riding in my book and if it encourages people to exercise it has to be good.Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.0 -
6W/Kg?! At my weight I couldn't manage that with a jet engine strapped to my back.You can fool some of the people all of the time. Concentrate on those people.0
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i'm sort of okay happy in the knowledge that all my turbo sessions using Tacx or Rouvy etc (not Zwift) match my real world speed and watts or rather lack of both, if i just use my garmin with power then my speed is 50% or more and distance starts to creep out as well, aka the Zwift effect ;-)Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.0 -
I really don't understand your point. Obviously if you enter an inaccurate weight and/or don't use an accurate power meter then your speed and power will not be accurate, but that's hardly the fault of Zwift..itboffin said:I've used Zwift once when it first started and felt it was too much like a video game, also I wasnt what i'm looking for which is a personal 1:1 training session or plan, no carrots to chase just myself to beat up.
What I dont understand is all the other virtual training programs i've tried seem to represent virtual speed very close to actual, Zwift on the other hand is totally BS as described above, known riders putting out speeds and power they can no way match on the road and going up climbs like its flat when those that know them know full well they can not do that, so is it the companies 'Game' element to keep people engaged and paying subs or is it because Zwift default settings are 50% of the real world combined with inaccurate riders settings and no wind drag factor?
Perhaps there are literately tens of thousands of undiscovered could-be-pro +6W/kg riders out there?
All that being said, i'm not putting it down, any riding is good riding in my book and if it encourages people to exercise it has to be good.
The models Zwift implements to represent speed on climbs are pretty accurate - if you are going up significantly faster than you would do on an equivalent real climb then it's because you're cheating, not because there is anything wrong with Zwift. Yes, the default resistance settings are at 50% but that doesn't affect speed, only gearing and feel. This may have a slight effect on speed compared to a very inappropriately geared bike on an equivalent climb in the real world, but not otherwise, and not if you set the resistance to 100%.
Anyone on Zwift who is putting out +6w/kg for prolonged periods and isn't extraordinarily talented is not using an accurate power meter or has not entered their weight correctly.
<<edit - are you saying that Zwift is displaying power figures that are different from those that your power meter is indicating on your Garmin? If so, there is something wrong with the power meter you have connected to Zwift or the way that you have connected it>>0 -
Zwift seems pretty accurate to me, bearing in mind that there are no roundabouts, junctions etc to slow me down, no headwinds, no real rolling resistance, don't have to slow for corners, no fear of bonking miles from home.
The main difference from real life though is that you can ride in a little impromptu group and draft each other at 25mph plus.
Im going to have to get Strava again for the festive 500 though.
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