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TECH NEWS
Zwift screen 8 - 1Zwift adds structured training sessions to virtual world
Zwift, the online system that allows you to ride 3D courses with other cyclists from around the world via your turbo trainer and computer, is moving to a paid for subscription service and adding a new Workout Mode of structured training.
Up until now riders have been able to use the beta version (software that’s still in development, prior to full general release) of Zwift without payment but from 29 October there will be a non-contract pricing structure of £8 per month in the UK (US$10 elsewhere).
Go to our previous story for details of how Zwift works.
In the existing version of Zwift that has been available for the past year you can compete on Strava-style segments and go for King of the Mountains times, but the Workout Mode is an entirely new addition aimed at improving your fitness.
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“Zwift’s structured training or ‘Workout Mode’ will focus on gamifying the training experience to make it more inspiring and engaging,” says Zwift.
Gamifying, huh?
“In the beta version that will be released later this month, riders will experience newfound levels of motivation as they receive encouragement from other cyclists on Zwift’s virtual course. In the year since Zwift launched, the community of riders pioneering this new form of indoor cycling have expressed a high level of interest in structured training. Zwift’s first step to offer workouts that are highly social and inspiring will provide a point of departure for users to train on Zwift.”
The beta product will offer you a selection of workouts. It will start with some pre-programmed workouts and will move to supporting user generated/created workouts.
Other Zwift users will be able to see when you are doing a workout by colour coded hologram screen out front, so they'll know when you're giving it a hard effort.
The beta mode of structured training, like the new subscription pricing, will be introduced on 29 October.
If you signed up and downloaded Zwift before this month, you’ll be in line for a founding member virtual kit when these changes are introduced. Zwift allows you to customise your image on the screen to a degree. You can now virtually ride the Canyon Speedmax CF SLX (below), for example.
Zwift says that over the past year riders from over 100 countries have put in more than 300,000 rides covering over 4.5 million miles.
For more details go to www.zwift.com.
Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.
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18 comments
Ahh, Fukawaitribe, I didn't see a clear process/forum to set up rides/races with others though makes sense. BSIM/Bkool is set up to allow you to join rides, leagues etc so perhaps more friendly or advanced. Like you say, good to have options. I have ridden both versions of Richmond and eerily similar in feel, the crunch coming as the hill ramps up. I am just waiting for trainer road to resolve an issue with bkools ant fec implementation so I can mix up TR and sufferfest for some real pain this winter!
Absolutely more advanced
Currently most of the larger rides and regular events are organised by volunteers through the Zwift Riders Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/zwiftriders/
..so it's very much a community, rather than official, effort at the moment. That said, Zwift seem very engaged with it and there are some 'proper' event / team stuff coming in the near future - will wait and see what transpires but the current setup is fine for me for now even if a bit random sometimes
Hope that gets sorted for you soon - see you on the 23rd Jan for the ToS 2016 ?
Sufferlandia? Sure! Did it 2 years ago and it hurt.
Sufferlandia? Sure! Did it 2 years ago and it hurt!
It does that, doesn't it ?... a lot. Last years Stage 8 was the nastiest two and a half hours i've spent on a bike (Revolver, Violator and Half Is Easy) albeit for an important reason. I await next years route with.. errr... 'interest'.
Anyone interested in bkool rides should head over to the cyclechat forums where we have a dedicated and friendly forum for rides, set up, issues etc. as well as a mountain goats league. One of the regulars has set up a 100ish climbs league based on Simon Warrens book and we are-slowly for me-working our way through them individually or sometimes together.
Thanks Bobinski I'll take a look at cyclechat
I also hope that once they start making money from Zwift they will expand the routes on the island.
It's good it's not contracted.
I can use Zwift from December to March and not have to worry about paying for the rest of the year when I'd rather be outside riding my bike in the real world.
Just need to sort my sensors out for the turbo.
Zwift is a great motivator, enough for me to do two century (miles) rides on Zwift island. I'm looking forward to the structured training when it arrives. I tried Bkool free a while back on my iPad and never got it work properly with my Kickr. I'd love to do some classic climbs. Do I have to use the paid version of Bkool just to get it working, or is the free version able to give me a taste of what it's like?
I have a kickr too. You need premium to get all the routes, videos, analysis, leagues etc
I use a windows 7 laptop with ant+ dongle. Download bkool simulator called BSIM. Either use the website to schedule a course or the simulator to jump onto live sessions with other riders. You use the simulator to access your schedule course. It is a little convoluted to start with but then it falls into place.
Great feedback, thanks. We'll run something on how to set yourself up on Zwift in the next couple of weeks, for those who aren't au fait with the tech.
For me Zwift has been great motivator to get on my bike after work. I don't like the idea of riding in rush hour traffic. Would I pay for it? Perhaps, if there is comprehensive workout mode.
P.S. Group rides didn't work for me.
Another bkool user here. Generally a much more immersive experience than Zwift largely because you can ride with others, set up leagues etc. but also because there are so many courses as well as all the great climbs. Zwift remains limited by comparison with only 2 routes though I do enjoy the occasional ride.
The variety of roads/hills to try from all around the world makes Bkool addictive. I would never travel around the country trying out Hardknotts pass, then Ditchling Beacon, but I have them all to hand, some with video of the actual route. Loading my own routes from previous outdoor rides is a nice feature too. 'Watch' , ghost and bots features I could go on
Whilst the range of rides in BSIM (or Tacx/BikeNet and many others) is clearly higher you certainly can ride with others in Zwift and there are regular race/group ride events organised. In fact it's the racing side of it that really got me hooked - just riding the island or Richmond on your own does get dull, but the competitive side of it is great.. I really hadn't appreciated how well that works in sporting terms and in the implementation of the physics until I jumped in and started doing it.
Official teams / leagues aren't there yet but some sort of team stuff is in the pipeline apparently. For me it's a great addition to TrainerRoad and Sufferfest and i'd consider BSIM if I had a smart trainer and not already got Tacx TTS.
I really quite liked BSIM when I tried it, but didn't have a controllable trainer back then and unfortunately the Bkool trainers both had the same show-stopper issue for me. Nice bit of software though and great there's a already a decent choice out there for those that like this sort of thing.
Edit : love the 100 climbs idea
One of my team mates uses this. His performances this year have been very impressive. I'd put part of that to how hard he pushes himself on Zwift.
Good to see Zwift enhancing their simulator. I use Bkool Sim, pay the subscription per month. I really enjoy the interactive aspect as well as joining other riders either on my workouts or joining theirs