Eric Schlange – Zwift Insider https://zwiftinsider.com News, tips, and reviews for Zwift fanatics Wed, 03 Apr 2024 17:14:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5 https://zwiftinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/zwift-club-icon-48x48.png Eric Schlange – Zwift Insider https://zwiftinsider.com 32 32 122334635 Epic Races Announced for Paris Roubaix Weekend https://zwiftinsider.com/paris-roubaix-epic-races/ https://zwiftinsider.com/paris-roubaix-epic-races/#respond Wed, 03 Apr 2024 18:00:00 +0000 https://zwiftinsider.com/?p=105296 This weekend is a favorite in many cycling fans’ calendars as the world’s top riders are racing The Hell of the North – Paris Roubaix! With its challenging cobblestone sectors, rabid fans, and storied history, this attritional race is one not to miss.

Zwift is the title sponsor of Saturday’s women’s race, officially titled “Paris Roubaix Femmes Avec Zwift”, and has spun up some epic long races for the weekend to honor the event.

See upcoming Epic Race events at zwift.com/events/tag/prfaz >

Events begin at the top of the hour every hour, Saturday and Sunday, April 6-7.

Each hour alternates between a “standard” race and a “long” race:

Standard Race: 3 laps of France’s R.G.V.

Length: 72.7km (45.1 miles) // Elevation: 399m (1309′)

Long Race: 1 lap of France Classic Fondo

Length: 145.9km (90.6 miles) // Elevation: 1099m (3605′)

More Race Details

These races use category enforcement, so you can only sign up to a category that matches your power numbers, or a higher category if you choose.

For these races, all riders are leaving the start pens together. That means you will start off riding with riders from all categories. Be sure to pace yourself and don’t blow up early trying to hang with stronger riders!

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Tiny Race Series – April 6 Routes and Last Week’s Results https://zwiftinsider.com/tiny-race-week-87/ https://zwiftinsider.com/tiny-race-week-87/#respond Wed, 03 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0000 https://zwiftinsider.com/?p=105213 See zwiftinsider.com/tiny for current Tiny Race details.

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Zwift Update Version 1.62 (128160) Released https://zwiftinsider.com/update-1-62-0-128160/ https://zwiftinsider.com/update-1-62-0-128160/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2024 15:00:00 +0000 https://zwiftinsider.com/?p=105216 Zwift version 1.62 begins its phased rollout today. It’s a minor game update, but does include a new level 100 unlock (confetti socks!) and a note from Zwift about upcoming XP system changes. See details below…

Confetti Socks!

When Zwift revamped rider levels in December 2023, they promised a second prize for level 100 riders. This week’s update delivers that prize: confetti socks!

Level 100 riders who are wearing confetti socks have a special ability: their Ride Ons are confetti-filled and include a +2XP bonus! That is, when you receive a Ride On from a confetti sock sporting rider, you’ll see confetti on your screen, and get a small XP boost.

You’ll also unlock the “Party On!” badge the first time you get a Ride On from a level 100 Zwifter. This badge is worth an additional 50XP:

Here’s what it looks like when our bot gives a Ride On bomb to the five closest riders:

The confetti is only visible to the rider who gives the level 100 Ride On, as well as the rider who receives it.

Like the fire socks, confetti socks can be put on or taken off via your garage:

Zwifters who have already reached level 100 (impressive!) will see confetti socks unlock the first time they sign into Zwift version 1.62.

XP Changes (Now and Upcoming)

This week’s update includes some changes to Zwift’s XP system, but there are much bigger changes coming soon. Zwift says, “We’ve heard your feedback that the new 100-level system (along with bonus XP from ride streaks) makes leveling-up much more achievable and engaging than it was in the past, but that there’s a desire to make leveling-up more challenging and prestigious, especially for higher levels.”

In this week’s update, weekly ride streak XP bonuses are now only granted for the first ride of each week, instead of the first two. Also, XP details (your current cycling level and XP remaining until the next level) are now shown in the Ride Report:

Zwift says the 100-level system will be revised in May. We don’t have all the details, but Zwift shared the following:

  • The XP required to reach maximum Level 100 will increase from the current 591,000 XP to 1,000,000 XP.
  • Leveling-up will still be faster than the previous 60-level system, helping to make progression feel more attainable.
  • You will not lose any levels or progress when moving to the revised system. Whatever your current level is, you will keep that same level in the revised system.
  • There will be no change to the amount of XP required to reach your immediate next level. You’ll earn your next level based on the requirements of the previous system and the revised system will take effect after that.
  • There will be no changes to XP requirements for Levels 1-27.
  • The amount of XP required to earn levels will continue to increase proportionally for higher levels as it does with the current system. Compared to the current system, the revised system will have a moderate increase in required XP throughout levels 28-50, a higher increase between levels 50-90, and a further higher increase between levels 90-100.
  • Just as with the previous 100-level system, existing Zwifters will receive “XP discounts” based on their ‘banked XP’ from the previous level system to reach their equivalent new level in the revised system faster. This means that you’ll still get the satisfaction of leveling up, but each level will be faster to earn while you complete the transition to the revised level system.

Read/discuss upcoming XP leveling adjustments on Zwift’s forum >

Fewer Streaks Screens

Zwift continues to fine-tune the experience of their recently introduced Streaks screen. Starting with today’s update, it will only show when you start a new streak, or when your streak increases to a new week.

That means the screen will only pop up once each week, instead of after every activity. Hurray!

Virtual Shifting Sound

Zwifters enjoying the glory of virtual shifting will now hear a slight sound effect whenever they shift. Want to hear it? Click below, and listen closely…

Bug Fix: Apple TV Logouts

For Apple TV users, Zwift says this update, “Fixed an issue that could potentially cause users to be logged out or reset their game settings after an update.” Zwifters were complaining that Zwift would inconsistently lose their login status or settings when an update was installed, forcing them to re-log in and set up settings, which feels like more hassle than it already is when you have to use the Apple TV remote to do it!

Today’s update should stop this from happening.

More Release Notes

Zwift provided notes on additional tweaks and bug fixes in this update:

  • Improved the look of tiles on the edges of the home screen.
  • Added missing workout localization to the HUD and Workout dashboard in the Zwift game.
  • macOS: Fixed an issue that could cause a yellow line to appear across the roadway when using 2015 (and earlier) Mac devices.

Discuss this release on Zwift’s forum >

Questions or Comments?

If you spotted any other changes or bugs in the update, please comment below!

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It’s April Fools’ Day on Zwift… https://zwiftinsider.com/april-fools-2024/ https://zwiftinsider.com/april-fools-2024/#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2024 12:00:00 +0000 https://zwiftinsider.com/?p=105078 This is our 10th April Fools’ Day on Zwift, and each year ZHQ has come up with something fun for the community. For the last two years we had special April Fools’ Day events, and in 2021 we were big wheeling. In 2020 we were transported to 1989, and in 2019 we were burning rubber. The year before that it was Paperboy. In 2017 we had big heads, 2016 gave us the old-timey effect, and in 2015 we rode big wheels on Jarvis.

This year Zwift has a new surprise – VR goggles. Ha!

Removing Your Goggles

Not interested in being silly? Visit your garage and choose the no headgear option, and the VR goggles will go away.

Your Thoughts

Share below!

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Notable Zwift Events for the Weekend of March 30-31 https://zwiftinsider.com/events-20240330/ https://zwiftinsider.com/events-20240330/#comments Fri, 29 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0000 https://zwiftinsider.com/?p=105126 This weekend Zwift hosts some BIG events: the final Zwift Games stages, L’Etape du Tour Main Stage events, Zwift Big Spin parties, BMTR’s ever-popular Flat 100, and more! See our picks below…

✅ Endurance Challenge  ✅ Popular Event  ✅ Kit Unlock  ✅ Highly Competitive

Zwift Games ends this weekend, so it’s your last chance to finish the Climb and Epic stages!

For the Climb stage, A/B riders will be taking on Road to Sky (including Alpe du Zwift!), while C/D riders will be on the new Mountain Mash route.

For the Epic stage, A/B riders are on Zwift Games 2024 Epic, while C/D riders will be on Three Little Sisters.

See our guide for all things Zwift Games >

Multiple time slots all weekend
See upcoming open events at zwift.com/events/tag/zg2024
See upcoming women-only races at zwift.com/events/tag/zg2024wmn

✅ Popular Event  ✅ Kit Unlock  ✅ Sportive

The L’Etape du Tour de France series launched last month and hundreds of riders turned up. This month the events have been tweaked – they are now officially group rides instead of races, but the ride shows your placing and finishing rank, giving them a “sportive” feel. Rest assured, riders will be racing these events, especially those near the front!

This weekend is the second “Main Stage” L’Etape event, and competitors will take on a lap of The London Pretzel (56.2km, 576m of climbing).

Multiple time slots all weekend
See upcoming events at zwift.com/events/series/virtual-letape-du-tour

✅ Beginner Friendly ✅ Unique Unlocks

The Zwift Big Spin series underway, and all of us gambling-addicted Zwifters are already signed up for this weekend’s group rides. Clearly we love to spin together and unlock new prizes, including the Atomic Cruiser and Tri Spoke wheel!

Read all about The Zwift Big Spin >

This weekend we’re still in NYC for Stage 3, then on Monday we move to France for Stage 4. Insider tip: Stage 4’s shorter routes cover 2 laps in each event, meaning you get 2 prize spins!

Multiple timeslots all weekend
See upcoming events at zwift.com/the-zwift-big-spin

✅ Popular Event  ✅ Legacy Leaders  ✅ Kit Unlock  ✅ Endurance Challenge

One of our most commonly-featured events, for good reason. The BMTR Flat 100 consistently gets big turnouts because it offers four different pace groups on flatter, distance-friendly routes. Be sure to read the event description for details!

Saturday, March 30 @ 12:10pm UTC/8:10am EST/5:10am PST
Sign up at zwift.com/events/view/4302984

✅ Innovative Format

On the final weekend of each month, Summit Seeker events are held up at Alpe du Zwift. In these events, RoboPacers help you pace yourself to some of the most popular time goals: 49 minutes, 59 minutes, 69 minutes, 89 minutes, and 119 minutes.

The event takes place on the Road to Sky course in Watopia – the shortest route that takes you up Alpe du Zwift.

Multiple time slots this weekend
Browse Summit Seeker events at zwift.com/events/tag/alpepacer

How We Make Our Picks

We choose each weekend’s Notable Events based on a variety of factors including:

  • Is the event unique/innovative in some way?
  • Are celebrities (pro riders, etc) attending/leading?
  • Are signup counts already high, meaning the event is extra-popular?
  • Does the ride include desirable unlocks or prizes?
  • Does the event appeal to ladies on Zwift? (We like to support this under-represented group!)
  • Is it for a good cause?
  • Is it just plain crazy (extra long races, world record attempts, etc)?
  • Is it a long-running, popular weekly event with a dedicated leader who deserves a shout out?

In the end, we want to call attention to events that are extra-special and therefore extra-appealing to Zwifters. If you think your event qualifies, comment below with a link/details and we may just include it in an upcoming post!

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Wahoo KICKR CORE Zwift One Now Shipping to Australia https://zwiftinsider.com/core-one-australia/ https://zwiftinsider.com/core-one-australia/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2024 18:00:00 +0000 https://zwiftinsider.com/?p=105061 When the Wahoo KICKR CORE Zwift One was announced in February, Wahoo+Zwift promised it would begin shipping to Canada and Australia in March. Canadian availability was announced last week, and today Wahoo added the CORE One to their Australian website, priced at AU$1059.95.

This is big news for Australian Zwifters who have been waiting for virtual shifting capabilities. While Australians still don’t have easy access to purchasing Zwift’s Play Controllers, the CORE One ships with the Zwift Click device which provides simple up/down buttons for easy virtual shifting.

It also ships with the Zwift Cog which, when coupled with virtual shifting, makes the trainer easily compatible with a wide range of bikes including mountain bikes, road bikes, gravel rigs and more.

CORE One Specs

Built on Wahoo’s well-established KICKR Core line, the CORE One has all the capabilities required to deliver a high-quality Zwift experience. Here are the trainer’s key specs:

  • Zwift Click included for virtual shifting
  • Calibration: automatic
  • Cassette: Zwift Cog (compatible with most 8-12 speed bikes)
  • Accuracy: +-2%
  • Flywheel: 12lb
  • Max Wattage: 1800 W
  • Max Incline: 16%
  • Cadence: built in
  • Communication: ANT+ and 3-Channel Bluetooth
  • Axle Compatibility: 130/135mm quick release, 12×142/12×148 thru-axle
  • Weight: 18kg
  • Physical Dimensions: 9″L x 23″W x 21″H (closed), 20″L x 23″W x 19″H (open)

About Virtual Shifting

With virtual shifting, your chain doesn’t move between different rear cassette cogs when you shift. Instead, a virtual shift changes the resistance of your smart trainer so it feels like you’ve changed cogs. This is how smart bikes like the Wahoo KICKR Bike, Wattbike, StagesBike, and Tacx NEO Bike have always worked.

Why do Zwifters like virtual shifting? Because it beats mechanical shifting in several ways:

  • Fast, smooth, quiet: with no chains skipping between cogs, your shifts are completely silent, perfectly smooth, and lightning-fast.
  • Less wear and tear: your chain won’t wear out as quickly, and neither will the Zwift Cog, since it is built beefy because weight is not a concern.
  • Shift under full load: no need to ease off the pedals when shifting under power, as your chain isn’t going to “skip” when virtual shifting like it can with mechanical shifting.
  • Compatible across many bikes: no more spinning out on your low-geared mountain bike, or needing to swap cassettes if you swap bikes. Virtual shifting works with almost any 8-12 speed bike and auto-calibrates to your physical gearing.
  • No more fine-tuning: many riders have to fine-tune their physical shifting when moving between outdoor riding and a direct-drive trainer, since the cassettes aren’t lined up exactly the same. The Zwift Cog doesn’t require any such fine-tuning… just shift to a physical gear that has your chain lined up straight on the Cog and you’re ready to ride.
  • Expanded gear range: Zwift’s virtual shifting currently supports a virtual 24-speed setup, which is more gears than most riders have on their outdoor setups. Additionally, the gear ratio range is very wide (from .75 to 5.49), meaning everyone should find that virtual shifting offers more easy gears and more hard gears than your mechanical gearing.
  • In-game visualization: with Zwift’s virtual shifting, you can always see what gear you’re in on screen.

Zwift’s virtual shifting was rolled out to the Zwift Hub in late 2023, and it’s arguably the most significant technological advance we’ve seen in smart trainers in years. The CORE One is the first non-Zwift trainer to support virtual shifting, and that’s big, good news for Zwifters.

Shop Now

Australians can purchase the Wahoo KICKR CORE Zwift One on Wahoo’s website today.

Questions or Comments?

Share below!

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“Col du Rosier” Climb Portal Details https://zwiftinsider.com/col-du-rosier/ https://zwiftinsider.com/col-du-rosier/#respond Thu, 28 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0000 https://zwiftinsider.com/?p=105176 See zwiftinsider.com/portal/col-du-rosier/

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“Lap It Up” ZRacing April Series Details https://zwiftinsider.com/zracing-lap-it-up-2024/ https://zwiftinsider.com/zracing-lap-it-up-2024/#comments Wed, 27 Mar 2024 18:30:00 +0000 https://zwiftinsider.com/?p=104921 Zwift’s “ZRacing” is the platform’s most popular ongoing race series, and in April we’re racing multiple laps of shorter courses, including the new Glasgow Reverse course which has never been used before! Read on for details about race routes, the overall monthly GC competition, and more…

Lap It Up – April’s Route Schedule

Here are the routes we’ll be racing in April (click route for details):

  • Stage 1 (Apr 1-7): Champs-Élysées
    • 3 laps (23km, 130m elevation)
    • Powerup: Feather, Steamroller 🛈
  • Stage 2 (April 8-14): Glasgow Reverse
    • 6 lap (19.3km, 198m elevation)
    • Powerups: Aero Boost, Feather 🛈
  • Stage 3 (April 15-21): Seaside Sprint
    • 3 laps (21.8km, 174m)
    • Powerups: Feather, Draft Boost 🛈
  • Stage 4 (April 22-28): Bridges & Boardwalks
    • 3 laps (20.9km, 188m)
    • Powerups: Draft Boost, Aero Boost 🛈
  • Stage 5 (April 29-May 5): London Classique
    • 2 laps (16.5km, 94m)
    • Powerups: Draft Boost, Ghost 🛈

See upcoming Lap It Up events >

Zwift Community Live(stream)

Nathan Guerra at Zwift Community Live is providing commentary and a live stream of each Monday’s 6:10pm UTC/1:10pm Eastern/10:10am Pacific race. Click here for the playlist of upcoming ZRacing broadcasts.

Series Structure

The ZRacing series consists of monthly sets of weekly races. Each race is scheduled for seven days (beginning 1:10am UTC on Monday and running through to the next Sunday). Timeslots are consistent week to week and month to month.

Races are scheduled ~15 times each day, so there are plenty of available times to find a race.

See upcoming events at zwift.com/events/tag/zracingapr2024

Monthly GC on ZwiftPower

Each monthly series includes a time-based GC (general classification) tracking riders’ best finishing times for each week’s race. The overall winners in each category for the month are the riders with the lowest overall time for that month’s set of races.

See April’s GC on ZwiftPower >

With over 100 weekly timeslots available, riders can race each week’s event multiple times and try to better their finishing time. Tip: the fastest times usually come from the largest race fields!

You must use a heart rate monitor and be on a smart trainer, smart bike, or power meter to show up in ZwiftPower results for this series.

If you aren’t signed up for ZwiftPower, check out our post How to Sign Up for ZwiftPower (and Why Every Zwifter Should Do It).

Get the Badge

Each month’s ZRacing series has a unique achievement badge, which you can unlock by finishing every stage for the month.

There are no makeup events, so if you miss a stage, you miss out on the badge and competing in the GC.

One and Done

Zwift has planned these events to deliver a solid 1-hour workout, so each race should only take around 1 hour to complete, including your warmup and cooldown.

Questions or Comments?

Post below! 

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“Glasgow Reverse” Route Details https://zwiftinsider.com/glasgow-reverse-route/ https://zwiftinsider.com/glasgow-reverse-route/#respond Wed, 27 Mar 2024 18:16:07 +0000 https://zwiftinsider.com/?p=105161 See https://zwiftinsider.com/route/glasgow-reverse/

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Tiny Race Series – March 30 Routes and Last Week’s Results https://zwiftinsider.com/tiny-race-week-86/ https://zwiftinsider.com/tiny-race-week-86/#respond Wed, 27 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0000 https://zwiftinsider.com/?p=105125 See zwiftinsider.com/tiny for current Tiny Race details.

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