• This topic has 57 replies, 24 voices, and was last updated 8 years ago by beej.
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  • Zwift Instability
  • njee20
    Free Member

    Tried Zwift out at the weekend, see what all the fuss is about. I remain unconvinced, seems a good alternative to sitting and just pedalling on the turbo, but who does that!? If I had 2 hours I’d go for a ride, and I’m as yet unconvinced about the training intervaly side of things.

    But that aside, it seems to crash lots. Which is annoying. I did a short 5 ‘mile’ ride on Saturday to try it out, then it just froze and lost any trace of the ride. I have a 6 second ride in my history to show for it.

    This morning it did similar, randomly crashed after 4 miles. Just stops. I left it for 5 minutes or so, but it didn’t resume responding, so I had to force the app closed. I started it again, did another 15 minutes, then finished, selected “Close and Upload to Strava” or whatever and it’s not there. Nothing. It exists in my “activity” history, but I can’t actually do anything with that.

    Running it on a comparatively well spec’d Windows 10 laptop, broadband isn’t the best: 4mb this morning, but it was working fine right until it wasn’t, if you know what I mean.

    I’m inclined to try the iPad app, as I suspect it’ll be more stable, but the screen’s a lot smaller and I don’t have a bluetooth HR strap, so a bit less data if I do do trainingy stuff.

    Anyone else had any issues? Do people do intervals and that (I’ve seen the limited library) or do you just ‘ride’?

    beej
    Full Member

    I’ve started using it to add some variety to turbo sessions – I also do Sufferfest vids, watch Netflix and I’ve just started with Trainer Road too.

    I’m using it as a replacement for the more general rides I’d be doing outside if weather/time allowed. I tend to chase the odd person and attack the sprints and climbs. It’s more intense that sitting at z2-3 watching Netflix but less intense than a decent structured interval session. I did a Sufferfest yesterday so I’ll probably do 60-90 mins on Zwift today.

    Stability has been absolutely fine, though I’m using a new W10 laptop, 12GB RAM, Skylake i7, SSD, 2GB graphics card, 30MB broadband.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Stabilisers or maybe some elbow pads?

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    Bregante
    Full Member

    I didn’t use it this weekend as I’m currently injured* but I believe from Facebook that there were lots of issues this weekend with users reporting similar instability as you mention. I’ve been using it since November and haven’t had a single problem with it but I do know that there is lots of development going on behind the scenes and it is pretty much still in its infancy so some problems are to be expected as user numbers continue to grow.

    Don’t know if it applies to you but are you using a usb extension for your Ant dongle? It works far better if the dongle is as close as possible to the speed/cadence sensor.
    For what it’s worth I think it’s fantastic for my needs. With two young kids and a wife who works away a lot, nipping out for a real ride is pretty much impossible for me most days (*and then when I do – I end up getting injured!)

    njee20
    Free Member

    Yeah I’m getting into doing 30 minutes before work, as I CBA at the end of the day and I’m sickeningly unfit, but like I say, I’m not looking for a ‘ride replacement’ as such – I’d rather do a really tough interval session. The 30 second sprints are good, but it’s not exactly good training to bimble round and randomly sprint a couple of times within a 30 minute ride. Equally just going and riding fast for 30 minutes doesn’t make much sense, and it seems a waste to use the virtual environment for an improvised interval session.

    Interesting there were other stability issues at the weekend, perhaps not just me then. I will persist as I get 2 months free anyway with Strava Premium, gives me long enough. On my very limited experience I’m more inclined to awaken my TrainerRoad account though.

    TurnerGuy
    Free Member

    works fine with my 150Mb BB…

    njee20
    Free Member

    I’d expect it to drop out if it was the connection (or give an error message), rather than just freezing and losing all the data! I’d be pretty annoyed if that happened after a 2 hour session.

    I’d probably be more annoyed at myself for doing a 2 hour session mind.

    tenacious_doug
    Free Member

    I’ve never had it drop out once, I used Friday night but not over the weekend.

    I love Zwift. I’ve never been a big turbo fan but have used it increasingly more over the last 3 years as family commitments make it harder to get out as much. Embarrassingly this winter I haven’t touched a bike other than commuting since October, though we had a second kid early November so family has been #1 priority, Zwift has been great in giving me a bit of interest to the sessions I have managed to fit in while kids are napping or late evening. I’m not after structured training sessions, just something to add a bit of interest, for that it’s great.

    njee20
    Free Member

    I’m not after structured training sessions, just something to add a bit of interest, for that it’s great.

    Think that probably sums it up, just not sure that is what I’m after!

    Rubber_Buccaneer
    Full Member

    I had to run Zwift on my ‘big’ laptop as the old one couldn’t cope. Is the ipad app the whole thing? I thought it was just a remote control for the windows version? Also noticed the need for a USB extension for the Ant+ stick. No idea why as it works fine stuck in the laptop for trainerroad.

    I only gave it a small trial before

    I’m more inclined to awaken my TrainerRoad account though.

    as although I got interested in chasing people/not being caught it ended up like a ride indoors (BKool was even worse for me). I will give them both a better shot sometime but for now trainerroad and music is suiting me.

    njee20
    Free Member

    Is the ipad app the whole thing?

    Dunno, but my power meter broadcasts on Bluetooth, so thought I’d have a go!

    Bregante
    Full Member

    Is the ipad app the whole thing?

    No. It’s just used as a remote for the programme. There are no plans to bring it to Android or iPad as apparently they just aren’t powerful enough to run it.

    njee20
    Free Member

    Killed that dead then. Will persist with laptop and see if stability improves!

    Haze
    Full Member

    Had to do a lot of updating to get my laptop to launch it, graphics drivers etc.

    Gilesey
    Free Member

    I found Zwift support really helpful, sent them some logs and had a decent response within a few days.

    I crashed. What do I do now?

    I’m mostly using Trainer Road for the structure, but run Zwift alongside on a laptop on a separate ant dongle and it’s been rock-solid since.

    krixmeister
    Full Member

    Been using it since beta, always works fine on a Mac… 🙂

    Per above – their support is excellent – definitely ping them if you have a recurring issue.

    c_klein87
    Full Member

    seems ok im my ancient macbook, apart from it does all weird and grainy at the end of intervals, but maybe its meant to?

    i believe it does have a custom workout creator, which i’ll investigate tonight whilst the latest “weather bomb” passes

    wilburt
    Free Member

    I use it on either my daughters laptop or a couple of year old imac, both are stable and able to cope with high resolution settings.

    FWIW I am becoming seriously addicted and running myself into the ground riding when I should be resting!

    I’ll do either workouts which are just the same as trainer rd etc but your on a route, group rides which invariably end like races ( as per IRL) even had a go at last nights KISS race but the big boys were too much for my trainer which runs out of steam at high watts.

    Bespoke computer and beefier trainer are in the pipeline.

    njee20
    Free Member

    Yeah I did find I ran out of trainer ‘puff’ about about 850w whilst doing the sprint segments in 53-11, which I’ve never noticed before, despite doing lots of 15 second type intervals. Suggests the VR bit does do something insofar as pushing me a bit harder!

    Jason
    Free Member

    I signed upto Zwift at the start of the year and have been using it a far bit. Only issues I have had have been down to a poor wifi signal, I have sorted that out and it has been fine since.

    I find the best bit on Zwift is group rides and races. Riding solo can be a bit dull, although if you end up with similar paced people the time can flyby. The Richmond course is a bit tedious, but Watopia is more interesting. I did one of the KISS races last week and surprised myself how high my heart rate was for the race, not far an FTP effort for over an hour – plenty of motivation from chasing other riders. Much more so than using Trainer Road. Have a look at the Zwift Teamup calender for rides and races.

    The blurry screen at the end of intervals is a design feature.

    Just about to jump on the turbo to do the Tuesday night early birds race.

    Kryton57
    Full Member

    Tried Zwift out at the weekend, see what all the fuss is about. I remain unconvinced, seems a good alternative to sitting and just pedalling on the turbo, but who does that!? If I had 2 hours I’d go for a ride, and I’m as yet unconvinced about the training intervaly side of things.

    But that aside, it seems to crash lots. Which is annoying. I did a short 5 ‘mile’ ride on Saturday to try it out, then it just froze and lost any trace of the ride. I have a 6 second ride in my history to show for it.

    +1

    Went back to trainerroad immediately #gymbunny

    njee20
    Free Member

    That’s interesting Jason, I’d noticed from Strava you were doing quite a lot, you were among my inspiration for giving it a go! Races sound good… May have to try that. Where do you find these details? There don’t seem to be any ‘options’ I’ve found in the UI? Perhaps because I’m still in my trial period.

    Bregante
    Full Member

    I can’t link from my phone but if you Google teamup zwift rides there’s a weekly calendar.

    They are open to everyone. Just click on the ride you fancy for any “rules”

    Jason
    Free Member

    Also there are a few facebook groups where rides are posted. The main ones seem to be KISS on Mondays and Thursday at 8pm. And ZTR on Tuesday and Thursday at 18:30. Slightly different rules to them both.

    Zwift are soon to launch an update to the software that will make groups rides easier to participate in. At the moment there are a few issues, but they seem pretty focused on this so it should be an improvement.

    IanMunro
    Free Member

    Never crashed on my notebook, or the pc it’s currently running on. Zwift probably isn’t happy with your graphics chip – which doesn’t really help.
    I don’t really do intervals on it, but races and group rides can be very addictive.
    If I’ve just dropped in to ride, then I tend to ride against the traffic looking for a group going at the right pace.
    There’s a list of rides here-
    http://teamup.com/ks4861763bd63ce3d8/

    njee20
    Free Member

    That’s a good link, cheers. I saw people talking about the ZNZ group while I was on this morning. Makes sense now. Sadly that looks to be the only one vaguely compatible with the time I most likely to use it!

    Will persist for now and see how I get on, both stability and functionality wise!

    wilburt
    Free Member

    After singing its praises earlier its just crashed on me, pretty sure its because I’m using the laptop though and 15m from the wifi point.

    IvanDobski
    Free Member

    Stability wise I’ve always found it ok – I think it’s crashed twice in the year I’ve been on it so can’t complain about that.

    r8jimbob88
    Free Member

    Zwift is a game changer. I used to be a full on Trainerroad advocate but now I’m struggling to see what Trainerroad offers that Zwift doesn’t.

    So much so I’ve suspended my Trainerroad account and can’t imagine I’ll go back. Zwift is Trainerroad but fun.

    markgraylish
    Free Member

    Been using Zwift for a couple of months but its never crashed as described by the OP.
    I did a session late Sunday and had no problems.

    FWIW, I believe it writes the data to your local drive so you may be able to retrieve it from your C drive somewhere
    (Google Titanium Geek…the guy behind the blog has written a comprehensive user guide and he tells you which folder to look in)

    Those complaining about lack of diversity of training plans should look at the custom workout created. The UI is very easy to use…

    As it happens, my free (Strava premium) Zwift trial has just ended so I’m gonna give Trainer Roads 30_day trial a go and compare….

    crosshair
    Free Member

    Since I’ve started using an Ethernet cable for big group rides or races, it’s rock steady.

    I’m a bit addicted. 400+ miles in Jan, new Kicker snap and doing two Zwift races a week 😳

    njee20
    Free Member

    Just did the short FTP test, it dropped out (froze) for about 3 minutes collectively in 45, which I can cope with, only did it for 20 seconds during the 20-minute effort. Everyone else disappeared though, twice, leaving me on my own in the environment for the majority of the ride, probably 35 of the 45 minutes, which I presume is a response to the internet speed, currently 5.5 mbps, so not disastrous.

    More annoying though is that when I clicked to upload to Strava it just exits (which I understand is expected) but doesn’t save anything. It’s recorded my “achievements” and my power totals for 5 seconds – 20 minute (that I’ve just set) but not the actual ride. Bit daft. Luckily I used the Garmin in tandem, half expecting this!

    Seems that’s actually an error, so I’ve submitted a ticket to their support desk.

    When the world was populated I could see the appeal today more, I overtook a group of 10 or so, and could see why you’d do that, then had someone creep past me, I was staying with them for a while, but wasn’t going to last the 20 minutes, so eased off. Again, can see that would be a great ‘carrot’ to make you ride a bit harder!

    mattjg
    Free Member

    Have been using Zwift since November, on Windows 8. I started as I couldn’t get outdoors due to injury, but will carry on now enough to justify the 8 quid a month.

    It’s always worked fine, even with, recently, over 1400 riders on the course. I’ve always used an Ethernet cable, mainly because my Windows box doesn’t have a wifi card.

    It’s good fun, well as good as turbo can be, enough to cover the subscription, and there’s more coming. I find it a lot more engaging than Sufferfest, especially now Zwift has workouts.

    I even did a ‘race’ the other day.

    It still for me remains a means to an end (keeping in shape for outdoor riding) rather than an end of itself, but many ‘Zwifters’ seem to take it more seriously than that.

    Probably people super serious racers will get more out of something more dedicated such as Trainload or Golden Cheetah, but for the rest of us (i.e. 98%) Zwift does the job.

    Efficient use of spare time is a big win. A spare hour can be very well used.

    As said above the mobile apps are just controllers for the main game running on Windows or a Mac. You don’t need the mobile apps at all.

    @njee it sounds like you’re being unlucky.

    deadkenny
    Free Member

    I never get sitting on a bike inside rather than going out riding, but I can kind of see how it makes it more interesting. That said, without trying it I already hate it as Strava is full of bloody Zwift rides now.

    njee20
    Free Member

    The turbo is horrible, but it serves a purpose, you can get fitter more quickly and effectively because it’s controlled. It’s also good if you’re short on time.

    I want to get fit, and I have very little time. This makes the turbo a good option. In the case of today I did a 45 minute FTP test session whilst WFH – I could have my work laptop there if anything happened. The weather was also shit.

    I have different goals to you. Thanks for your contribution though.

    @njee it sounds like you’re being unlucky.

    Maybe! They were extremely quick to respond to my query, which I was impressed with, and have referred it to their technical department. Will prob keep using it but with my Garmin as a back up!

    crosshair
    Free Member

    I work outside. Having the option to get some winter fitness without even more exposure to the elements is a game changer for me. Previously 20mins to an hour was max on a Turbo but now I can stay on here for ages.
    Plus I’m still in the house if our son is asleep so my wife is free to go and do stuff.

    Pawsy_Bear
    Free Member

    Ethernet cable for big group rides or races, it’s rock steady.

    Currently enjoy old magnetic turbo over last four years. But want to upgrade.

    Turbo is in living room, think instead of laptop I would run Zwift on the desktop and just run extension lead for monitor to turbo. Would this work? How would the turbo transmit to the computer in another room? Can you transmit the info from turbo to computer via USB or another cable.

    Thanks

    Pawsy_Bear
    Free Member

    I presume I can play my suffer fest videos on the computer but it must some how transmit to the turbo?

    USB cable?

    njee20
    Free Member

    You need an ANT+ dongle for your computer and an ANT+ speed sensor or preferably a power meter (I’m presuming you don’t have a smart trainer?), I suspect another room would be ok, don’t know for sure what the transmission distance is.

    Pawsy_Bear
    Free Member

    njee20, using old magnetic for past 4 years which a mate gave me for free so thinking of buying a Wahoo KICKR. Turbo sits in living room. Computer on same floor in a coach house.

    Its up grade time, I enjoy using sufferfest but zwift seems really good

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 58 total)

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