Looks interesting. Mainly for the off road routes, just so the scenery has more potential to be interesting.
Not entirely sold on the steering but will give it a go if it comes to the public.
Errrrrm i'm not sure, but i'll certainly have a go when it's out 🙂
Mountain biking indoors? that's got to be the most pointless endeavor ever, until they invent Zwift for e-bikes.
that’s got to be the most pointless endeavor ever, until they invent Zwift for e-bikes.
Once upon a time we'd have said that about Turbos, once we'd have said it about Zwift, now the Zwift thread is one of the most regularly posted on in the site.
If MTB Zwift just gives a slightly different perpective on riding, then it's all good for me.
They used to have something similar at the gym i used, can't remember its name though.
It was surprisingly engaging in a way that i didnt find zwift to be. Needs a brake though, if you dont have to brake for corners (or get slowed down when you bump the edge or virtually crash) then its kinda pointless.
Will it still let me bottle technical bits and walk through them?
Slightly off topic but did they ever get round to doing Ant+ with android?
Hopefully they've factored in all the standing around chatting at the start/end of trail sections. Won't be accurate enough otherwise.
I wasn’t thinking of being a lifelike option to getting out on trails, more for sad gits like me that use zwift to get fit when going outside isn’t always an option.
Thought it might just give better feel if mountain bike riders could at least have mtb ish graphics whilst riding.
Thought it might just give better feel if mountain bike riders could at least have mtb ish graphics whilst riding.
A blur of green on both sides and overhead, with the occasional break in the trees where you can see a discarded tube and a wind turbine in the distance..
Why would you, when you can go outside a play?
Cheers!
I.
you don't need to wash the bike.
Why would you, when you can go outside a play
We do this every time. Because it's not always convenient. Let's say I get home from work at 3pm. My son at 3:25 gets home from school, there's little point going out for 20 minutes and once he's home I'm stuck in until 6 when Mrs Weeksy gets back. So he chills and does Xbox for example and I Zwift. Easy.
e-dogshite power-ups and a mince button - or I'm oot
Looks fun...
What does the reviewer mean about Titans Grove causing problems for trainers??
What does the reviewer mean about Titans Grove causing problems for trainers??
Interesting he says that. When i've ridden there i sometimes get surges, random ones, watt increases to 600w, then dropping to 100w. I assumed it was my trainer, but i'm now guessing it's that.
i'm looking forward to this. I zwift to keep the legs spinning when its not possible to go out into the real world, but im not really into the whole road bike thing, so if I can pretend I am riding off road, then that's all good in my book.
im not really into the whole road bike thing, so if I can pretend I am riding off road, then that’s all good in my book
Is there actually any difference between pretending to ride off-road and pretending to ride on-road?
(And, just to be clear, I mean that as a genuinely curious question as well as a passive-aggressive diss.)
I'm kinda hoping so, i'm hoping it's a bit more up and down, 20s climbs, 20s down to recover, then up, down etc...
A bit like one of the sections of Titans Grove area currently on Zwift, you can make up or indeed lose lots of ground there getting timings wrong.
Sure, nothing beats riding in the woods.. but there's better than nothing.
@Bez hopefully the psychological side of it will make it a more pleasant experience. totally placebo obviously. And highly unlikely.
failing that, I hope they allow the two disciplines to share the same world. Then I can do skids and wheelies past all those saddo road riders as I am on my way to some virtual gnar.
Tacx brought out a steering attachment years ago. It was fairly crudely implemented, so it let you navigate around their VR maps, but it felt nothing like steering a bike. I would expect Zwift's version to be a bit more sophisticated, if they are using the various sensors in a smart phone, but they will struggle to get anywhere near to replicating the genuine feel of steering a bike, which depends on leaning, not just twisting the bars right or left. As pointed out above, the absence of braking will also limit the experience. Ultimately it's just using your bike as a glorified game controller for turns, and my experience with Tacx was that was just a gimmick that didn't really add anything to using the turbo.
I'm not sure how you would implement the "veering" idea suggested for races in the review. That's going to get complicated very quickly, although it might be interesting if they introduced collision detection and you suddenly have dozens of virtual riders scattered across the road because some chopper decides to ride through the middle of a bunch!
they will struggle to get anywhere near to replicating the genuine feel of steering a bike, which depends on leaning, not just twisting the bars right or left.
You're massively over thinking this. Its not intended to train you into the next Sam Hill, its just a bit more engagement. In the same way zwift as it is wont do your road riding skills any good.
This is the one that was at the gym:
https://www.coolest-gadgets.com/virtual-mountain-bike-racing-simulator/
Like i said, it was a surprising ammount of fun.
And actually the brake will work without any mods, just go gently with the rear brake on any wheel on trainer. Or i suppose they could develop a pressure sensor that slid between the pads for stationary trainers. Wouldnt be cheap though so a little brake button for the bars is probably better.
Hmm. If they can get this to work with BMX Pipe or Downhill Domination I'm in.
You’re massively over thinking this. Its not intended to train you into the next Sam Hill
There isn't much to overthink. It's basically just turning your handlebars into a left/right game controller. Having used the Tacx steering attachment, I didn't think it added any engagement. If anything, waggling the bars to stay on a virtual track while pedaling actually felt like a fiddly distraction.
What Zwift have done better than anyone else is the multi user experience. I think they've done a very good job of approximating what it feels like to work in a bunch, and racing other people is engaging, even when you are riding on rails.
But what size wheels will make the pixels come alive?
Hmm. If they can get this to work with BMX Pipe or Downhill Domination I’m in.
If you want to practice trials riding indoors you can hook up Zwift to a pogo stick.