Anyone using Zwift?

[Muttley]

Question: How big a difference does a graphic card really make? Ok let me narrow it down:

1. I run a i5 PC with 8Gb memory (so Ok there I assume?)

2. HDMI out to a big screen FHD TV (1080P not 4K)

3. Very entry level graphics cards (so yeah Zwift does not go ultra here)

 

Zwift runs perfectly smooth but the graphics (in the absence of seeing anything else) looks ok-ish.

 

Is getting something better to go to Ultra on a 1080P TV worth it? Will I really see a difference on a 1080P TV if I for example buy a GTX 1650 Super Graphics card? Will it be..WOW! I mean it is close to R4k for this graphics card..and yeah I love good graphics, but will it improve a lot from normal to Ultra on 1080P (I would assume at 60fps)

 

I run mine on an Intel NUC i3 with on board graphics at 1080 and it's fine...

 

I once saw that someone likened the graphics on Zwift to PS1 graphics and I tend to agree so not sure how much of a diff a better graphics card will make - maybe better shadows and details but I don't think you're gonna be blown away.

 

If Zwift had to move to the Unreal Engine, then I'd say do it.

 

If you're interested, you can upload a Zwift log file to https://zwiftalizer.com/ to see how yours stacks up or check out some 4K Zwift content on YouTube.

[The Ghost]

Why would one not want to run it in ERG mode and / or trainer in most difficult mode?

 

On the surface it seems that it’s a good idea to have things seem as “real world” as possible?

[mecheng89]

Why would one not want to run it in ERG mode and / or trainer in most difficult mode?

 

On the surface it seems that it’s a good idea to have things seem as “real world” as possible?

I think this is going to be an ongoing debate for some time.

 

As I understand it, the difficulty level changes the steepness of you gear. The amount of work you need to put in is still the same. Think of you favourite hill. You know going up it in for example 34 42 (front ring and rear cog), you'll go at a certain cadence to achieve a certain speed. NOW, DECREASING the difficulty level on the trainer GIVES YOU another gear, BUT if you want to pedal the hill at the same speed you need to UP you cadence because you're in an easier gear. 

 

The physics remain the same, you still need the same amount of work to go up the same hill at a certain speed, regardless of which gear you use. 

[HdB]

Why would one not want to run it in ERG mode and / or trainer in most difficult mode?

 

On the surface it seems that it’s a good idea to have things seem as “real world” as possible?

I used to think that too. Then I tried the Four Horsemen route in an event, with my lowest gear being a 39x27. My legs went on strike somewhere on Alpe de Zwift.

 

With my current bike (52-36 and 11-30) I could go back to 100‰ always. Meh

[The Ghost]

I used to think that too. Then I tried the Four Horsemen route in an event, with my lowest gear being a 39x27. My legs went on strike somewhere on Alpe de Zwift.

 

With my current bike (52-36 and 11-30) I could go back to 100‰ always. Meh

If a hill is too steep then don’t you just avoid it as you would in real life, or is it difficult to know in advance?

[The Ghost]

I think this is going to be an ongoing debate for some time.

 

As I understand it, the difficulty level changes the steepness of you gear. The amount of work you need to put in is still the same. Think of you favourite hill. You know going up it in for example 34 42 (front ring and rear cog), you'll go at a certain cadence to achieve a certain speed. NOW, DECREASING the difficulty level on the trainer GIVES YOU another gear, BUT if you want to pedal the hill at the same speed you need to UP you cadence because you're in an easier gear.

 

The physics remain the same, you still need the same amount of work to go up the same hill at a certain speed, regardless of which gear you use.

If it’s essentially just “changing your gearing” then I suppose it’s fair enough since there are many gear options available out there .

[mecheng89]

If it’s essentially just “changing your gearing” then I suppose it’s fair enough since there are many gear options available out there .

I think they just try to cater for as many people as possible. It's impossible to satisfy everyone, and some people just have to understand that. I think it's nice to be able to choose the trainer difficulty. 

 

I've read more than once that changing your trainer difficulty during Zwift races makes it more bearable.

[Eldron]

I've ridden up the Huez in real life and can confirm that the default difficulty setting on Zwift is laughably easy. It's a brutal climb that the majority of hobby riders would not make without regular stops. It makes sense that they dial down the difficulty to cater for the masses. Like the others said - dropping the difficulty doesn't reduce the work required to get to the top - you just go slower (and can ride a more comfy rpm).

[The Ghost]

Here’s a video explaining what others have said about the trainer difficulty setting

 

https://youtu.be/dRTMxPgWuzU

[lechatnoir]

I run mine on an Intel NUC i3 with on board graphics at 1080 and it's fine...

 

I once saw that someone likened the graphics on Zwift to PS1 graphics and I tend to agree so not sure how much of a diff a better graphics card will make - maybe better shadows and details but I don't think you're gonna be blown away.

 

If Zwift had to move to the Unreal Engine, then I'd say do it.

 

If you're interested, you can upload a Zwift log file to https://zwiftalizer.com/ to see how yours stacks up or check out some 4K Zwift content on YouTube.

 

If Zwift is 'played' for the gaming experience, then there'll be disappointment for sure. Conversely, if Zwift is 'played' for the workout effect, while it's storming outside, well the effect depends on legs and motivation. If both of those play nicely, then the outcome will be a good one. Pick one. Right now, both cannot be had

[Andymann]

Why would one not want to run it in ERG mode and / or trainer in most difficult mode?

 

On the surface it seems that it’s a good idea to have things seem as “real world” as possible?

 

Just from a coaching perspective my wife has had athletes who have trained solely in ERG mode and had shocking IRL races because the trainer was doing all the thinking for them and they had become lazy.  So she has actually told all her Athletes that they are not allowed to train with ERG on especially if they are training for a big race.

[AllAboutRides]

Hi Zwifters -

 

I'm training on Zwift.....connect to Laptop via Bluetooth but seem like connection is dropping sometimes.

Got myself ant+ dongle and ant+ extention cable, but zwift doesn't pick up the ant+ only bluetooth.

 

I've switched off the BLE to see if it will work that way, but no luck, restarted PC, still no luck.

 

Anyone experienced this before? or any advice?

[Andymann]

Question: How big a difference does a graphic card really make? Ok let me narrow it down:

1. I run a i5 PC with 8Gb memory (so Ok there I assume?)

2. HDMI out to a big screen FHD TV (1080P not 4K)

3. Very entry level graphics cards (so yeah Zwift does not go ultra here)

 

Zwift runs perfectly smooth but the graphics (in the absence of seeing anything else) looks ok-ish.

 

Is getting something better to go to Ultra on a 1080P TV worth it? Will I really see a difference on a 1080P TV if I for example buy a GTX 1650 Super Graphics card? Will it be..WOW! I mean it is close to R4k for this graphics card..and yeah I love good graphics, but will it improve a lot from normal to Ultra on 1080P (I would assume at 60fps)

 

I recently did the whole investigation thing because my old TACX PC was not compatible with Zwift so I needed to upgrade it.  I found an article which I thought was the most informative of all the ones I read ( https://zwiftinsider.com/zwift-pc-guide/) where they said putting in a hi-end graphics card was really not necessary as Zwift was more an interactive training platform than a gaming one.  They recommended spending the money on extra memory and an SSD Drive - both which I did.  Of all the things I changed the SSD drive made a massive difference.

Edited August 27, 2020 by Andymann

[Veebee]

Just from a coaching perspective my wife has had athletes who have trained solely in ERG mode and had shocking IRL races because the trainer was doing all the thinking for them and they had become lazy.  So she has actually told all her Athletes that they are not allowed to train with ERG on especially if they are training for a big race.

 

might be some truth in that,

but

if you legs cannot produce that power then the trainer would lock up... its not like the trainer is rolling at say 250w, you have to turn the pedals to hit the numbers.

[Veebee]

Hi Zwifters -

 

I'm training on Zwift.....connect to Laptop via Bluetooth but seem like connection is dropping sometimes.

 

Got myself ant+ dongle and ant+ extention cable, but zwift doesn't pick up the ant+ only bluetooth.

 

I've switched off the BLE to see if it will work that way, but no luck, restarted PC, still no luck.

 

Anyone experienced this before? or any advice?

is your laptop picking up the Ant+ dongle ?

Think you may need to install drivers for it.

[Andymann]

might be some truth in that,

but

if you legs cannot produce that power then the trainer would lock up... its not like the trainer is rolling at say 250w, you have to turn the pedals to hit the numbers.

 

I think it was more about the guys forgetting how to ride a race in real life - she would set them intervals and they would program the trainer using ERG and then just sit in one gear while the trainer did all the work - come race day and they would forget that they had an extra 9 or 10 gears to play with.  I'll chat to her tonight and get her to refresh my memory why, but I remember it was a few of her athletes who were of the first on Wahoo Kickrs after using normal dumb trainers and their goal races were very disappointing. 

Edited August 27, 2020 by Andymann