[Closed] Zwift - unfit person friendly?

Theres loads of 1.5w/kg rides. They're quite social and a reasonably easy pace for most i'd guess.

There's not many 30 mins races, but 45s are common.

the KISS Frist base race is for D riders only and a short ish distance.

Edit :
I and i bet some others would also be very much up for a social introduction ride at a slow pace. Crosshair did a couple of faster ones about 6-12 months back, but i'd happily cruise round on a rest day and talk rubbish with STWers.

There are regular WBR 1 lap races but they are fast and like a HIIT workout so you are going all out for 15-20 mins.
When I 1st started on Zwift I just used to do regular 20 mile rides and I would just try and do it as quickly as possible. I also did regular outdoor rides with mates and it was quite obvious how quickly it had improved my fitness.

Look for something like ZZRC - they always ran decent sessions last winter... .not been back on yet, PC is off for repair at the moment...

you can talk to other users? using a headset? or do you have to type... which would be rather awkward I imagine.

You use a thing called "Discord" which is an open mic type scenario.

The channel is setup, each person you know or want get a link. The OP sets it up and you all chat etc...

Assuming it's a social pace, people should be able to chat, but some like music and some are trying to breathe so it can be hit and miss.

The only headache you might find is idiotic people entering lower category races so they can be faster than everyone else and stroke their egos by zooming off. This then results in people taking off to chase them down and before you know it a social ride is just another fragmented group.

I’m hoping it’s ok for unfit types. I sliced my knee open quite badly in a crash 5 weeks ago and had surgery followed by 2 weeks in a splint. Can just about turn the pedals again for 5 minutes at a time. A work colleague had an ACL repair 2 weeks ago. We are planning to rehab together via Zwift...

Has anyone tried using an e-bike for Zwift?

Has anyone tried using an e-bike for Zwift?

Nah but i use the KTM when racing Crosshair 🙂 I've never seen anyone try so hard 😀

but for now I'm just looking for slow bunch type rides to tag on to - does such a thing exist?

Even if you can only manage half the race at first and then quit or just drag yourself over the line dead last, it doesn't matter cos a) no-one will care and b) your fitness will improve very quickly given 2 or 3 races a week!

The pack ride paces are achievable and they dont leave people behind. You can also just freeride which is what I spend a lot of my time doing because that way I dont have a schedule to fit within.

I have to be honest though that by the sounds of you as a rider I dont think zwift will be the social expereince you hope it will and I forsee you getting quite bored and unmotivated quite quickly. Is there not an outdoors club/ride who have a steadier pace and are more sociable that you could join in with. The most sociable experience I find in zwift is having a friend who uses it together and we end up freeriding together and egging each other on up the climbs via the voice message feature in whatsapp.

I must say that I do love zwift but I'm like the opposite to you, I have a weekly target and I do whatever it takes to get those miles in. Even if it means Sunday evening at 8pm fitting some zwift time in! Even with the zwift academy recently I didn't find it as sociable experience as I'd hoped, yeah sure we all rode together and stuck together but if you tried to get a chat going on at the same time, most people were just concentrating on riding and breathing at the same time!

I've done a couple of the Pack social rides (last one had over 400 riders!), quite enjoyable and yes a lot easier than racing! Seem to be a few regulars when I've checked the discord chat channel so I guess the potential for a social thing is there.

Tbh though it'd be great if there were a few more STWs lining up in the races - I rode with Weeksy & Muggo on my last one and it really helped with the motivation even though we weren't actually communicating!

You don't have to race on Zwift, I've been using it for over a year and am yet to join one. Equally I've not really engaged in any social side of it, for me it's about alleviating the boredom of being on the turbo and it does that job very nicely indeed.

madhouse - Member

You don't have to race on Zwift, I've been using it for over a year and am yet to join one. Equally I've not really engaged in any social side of it, for me it's about alleviating the boredom of being on the turbo and it does that job very nicely indeed.

+1.

Been on it almost a year & I'm yet to do one race. I tried a couple of group rides, but didn't really see the point; they were never quite at the pace I wanted to ride at, so I was either holding back too much, or unable to keep up.

I just pick a route, stick a playlist on & ride.

Or do a specific workout. I find that is good to do once a week to break things up a bit - and if you've done a few rides before starting the workouts, they will automatically suit your fitness level based on your FTP level (that Zwift will automatically store).

(sorry, slight thread hijack)

This might sound like a stupid question but does anyone get motion sickness using zwift? I haven't tried it yet but get motion sickness watching POV mtb videos on youtube!

I'm considering it as a fitness thing when I can't get out on my mtb as much as i'd like - doubt I would race, but like the idea of following virtual routes.

rickonwheels - Member

This might sound like a stupid question but does anyone get motion sickness using zwift? I haven't tried it yet but get motion sickness watching POV mtb videos on youtube!

I would be amazed if you could get motion sick watching Zwift. It is clearly computer graphics, rather than anything approaching 'video' quality, so I don't think your brain would be 'fooled' & there is not a great deal of scenery close-up that whizzes by.
You can choose different camera angles too. I normally have it set to 'camera behind me' rather than a POV type thing....

I would be amazed if you could get motion sick watching Zwift. It is clearly computer graphics, rather than anything approaching 'video' quality, so I don't think your brain would be 'fooled' & there is not a great deal of scenery close-up that whizzes by.

I forgot to mention I also get motion sickness playing guitar hero and simpsons "hit and run" (the last computer games I played a few xmases ago!).

rickonwheels - Member

I forgot to mention I also get motion sickness playing guitar hero and simpsons "hit and run" (the last computer games I played a few xmases ago!).

Ah. Hmmm. You could always install it & 'just watch' to see how you get on.
The trial only starts when you actually ride, so you could install it & when you open the program you have the option to 'just watch' from the page where you connect the trainer & other sensors.

Once you've done that, you will be in the Zwift environment. Down the right hand side of the screen will be a list of riders. Look for one who's putting out a decent w/kg value & click on their name. You will then follow them.
The number keys change the camera angle, so you can fiddle around with that & see how you get on; it should give you an idea of whether it makes you motion sick or not...

The trial only starts when you actually ride, so you could install it & when you open the program you have the option to 'just watch' from the page where you connect the trainer & other sensors.

Once you've done that, you will be in the Zwift environment. Down the right hand side of the screen will be a list of riders. Look for one who's putting out a decent w/kg value & click on their name. You will then follow them.

If you've got a smart trainer already or can borrow one for a few days, Zwift does a free week trial membership with no upfront payment needed that'll give you a good idea of whether you 'get it' or not.

Personally I'm not bothered about the social side of things, but then I'm quite happy solo riding in real life too and I'll happily bury myself in a Sufferfest workout as well. Everyone's different though and probably the best way of seeing if it works for you is simply to see if you can find a way of trying it.

I don't get motion sick btw, but occasionally I find myself easing off the pedals coming into a sharp turn and leaning slightly...

Edit: someone else got there first, so seconded here.

Thanks all, sounds more welcoming than I feared. I guess I was mostly worried it was all organised races at cat1/2 level (or just potter about on your own). I don't mind getting dropped (I used to specialise in getting lapped in crits) but wanted to start off just riding around in a bunch and then have a way of dipping the toe in the water of doing some more competitive stuff to help the motivation.

I have to be honest though that by the sounds of you as a rider I dont think zwift will be the social expereince you hope it will and I forsee you getting quite bored and unmotivated quite quickly. Is there not an outdoors club/ride who have a steadier pace and are more sociable that you could join in with

I do want to get back into outdoor club rides but I know with zero fitness + crap weather I'm going to talk myself out of it every Sunday morning. Hoping at least if I get some fitness back with Zwift that I'll force myself out on the odd cold (but sunny) winter ride and remember I actually enjoy it and get back into it.

Does that mean we can all become Weeksy stalkers for free then?

OP, if you've raced crits in the past I suspect you will easily find a zwift cat that suits you - even right now but definitely after a few weeks

Loads of good points already made. If you search around on FB there are lots of groups for slower rides with thriving communities.

Might be worth doing an FTP test (I know I know 😉 ) to see whether you actually are slow- you might be surprised?

IF you were too slow for the Sub 2.0 group rides then I'd be inclined to fudge your weight ( 😮 ) initially which would give you the confidence to get going.

Interestingly, Zwift reckon (and I don't believe it but they'd know I guess) that racing is only done by less than 10% of their user base! So there's plenty else going on.

For me (not everyone gets this mind you) Zwift works because I am 'moving'. In a dark room with a big TV, it feels like I'm covering ground. And that's what I love about cycling so it was just enough of a trick to fool my brain. There is a LOT of road to explore with the recent additions so you may be surprised how much enjoyment just riding around gives you. And then, you'll doubtless end up riding along with someone so just hit the group message button and chat- that can waste 30 minutes easily. I have a couple of social media friends now who I've met purely through chatting on Zwift and they've also had a Zwift wedding already from a couple who met on there!

Zwift is pinning a lot of hope on group workouts right now to compete with the Peleton online Spin Classes where you interact with a coach during a group workout. These actually tie you to the ride leader so no matter if you are doing 30w or 300, you'll get a group experience.

I use Trainerroad to provide me with my training prescription now but I still ride the workouts on Zwift to a) trick me into thinking I'm moving and b) to rack up miles on Strava 😆

Get stuck in 🙂

This might sound like a stupid question but does anyone get motion sickness using zwift? I haven't tried it yet but get motion sickness watching POV mtb videos on youtube!

you can pick a variety of camera views so I'm sure you'll find one that works.