Anyone using RGT Cycling, thoughts?

Fixed. When I launched RGT this morning to give it one more try, I got a pop-up asking if RGT could access Bluetooth. I said yes, and then when RGT finished loading and I went into sensors, low and behold, my Stages SB20 and Polar OH1 were found and I could connect. Now I just need to actually try and ride RGT - probably Friday for Day 1 of Festive500 as it is supposed to rain in San Francisco started tomorrow, and rain straight through to Wednesday, December 29. :cold_sweat:

Related to the graphics discussion, it does matter what equipment you have. I plan to grab some Z & RGT screens from similar environments (city/city, forest/forest, etc.) to get proper comparisons.

But for now, and as a firm believer that RGT is the more “reailistic” of the two apps (proper equipment and setting in use), here is just one RGT example of a more real scene vs the more cartoonish colors and display in Z. I know this is not a perfect comparison, but it’s a taste for now.

RGT

Z

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:cloud_with_rain: Yeah I’m 100 miles East and even with a recovery week have 2 hour rides on the calendar that always beg to be done outside. Rain rain go away!

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Yeah, I prefer the Zwift graphics there. I admit I’m clearly in the minority though.

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I actually don’t mind either but hate the stupid dino, yeti, roadrunner, and other “characters” that dumb down the experience for that wonderland psychosis. The biggest draw of RGT is its physics and magic road, but I do miss clocking 20+ mph while barely pushing the watts on the flats.

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Yeti LOL, you got me trying to think of a funny way to post that here:

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I much prefer the Zwift graphics all around. But I’ll take better physics over better graphics every time.

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Depending on when you last rode, they have about doubled the number of “worlds” they offer now. Some are really short crit type courses, so they are still well behind the total virtual km’s compared to Z.

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The people I know that use RGT, load courses for upcoming road races and use it pre-event for familiarization/training. In that sense they have unlimited course variety and more importantly its courses you are care about. For more hands off experience, I also see Bkool and Rouvy virtual rides in my Strava feed which allows you to visit some interesting places with no air travel required :joy:

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For those that don’t know, that is the “Magic Roads” option, and is only available to Premium (paying) members from what I can tell. It is cool option, with some limits (100km max), that I still need to try (via free Premium test of 14 days) to see how it works. Sounds like nice option that will definitely open the range if you are OK with riding in the autogenerated world it offers (2 types to choose from as of now).

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Zwift is more expensive, and has some free option that is not well publicized and after digging for details I still am not sure what would happen is I rode beyond the time (or mile) limit. Maybe it was late at night when I read it, or have bad memory of reading it.

The free RGT option is really straightforward. Its free and limited to 3 courses.

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No, it doesn’t use Google Maps info for images.

RGT has some form of “auto world builder” that drops details like trees, rocks and such in some method to create a fake world. It is a relatively accurate representation of the road pitch, curves and such (relative to the accuracy of the GPX file), but the scenes are built upon one of their two “world engines”.

It will not necessarily look anything like the real world location, other than the path and pitch of the road.

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and ride in sim mode, your legs get to respond to the same gradients as the actual course.

I don’t know about graphics.

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Yeah, the Z one is some form of distance base option allowed each month. I don’t remember the distance specifically, but it is around what most of us would consider normal in a single trainer ride. I think people have ridden past that limit, but that is a very rough memory and I have never tested that option myself.

Agreed that the RGT free option is superior to Z in every way.

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Two canned sceneries
RGT Classic: RGT Cycling Magic Roads - Our Awesome, Ride Anywhere in the World Feature - YouTube
Spring in Europe: New Magic Road Scenery on RGT! *First Ride Live* - YouTube

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Last week I was pretty happy that RGT:

  • had a free rolling option (Leuven) suitable to make for a challenging zone2/endurance course
  • defaulted to 100% difficulty and it felt like riding outside

Been awhile since using Zwift, so I don’t remember riding much, but vaguely recall the difficulty defaulted to 50%. After realizing that I tried 100% on some climb to a radio tower or something, it felt realistic IIRC.

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  • Yup, but it’s so easy to change I have a hard time making faulting it based on the starting value. A lot depends on target audience and goals, where the two apps clearly differ a bit.

  • I do agree, that at 100%, it lead to what I consider believable ride feel and gearing requirements. I’d have to do more structured analysis to decide if one felt better than the other. I tend to have 50% set in Z for the few times I race and leave it there.

  • I did enjoy the RGT free ride I did this weekend at 100%. On the Flanders course, it lead to plenty of active shifting and cadence control to get around my Z2 wattage goals. Much like riding outside on a hilly course, so right on for me in that light. :smiley:

  • I am hoping to try some of the other revolving course this week. I am this close to dropping Z for a few months to give full RGT a go.

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When I tried Zwift four years ago, had no clue why the much touted physics engine made climbs too easy. Asked around and nobody knew, after RTFM’ing I figured out it was the difficulty setting. Its really not obvious to a new user.

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You get 24km a month but because you don’t get booted you should be able to get two rides a month in if you are clever choosing your first ride/race a month… plenty for summer I find.

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Right, not obvious. I just think that Z was pushing the “easy” button in a way with the 50% default.

RGT started with a much more “hardcore” focus when it came about based on the epic climb direction they had in the beginning. As such, the 100% made perfect sense for their personal goal, and what I think they expected for users.

Z is squarely aimed at a more casual user and that 50% follows their “low friction” goals to make the intro to users easier. Right or wrong in the grand scheme, I think that is why they have it that way.