This is a very interesting video with major implications for Zwift racing.
2 Likes
Yeah it makes a significant difference. For fun yesterday doing my TR workout on my phone but running Zwift on my PC I dropped my height from 1.82m to 1.2m. Apart from looking buff my guy was quick and I seemed to be passing people easily. Drafting worked great.
I see now that Zwiftpower will be live tracking height changes and will dq people changing heights.
2 Likes
I don’t know why this is just popping up as an issue now as it’s been known for awhile - - Zwift Insider even doubled up on their coverage of it when they’d already done testing more than a year prior. I guess those that have been taking advantage of it will have to explain their late life growth spurt if they ever show their faces at a live event. Either way, it does seem to make a larger difference than it should, at least one would think.
2 Likes
Now almost every cyclist on Zwift is 1.4m 52kg w/ an FTP of 400.
12 Likes
Breaking news… Cheaters gonna cheat!
4 Likes
Never even thought of this. I think most people enter actual height when they sign up and forget about it. I guess there will always be those looking for a unfair advantage. It reminds me of when I was a kid and I’d enter a secret code into a video game to unlock all kinds of cheats and it was fun for about a day but then the true challenge of the game was gone so I lost interest and eventually stopped playing. I think once you start cheating you have just “Jumped The Shark” and it’s downhill from there.
Devil’s advocate…
If you believe most everyone is cheating except you, you cheat just to “level” the playing field. The reason you’re losing races or getting dropped in rides is because you’re the only one playing honest. So by cheating it makes it fair (and fun) again.
Where have i heard that before?
Ethics… are they really lacking that much in our society today?
Are our egos so fragile that we have to cheat in a game that doesn’t matter?
Sad… just sad.
16 Likes
It’s facing melting-ly insane how serious some people take a video game.
1 Like
Yup. A bit crazy for sure.
1 Like
Having been a bit of a “gamer” off and on my whole life, the competiveness always comes out, no matter the platform. Back when Clash of Clans was popular, I took it very seriously and lost wars, battles, etc. would really get me angry and effect my day even (WTF 
). I don’t know why, but it just did 
. Looking back at it clearly it’s ridiculous.
I’m not a Zwifter, but I can only assume that feeling is present in some expecially when it’s “directly” tied to your fitness or who you are as a rider/racer.
3 Likes
My avatar rides on hoods most of the time, even in packs, I look like being on hybrid or something, alone or in groups. In fact in big groups I am the only on hoods. Does height have anything to with it?
Nope.
What bike are you on?
I think Trek, can’t recall the model. May try another one, but it doesn’t bother me, but in races may rob some speed?
2 Likes
It’s facing melting-ly insane how serious some TR forum users take ramp testing, ftp, aero gains…
Whatever gets you on the bike is how I see it.
I’ve personally been using Zwift quite a bit to break up long trainer weeks and always find the people stressed about doping to be quite odd. Reality is that most people on zwift are regular cyclists. If I ride around in Z2 I very rarely get passed on a 2-3hr ride. On a 20+ min climb I can ride SS at ~4-4.2wkg and get a top 10-20 on the KOM. In the short flat A races I do ok but not great. It all correlates pretty well to my experience on the road being 188cm and 70kg with a pretty decent engine.
2 Likes
Cheating on Zwift makes just about as much sense as those who cheat in running races or triathlons to get in the top of an obscure age category in a local organization that 5 people on the planet care about.
It’s depressingly desperate.
One look at the results in a Zwift race answers this… it’s yes. The winner has an average w/kg of 5.5 w/ an HR average of 140.
2 Likes
True, but this isn’t pro sports. There are a few opportunities to get something meaningful, like a pro contract but you’re going to get exposed.
People can do what they want, but to me Zwift racing ultimately is about training…for fun. But maybe that’s because I’m never close to winning, I’m at best in the top 25% of a B class event.
1 Like
Some one brought up on the topic of actual doping in e-sports, so even with a correct height/weight/ftp it’s possible. e-Sports provides the potential for double doping, body and profile, and triple doping; body, profile, AND e-bike.