2. Eric runs Zwift Insider in his spare time when he isn't on the bike or managing various business interests. Heres how it works. ZwiftPower - Login Bump your Zwift weight up to 84kg and even with your new and improved 260-watt FTP youre only at 3.1 w/kg! My power is often in the top few. Find out more about how we test. If it is.. someone must be able to point me to the rule where it says that it is forbidden..? The race I did had all categories racing together with a mass start, so the categories felt arbitrary as my place was not within my chosen category but across the whole field anyway. Keep answering that question and youll keep most people on side. angels stadium covid rules. Ill remain skeptical until I see some actual changes. Once I hit 185 its either sit up and catch my breath of fall of the bike. Now I know it is a thing. If you're on Zwift and planning to get racing, then signing up to the third-party app ZwiftPower (opens in new tab) is an essential step. I used to live next to the Alpe and later, next to the Ventoux. Not true, at least not absolutely. More of an issue than thisRead more . I got my 100kph badge on the Bologna course. Not knowing what to pick and with minutes until the my first race, I selected the C group and was thus filtered out of the Zwift Power race results when I then posted a 4.00w/kg over the 28 minute race. (and dont do organized rides for fairness) so I dont have resistance changes and sometimes zwift reports extraordinary power readings for a ride. Okay, I now see in ZP where it has my minimum racer category (B) in my profile based on my last race, so I can choose B or A going forward. I dont really race so I am OK and any workouts are harder this way. If you set your weight high enough that you fail to do well you will drop in the categories. I don't think you can do it from the game itself. The book Fast After 50 is a good read on how masters athletes can train more effectively. It's also possible to filter results and data by categories, such as different age or power ranges. On Zwift Power categories have both a wattage requirement and a w/kg requirement. The categories currently used in most Zwift events are based on your FTP watts per kilothat is, your FTP in watts, divided by your weight in kilograms. Hopefully ZHQ will take a harder look the changes that have been proposed over the past year or so. Bath Once you have a number for your FTP in watts, divide it by your weight in kilograms. A thank you to Zwift HQ for listening to the feedback from the racing community and taking action. Hes not looking for a trophy every race. When you're in the game, click "Menu". When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Id say physics does! This site contains affiliate links to Amazon, Wahoo, and other brands. First up, you'll have to head to Zwift.com and log in, then click on Settings > Profile > Connections and choose 'opt-in' under the ZwiftPower logo. Maybe also add weight change limit 2kg per week? Zwift is great just to ride around and it has lots of good training sessions which you can do. The categories are power to weight divisions. Choose a Zwift workout, but before you start riding look at the workout breakdown on the left side of the screen. Hitting G on your keyboard will do it, or swipe up on iPhone or iPad, etc then tap the graph button. Thats the graph. I have tended to notice that a significant number of powerful zwifters real world Strava performances pale in comparison to their online achievements. In the future, well continue to bring potential product ideas and changes to members of the Zwift Racing Community, with the hope that youll embrace this as a collaborative effort to help shape the experience. I agree Paul great idea. Now head back to ZwiftPower, click 'Connect' at the top of the page, then enter your Zwift ID in the box when prompted. And one cheater leads to another and its an arms race of gaming the game. Its funny, I was talking to one of my work colleagues who also Zwifts about AdZ and how because Im heavier (125kg / 276lbs) I would never be a sub 60m AdZ rider (I reckon Im looking at sub 2 hours, if lucky), Ive never once considered weight doping, sure I know I could but why would I? It lets Zwift racers and race organisers track results and check out all the details of the races they've participated in, as well as monitoring and analysing their data. Current system means that heavy weight top of cat riders climb at the same speed as skinny guys with same wpk but can have 60% more power on the flats. Keep hammering the point and finding ways that Zwift can improve controls. Im curious to see this summer if I can do the numbers outdoors as I push out on Zwift but I cant even think of a road to use for 30 mins without stop signs, pot holes, lots of traffic, etc. You'll receive a four-digit code, which you'll then have to add to your. It all has to do with the way Zwift's racing categories work. 0.5kg discrepancy either side is actually quite small. Launch Zwift and go to the Menu. I am about to hit the four year mark on Zwift. Thanks! I was just naturally heavy and it put me at the top of the C class in w/kg. Theres also fitnesssyncer.com that is free up to 4 sync services. But I get beaten by lots of other zwifters, even on flat courses. I love reading it. Any thoughts on verifying? ), You say at the end..you do you, it doesnt affect anyone. how do i change my weight on zwift power - lakenlooks.com Introducing a horrible measure that addresses a problem that doesnt exist, and subsequently retracting it following mass protest is not exactly what I would call revolutionary change. The Ultimate Undetectable Weight Cheat on Zwift : r/Zwift - reddit 5x5min, 4x8min but definitely never longer than 8 minutes. Click on the Settings button and you'll find the Trainer Difficulty slider. the lighter rider has to ride much harder to stay in the groups with a few big guys cruising along. (better than any bike upgrade i could afford) Yes its great to win,but as long as you improve yourself who cares what anyone else does.You will always get cheaters,dodgy equipment and so on so just enjoyRead more . I have to say I weigh myself most mornings in the buff (just my glasses on so I can see the numbers)! (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.). If people want to cheat, they will and can do so in any uncontrolled situation. In theory (at least) weight dopers could game the results based categories as well. All this makes me laugh. I am 42 years-old with a HRmax of ~169 bpm. Generally weigh myself once a month. Whilst this might be the case, as Eric implies in flat races light weight riders have to work harder to stay in touch with the heavier riders in the bunch. Since strava is all that matters of course. People still rode at B level pace in a C group. This is done by separating riders based on their FTP (functional threshold power) a wattage test you can take part in on Zwift over a 20-minute, 45-minute or 1-hour period. Here it is in its entirety: Last week we outlined a number of planned changes to address harassment and further safeguard the health and wellbeing of the Zwift Community. Cyclingnews is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. This is pretty timely for me as my FTP is 283 and my weight is currently 71.2kg. Monthly weigh ins arent perfect but they are better than no weigh ins. But theres one problem: this puts you into the B category, and you dont want to race the Bs. What if you are super committed and gain the weight in real life just so you can stay in the category , Excellent posts on perhaps the most serious non-hardware problem in Zwift right now. Zwift How-to: Choose Your Cycling Race Category Race them if you want, but Rides like Tour de Zwift are not based on rider category, they are based on distance. I am a long time racer in NorCal and cheating is cheating. what does help identify and stop cheats is formalizing race series and having them use an organization like Zada (whether effective now or not, this is the correct path). But the vast majority do not. Leave the setting unchanged and climbs often feel challenging. I have been cycling since I was a kid and now close to 50. Some people are clearly living in a fantasy on zwift. Living at 5,900 ft. adds a performance restriction on me, I get it. Its a huge problem. Zwift lets you adjust the difficulty of your workout, before or even during your ride. Updating Your Privacy Settings in Zwift Companion However, I definitely recommend entering some races. i was just having a similar discussion with my old lady about watts and weights, etc. See https://zwiftinsider.com/how-does-zwift-calculate-my-speed/, I think if a racer doesnt want to cat up in order to keep winning in their current cat, she or he would likely just go the traditional sandbagging route (as others have suggested here). IfRead more . Tough to recover after attacks in a race when youre always near maxing out. Why we are treating this differently from actual racing? Contribute a post, shop through us, make a donation, advertise on this site. In fact, the only riders at or below my w/kg were minutes off the back. As soon as I start pedaling Im pretty much into threshold (around 170bpm). People with eating disorders, or a proclivity toward extreme dieting. I understand if someone has a banner day or just bumped up out of upper C to lower B. But for most riders watts per kilo rules the day, determining which category you race in Zwift. Hes had to up his weight as he is only 35kg ( upped time 45kg) he but puts out 220watt so his ftp is 5.5-6w/kg in a race. The categories currently used in most Zwift events are based on your FTP watts per kilo- that is, your FTP in watts, divided by your weight in kilograms. If you gave the power, it will come out. Current category system simply allows very fast but heavy riders to race in categories lower than their actual abilities. Additionally, well be moving forward on hiding height and weight from Zwift Companion and Web. And as well as your race results, you can check your distance ridden, total metres climbed, power peaks from one second up to 75 minutes, and more besides. My W/Kg has gone from 3.76 to 3.97 without me really improving my FTP. Some races (many, in fact) on Zwift work exactly like that. The six-digit number highlighted in bold will be your Zwift ID. Zwift Insider is independent of Zwift corporate (www.zwift.com), although Zwift does provide funding to help defray site costs. was the lowest of top 15 riders. (ignoring that it evens out and you have the advantage on the hills but lets ignore that because its all about you and you should always podium in every race in your life, because mommy told you that you were special and big mean Zwift is making you work so hard on the flats). Light guys have the advantage on the hills, in the sprints, and because they have a higher w/kg, the flats too even if my absolute watts are significantly higher. In fact, if in a long ride your weight could change by more than 1kg over the course of that one ride!!! Hes asking for a fair race. 1 second per 1 km on the AdZ dowhill (after losing minutes going up it) is literally the only place in the game its beneficial and the IRL advantages on the flats over light riders is excessivelyRead more . I have no idea. I rarely race, don't care. Though our intent is to protect potentially vulnerable users by removing labels that can trigger unhealthy behaviours, we also hear the concerns of the racing community. Zwift essentially encourages people to be less than truthful about their weight. This site contains affiliate links to Amazon, Wahoo, and other brands. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. I agree with what you say Eric but the weight doping does negatively impact the casual rider if they are following other riders in a casual/social ride. Reverse Weight Doping, Efficiency, and Race Categories on Zwift If other people want to obsess about my weight thats up to them but I wont. Tempo Workouts Can Have a Place on Your Training PlanHere's How to https://zwiftpower.com/profile.php?z=697996. What anyone wants in any game or competition is to feel its fair, and as they look to make changes going forward, I hope people at Zwift always keep asking themselves this question: How can Zwifters see these races are fair?. Gain a few (virtual) pounds. Your voice is important to us. Or theyll ride races 1-2 categories below their actual W/kg so they can still win and feel like that theyre legends. Mate youre a legend. What particularly annoys me is being beaten by light but moderately powerful riders doing individual time trials on flat courses. If I wanted to win I just drop my weight to 65kgs 350w/65kgs is a lot better than 350w/85kgs, of course 350w/65kg is better than 350w/85kg, its a massive increase in w/kg. We would like to thank the community for your passion and feedback. If I get down to 52 kilos I can climb well but my sprinting is terrible. If someone dopes so they do 4w/kg then they should be racing with other people who do 4w/kg. And atRead more . Too heavy watts are up but watts per kilo goes down. (Its not the only part, of course! Ive lost 2.2kg over a 6 hour ride due to carb loading before, and burning that and hence losing a lot of water weight during the ride. Everything you need to know about the third-party Zwift results and analysis website. Have you considered age category racing. So I just bumped myself up to the B group and went faster overall simply because there were faster people to draft off of. Garmin sets your zones based on your maximum heart rate, while Zwift defines it as 76 to 90 percent of your Functional Threshold Power (FTP), which is the highest power you can sustain for 20 . Certainly it impacts the accuracy of race performance and results. I put my real weight 95% of the time. I started started zwift four months ago as a retirement present to myself. I have been frustrated with the GC results in the current Tour of Watopia series. ), So what is reverse weight doping? Most of the time, this will be what you use to figure out your race category. Well, imagine youre a strong C racer. how do i change my weight on zwift power - popupafrica.com As far as my weight goes the only thing I care about is being as accurate as I can to get accurate results. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). If its not done during a competitive Zwift event, I dont see it as a problem. Plus imagine how bigRead more . , Myself being a lighter rider who fluctuates some 2kg during a week I tend to always use my upper weight giving me a lower Wkg. Finally, just head back to ZwiftPower and click 'Connect to my Account'. 240W 50kg riders (4.8W/kg) beat 380W 95kg riders in B category Tempus Fugit time trials. Since we know that lighter weight=higher virtual speed, this is a very easy way to cheat the system on Zwift. I climbed the Alpe last night for Stage 3 of the Tour of Watopia, missing my target of going under an hour by just over 12 seconds (Aargh!!). Honest and goal driven. He had fun laughing at fat dad, but I pipped him at the line! Now head back to ZwiftPower, click 'Connect' at the top of the page, then enter your Zwift ID in the box when prompted. As others have said, your higher weight helps on flat courses. Terms of Use/DMCA Copyright Policy Yes, smaller riders have less frontal area, but the difference in CdA isnt that much. But since there are no clear rules on it at this time, its a bit of a self-policing thing with a fair amount of grey area. Perhaps if you post a W/kg in excess ofRead more , So thats why I could easily keep up with a 3-3.4wkg group yesterday whilst keeping my wattage at some 2.5-2.7just my 107kgs.the rest were probably featherweight category :) I recently won a C race, but it didnt feel like winning as I knew there were 2 categories faster. That a cat rider may win a d race but on zwiftpower they will be DQd for not riding an A race. Weight doping is a key challenge for cycling esports to overcome, and its one reason why many big races (e.g., those with prize money) require riders to show up and weigh in on-location in a supervised environment. All rights reserved. Hopefully when it comes time to hide height and weight from public view on ZwiftPower, Zwift will have some really useful tools in place which help race organizers do their jobs more quickly and effectively, while promoting wellness in the racing community. This community-driven site is maintained by Eric Schlange and a team of Zwift enthusiasts. Its ridiculous. Just like the CEO promised us rowing years ago, right? Zwift doesnt like this and disqualifies him on Zwift power. Its only a bit of fun at my level (solid B with the odd podium). light guys categorically do NOT have an advantage on the flats vs heavier guys, assuming both riding at same w/kg, heavy guy WILL be going faster on Zwift. Bob, what on earth is that all about? Best Zwift setups: Indoor cycling setups to give you the competitive edge. As there is no official A+ CAT there is nothing to worry about, but if there were, I would be right between A and A+. It does the job as described. Keep it on. But I will, and Ill get hammered and hopefully improve. How about simply showing a percentage variance. its only cheating myself, instead I would prefer to spend that 2 painful hours doing something honestly and feel proud of it than zooming through it in sub 60m and not reap the same benefits (or in my case, pain). Hardly true Say you train and commit yourself to being honest to achieve better fitness,and also better results, albeit virtually..then someone finishes better than you solely because of the BS numbers they entered. I think you can force it with the Refresh Profile button in your ZP Profile but again, not sure if that triggers it immediately or overnight. There is no progression from lower to higher categories through placement. The categories are the cycling equivalent to weight classes in boxing. The only way for complete cheat free racing is in the zwift Pro race which is all done in a single room with all riders together. Thats a good thing. How does being heavier help a cyclist? you may ask. Even some of the regulated weight rides will give 2kg leeway. Joining ZwiftPower isn't the most straightforward series of steps, but we've broken it down so you can get started as soon as possible. Last week I did the prl full and Uber pretzel and tried to get #1 by weight on those segments. Would depend entirely upon the bike geometry, how much weight is over the front wheel and how much over the back. . Context, Tim, context! I agree WTRL ZRL races dont feel like they have cheaters. So I dont expect to be as competitive vs. a pure cyclist. I agree with your idea. Yes thats completely unacceptable, you should never be at a disadvantage at any time in your life, just as your mother raised you. He lives in Northern California with his beautiful wife, two kids and dog. Ive seen many A Riders with 300 FTP on Zwift who I beat by a HUGE MARGIN at triathlon events, including the cycling portion. The first way is to head into your profile. Skinny guys get DQd if they match heavies on the flat for power so they can NEVER win, even in the mountains. To move up to the next rank, ZwiftPower will take 95 per cent of your 20-minute average w/kg figure from your previous three races. Nailed it. this is how it is in real life , big ian stannard putting in hard fast miles on the front for (was) team sky , while all the small guys tuck in the peloton getting drafted along saving energy for later on in the race , because they can`t compete on the flat with the big boys . And besides, my main goal on Zwift is to not get dropped in the hills during Team Cryo-Gens more hardcore Saturday rides! I do find it amazing, funny and sad that IRL at several Ironman events me, a C rider, beat many A riders in the cycling segment. Response to our post as well as Zwifts own post in their forum were resoundingly negative from members of the Zwift racing community. A great challenge for those looking for those training gains. Well Eric, my weight is plummeting, and Ill probably be taking a break from Zwift over the summer, so Im sure the upgrade is coming very soon!!! look at the article. There is no disqualification for going over your w/kg limit. 2 yr. ago. I never thought i should weigh myself with my kit on. We are taking an iterative approach to the ongoing upgrades to the back end of the site. Share your thoughts below! Yes, but hopefully the system would be designed so, if drop a category then begin doing well, you get upgraded again! As Zwift racer James Eastwood so aptly put it, The community dont want to see peoples weight they want fair racing.. Totally agree with you. I should mention: many Zwifters have lied about their in-game weight for perfectly acceptable reasons. ur allowed +/- 5% weight for pro zwift races so +/- 0.5 kg is not going to make a difference :p. add weight if u want to stay in D. lower weight if u wanna move to C. up 2 u. If you need to cheat to get the results you want then why even bother. Im not heavy (68kg), have a typical climber/TT phenotype (no short sprint but good FTP). Zwift Hub Smart Cycling Trainer Review: An Affordable Way to Ride (Example: if your FTP is 300 watts and you weigh 75kg, your FTP w/kg would be 300/75, or 4 w/kg.) Frankly I struggle to believe these are real. Im the opposite. But It doesnt mean that that person is going to be the person riding the bike on the trainer during the race does it. Maybe they should display and categorise HR as a %age? A good rule we follow is to take our FTP divide it by 3 and then put that in as our weight (in Kilograms). USA Cycling has categories that are based on experience and performance. I completely agree with the last paragraph here. You lose 10 liters of sweat during a medium long ride? people need to stop taking Zwift racing so seriously. if someone is entering a fake weight on their Zwift profile, the only person they're cheating is themselves, cos they're going to get destroyed out on the roads where it really matters. With Zwift control is difficult (in getting Zwifters to enter their accurate) wait. (a is tough and im struggling at max h/r for most of the race).Ive gone from 87kgs to 80 kgs in this time and feel fitter than ever. They do? Why you can trust Cyclingnews But maybe Im just thinking like a lady its hard for me to imagine a lady voluntarily gaining weight, even virtual weight. I dont know why this is, but i dont care one bit if people are cheating. Some people, I think, just have a lower HR. Its more fun and engaging that way, for me at least. 11 things you only know if you race on Zwift | Cycling Weekly Though our intent is to protect potentially vulnerable users by removing labels that can trigger unhealthy behaviour What are they trying to protect? You weigh 80kg and have an FTP of 248 watts, which works out to 3.1 w/kg. One question I have struggled to answer though which maybe is not a consideration is that on the flat watts is what is required and I also have to push high wkg to stay with groups. ThatRead more . Zwift Insider makes a small commission on purchases made from these links, so please shop through them to support our efforts. Privacy Policy, How to Race on Zwift (Setup, Strategy, and More). I have heard women admit on social rides that their zwift weight is their goal weightRead more . I currently use the Garmin Smart Scale so I may invest in the Withings scale. No one is going to lose or gain 5kg overnight or shrink a 1cm. I just got upgraded to CAT A according to zwiftpower. Shame I cant edit my post for the horrendous spelling and autocorrect gaffes. thanks for the help with the graphs. Because narcissistic people want to get validation from somewhere/someone that theyre special/different and if they cant get it legitimately theyll lie, cheat, and steal to do so. Theyre only cheating themselves and it all comes out in the wash eventually. If you were to meet meRead more . Racing on the Zwift virtual platform has only increased, with the professionals getting in on the act, too, via the Zwift Tour for All, the Virtual Tour of the Gila, and e-races organised by Team Ineos. Then lets stop with all athletic competition! This would cover submission and review of a private video showing height and weight which would result in a check mark on ZP showing this rider was height/weight verified.