Zwift: Indoor Cycling Fitness 4+

I started on Zwift about two years ago as a cyclist. I bought a trainer specially having never tried the app which was a risky investment but was a great choice. I liove cycling on Zwift. I don’t feel safe on the road and I go further knowing only have top hop off the bike and I’m home.

I had to give up cycling for the minute due to herniated disks (hoping to be back on the bike soon) so I bought a treadmill and started running with Zwift. I love it! I’ve never really enjoyed running before but the Zwift environment makes it enjoyable- i ran 65 miles this month! Training plans are good.

I have no issues with app stability (using IPad). When you start it is hard to understand how it all fits together / there is the Zwift app (where you do the activity) but also the companion app where you organize everything - took me a while to make sense of that- but once you get going it’s excellent.

I had been using Rouvy or TrainerRoad with my Smart Trainer, but thought I’d give Zwift a try since our daughter and son in law are now using it. I’m not a big fan of the Virtual World, but was willing to give it a go.
I should first point out that the firmware was up to date on my Hammer H3 and I ALWAYS run a calibration before riding any routes as part of my warmup routine.
Right off I noticed absolutely NO synchronization between negative and positive grade changes. It was actually HARDER to pedal DOWNHILL than up hill. I have NEVER had such a blatant issue with either Rouvy or TrainerRoad.
50% of the time Zwift simply stopped in the middle of a ride leaving me scrambling to keep my workout going. Seems it lost contact with the trainer and my HR monitor, something that has never happened with the other Apps. Another peeve is Zwift only shows the grade changes in graph form as you progress, not of what’s ahead whereas Rouvy and TrainerRoad display the grade/resistance profile of the entire route so you can more accurately pace yourself. Unlike Rouvy, where you can ride REAL roads from all over the world, I found the choice of routes limited and repetitive. I also found simply TOO much going on visually with Zwift for my taste.
If you are looking for a App that functions properly and gives you the impression you’re riding outside on a road forget Zwift, go with Rouvy instead!

When I started on Zwift, I absolutely loved it! Finally a workout video game; what a concept. But then after my trial period ended and I became a paid subscriber, I found that some of the features and functions began to wean. It first started when I was riding a race and got a message that I was riding at “superhuman” and “professional” speeds before wiping my results from the leaderboards. I was super annoyed with the first couple, but became enraged with the third and fourth after I recalibrated my equipment. Then came the running problems. First of all, Zwift should not advertise itself as a “running” app, because it has very little that runners can do compared to the cycling events. Aside from that, it quit syncing up with my Garmin Forerunner 945 all of a sudden. Even after several “uninstalls” and reinstalls of both Zwift and resetting my Garmin, it does not sync up still. So the app is completely useless when that happens.

I am so disappointed, because I thought I found an app that would keep me working out basically for the rest of my days. However, I have canceled my membership and hope that another developer will come up with something that far exceeds that of Zwift.

Goodbye, Zwift!