Zwiftcast

Episode 61: Garmin/Tacx and what it may mean for Zwifters, plus racing and farewell to Jarvis Island

This episode leads with the biggest news in indoor cycling of all time – the purchase of Dutch trainer company by American gizmo giant, Garmin. Simon, Shane and Nathan, with some help from D C Rainmaker, debate what this could mean for Zwift – and Zwifters.

The Zwftcasters spend a good deal of time on this – and come up with a whole raft of theories, before moving on to discuss the continuing story of World Choice on the Zwift platform and how at times, the options available to Zwifters produce what some might see as surprising results.

Next : have we seen a glimpse of the Watopia extension? And if we have, is the publication of a snippet hidden deep in the code justified?

The podcasters move on to discuss the burgeoning and highly exciting racing scene, with the launch of the KISS Women’s Super League series, the entry into e-racing of global telco giant Telefonica and analysis of whether the improving coverage of virtual bike racing is a tantalising sign of the possible future.

Finally, the chaps shed a tear for Jarvis Island, officially now consigned to history – we’ll never see the little island again.

We hope you enjoy listening

Episode 60 – World Switching, Big Money, Pro Racing, Peak Zwift . . . and plenty more. It’s a long one

The Zwiftcasters are back after something of a break – and Simon explains the reasons for that – with a monster episode covering all the latest from the ever busy world of Zwift.

This one kicks off with a look at Peak Zwift for the 2018/19 season. Which of the Zwiftcast trio backed the right horse on the highest number of concurrent users?

Then it’s swiftly on to World Swap, via Shane’s battles with a rival mega corp, the President of Wahoo’s eyebrows and a full tech round-up. Zwift history was made with the launch of the first ever pro league and you won’t be surprised to hear that all three of the Zwiftcasters have robust views – are you listening Cofidis?

And there’s more: the hugely significant news that Zwift has raised another 120 million dollars in funding is put through the Zwiftcast mill before the chaps consider whether Zwift are right in asking community groups to remove “Zwift” from their names.

Finally – which way do you dress? Enough said.

We hope you enjoy listening.

Episode 59 - KISS Super League, Zwift's new best friends and all the new stuff in game and on Companion

A bumper end of year Zwiftcast, not full of “Best Of” or “Year in Review” material as is traditional elsewhere – but jam-packed with lots and lots and lots of Shiny New Things.

Simon, Shane and Nathan discuss the flood of new features in the game, in Zwift Companion and, not least, in the real world.

Zwift has announced the formation of a Super League Race Series, featuring professional cycling teams. In partnership with respected race organisers, KISS, the League will feature men, women’s and perhaps most importantly Zwifters competing on the platform, all under the official Zwift banner. The Zwiftcasters discuss this and speculate whether, with domestic pro teams now signed up, the next logical step may be World Tour Teams.

Elsewhere the significance of Zwift’s partnership with arguably the cycling world’s most influential and successful national federation, British Cycling, is put through the Zwiftcaster grinder.

In the actual game, Simon, Shane and Nathan discuss the new Level 50 and its implementation; the wholesale re-launch of Zwift Companion, including private meet-ups and much improved data analysis as well as race results.

There’s a feature on and discussion of Zwift’s new shop plus a real world, long term review of the Elite Direto from an experienced Zwifter.

The Zwiftcasters discuss their attitude and ability to rest in the face of cycling injuries. Caution: may include Simon’s knee.

This will be the final Zwiftcast of 2018. May we thank all the podcast’s loyal listeners for downloading and listening over the course of the year. See you in 2019.

Episode 58 - A Conversation with Zwift CEO Eric Min

This episode is devoted to an in-depth and wide-ranging conversation with Zwift CEO, Eric Min. Simon and Eric discuss a large number of issues of great interest to Zwifters, ranging from Eric’s management style, through the debate around an annual membership fee and even plans for a Zwift Convention. Eric has news about the immediate future pricing of Zwift and talks about why he’d like things to happen faster in Zwift – along with the reasons why they don’t. We discuss rivals to Zwift, siren voices in the community and whether Zwift Run is working. And that’s just a few of the topics covered. If you love Zwift, if you’re interested in how the company works and want to do a deep dive on everything Zwifty, you should find this a rewarding listen. We hope you enjoy it.

Episode 57 - New Roads, World Switching, the Rivals and the Double Draft

Simon, Shane and Nathan convene again for another hour of chat on all matters Zwifty.

The trio begin by getting the full story of Shane’s YouTube ban – and how it affected him, before moving on to discuss another new extension to Watopia. “Mostly flat”, we’re told. The Zwiftcasters hope that really means rolling terrain.

And it’s definitely coming – world switching. We discuss whether Jon Mayfield’s solution is an elegant and clever thing, or a bit less than what Zwifters wanted.

Quite a lot is changing in the way Zwift could work, and the introduction of Double Draft or True Draft as the podcasters would prefer it to be called, could end up as really significant. Simon, Shane and Nathan discuss the devil out of it, with input from racer and podcaster Greg Leo and aerodynamics expert Bert Blocken, an academic who’s modelled the draft effect in a big pelotons.

The rivals to Zwift have been making some noise, with CVRCade the loudest. What does it all mean? The chaps chew it over.

After a quick catch up on trainer news, the Zwiftcasters round this one off with a discussion on Zwift Interval Art.

And finally, Simon has a bad knee.

Episode 56 - NewYork, New York and more:Marvellous Marge, Rachael's battle and esport

This episode is dominated, as you may expect, with analysis and chat of the new world in Zwift: New York City. Simon, Shane and Nathan talk about the first “future-world” ever released by Zwift, ranging across the quality of the artwork, the number of intersections and what it may tell us about game development. The Zwiftcasters have plenty to say, some of it, possibly a little controversial.

But there’s room for more in Episode 56 – with hints about what may be to come in this important period for the company and indoor cyclists. With the number of worlds on Zwift now reaching five, it’s inevitable that the question of world switching is discussed again.

There’s an interview with Marge Kaufmann, who makes light of her hop-on-and-keep-going approach to completing the Kona Mission, followed up by some chat about the value, and indeed age, of some of the longer-running challenges on the platform.

Zwifter Rachael Elliott has been through a tough year – but now, as she recovers from her life-threatening stroke, she’s ready to get back to competitive cycling. But it looks as though Rachael may face a barrier in competing as a Paralympian. We get the latest.

And finally the podcasters discuss virtual cycling as an e-sport, in the context of what’s expected to be a big announcement from Zwift in the next few weeks.

We hope you enjoy listening.

Episode 55 - Trainer talk, the new baby named for Zwift, essential Zwift extras and Eight Days of Innsbruck

Simon, Shane and Nathan chew the fat on the latest happenings in Zwift. . . . with some speculation on where the platform may be heading this indoor season in terms of numbers of riders and runners.

Shane reports back on his trip to HQ and to the other big bike show of the year, Interbike.

The Zwiftcasters spend a few minutes discussing trainers – as it’s that time of year again, when many Zwifters may be considering a purchase or an upgrade. Simon talks to the CEO of Stac, a Canadian company launching an innovative “no contact” resistance mechanism.

Would you name your new baby around a Zwift theme, working on suggestions made by the community? One Zwifter is doing just that – Simon chats to him.

As the indoor season really starts to get going Simon revisits a well-worn subject – just what little extras do you need the most to complete the Zwift experience. Simon has one of his own (which he’s very pleased with) and he asks Shane and Nathan for theirs.

The Zwiftcasters do a little live detective work as they chat – trying to get to the bottom of Simon’s observation of a regular-as-clockwork micro-glitch around 35 minutes into every session. The chaps think they they’ve found the answer.

After a roundup of the latest drama and histrionics in the racing community, the Zwiftcasters consider whether the Eight Straight Days of Innsbruck has been a success.

We hope you enjoy listening.

Episode 54 - New York is coming . . .soon. Zwift's Smart Bike, the Academies and in praise of slow rides

The Zwiftcasters are back on their winter schedule  . . . with more regular episodes packed with Zwiftiness. Simon, Shane and Nathan discuss when we might see New York, what we might see in it and speculate on whether it may be the best course ever.

The podcasters discuss the potential implications of Zwift's acquisition of an interest in technology owned Virtu Pro who make a highly rated smart bike - could we see a Zwift-branded Smart Bike any time soon? The Academies are roaring ahead with record levels of completion. Zwift commits to their future and Simon, Shane and Nathan discuss their participation and we hear from a husband and wife enrolled on the programmes.

After a newsy roundup covering Zwift's TV advertising; recent game updates; an attempt to deal with gender doping in Zwift racing and the relaunch of a Zwift forum, Simon interviews Julie Haugh, one of the most dedicated ride leaders who has perfected the art of riding slow. 

We hope you enjoy listening!

 

Episode 53 - It's All About Innsbruck . . . and Mark Cavendish

The Zwiftcasters are back with an episode dominated by discussion around the launch of the new course on Zwift, the replication of the UCI Innsbruck Worlds Circuit.

There’s a feature with one of the HQ development team revealing how the artists and devs went to enormous lengths to get the detail of the real world based course spot on.

Simon, Shane and Nathan discuss their reaction to the course; whether it’s the best choice for the platform in the light of its stated aims to recruit more recreational cyclists and, in a lively exchange, the trio speculate on why Zwift continue to deny the user base the ability to switch worlds easily.

There’s also some philosophising about cake and icing – you need to listen!

We have  an interview with Zwifter Mark Cavendish who talks in some detail about his relationship with the fame and his dislike of cheats . . .

 Finally, Simon chats to Greg Leo, co-host of the new Zwift podcast for racers, In The Pens about a tough summer for racing and whether the race scene on Zwift can bounce back.

 We hope you enjoy listening.

Episode 52 - Eurobike 2018 Day Two

Simon and Shane mop up the things they couldn't squeeze into yesterday's coverage - including a "no contact" trainer that works by magnets; what the Zwiftcasters think about delivery timelines for all the new stuff unveiled on Day One; the anti-perpirant for your bike (sort of) and a few other oddities and curiousities that caught their eye.