I cancelled my membership. I would have continued my subscription through the summer even though I'm riding outside a lot more. Raising price at the start of summer was basically just a reminder for me to cancel. Im going to try out a few other platforms. You can buy whole games for $20 and other subscription games cost a lot less. I dont need another gym membership for the equipment I own. Once my membership lapses Ill do a lap of the other platforms, get a good idea of other options and try them out. Im sure Ill find one that I like.
Yeah, I think that’s another thing is that it just serves as a reminder for a lot of people that they have this subscription that they’re likely not using going through the summer months
Zwift is not necessarily the best cycling platform. Lots of people find that IndieVelo manages racing better, or that Rouvy is more realistic, or that MyWhoosh's graphics are better. While by no means is this price increase going to destroy Zwift, it's just prompting a decent amount (relative to what we've seen over the past few years) of users to be upset enough to leave. I wasn't saying that I don't think Zwift is the best, but rather sharing what I've heard from a lot of other users on the platform. I still do think Zwift is the best (for me at least).
My whoosh graphics better?! Tried it for the first time this week, the whole experience felt like I was running it on a Commodore 64 compared to Zwift on my gaming PC
@@ChasingSub11 What device have you been running it on? If it was running in the full version (not the GO version for lower spec PCs) on a PC it would use the Unreal 5 engine and it does look much nicer. Where it breaks down is long distance views. Those are often empty and bland but short range it certainly higher fidelity ... with the right hardware and settings.
@Adiambrozi I think you need to be a bit more granular than "Zwift is by far the best cycling platform". Racing wise: Indievelo is much more realistic and better in that respect. Workouts/Training plan wise Zwift is absolute garbage. Most of the training plans are outright bad for your health. The few that are good (such as the FTP builder) were actually contracted out and have not been done by Zwift. MyWhoosh has a lot more credibility in that regard with many great training plans from coaches that work with the likes of Tadej Pogacar. The question is "what makes Zwift great?" ... in my view that is the community ... not anything that Zwift have done directly. And a community can get quickly get rid off by e.g. drastic price increases. Empty the roads in Watopia and the race pens and Zwift would feel just as bland as myWhoosh often feels at the moment. The exodus from Zwift could quickly snowball to a level that it is non-recoverable ... I hope they recover but I'm currently planning to leave the platform when my annual subscription runs out.
I have no idea if there's a mass exodus from Zwift, meaning people cancelling who will never re-subscribe. I am aware there is a lot of noise about it and definitely some people saying they will or have quit. What we don't know is whether they will return when the weather says to ride indoors. We also don't know how much worse it will get in the fall when people who have already cancelled for the summer prior to the price increase find out that the price went up, because those people were not notified and may not be paying any attention to all the chatter.
Agreed. Mass expdus wasn’t the best phrasing on my part but there definitely are a lot of people have are cancelling their subscriptions at least for the summer months
@@ZRaceCentral Let's look for "Peak Zwift 2025" next January if that is significantly lower than the 2024 numbers that would be more conclusive I think.
Used Zwift since 2017, level 95 rider, A cat racer. Switched to IV for racing, but still using Zwift sometimes for some old group rides to kill time. But the more I use IV the more Zwift seems so silly, like using a cartoon with its fake racing and silly dynamics. IV has a ways to go in the graphics department, but based on how fast they are releasing features (that actually work), I have faith it’s gonna surpass Zwift in the future.
Cancelled my membership as soon as the price increase was announced. I used zwift almost exclusively for structured workouts and always watch TV shows/movies while training indoors so dropping Zwift for TrainerDay was an easy decision to make
Ok, I understand people are salty about the price increase. But really, $25/month is a bargain for the amount of benefit I get out of it. But yet, there are aspects that could really be improved. Like the route profile at the bottom of the map which is unintuitive and limited to the current "segment". Can even tell which direction you're moving on it at times. Why isn't always left to right?
But it isn't a bargain, is it? £180/year for what? Them to manage a server and a pretty basic game? Let's see: Netflix, where they invest hundreds of millions in the content, and charge you £8/month, how about Spotify where they give you access to pretty much all music and you pay £8/month. No mate, this very basic game is NOT worth double that.
For what they are asking. They are not delivering enough. If Zwift wants to be a serious Esports platform they have to step it up against cheaters. At the very least fix the sticky watts bullshit, have races where smart trainer power can be made mandatory.
Zwift have had over half a decade to fix racing, they haven’t and it’s not going to happen. Just go with IV for e racing now, leave zwift for the people playing make believe.
@@simoncbr900rr Well, most of the biggest games have anti-cheating code built in, and or extensions you have to install with the PC version, etc. It's my belief Zwift is simply not capable of solving the problem, because they have tried a few things in the past, all of which they always abandoned. Over the years they also let go of staff (or said staff resigned) that were resolving the cheating issues as well. So, might be true they don' t want to solve it on purpose as well. But who cares at this stage (2024), IV is solving the problem, for validated community racing it will fill that void.
Yip I’ve highlighted many times to zwift is the price increase to pay for the makita dewault coffee dopers zwift is rife with cheats getting sick of it
I don't think any of the competitors are quite at the same level as Zwift! They are bringing a customizable HUD and other things that people have requested such as an improved elevation graph, so your reasons are slightly off. The free apps won't be as good, and when they are as good will also have price increases.
Problem is, the other competitors have had a customizable HUD for ages now and have much more customizabiloty compare to Zwift. Zwift’s is extremely minimal if you saw the data fields that can be changed. There’s basically a selection of 4 basic statistics.
@@ZRaceCentral I think Zwift's biggest problem at the moment is one that mywoosh for example will come up against soon. Investors want their returns and Mywoosh is running at a massive loss. I think the Zwift price rise is purely pressure to make profit and Mywoosh will be under the same pressure, especially if the masses move there from Zwift in the short-term.
@@ZRaceCentralMyWhoosh have publically stated many times, that they will stay free forever, as they have powerful backers (and possibly government backing too).
@@sbrusgaard IndieVelo will likely charge at some point if they stay independent. They said in the past that they don't intend to compete with the big players but rather develop the technology to improve/license to other platforms ... sounds to me that they are building up to sell at some point. Probably still a couple of years out as they will want to build the user base to increase the price tag if this is what is happening. MyWhoosh does obviously have the cross of a washing machine and sports ... to keep the washing machine going it makes sense for it to stay free ... not a guarantee though. ... Microsoft also said that windows 10 was going to be the very last windows version they would ever release ... things change in business.
Mywhoose doesn't have the community, but it does have better and more realistic features. I canceled my membership. The zwift training is a joke. Cant use with kickr v5 see yeah
my friend told me MyWhoosh "without go" run harder in pc even with RTX3050.. but does it? please someone give me advice which one should i download.. currently i'm using laptop Ryzen 5 7640hs and RTX 3050 6gigs, with 16gigs of ram..
@@ZRaceCentral i have tried plently, and currently using zwift for 2 years.. I have tried rouvy but i don't really like the realism of the graphic For mywhoosh the problem is i have Heard from my group ride.. mywhoosh hd are needed pretty high spec pc.. is it enough for my gaming laptop?
@@ZRaceCentral the minimum requirements for MyWhoosh HD is a desktop RTX 1080Ti, a card that (despite its age) is roughly 80% faster than a laptop RTX 3050. So the non-HD version (formerly known as “Go”) would probably be the better one to use.
The "first price rise since 2017" excuse is irrelevant if you've only been on the platform for a couple of years or maybe a few months. These people don't care. What they see is a huge increase for no extra value now, the past doesn't matter. I'm currently testing alternatives, they don't need to be free but I'm not being shafted on price with nothing extra in return.
In the past 2 years alone I’d say there have been a decent amount of features added. But if you’ve just joined in the last year or so I can see how it may be harder to see this price increase as justified
During summer for the northern hemisphere it’s extremely quiet. Yes, it is winter in the southern but the vast majority of zwifters are based in the northern hemisphere
We've had quite a few new worlds in the last few years. The intent with the hardware is to ultimately make the sport more affordable and accessible to users. Normally a Zwift set up costs 2000+ with a bike. Now riders can just buy the Zwift RIDE for 1300.
@@ZRaceCentral why would you buy the Zwift bike when you can buy a road bike and a smart trainer for less money and you have the option to actually ride the bike in real life instead of staring at a screen. Riding your bike outside is where it's at in the summer months at least. Eeeerrr no there has been a couple of worlds apart from that it's either route extensions or pretend routes for badges. Where content is concerned Zwift is definitely not value for money
@@simoncbr900rr a good amount of riders have no intention of riding outdoors. To get a bike that is reliable enough would definitely cost more than buying a smart frame. It’s also just a lot simpler for those who don’t want to have to worry about all the technical stuff. In the last few years we’ve gotten Scotland and makuri islands, makuri has expanded quite a bit and the level of detail in the game art has been bumped up significantly.
@@ZRaceCentral people that just sit on a static frame staring at a screen are not cyclists or riders. They are possibly keep fit enthusiasts but not cyclists
Rouvy, indievelo, and MyWhoosh are all options. However, for many Zwift will suit their needs better than these alternatives, so only switch if you feel the need
What about running? I like to do rides and runs? Any alternative for that? Swift is pretty expensive with everything going up specially groceries I can’t afford keeping the subscription
All you folks talking as if Zwift is expensive for its lack of features, while I’m here paying 30 monthly for a cycling progs with only power graphs for graphics.
As a software engineer an entrepreneur let me tell you how difficult and expensive it is to develop, maintain and run software. It’s insane. People spend $50 on Uber eats weekly but complain about $20 a month software.
As a software developer, let me tell you that your argument is a straw man. It’s faulty logic. With the huge user base that Zwift has, their price increase indicates more than maintenance and development. The infrastructure and most of the development has happened a long time ago, and price increases for running that software don’t seem to match what they are asking. I have been a subscriber to zwift since the beginning but some months I only ride one or two times. In fact last year I only rode 20 times which makes my cost $10 per ride. There has been no price break for someone who just occasionally uses it; they pay as much as someone who uses it every day. Obviously someone at the top of Zwift doesn’t know how to effectively run a business.
Wow, imagine the best online cycling platform rasing their price? You think their overheads have gotten cheaper or something? FYI a few people have jumped over to other platforms and given them a go, they are all back already. Says alot doesn't it. Nothing compares to Zwift wether you like it all not. It's also where 99% of the online community is.
It really depends on what you are looking for in Zwift. for my usecase, there is no app that rivals it yet. However, some only use it to track their data so a free app is plenty
Whoa. 115 likes in just one month!! LOL. People upset about price increase have obviously never run a business. Price increase is less than 17 cents a day! Gen X-ers, remember when we used to pump quarters into video games to play for 1-10 minutes?
People can be upset over what they want. Is it a reasonable business decision for Zwift? Probably. Can people still get upset that they’re gonna have to pay more? Yeah, their lives their choices.
"no one asked for" I guess you have some data to back that up :) Just because in your little world people wanted different things doesn't mean no ones asked for these features. Must be nice in your little bubble :) There's lots of other things I'd like to see in Zwift (some of them are the ones you mentioned), but I'm not the only one using it, everyone has different uses and priorities, keep that in mind.
Yeah sorry that wasn’t the best way to put it. The features just haven’t been the ones that the vast majority of users have been requesting over the years. All of the features do have their use cases but there are other valid long standing requests that really haven’t been fulfilled or acknowledged
People are being squeezed for money. However, a 33% increase, the first one in five years, is not unusual. Look at the price of bicycles for an example. 40 to 50% increased prices for bottom line bikes happened in the same time period. Add that a lot of value was added during those five years. Sooner or later, all the free options are going to charge. Don't be at all surprised if they cost as much, if not more than Zwift.
Indievelo is a hard one since it’s only a few developers working on the platform, so I’d expect some sort of charge coming soon. MyWhoosh seems to have a lot of funding from external sources, so they may be able to do without charging for awhile.
@@ZRaceCentral Very true. MyWhoosh is basically underwritten by the UAE Government. Sooner or later that will have to end. IndieVelo is basically the RGT team and they have some funding. IndieVelo is also more oriented towards e-racing and that's a limited audience.
The increase sort of pissed me off too, but that's life. I have had too many close calls, so I am primarily an indoor rider now ( i miss the pavement). I am willing to pay the increase for the virtual shifting. Lot less strain on my older Ultegre drive train..
Yeah, riding on Zwift is definitely safer than heading out on the roads. As a side note, Indievelo does offer virtual shifting too (not sure how good it is compared to Zwift’s but it works with just a keyboard and any trainer)
@@ZRaceCentral yes I have Zwift one and use manual shifting and virtual shifting and the same time during my rides on indievelo. Works really good. Huge fan of virtual shifting. This is the best feature zwift has so far for me. I also bought the zwift play controller for changing gears and braking. This is what I am missing on the other platforms.
For me, with a snails pace of platform development, there’s no point to keep supporting Zwift year-round. I’ll come back to Zwift for the months when I ride nearly daily each month. From a micro level, (from my pocketbook) Zwift’s price hike costs them at least 50% revenue and the risk I’ll find another platform to ride on all together instead.
It's honestly insane how slow/complacent Zwift is when it comes to implementing features and QOL changes. Seems like a lot of people don't seem to care since there isn't that much competition but if this changes its just going to be better for consumers in the long term. I guess the big problem is there's not a big interesect between talented game/app developers and passionate cyclists.
Paused Zwift while I look around. Currently looking at Whoosh, and this has the bulk of what I need.Will also try the other one you highlighted. Was thinking about leaving Zwift before the price increase - not impressed with the climb portal (one of the most boring things to do). Zwift has become too commercial with its emphasis on trainer sales etc. Races in Zwift have too many individuals who manipulate the system - they are clearly well over the specified category, but manage their races to lie within the category they are racing in. Race categories are also too wide - need more categories or better promotion through the categories e.g. move people up after number of podium places or podium wins. Too many bikes, wheels etc in Zwift and all with the same performance - why so many.
Yeah, I think that's what a lot of people fail to realize. Zwift has pretty much everything anyone could need, but most of these other alternatives do have the basic features that most riders use. Glad you were able to find a good alternative that works for you.
I switched to ROUVY, and never looked back. I’m surprised you didn’t even mention it in your commentary on alternative options. Riding on virtually real roads almost makes me forget I’m riding indoors. ROUVY is amazing!
had a look at zwift recently for the first time in a couple of years and it's nearly exactly the same, with 20 million a month turnover this is a disaster in terms of development
Lol. Lots of the features are more hidden. You won't notice major changes in the UI, but once you're in-game there are lots of cool features that have been added.
Mywhoosh does everything I need and it is free. Had there not been a price increase, I wouldn’t have left Zwift. Zwift is now close to $2 per ride. I’m not going back to Zwift
Stop your whining. Nobody is leaving Zwift because of the price increase . There’s no other competitor that even comes close to Zwift. I’m staying and will gladly pay the increase
I know 3 who have not fully left but are training on other virtual trainers. Mywhoosh being the most common. It's only a matter of time before one of these other options take hold. I myself have one foot out the door. I've been trying rouvy and mywhoosh.
Is the Virtufit Etappe 2.0 also compatibel with MyWhoosh? Or is the Zycle Zdrive the cheapest option when wanting a quiet indoor bike (magnetic resistance and V-belt)?
Looking forward to your answer. 😊 FYI: the Zycle is confirmed by MyWhoosh itself on their website, it costs about 1.700 EUR. The Virtufit I only find confirmation with other apps (Zwift and Kinomap), not sure about Mywhoosh. It costs about 700 EUR. I guess the big difference will be that the Zycle resistance can be controlled by apps, but Virtufit can't. But even of that I ain't sure.
@@wardcoomans7101 It looks like it uses standard bluetooth stuff so I would assume it is compatible with MyWhoosh. I'd recommend reaching out to their support team to confirm before purchasing
@@ZRaceCentral thanks allready. I did sent message through the Virtufit website itself. No answer so far, curious for their answer. I allready asked at an dutch seller, who said it was not compatibel. But he also said the Zycle Bike isn't compatibel, but the Zycle is recommended by MyWhoosh itself. So mixed answers there... 😓 I also asked through the MyWhoosh chat, he said he didn't know/tested with Virtufit. Which I understand completely, there are thousands of indoor bikes, it is not up to them to test them out. I'll just hope and wait for the answer of Virtufit itself. Thanks again for your effort.
Generally most trainers that transmit power data via bluetooth are compatible. with these cycling apps. It's just the simulation aspect that has more of a grey area
What currency are you referring to? The Wahoo Kickr V4 is a decent deal at 500 (assuming it's UK or US currency). However, the upcoming Jetblack Victory seems to be a _very_ good option if ~400-500 is your budget. It has the same accuracy as the Kickr V4, comes with a Zwift Cog, and has much more modern features (10hz transmission, wifi, etc). It is set to be released later this year, so if you can wait I'd probably wait for the reviews of that trainer, and if they are positive, pick that one up over the Kickr V4. Also, if you're worried about being bound to Zwift with the Jetblack Victory, you can always swap the cog out for a cassette for ~$50.
@@ZRaceCentral yeah but waiting untill fall seems like a lot, im really looking at the Core, at v6 with discount to 999 right now. and its REALLY hard to choose. yeah i wass reffering to usd, 500 for the kicker but sadly there is no virtual shifting for it. Although i only trained in ERG mode in the past. i assume its pretty irrelevant to what i knew how to do in zwift itself
@@ignaciosevil2157 V6 would give you pretty much everything you need. The ELITE Avanti is another to check out. It releases in a few months and should be priced at around $750 US and offers many of the features that the V6 offers at a lower cost. No virtual shifting for it at the moment but that could definitely change once it is formerly announced and available for purchase.
@@ignaciosevil2157 if the v6 is within your budget, it certainly won’t disappoint. It really has anything you could need, only things you’d get from higher end trainers like the MOVE are well… movement. I’d say if you’re willing to spend, the v6 would be a great reliable trainer. With the CORE you’re pretty much just getting a bit less accuracy, but less gradient sim, no wifi or 10hz transmission, and smaller flywheel (not at realistic).
@@acmhfmggru well i see it sells for 650$ that would only be 150 $ not half price sir! And on top of that they include 1 YEAR zwift subscription... Those are like 200-250$ yearly subscription.. Hard choice..... I still dont know what to choose and from what i see of the ZCOG Is that its not compatible with kicker v4 are you sure its compatible??
Honestly it depends on the type of riders you primarily interact with. Since I've been Zwifting for 5+ years and am pretty deep into the community at this point, I've noticed that most of the riders who are jumping boats are people who used to be competitive Zwift racers who want something with less cheating.
How many cyclist boycott their favorite coffee shop when they have been overcharging for years! I have no reason to complain. Price increase is much less than the garbage food so many cyclist indulge themselves with.
That is a decent point, but what makes this different is that there IS a free alternative to receiving a similar thing. You can’t exactly get coffee for free. For a lower cost certainly but it’s never free. If cyclists could go to a cafe that gave free coffee im sure they would…
@@ZRaceCentral My bet is, the currently free platforms are bankrolled by investors and eventually will have to start charging in one form or another. IMO
Totally agree. I'd pay even more been game changer for me. They've been adding stuff I'm happy and more to come. Tried other platforms, they're buggy immature and crash. Dread to see what will happen with UCI choosing MyWoosh, hope it doesn't crash mid-championships.
It's not a burden; it's a hilariously misguided increase that renders the product even less valuable. Do you frame all financial decisions in such basic terms?
@@whatwelearned The “basic terms” is the only way to contrast the mass exodus and outcry everyone’s having over it. Then an entire video to outline a marginal increase only to serve as a platform for people to get animated over said increase? That’s really the hilariously misguided part. Maybe i’m just easily annoyed. To be fair, i’m not an accountant for the Zwift corporation but I can only imagine the determination of this increase is justified. It’s as if every subscription service hits this point..
@@letskeepearthgreen Firstly, assuming every price increase is justified is an utter baffling approach. Secondly, not all subscription services do this all at, which is why the huge increase in percentage terms has annoyed people.
Everyone is quitting zwift (nope) They aren't flocking over to indiVelo og Wosh (nope)Indivelo, the dynamics of that simulator was awful. Wosh is Saudi owners and they try to take marked from Zwift, Zwift is like WoW, the user base will always stick to Zwift.
Upset about the price increase too but staying with zwift. Indie velo people working closely with zwift on and off. So maybe zwift adds their platform with their racing protocols and setup. A few people can’t run indievelo long term without major support or incoming funds. So maybe by end of summer something will be announced. Mywoosh is Arab/muslium (ride through mosque) backed one from a nation that controls citizens life’s and treats women, with lgbtq+ community, other cultural groups as second class or prison to even death for just minor things. If it is free, then you are the product which means spy ware galore from nation that knows how to do it towards its own people already, plus oil money . Rovay is a cg avatar and minor graphics on a real world video, very different.unlike zwift, indie velo, or my whoosh.
Yeah indievelo doesn’t seem like the most sustainable business but for Zwift to add indievelo to their platform would be pretty unlikely imo because it would probably require a buy out and it wouldn’t make the most sense since the riders switching to indievelo are more part of the racing demographic while Mywhoosh is going to have more riders of a similar riding lifestyle to Zwift
@@ZRaceCentral I think not only how often but what you are doing. I think racing on zwift is still the best option because of the huge user base. Group Rides too. but free rides, workout and configuring bots you can use the other platforms. I ride indoor nearly daily because of my structured workout
Yeah, I do still think how often is a way that helps people justify the cost. If you ride once it’s 20 bucks for that one ride. However, if you ride daily it’s less then a dollar
Will you be switching from Zwift to one of the alternatives I talked about? Let me know why below!
Already quit and moved to mywhoosh
@@AlSalisbury hope you enjoy!
Always preferred TACX Training anyway
I cancelled my membership. I would have continued my subscription through the summer even though I'm riding outside a lot more. Raising price at the start of summer was basically just a reminder for me to cancel. Im going to try out a few other platforms. You can buy whole games for $20 and other subscription games cost a lot less. I dont need another gym membership for the equipment I own. Once my membership lapses Ill do a lap of the other platforms, get a good idea of other options and try them out. Im sure Ill find one that I like.
Yeah, I think that’s another thing is that it just serves as a reminder for a lot of people that they have this subscription that they’re likely not using going through the summer months
Am i the only one who thinks the graphics for zwift are dated.
Really depends on your taste. If you are running Zwift on a decent computer the graphics are pretty high quality
@@ZRaceCentral I run Zwift on a 50 inch TV at 4k ultra HD it makes all the text and numbers crisp and sharp compared to 1080p
Looks like you need a new monitor because the graphix are top notch and super sharp.
My whoosh has better graphics
For 20 bucks a month it absolutely is.
If they want money just sell skins to rich users
Lol. Zwift x Fornite
I think you are a bit over-reacting and claiming bullox things. Zwift is by far is the best cycling platform
Zwift is not necessarily the best cycling platform. Lots of people find that IndieVelo manages racing better, or that Rouvy is more realistic, or that MyWhoosh's graphics are better. While by no means is this price increase going to destroy Zwift, it's just prompting a decent amount (relative to what we've seen over the past few years) of users to be upset enough to leave. I wasn't saying that I don't think Zwift is the best, but rather sharing what I've heard from a lot of other users on the platform. I still do think Zwift is the best (for me at least).
My whoosh graphics better?! Tried it for the first time this week, the whole experience felt like I was running it on a Commodore 64 compared to Zwift on my gaming PC
@@ChasingSub11 What device have you been running it on? If it was running in the full version (not the GO version for lower spec PCs) on a PC it would use the Unreal 5 engine and it does look much nicer. Where it breaks down is long distance views. Those are often empty and bland but short range it certainly higher fidelity ... with the right hardware and settings.
Fair point, I’ll look further into my settings. It’s an older pc but Zwift looks great on it, I may have downloaded the more basic version then!
@Adiambrozi I think you need to be a bit more granular than "Zwift is by far the best cycling platform". Racing wise: Indievelo is much more realistic and better in that respect. Workouts/Training plan wise Zwift is absolute garbage. Most of the training plans are outright bad for your health. The few that are good (such as the FTP builder) were actually contracted out and have not been done by Zwift. MyWhoosh has a lot more credibility in that regard with many great training plans from coaches that work with the likes of Tadej Pogacar. The question is "what makes Zwift great?" ... in my view that is the community ... not anything that Zwift have done directly. And a community can get quickly get rid off by e.g. drastic price increases. Empty the roads in Watopia and the race pens and Zwift would feel just as bland as myWhoosh often feels at the moment. The exodus from Zwift could quickly snowball to a level that it is non-recoverable ... I hope they recover but I'm currently planning to leave the platform when my annual subscription runs out.
thanks !! I left Zwift due to the sharp increase of 33%. I will try 1,2 or all three of the platforms you mentioned. thanks again
@@TheRealRanger5691 no problem. Enjoy!
I have no idea if there's a mass exodus from Zwift, meaning people cancelling who will never re-subscribe. I am aware there is a lot of noise about it and definitely some people saying they will or have quit. What we don't know is whether they will return when the weather says to ride indoors. We also don't know how much worse it will get in the fall when people who have already cancelled for the summer prior to the price increase find out that the price went up, because those people were not notified and may not be paying any attention to all the chatter.
Agreed. Mass expdus wasn’t the best phrasing on my part but there definitely are a lot of people have are cancelling their subscriptions at least for the summer months
@@ZRaceCentral Let's look for "Peak Zwift 2025" next January if that is significantly lower than the 2024 numbers that would be more conclusive I think.
Zwift dealbreakers for me include no family plan and throttled graphics on Apple TV.
Used Zwift since 2017, level 95 rider, A cat racer. Switched to IV for racing, but still using Zwift sometimes for some old group rides to kill time. But the more I use IV the more Zwift seems so silly, like using a cartoon with its fake racing and silly dynamics. IV has a ways to go in the graphics department, but based on how fast they are releasing features (that actually work), I have faith it’s gonna surpass Zwift in the future.
Yeah it's nice now, but I think IV will not stay free, it's free now as it's in beta but not for always I guess
@@ZanicL3what is IV?
@@aboutagb indievelo lol
As ZanicL3 says, IndieVelo. I believe I covered it in this video. Smaller racing-oriented platform.
Cancelled my membership as soon as the price increase was announced. I used zwift almost exclusively for structured workouts and always watch TV shows/movies while training indoors so dropping Zwift for TrainerDay was an easy decision to make
Yeah that decision makes sense especially with your use case
Ok, I understand people are salty about the price increase. But really, $25/month is a bargain for the amount of benefit I get out of it. But yet, there are aspects that could really be improved. Like the route profile at the bottom of the map which is unintuitive and limited to the current "segment". Can even tell which direction you're moving on it at times. Why isn't always left to right?
But it isn't a bargain, is it? £180/year for what? Them to manage a server and a pretty basic game? Let's see: Netflix, where they invest hundreds of millions in the content, and charge you £8/month, how about Spotify where they give you access to pretty much all music and you pay £8/month. No mate, this very basic game is NOT worth double that.
Good bye Zwift at end of this months subscription Off to MyWhoosh over winter here in Australia
Enjoy
For what they are asking. They are not delivering enough. If Zwift wants to be a serious Esports platform they have to step it up against cheaters. At the very least fix the sticky watts bullshit, have races where smart trainer power can be made mandatory.
Definitely need to live up to the expectations if they want people to take zwift racing seriously
Zwift have had over half a decade to fix racing, they haven’t and it’s not going to happen. Just go with IV for e racing now, leave zwift for the people playing make believe.
Why would they stop money coming in?
They are the same as game developers.
Not interested in stopping users even if they are cheating
@@simoncbr900rr Well, most of the biggest games have anti-cheating code built in, and or extensions you have to install with the PC version, etc. It's my belief Zwift is simply not capable of solving the problem, because they have tried a few things in the past, all of which they always abandoned. Over the years they also let go of staff (or said staff resigned) that were resolving the cheating issues as well. So, might be true they don' t want to solve it on purpose as well. But who cares at this stage (2024), IV is solving the problem, for validated community racing it will fill that void.
Yip I’ve highlighted many times to zwift is the price increase to pay for the makita dewault coffee dopers zwift is rife with cheats getting sick of it
I don't think any of the competitors are quite at the same level as Zwift! They are bringing a customizable HUD and other things that people have requested such as an improved elevation graph, so your reasons are slightly off. The free apps won't be as good, and when they are as good will also have price increases.
Problem is, the other competitors have had a customizable HUD for ages now and have much more customizabiloty compare to Zwift. Zwift’s is extremely minimal if you saw the data fields that can be changed. There’s basically a selection of 4 basic statistics.
@@ZRaceCentral I think Zwift's biggest problem at the moment is one that mywoosh for example will come up against soon. Investors want their returns and Mywoosh is running at a massive loss. I think the Zwift price rise is purely pressure to make profit and Mywoosh will be under the same pressure, especially if the masses move there from Zwift in the short-term.
Do you think that the Whosh and Velo are always going to be free or cheaper?
I think they will have change at some point but they may stay free for a few months to maximize the users they can gain from Zwift’s price change
@@ZRaceCentralMyWhoosh have publically stated many times, that they will stay free forever, as they have powerful backers (and possibly government backing too).
@@sbrusgaard IndieVelo will likely charge at some point if they stay independent. They said in the past that they don't intend to compete with the big players but rather develop the technology to improve/license to other platforms ... sounds to me that they are building up to sell at some point. Probably still a couple of years out as they will want to build the user base to increase the price tag if this is what is happening. MyWhoosh does obviously have the cross of a washing machine and sports ... to keep the washing machine going it makes sense for it to stay free ... not a guarantee though. ... Microsoft also said that windows 10 was going to be the very last windows version they would ever release ... things change in business.
Yeah I think myWhoosh will stay free. indieVelo will cost something for sure in the future
it will be always free because its sucks and they need at least some people filling the maps..
Indivelo is really good, it's a Zwift clone of course but it's free; not going back to Zwift
Yep. Really just missing the community aspect ATM.
Yeah Zwift wants too much for a fairly basic app. Time to try something else.
I definitely left after price increase
As a gamer and rider, I just never got into Zwift's basic gaming system.
Yeah, Zwift's gaming system is pretty simple, but it is still more than the other platforms offer.
Mywhoose doesn't have the community, but it does have better and more realistic features. I canceled my membership. The zwift training is a joke. Cant use with kickr v5 see yeah
my friend told me MyWhoosh "without go" run harder in pc even with RTX3050..
but does it? please someone give me advice which one should i download..
currently i'm using laptop Ryzen 5 7640hs and RTX 3050 6gigs, with 16gigs of ram..
Have you tried any virtual cycling apps so far? Or are you looking for advice for your first one
@@ZRaceCentral i have tried plently, and currently using zwift for 2 years..
I have tried rouvy but i don't really like the realism of the graphic
For mywhoosh the problem is i have Heard from my group ride.. mywhoosh hd are needed pretty high spec pc.. is it enough for my gaming laptop?
A gaming PC should definitely be able to handle MyWhoosh. My 2020 Macbook Air runs perfectly fine on MyWhoosh.
@@ZRaceCentral the minimum requirements for MyWhoosh HD is a desktop RTX 1080Ti, a card that (despite its age) is roughly 80% faster than a laptop RTX 3050. So the non-HD version (formerly known as “Go”) would probably be the better one to use.
The "first price rise since 2017" excuse is irrelevant if you've only been on the platform for a couple of years or maybe a few months. These people don't care. What they see is a huge increase for no extra value now, the past doesn't matter. I'm currently testing alternatives, they don't need to be free but I'm not being shafted on price with nothing extra in return.
In the past 2 years alone I’d say there have been a decent amount of features added. But if you’ve just joined in the last year or so I can see how it may be harder to see this price increase as justified
@@ZRaceCentral which features you mean?
@@DaveRider719holoreplays, video recording, more steering stuff, category enforcement, pace partners, etc
During the summer Zwift is quieter? When it is summer in the north hemisphere is winter in the south hemisphere, and the opposite is also true.
During summer for the northern hemisphere it’s extremely quiet. Yes, it is winter in the southern but the vast majority of zwifters are based in the northern hemisphere
Yeah, i know a lot of zwifters in Sudan or Ruanda…lol
I do think zwift need to invest more into the graphics but despite the price increase it is still the market leader by far
Yeah, Zwift will be leading for awhile.
Thanks for the price increase with no new worlds for years and now we have to pay for your R&D on your bike trainer
We've had quite a few new worlds in the last few years. The intent with the hardware is to ultimately make the sport more affordable and accessible to users. Normally a Zwift set up costs 2000+ with a bike. Now riders can just buy the Zwift RIDE for 1300.
@@ZRaceCentral why would you buy the Zwift bike when you can buy a road bike and a smart trainer for less money and you have the option to actually ride the bike in real life instead of staring at a screen.
Riding your bike outside is where it's at in the summer months at least.
Eeeerrr no there has been a couple of worlds apart from that it's either route extensions or pretend routes for badges.
Where content is concerned Zwift is definitely not value for money
@@simoncbr900rr a good amount of riders have no intention of riding outdoors. To get a bike that is reliable enough would definitely cost more than buying a smart frame. It’s also just a lot simpler for those who don’t want to have to worry about all the technical stuff. In the last few years we’ve gotten Scotland and makuri islands, makuri has expanded quite a bit and the level of detail in the game art has been bumped up significantly.
@@ZRaceCentral people that just sit on a static frame staring at a screen are not cyclists or riders.
They are possibly keep fit enthusiasts but not cyclists
@@ZRaceCentral in 10 years!!
Wait so what are we supposed to swap too instead of zwift
ROUVY
Rouvy, indievelo, and MyWhoosh are all options. However, for many Zwift will suit their needs better than these alternatives, so only switch if you feel the need
@@ZRaceCentralthere is still no competition
@@collectivesartori the apps I listed are definitely competition. They may not suit your needs but they certainly suit many others needs
What about running? I like to do rides and runs? Any alternative for that? Swift is pretty expensive with everything going up specially groceries I can’t afford keeping the subscription
All you folks talking as if Zwift is expensive for its lack of features, while I’m here paying 30 monthly for a cycling progs with only power graphs for graphics.
Trainerroad I presume?
I am staying on Zwift... just saying
Your videos are generally informative, but this would have been better without the clickbait title. Fwiw, I’m not leaving Zwift.
I'm sorry about that. I will take that into account for future videos.
🔥vid
Indeed
As a software engineer an entrepreneur let me tell you how difficult and expensive it is to develop, maintain and run software. It’s insane.
People spend $50 on Uber eats weekly but complain about $20 a month software.
Yeah, I do think people underestimate the amount of resources it takes to develop an app, especially one as complex and large as Zwift
As a software developer, let me tell you that your argument is a straw man. It’s faulty logic. With the huge user base that Zwift has, their price increase indicates more than maintenance and development. The infrastructure and most of the development has happened a long time ago, and price increases for running that software don’t seem to match what they are asking. I have been a subscriber to zwift since the beginning but some months I only ride one or two times. In fact last year I only rode 20 times which makes my cost $10 per ride. There has been no price break for someone who just occasionally uses it; they pay as much as someone who uses it every day. Obviously someone at the top of Zwift doesn’t know how to effectively run a business.
Not everyone. Stick to facts, buddy
Really sorry about that.
Wow, imagine the best online cycling platform rasing their price? You think their overheads have gotten cheaper or something?
FYI a few people have jumped over to other platforms and given them a go, they are all back already. Says alot doesn't it.
Nothing compares to Zwift wether you like it all not. It's also where 99% of the online community is.
It really depends on what you are looking for in Zwift. for my usecase, there is no app that rivals it yet. However, some only use it to track their data so a free app is plenty
Zwift is still the best! Not quitting!
I’m on the same boat. Ride on!
Bye 👋
Whoa. 115 likes in just one month!! LOL. People upset about price increase have obviously never run a business. Price increase is less than 17 cents a day! Gen X-ers, remember when we used to pump quarters into video games to play for 1-10 minutes?
Found the Zwift executive!
@@VBL- the wrongness must be painful
People can be upset over what they want. Is it a reasonable business decision for Zwift? Probably. Can people still get upset that they’re gonna have to pay more? Yeah, their lives their choices.
"no one asked for" I guess you have some data to back that up :) Just because in your little world people wanted different things doesn't mean no ones asked for these features. Must be nice in your little bubble :) There's lots of other things I'd like to see in Zwift (some of them are the ones you mentioned), but I'm not the only one using it, everyone has different uses and priorities, keep that in mind.
Yeah sorry that wasn’t the best way to put it. The features just haven’t been the ones that the vast majority of users have been requesting over the years. All of the features do have their use cases but there are other valid long standing requests that really haven’t been fulfilled or acknowledged
People are being squeezed for money. However, a 33% increase, the first one in five years, is not unusual. Look at the price of bicycles for an example. 40 to 50% increased prices for bottom line bikes happened in the same time period. Add that a lot of value was added during those five years. Sooner or later, all the free options are going to charge. Don't be at all surprised if they cost as much, if not more than Zwift.
Indievelo is a hard one since it’s only a few developers working on the platform, so I’d expect some sort of charge coming soon. MyWhoosh seems to have a lot of funding from external sources, so they may be able to do without charging for awhile.
@@ZRaceCentral Very true. MyWhoosh is basically underwritten by the UAE Government. Sooner or later that will have to end. IndieVelo is basically the RGT team and they have some funding. IndieVelo is also more oriented towards e-racing and that's a limited audience.
Name one person who switched to mywoosh or else?!
Moi 🙂
same, not paying this price, forget.
Looks like you have your answer…
yes me 🙂
Bye then!😂
Lol
The increase sort of pissed me off too, but that's life. I have had too many close calls, so I am primarily an indoor rider now ( i miss the pavement). I am willing to pay the increase for the virtual shifting. Lot less strain on my older Ultegre drive train..
Yeah, riding on Zwift is definitely safer than heading out on the roads. As a side note, Indievelo does offer virtual shifting too (not sure how good it is compared to Zwift’s but it works with just a keyboard and any trainer)
@@ZRaceCentral yes I have Zwift one and use manual shifting and virtual shifting and the same time during my rides on indievelo. Works really good. Huge fan of virtual shifting. This is the best feature zwift has so far for me. I also bought the zwift play controller for changing gears and braking. This is what I am missing on the other platforms.
I think the platform is fantastic...I am not leaving.
I would agree. For my use case zwift remains 👑
For me, with a snails pace of platform development, there’s no point to keep supporting Zwift year-round. I’ll come back to Zwift for the months when I ride nearly daily each month. From a micro level, (from my pocketbook) Zwift’s price hike costs them at least 50% revenue and the risk I’ll find another platform to ride on all together instead.
It's honestly insane how slow/complacent Zwift is when it comes to implementing features and QOL changes. Seems like a lot of people don't seem to care since there isn't that much competition but if this changes its just going to be better for consumers in the long term. I guess the big problem is there's not a big interesect between talented game/app developers and passionate cyclists.
Paused Zwift while I look around. Currently looking at Whoosh, and this has the bulk of what I need.Will also try the other one you highlighted. Was thinking about leaving Zwift before the price increase - not impressed with the climb portal (one of the most boring things to do). Zwift has become too commercial with its emphasis on trainer sales etc. Races in Zwift have too many individuals who manipulate the system - they are clearly well over the specified category, but manage their races to lie within the category they are racing in. Race categories are also too wide - need more categories or better promotion through the categories e.g. move people up after number of podium places or podium wins. Too many bikes, wheels etc in Zwift and all with the same performance - why so many.
Yeah, I think that's what a lot of people fail to realize. Zwift has pretty much everything anyone could need, but most of these other alternatives do have the basic features that most riders use. Glad you were able to find a good alternative that works for you.
I switched to ROUVY, and never looked back. I’m surprised you didn’t even mention it in your commentary on alternative options. Riding on virtually real roads almost makes me forget I’m riding indoors. ROUVY is amazing!
I believe I did mention Rouvy, but I didn’t talk about it as much because it is a paid app and I was mainly focusing on free alternatives
Indievelo is wating you!
had a look at zwift recently for the first time in a couple of years and it's nearly exactly the same, with 20 million a month turnover this is a disaster in terms of development
Lol. Lots of the features are more hidden. You won't notice major changes in the UI, but once you're in-game there are lots of cool features that have been added.
Mywhoosh does everything I need and it is free. Had there not been a price increase, I wouldn’t have left Zwift. Zwift is now close to $2 per ride. I’m not going back to Zwift
Yeah it definitely depends on how much you ride and whether you find Zwift’s perks worth it. Glad you’re enjoying mywhoosh.
Technically My Whoosh is free to use - but the cost of taking part in digital sport-washing not sure that's worth it.
100% leaving Swift. 30% more for 90's graphics? No.
Hope you can find a platform that suits your needs
Realistic graphics are not needed. Borderlands 3 graphics are sufficient- other stuff is more important
Bye bye Zwift! You will not be missed.
Hope you enjoy the other platforms 👍
No, everyone is not quitting Zwift.
lol
Gaslighting
Stop your whining. Nobody is leaving Zwift because of the price increase . There’s no other competitor that even comes close to Zwift. I’m staying and will gladly pay the increase
Ive been enjoying the climbing routes on rouvy. Although it definitely is different than the open world of zwift
Not only am I leaving Zwift, I just cancelled an order for a Zwift trainer.
Yeah who would complain about such a good thing right? Let them go to 100 month sir in with you Suarez 😂
Maybe not "everyone" is leaving, but people ARE leaving. Take a look around at the comments.
I know 3 who have not fully left but are training on other virtual trainers. Mywhoosh being the most common. It's only a matter of time before one of these other options take hold. I myself have one foot out the door. I've been trying rouvy and mywhoosh.
Slow down......enunciate each word......
Sorry will keep in mind for future
Also, watch clipping on your mic. Not trying to pile on!
Is the Virtufit Etappe 2.0 also compatibel with MyWhoosh? Or is the Zycle Zdrive the cheapest option when wanting a quiet indoor bike (magnetic resistance and V-belt)?
I haven’t heard of those two but I will do some digging and get back to you
Looking forward to your answer. 😊
FYI: the Zycle is confirmed by MyWhoosh itself on their website, it costs about 1.700 EUR. The Virtufit I only find confirmation with other apps (Zwift and Kinomap), not sure about Mywhoosh. It costs about 700 EUR.
I guess the big difference will be that the Zycle resistance can be controlled by apps, but Virtufit can't. But even of that I ain't sure.
@@wardcoomans7101 It looks like it uses standard bluetooth stuff so I would assume it is compatible with MyWhoosh. I'd recommend reaching out to their support team to confirm before purchasing
@@ZRaceCentral thanks allready. I did sent message through the Virtufit website itself. No answer so far, curious for their answer. I allready asked at an dutch seller, who said it was not compatibel. But he also said the Zycle Bike isn't compatibel, but the Zycle is recommended by MyWhoosh itself. So mixed answers there... 😓 I also asked through the MyWhoosh chat, he said he didn't know/tested with Virtufit. Which I understand completely, there are thousands of indoor bikes, it is not up to them to test them out. I'll just hope and wait for the answer of Virtufit itself.
Thanks again for your effort.
Generally most trainers that transmit power data via bluetooth are compatible. with these cycling apps. It's just the simulation aspect that has more of a grey area
Do you think getting a wahoo kicker v4 for 500?
What currency are you referring to? The Wahoo Kickr V4 is a decent deal at 500 (assuming it's UK or US currency). However, the upcoming Jetblack Victory seems to be a _very_ good option if ~400-500 is your budget. It has the same accuracy as the Kickr V4, comes with a Zwift Cog, and has much more modern features (10hz transmission, wifi, etc). It is set to be released later this year, so if you can wait I'd probably wait for the reviews of that trainer, and if they are positive, pick that one up over the Kickr V4. Also, if you're worried about being bound to Zwift with the Jetblack Victory, you can always swap the cog out for a cassette for ~$50.
@@ZRaceCentral yeah but waiting untill fall seems like a lot, im really looking at the Core, at v6 with discount to 999 right now. and its REALLY hard to choose.
yeah i wass reffering to usd, 500 for the kicker but sadly there is no virtual shifting for it. Although i only trained in ERG mode in the past. i assume its pretty irrelevant to what i knew how to do in zwift itself
@@ignaciosevil2157 V6 would give you pretty much everything you need. The ELITE Avanti is another to check out. It releases in a few months and should be priced at around $750 US and offers many of the features that the V6 offers at a lower cost. No virtual shifting for it at the moment but that could definitely change once it is formerly announced and available for purchase.
@@ignaciosevil2157 if the v6 is within your budget, it certainly won’t disappoint. It really has anything you could need, only things you’d get from higher end trainers like the MOVE are well… movement. I’d say if you’re willing to spend, the v6 would be a great reliable trainer. With the CORE you’re pretty much just getting a bit less accuracy, but less gradient sim, no wifi or 10hz transmission, and smaller flywheel (not at realistic).
@@acmhfmggru well i see it sells for 650$ that would only be 150 $ not half price sir!
And on top of that they include 1 YEAR zwift subscription... Those are like 200-250$ yearly subscription.. Hard choice..... I still dont know what to choose and from what i see of the ZCOG Is that its not compatible with kicker v4
are you sure its compatible??
Don't know who you're talking about. I only know of people joining almost daily.....so, speak for yourself :D
Honestly it depends on the type of riders you primarily interact with. Since I've been Zwifting for 5+ years and am pretty deep into the community at this point, I've noticed that most of the riders who are jumping boats are people who used to be competitive Zwift racers who want something with less cheating.
i was paying anually before, which was 144, (12per month)- and now its 16, so the jump is still consistent
How many cyclist boycott their favorite coffee shop when they have been overcharging for years! I have no reason to complain. Price increase is much less than the garbage food so many cyclist indulge themselves with.
That is a decent point, but what makes this different is that there IS a free alternative to receiving a similar thing. You can’t exactly get coffee for free. For a lower cost certainly but it’s never free. If cyclists could go to a cafe that gave free coffee im sure they would…
@@ZRaceCentral My bet is, the currently free platforms are bankrolled by investors and eventually will have to start charging in one form or another. IMO
Totally agree. I'd pay even more been game changer for me. They've been adding stuff I'm happy and more to come. Tried other platforms, they're buggy immature and crash. Dread to see what will happen with UCI choosing MyWoosh, hope it doesn't crash mid-championships.
Actually, at a certain age (ahem), you can get free coffee at McDonalds. Doesn’t mean people won’t still pay for Starbucks or whatever!
Imagine a $0.17/day increase being a financial burden to people partaking in a perpetually expensive hobby.
It's not a burden; it's a hilariously misguided increase that renders the product even less valuable. Do you frame all financial decisions in such basic terms?
@@whatwelearned The “basic terms” is the only way to contrast the mass exodus and outcry everyone’s having over it. Then an entire video to outline a marginal increase only to serve as a platform for people to get animated over said increase? That’s really the hilariously misguided part. Maybe i’m just easily annoyed. To be fair, i’m not an accountant for the Zwift corporation but I can only imagine the determination of this increase is justified. It’s as if every subscription service hits this point..
And its even 0,007 € / hour! So any price change at all! 🤦
The price increase was bound to happen, I was just sharing what many Zwifters think about the price increase.
@@letskeepearthgreen Firstly, assuming every price increase is justified is an utter baffling approach. Secondly, not all subscription services do this all at, which is why the huge increase in percentage terms has annoyed people.
Everyone is quitting zwift (nope) They aren't flocking over to indiVelo og Wosh (nope)Indivelo, the dynamics of that simulator was awful. Wosh is Saudi owners and they try to take marked from Zwift, Zwift is like WoW, the user base will always stick to Zwift.
Upset about the price increase too but staying with zwift. Indie velo people working closely with zwift on and off. So maybe zwift adds their platform with their racing protocols and setup. A few people can’t run indievelo long term without major support or incoming funds. So maybe by end of summer something will be announced. Mywoosh is Arab/muslium (ride through mosque) backed one from a nation that controls citizens life’s and treats women, with lgbtq+ community, other cultural groups as second class or prison to even death for just minor things. If it is free, then you are the product which means spy ware galore from nation that knows how to do it towards its own people already, plus oil money . Rovay is a cg avatar and minor graphics on a real world video, very different.unlike zwift, indie velo, or my whoosh.
Yeah indievelo doesn’t seem like the most sustainable business but for Zwift to add indievelo to their platform would be pretty unlikely imo because it would probably require a buy out and it wouldn’t make the most sense since the riders switching to indievelo are more part of the racing demographic while Mywhoosh is going to have more riders of a similar riding lifestyle to Zwift
$20 per month is less than $1.00 per day. Seems worth it.
Depends how much you use your set up. Some just have their subscriptions going and use it once a month.
@@ZRaceCentral I think not only how often but what you are doing. I think racing on zwift is still the best option because of the huge user base. Group Rides too. but free rides, workout and configuring bots you can use the other platforms. I ride indoor nearly daily because of my structured workout
Yeah, I do still think how often is a way that helps people justify the cost. If you ride once it’s 20 bucks for that one ride. However, if you ride daily it’s less then a dollar