Interested to know what subscribers to Zwift think about it. I.e. your pros and cons list.
I’ve been playing with it since the first of the year, but plan to cancel later this month.
In years past I occasionally logged in when 15km free per month still worked.
I took a deep dive this year, but it’s really not my thing. I’ll post my why-not list soon.
In the meantime, I’d like to hear from some diehard fans who I presume are into ZRL which literally means die hard. 
I Zwift, I occasionally race, where I’ll definitely push myself harder than at any other time. But mostly the gamification aspects will get me on the trainer when it’s not nice enough to ride outside.
I use it mainly to do my workouts, really like the way the arches appear in the distance which gives you motivation to push to the end of an hard interval, maybe that comes from my time as a time triallist and seeing the finish line, but I find it much more motivating than just using a workout player on a phone, I started out a few years back using TR and got sick to death of the blue bars 
Also use the pacer rides in lieu of doing an ‘endurance’ workout, again, find having to change gear, keep with the group much more engrossing than just staring at a number for an hour or more, particularly for ‘zone 2’ or endurance work, found in the past when I’ve tried to use a workout player that I die of boredom almost.
There’s also the gamification of leveling up and ticking of challenges, whilst not really of any importance, it just adds something a little bit extra to what is essentially quite a boring activity (riding indoors) I used to quite like video games in my younger years so I suppose I’m a bit pre-disposed to that sort of thing.
Never really got into the racing, too many varibles for me to take it seriously, by that I mean power meters reading low/high and the weight thing, as I said earlier, I used to race time trials and there’s no effect on the outcome of the race if someone is lying about their weight or their power meter is reading 20 watts too high, fastest person wins, I have tried a few of the races though and they are great for pushing out time to exhuastion if that’s something you are looking to develop.
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I recently had a revelation with Zwift this indoor season (that and I also moved to a colder climate with more snow days and rain).
What I learned, and it’s ironic because Zwift is literally a video game, is that you have to embrace Zwift as a game to enjoy indoor training. Otherwise, it feels like you are paying $20 a month to watch a cartoon cyclist pedal in a virtual world. When you play a game, you have to have a stake, a goal, motivations, or a set of circumstances to continue playing. This is basic game design. Zwift does provides you with incentives, goals, and metrics to achieve. You just have to dive into it and embrace it as a video game and not a program to execute a work out.
I find that those who hate Zwift (1) can’t suspend disbelief, (2) are extremely prescriptive with their training plan, or (3) it’s just simply not their thing and that’s totally fine. For the most part, I was a number (2) and a bit of (3). I just could not understand using Zwift to run my interval sessions. I could not race without ruining my weekly training plan. I could not stand doing Z2 and watching my little cycling avatar go up a hill at 2mph because my trainer’s ERG mode was set at 165w for a base training session. It was counter-intuitive for me. I did not gain anything other than fake world on my computer screen.
This season, I went full in on Zwift with in-game goals.
- Move up in rank in my Zwift Racing.
- Grind out more “drops” (Zwift’s in-game currency) to upgrade my bikes and wheel sets (they make a difference if you are racing).
- Attempt an Alp du Zwift ride.
These three in-game goals will help with my fitness goals outside. What I found helpful was the following:
- Instead of using ERG mode to do my Z2 workouts, I use robo-pacers. This keeps me actively engaged to stay on pace. I still listen to music, podcast, or watch some YouTube videos. The main reward for robo-pacers is not only that it’s more “active” but you get a “drops” multiplier where you eventual earn 2.5x more drops than riding on ERG mode in Z2. These pacer rides allowed me to bank more drops to upgrade my wheel sets and bikes and improve my in-game racing. Hence, I am working towards my in-game goals and Z2 base training by using robo-pacers to get more virtual currency and unlock items for the purpose of racing. I am not motivated to buy cosmetics items for my character. At the end of the day, it’s silly to ride for drops but it’s a goal that motivates me for that sweaty virtual currency!
- Zwift Racing is difficult and fun. I work towards pushing myself but also find learning tactics and strategies a fun way to keep me engaged. Every time I race, I learn something about my fitness and strategy. I am not even a strong rider this season and I am stuck at the lower/beginner end of the racing spectrum. There are a of issues with racing but whatever. It’s a video game!
- Zwift simply allows me to get in a quick work out when I feel lazy to gear up and deal with the cars, the cold, and drudgery of an outdoor interval session. It saves me time and energy.
I’ve tried TrainerRoad and TrainingPeaks Virtual. Both are great if you simply want a program to show your indoor training on screen and if you are already subscribed to their training plans. Rouvy was great for more realistic scenery but it felt lonely (even when you enable virtual pacers I really felt alone with the NPCs). I did not have any in-game motivation to continue using Rouvy other than the need to have something to run a workout.
At the end of the day, Zwift is a video game. When one aimless just rides around the world and hops on Zwift without any in-game goals (or does so with the understanding that Zwift is simply a way for you to run an indoor workout), it feels useless and a waste of money. It’s counter-intuitive to the design of Zwift and it gets boring. It feels like a waste of money. That’s how it felt for me until this season when I embraced the gamified aspects of Zwift!
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zwift is great for adding in some social aspect to indoor training while still providing some solid interface for training.
Hi,
I’m in the same boat — every month I’m thinking about whether Zwift is still worth paying for.
I do most of my workouts through the Xert EBC app, and I keep my sessions in ERG mode. In Zwift I have the training controller turned off. The only thing I really use Zwift for is joining a group ride 1–2 times a week. When I have a longer endurance session planned, I ride without ERG, so in total I’m using Zwift maybe 4–5 times a month :). I haven’t tried racing yet.
Once I start riding outside again in spring, I’ll probably cancel my subscription.
I also looked at Rouvy, but there doesn’t seem to be as much choice for group rides. Plus I didn’t like that when you finish a route, the activity gets saved automatically — unlike Zwift, where I can keep looping the same route during a workout.
As someone who’s both an Xert admin and a near-daily Zwifter, I figured I’d chime in with a few thoughts:
1. The Visuals
I’ll be honest - I’m not a huge fan of the cartoonish art style in Zwift, but I’ve learned to overlook it.
2. The Community
This is where Zwift really shines. I lead a couple of group rides each week and regularly join others hosted by riders I’ve gotten to know over months (or even years) of riding together. To me, the social side of Zwift (including meet-ups with teammates) adds a sense of connection and accountability that helps me stay consistent all winter!
3. Racing
I don’t know how/why it took me so long to get into it, but I’ve been loving it this winter. There’s a huge variety - TTTs, scratch races, ladder races, and leagues like ZRL and FRR - so there’s something for nearly everyone. FWIW, I actually have grown to love Ladder Racing far more than ZRL.
I try not to let things like sandbagging or weight doping get to me - it’s going to happen in any virtual platform. I remind myself that it’s still just a video game, and if I had fun and got a good workout in, it’s a win.
Bonus: races often naturally line up with my high-intensity XSS targets, so they double as solid high-intensity training sessions!
4. Training with Xert
As mentioned above, I don’t do as many structured workouts these days, but when I do, I usually run them with the Xert app controlling the trainer while Zwift runs in the background recording my power. Between Magic Buckets, Racing, and RoboPacers, I’ve been able to keep things fun & productive.
5. Distance & Speed Accuracy
One common complaint I hear is about the “fake” speed/distance in Zwift. Personally, I don’t worry about it. I track my training in hours and XSS, so distance is irrelevant to me.. especially in a game world. That being said, it does annoy me when people ride endlessly on the shortest, flattest course & intentionally brag about how “far” they rode 
I can appreciate Zwift isn’t for everyone, but for me it’s been a great compliment to Xert: Xert tells me what training I need to do to get fitter & I complete the training in a number of different ways using Zwift. 
Cheers!
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