Zwift Update: Four NEW Roads on Watopia!

[@tobyzwifthub4903]

The new routes are now ready to be ticked off on ZwiftHub as well. Released a little bit later than your video, I needed to work on my festive logo. Priorities... Happy days and Merry Christmas 🎄🎄🎄

[@janchristoffersen1328]

Thanks for good work, both you and GPlama, merry Christmas.

Alright! Great work 👍

[@mauriciootis9746]

i realize it is kind of randomly asking but do anyone know a good site to stream newly released tv shows online ?

[@santiagoparker3500]

@Mauricio Otis Meh I watch on Flixportal. Just google for it:D -santiago

[@mauriciootis9746]

@Santiago Parker thanks, I went there and it seems to work =) Appreciate it !

[@rasherdk]

Hope Zwift adds custom routes or community routes or something. With these new connections there are so many more possible combinations.

[@leslie7922]

Zwift needs to be a platform with open apis and sdk for map building. It would scale much better than the current monolithic app they have

[@MGMan37]

This, I want to ride through Blood Gulch from Halo or maybe random Mario Kart tracks

[@SteveT__001]

New routes, especially in Watopia are always welcomed, I just wish they would make it possible to get back to the main menu without exiting the programme. Surely it can't be that difficult?

[@trepidati0n533]

There could be a lot of technical debt that would need to be paid (e.g. most software development becomes a challenge of not breaking old code with the new code). It might be something in the works...but if they get it wrong it could be financially damaging until they sort it out. With them having investors now, they can't just change things if there isn't a $ benefit behind it.

[@kamerstoel1023]

@@trepidati0n533 You underestimate the value of UX so does Zwift. I know a lot of people who don't use Zwift due to it's UI and UX. From a big company like Zwift you should expect more than a few bug fixes and a connecting road.

[@seesharp81321]

@@trepidati0n533 when you do it wrong technical debt builds up quickly. Feature switches go long way. As a software developer I was kind of shocked that the app terminates on saving

[@seesharp81321]

@@kamerstoel1023 I don't know the user base (# of monthly users on average). It can be rather costly to build and maintain such an application. The team could be smaller than you might think

[@trepidati0n533]

@@kamerstoel1023 Pretty terrible for you to assume that I don't understand what UX is or the value of it. Zwift is not "big", they are a small fish relatively speaking. Regardless, there are very very few people in the UX world who actually really understand what they are doing. It is same notion of what do you call a DR who graduated last in his class...DR.

[@AbigailPender]

I had the luxury of experiencing a sunset on my test ride of the epic kom bypass and it truly was special

[@timothyjohnsey]

I've always wanted the Epic KOM bypass. It's a Festivus miracle.

[@kevinfink9181]

It's a Festivus for the rest of us

[@slidey1000]

It's not a miracle until they erect an aluminium pole.

[@kevinfink9181]

Listen here, it's time for the airing of the greviances and I've got alot of problems with you people

[@dr.vannostrand411]

These new routes look cool, I'll definitely give them a go soon! I wish Zwift would give us some crazy, less realistic routes. Things like Mario Kart's Rainbow Road, or a route to the North Pole for something Christmas related. Being able to ride through a volcano is a step in the right direction, I'm just hoping we see them have more fun with the fact that it's a virtual world in the future.

[@gplama]

New York is almost that.... but the routes are not all that popular.

[@johnandrews3568]

@@gplama exactly, because they generally suck. LOL I haven't ridden in NYC in over a year.

[@raphaeltiziani7476]

@@johnandrews3568 yes so true.

[@dooglasii]

Issue with new york is there is no variety. Its a rolling course with a killer kom and no opportunity to get a rhythm. Titans Grove on the other hand is an example of a rolling route done right. Just the design of the route flows nice. You get that feeling your working up and then going down as opposed to just receiving random trainer resistance. To revive new York, there should be a new road that connects out to a place where people actually ride in the country

[@mapk4655]

@@johnandrews3568 Yeah it is brutal, did my first race there yesterday.

[@ianprice2298]

Thanks very much for doing this. I am very new to Zwift, so most roads are very new to me, but this video lets me know how the new segments fit into the whole.

[@dh7314]

May encourage some of us to ride the jungle again. I've avoided it ever since they made it like riding through syrup.

[@michaelschlitzer8742]

Change bikes, then it's fine.

[@dh7314]

@@michaelschlitzer8742 it's still like riding through syrup on MTB and Gravel.

[@michaelschlitzer8742]

@@dh7314 I have not experienced that when I've changed bikes, but I'm only one guy.

[@chbrosz]

I see you couldn't let the young guy pass you at 9:50 😂

[@phwhitefly]

look at his completed distance, I think the young guy chose to spawn with GP Lama.

[@keithallen4313]

Funny Sterzo hardly worked since Oct update for loads of people. Zwift emails told me it was all our fault but then suddenly after today's update the Sterzo connects every time and works on the companion app. Good new roads.

[@scottwelfare7311]

Thanks gplama for the video. Noticed the zwift update on my pc this morning before i did my ride, but was completely ambivalent to the update content. A much welcomed zwift update for me, just in time for a quiet christmas at home this year.

[@rasmuswi]

Those pillars and other things in the middle of the road in the jungle bypass makes me think it's time for Zwift to make it possible for people using the Sterzo and other steering devices to actually hit those things, and lose a lot of speed that way. I guess Zwift marketing department won't approve of naming this feature "Stupididy should be painful". :)

[@pedalpatrol]

I would love to see a dropshop where people can sell their custom bike skins or designs for drops. This is a very popular feature in racegames like Forza.

[@authorjohnwquinn]

Thank you, Shane! Merry Christmas!

[@dmiller187]

I’ve set a target of completing every route in Zwift. The new routes look great too. Great vid as always Shane.

[@jamesharvey1875]

Awesome work Shane. Great overview of the new roads. All the best with your #Festive500 and keep up the great content.

[@stephenbetley9596]

Next up, the Ultra Mega Uber Pretzel. 250km :)

[@mikedickerson3944]

Please god no.

[@AnythingTwoWheels]

Loving the new roads, and your content... Thanks !!

[@godfreymg]

I had a crash the other day and when I restarted it asked if I wanted to continue my prior ride. I said yes and was placed above everything flying over a canyon. My pedaling was still recognized and it eventually took me to a place on the actual ride map. Now that was fun! I am hoping some day they offer a new bike which is a helicopter or a kite.

[@SignorLuigi]

Great video! Nice job! 👍🏼👏🏻👏🏻

[@chrisross6277]

I'll look forward to logging in to see what they are called. Log out. Select a route (or maybe not, depends on the apple tv remote) complete route, wonder how far I am along route, etc etc.

[@galenkehler]

That new seaside route looks beautiful!

[@mattcostall5321]

Been waiting for this 😂 just watching as I ride them

[@clinthoneycutt4246]

Thanks for the info. Great job as always!!!

[@SignorLuigi]

Speaking of routes on Zwift... I'm fairly new to Zwift (9 months) and I'm still frustrated by NOT being able to easily see my progress when riding a route. Where is a "km to complete route" metric? Where is an actual map with the route clearly outlined in a distinct color and the part of the route you've covered at that moment clearly outlined in a different color? When I ride IRL, this is invariably how I approach my rides. I love the challenge of setting out to complete a journey and being able to monitor my progress. Why does Zwift not give users the ability to do this in their UI? Sincerely, Mr. Dazed, Disappointed, and Confused.

[@NoNo2Emo]

It's utterly baffling...probably the No1 requested feature by the community and still....nothing. If I'm not doing a structured training session I prefer to opt for the challenge of riding a route - would just like to know (a) exactly when it has started, given most routes have a lead in segment (b) where I am at any given time, distance to go etc. and (c) time on completion vs PB, leader boards etc.

[@SignorLuigi]

@@NoNo2Emo Hi Paul, Yes! That's what I'm talking about!!! Your (a), (b), and (c) would add so much to the Zwift experience. I'm all for adding connector roads to create more for route options but REALLY...what is in the minds of Zwift executives that motivates them to ignore this basic functionality of riding bikes (IRL or virtually)?! Thanks for sharing. It's good to know I am not alone. 👍👊

[@brianmccloskey6451]

@@SignorLuigi Amen. I joined zwift this fall and love the overall experience. However every time I ride a set 'route', I keep thinking to myself that there must be a way to monitor where I am on that specific route?? My default was that I imagined there had to be a way, I just hadn't discovered it yet. No idea why they wouldn't see this as an important add on to the overall riding experience?? It just makes too much sense.

[@SignorLuigi]

@@brianmccloskey6451 Hi Brian! Thanks for the reply. Hopefully, I'll get to see you sometime on Zwift and together we can be confused about our route progress! 🤣🤣🤣

[@brianmccloskey6451]

@@SignorLuigi absolutely!! You'd think this would be an easy fix or add on?? I'm perplexed as to why Zwift isn't being more responsive to their riding community??

[@shanew634]

Thanks, Shane. Good insight and updated my IPad.👏

[@alexmatthews3484]

Phew, I was beginning to think you might be ill, thanks for the video Shane

[@davidmoreland4480]

Ultra now available on M1 Mac.

[@mikesimms1]

If your Zwift machine is Windows-based, you might need a few minutes to update your graphics drivers. It didn't like the OpenGL version that I was running so I had stop being lazy and update my nVidia drivers.

[@kevruns]

While not a large amount of miles added there has clearly been a lot of work gone in to the Jungle addition and the Epic KOM bypass. They looks very good indeed. I do wonder if the Epic KOM bypass could be the beginnings of further expansion in that part of the map.

[@noisufnoc]

Am I the only one that watched in hopes of seeing your name come up as you give him a ride on? I saw myself @4:45 haha

[@gplama]

👍🏼

[@jasonbehringer743]

Wonder is Zwift dropped their updates earlier as RGT Cycling beat them by the punch on their new road and UI several hours later that same day.

[@JermTheCow]

Smashed all 4 routes by today, Zwift and hub back to 100% of the route badges, liked the new views. Now just have to find a way to smash the remaining 3 achievements (Everesting, 25 ADZ's and Sub 1hr ADZ) My W/Kg needs some improvement for those though.

[@nikibirling]

Epic KOM bypass is like MA-10 in Mallorca, snaking between mountain and sea.

[@jssaylor]

Woah look at that fancy new GPLama set background. Racking in that KZbin money!

[@jespero94]

Would be cool if they could add some more smaller hills (in watopia) that Will take 5-10min if you go fullgas :) The races would be much more fun instead of just waiting for a bunch sprint...

[@joeolla8458]

Shane...great video. What view are you using? Instead of the camera being behind you the camera seems to swing to the side, in front, and above? I use an iPad Pro when using Zwift and my camera just stays behind me?? That is unless I'm following someone else.

[@eddog6666]

8:41 Unmarked road spotted! a connector or new route? i heard there is suppose to be an upcoming Cave route

[@SaltLakeTriathlonClub]

Ride on!

[@michaelgermanese3775]

New routes are great, thanks for posting! What trainer difficulty do you recommend for wheel on trainers?

[@gplama]

I usually run at 100%. This is entirely up to the user.

[@paddylogan13]

Was hoping to have these on iOS this morning but not updated yet.

[@misterhello9189]

your watts are lit ! damn

[@gplama]

🚲🔥

[@guiltylizard6983]

Shane do you know when it is best to use a gravel bike and when to use a mountain bike?

[@johnhoneyball2338]

Hi Shane What actual difference does it make swapping to a gravel bike on the gravel routes . Thanks John

[@dh7314]

Mountain bike is quicker than the gravel bike on the gravel, or so I read last week.

[@phwhitefly]

Makes for a more compliant ride with those larger tires.

[@kevruns]

On the gravel a gravel bike is significantly faster than a road bike or TT. But a MTB is faster still. There’s a very thorough article on Zwift Insider explaining it all.

[@jackiegerwitz-dunn4046]

@@dh7314 My avatar wouldn't be caught dead on a MTN bike!

[@dh7314]

@@jackiegerwitz-dunn4046 lol, I feel the same. I hate using the mountain bike

[@davepratt9909]

OH NO! I had one route left to do them all.

[@WahWah91]

I recently started racing on Zwift. It would be quite helpful if you would make a video on what the numbers mean on Zwiftpower.com and how to use them for improving in races. Love the channel! Thanks.

[@gplama]

Once Zwift properly integrate ZwiftPower (which they now own) I’ll look into this.

[@SAMGB4H]

What hardware are you using to run your zwift? looks buttery smooth :)

[@andreasroth9302]

Great to see new routes. Is it only me or has Zwift disable the "bad waeather"? No rain in London and Watopia?

[@dooglasii]

Definitely not, it poured on my last ride coming through the Esses

[@cricanwa]

Thanks

[@mapk4655]

I mistakenly did the epic KOM after doing a ramp test. Not a good idea...

[@ChrisCanMakeStuff]

Anyone else find it funny that the "new" roads look kind of old and cracked?

[@chrisbayliss8862]

Do you know why Zwift have not added more challenges? I have done the tron bike one, Italy and California but nothing has been added now for years. Just seems odd they have not added to it

[@WowRixter]

Good stuff. Just in time

[@liamvagenende9281]

they shoul add a road from tha epic bypass all the way around the back of the mountain and come back at the windill to go to jungle like 15 km orso

[@brianwright9514]

Watopia's road commissioner really dropping the ball with that fallen tree.

[@MIKE_BLM_BDS_ACAB]

I have found my motivation to ride on Zwift has dropped as I've completed almost all the routes and got most all the badges. These new ones will add a bit but it would be really cool if the routes had leader boards and tracked your PBs vs just complete or not completed.

[@JermTheCow]

Not that everyone uses it and the new routes aren't there yet but veloviewer.com/zwift-insider links to the strava segments where one can see leaderboards, again people need to be using and syncing to Strava from Zwift.

[@MIKE_BLM_BDS_ACAB]

@@JermTheCow cool thanks

[@er6fboy]

Has the 'buggy' fence been fixed? And yesterday, on Surrey hills, on the mini elevation map, the pointer stayed a 'zero' level, and didn't follow the incline or decline. Fixed?

[@gplama]

🤷🏻‍♂️

[@keithallen4313]

Well my Sterzo connected yesterday faultless for first time in 2 months but today will not connect to the iPad or Android connect app.

[@TheOkinawaBoy]

Thanks for sharing. When I ride Zwift, I don't really care the route as i follow workout.

[@brettbale9535]

Canyon Aeroad still the fastest bike?

[@liamvagenende9281]

2 days i waited for this 2 freaking days haha

[@gplama]

This video?

[@liamvagenende9281]

@@gplama yes as soon as the roads were put I went to yt bcs maybe you had a video already

[@gplama]

@@liamvagenende9281 Life sometimes gets in the way of a computer game.... I'll get things up as soon as I can.

[@pgreenh1]

I didn’t know you could swop bikes midway through a ride, does it matter if you ride a gravel bike in the gravel section or can you carry on with a road bike?

[@gplama]

You need to come to a complete stop to swap bikes. Zwift made a change to gravel/dirt to slow road and TT bikes down a LOT a while back. MTB and gravel bikes are now quicker on those surfaces.

[@pgreenh1]

@@gplama thanks Shane I didn’t realise it mattered what you rode

[@chrispyy606060606]

This is great thanks! I’m on an iPad Pro, do I need to go to the AppStore to download this or will it auto update?

[@SignorLuigi]

Hi Chris, It will automatically update if you've set Auto Updates to ON in Settings-->App Store on your iPad.

[@Endorfinjunkie]

Is there a point in using a gravel bike on gravel roads in zwift? What's the advantage?

[@Stuey001]

Gravel bike or mtb is faster in the jungle circuit, by quite a lot. The mtb is faster than the gravel bike though, which renders the gravel bike kind of pointless.

[@hee163]

5km of new roads.... so $90000 per metre. Hope this is a tease and they have something worthwhile not far away.

[@TheTibikart]

Hi Lama does zwift miles count for the festive 500? cheers

[@gplama]

Yes, this year it does. 🙏🏼

[@fabio_mussi]

a 4km expansion since april 2019 for watopia (desert expansion). What an effort

[@puntoycoma47]

Is there any advantage on changing to a gravel bike on gravel sections?

[@gplama]

Road bikes are extremely slow on the gravel now.

[@philipharvey5844]

@@gplama For racing this segment, gravel bike or mountain bike?

[@gplama]

@@philipharvey5844 MTB on gravel I believe will be fastest.

[@AndreaBiancucci]

Is on the roadmap a Apple Silicon M1 update optimization?

[@gplama]

One for Zwift Support

[@IanB17]

Wanted to give these a go yesterday afternoon but the update hadn’t dropped yet for ATV ☹️

[@clintontebbetts]

yesterday, I uninstalled and reinstalled and it worked

[@IanB17]

@@clintontebbetts Got the update now! 👍🏻

[@byronwellburn]

Huh! You should change bike on gravel?

[@gplama]

MTB and gravel bikes roll a LOT faster than any road or TT bike in-game now on dirt/gravel.

[@leslie7922]

OK so I'll have to run a half marathon 😅

[@jarnohaneveld6595]

Recently i bought a elite sterzo smart to use on zwift. Since there are some 'intersections' where you can choose where you want to go, i hoped i could use the sterzo to decide which way to go but for some reason i can. Can someone help me???

[@gplama]

One for Zwift Support. Steering and direction turns are different things on their platform.

[@MrIanD1]

How do you switch bikes mid ride?

[@gplama]

Swapping bikes in-game: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aWS8fodpiKmam5o

[@matthewk3233]

Good to see our taxes have been used for more improvements in Watopia.

[@euroswilliams7303]

The fee aren’t taxes, you have a choice to pay or not pay them. If You don’t like paying them there is a simple answer, get rid of your subscription

[@matthewk3233]

@@euroswilliams7303 Settle down Euros, my comment was clearly tongue in cheek.

[@charlesfalk8742]

How do you change bikes mid ride on Apple TV?

[@gplama]

Using the POS remote.....

[@liambertuzzi]

@@gplama how do you give ride ons using the apple tv remote? I haven't figured that out yet.

[@gplama]

Companion App only on ATV for me. Anything to touch that remote less! 😂

[@StopaskingformynameYouTube]

And STILL they havent added a long and flat route that goes around all the islands or even made the windows client NOT CLOSE upon finishing a ride. I'm sick and tired of riding tempus fugit or tic toc for my 100k rides.

[@onetwo352]

with the pricing of zwift, they should make many more routes. The content is really disappointing, when it cost so much

[@EricRidesDirt]

Not going to lie; it is disappointing to see that these "new routes" are nothing more than a few short connecting roads. How is it that real video games can recreate an entire city in less than a year, but it takes Zwift months to add a few feet of roads?

[@marklyons4366]

Same as how they can get away not fixing massive UX deficiencies that have existed for years - lack of competition. Paying customers are unlikely to leave because of these things so they choose to focus on marketing and event tie-ins.

[@EricRidesDirt]

@@marklyons4366 Sad but true. It could be so good but it's clear they don't care at all.

[@dooglasii]

Maybe because most video games are pushed out by a developer that has more then 1 game, more resources, and have been established in a larger industry?

[@leslie7922]

Did they fix the menu yet? 🤣

[@monsieurd.6890]

It is a pity graphics are so simple. We are far far from best games graphics.

[@gplama]

It's not exactly targeting the gamer demographic. This is a fitness tool first.

[@monsieurd.6890]

@@gplama personnaly I would like much more photorealistic graphism that would enable me to vist places in the world like a google street like game. Imagine you could run the Tour de France with real graphics. Much more motivating.

[@gplama]

Won't happen any time soon with 3D rendered games/platforms. The target demographic aren't running the latest high end GPUs needed to get close to this. Best you'll find for what you're after is FulGaz.

[@Elverfaderen]

To much gravel road

[@danielandersson3539]

Yeah? Release the world builder dev tools to the community instead. When I played Half-life as a kid some mods became larger than the game itself. Zwift are lazy, it's starting to get really crowded on the maps now. It's not like there are any new sections either, just a few added shortcuts between existing sections. People recommed TR + entertainment. Well, Zwiift has stopped giving us value for the money. This is not impressive!

[@gplama]

Be sure to air all this over on their forums. They’re not likely to monitor these comments.

[@evdb7246]

I can't believe I spent 11min of my life watching this

[@gplama]

And more time reading this reply! Thanks!

[@DavidRamsey1]

Sorry, but mostly Booooring Swift.