Tacx Neo Smart T2800 User Review - June 2016

This review has been a long time coming! The Neo has been available for close to eight months now so there's already a ton of reviews detailing the technical specifications, low noise, and general build of the unit. All important things to cover, but there isn't many that dive into the actual user experience.

What are the ins and outs of the Neo? What's the ride really like? And the #1 question, how does it compare to the Wahoo Kickr?

I haven't set out to do a head to head comparison between the Neo and Kickr, however I'll be making a lot of references to the Kickr as it is the #1 competitor. To assist Google search indexes I'll include the keywords "Neo vs Kickr" and "Kickr vs Neo" in this paragraph. :)

To get the standard things out of the way first, here are a few links:

Tacx: Neo Official Product Promo Video. Lots of polish. Everything you expect to see and hear.

DCRainmaker: The Tacx NEO Smart Trainer. Covering unboxing, technical specifications, and a few quotes I'll revisit in further detail below.

Tacx Official FAQ - Tacx Neo Common Q&A.

Quickstart Guide

- Unboxing and setting up was straight forward and simple. No assembly required.

- Cassette installation on the Edco MultiSys freehub (Shimano and Campagnolo compatible) was straight forward. Shimano lock-rings are now supplied with newer Neo units. *As of January 2018 the Neo will ship with a Shimano/SRAM compatible freehub only.

- The unit is heavy. That's ok with me. I don't plan to move it around on a regular basis.

- Some people mention the plastic shell looks cheap. I really like the look of the unit. Star Wars meets Tron with some Fast and the Furious neon lights for effect.

- Owning a Neo means you're inducted into the The Flat Earth Society, like it or not. There's no 'feet' to adjust or level the unit. You'll have to get creative if your floor isn't level.

- The glowing lights under the Neo are nice visual for the pain cave, but are of no real use. I could imagine them being more interesting in a spin room full of Neos where you could tell how hard other riders are working (blue = easy. red = in the red zone!).

- The unit can be used without power. The energy you're putting into the Neo from the bike will power the unit. That's pretty cool. As for using this unit outside for warm ups? That idea isn't all that practical. The unit is too big to haul around, it's heavy, and it isn't waterproof. I'll be sticking to my LeMond Revolution or CycleOps Fluid2 trainer for warm up duty.

- The Neo will not accomodate all bike frames. Tacx have templates to print and measure your frame available here. My Shiv TT bike is reported as being incompatible. Looks like it'll work with the 135mm spacer and a front wheel prop. Check your own bike(s) before purchasing!

- The height of the Neo cover makes it a little trickier to put your bike on/off than other direct drive trainers. Not a huge drama, just something that's not the same as the others.

- "Neo leans to the right" issue. Yes, it does. The Neo has maybe 20mm of play side to side when the bike is mounted. This is more 'wobble' than most trainers. Due to the offset of how the bike is mounted, more to right, you'll feel the bike move more right than left. This isn't a major issue, but it is noticeable.

The Sound

If your number one priority is low noise ergo sessions then the Neo is your answer. It is perfect for apartments or those who don't want to disturb the family at 5am. There is a low level hum that comes from the Neo. It's so low your drivetrain and the fans in your pain cave will mask it.

DCRainmaker also has a video up on YouTube that demonstrates the sound of the Neo vs the Kickr perfectly.

The Height

You'll be around 1 inch higher off the ground on the Neo compared to the Kickr or LeMond Revolution. The supplied front wheel block from Tacx goes part way to propping up the front wheel enough to feel natural. Telephone books are my wheel prop of choice.

Power Accuracy

This could be a seperate post in itself. I'll keep it short and sharp.

My testing showed the Neo lining up within a few watts of my Quarq (calibrated with a 20.000kg certified weight). I got a second opinion from the doctor - Dr Stephen Lane from HPTek who performs step-tests on athletes more regularly than I have hot dinners. Two thumbs up from him too after testing with Power2Max, SRMs, and SRMs with oval chainrings (out by the estimated offset using those, data junkies you know the deal).

Not having to calibrate or perform a regular spindown is win with the Neo.

Road Feel

Nothing will beat the buttery smooth feeling of the LeMond Revolution. As for smart trainer road feel the Neo is pretty good, and getting better with recent firmware updates. User TarmacExpert over on the UK TimeTrialling forums has performed some detailed analysis of the Neo that is well worth a look if you want to dive deeper into this topic.

Road Surface Simulation - Feel The RUMBLES! 

Downhill Drive - Not so fast.....

A much talked up feature of the Neo is the downhill drive simulation, where the Neo turns the freewheel on simulated descents when plugged into a power source.

"when the NEO Smart is plugged into the wall – the trainer will even ‘propel’ you forward if you’re on a virtual downhill grade." Bike Radar. August 2015.

No it won't. It'll turn the freewheel but this has ZERO EFFECT on 'propelling' you forward.

All training apps calculate your virtual speed primarily from your power and the virtual gradient. This is completely independent of how fast your ergo flywheel is spinning. If anything, Downhill Drive is a slight hinderance if you need to keep your wattage up on descents as there's less resistance to push against. Setting the 'Trainer Difficulty' in Zwift to 50%-75% goes a long way to assist in this area. For full details of Trainer Difficulty feature within Zwift, see this ZwiftBlog article.

Under the right conditions the Neo will happily spin the freewheel indefinitely while your Zwift avatar has come to a halt on the side of the road. (*A recent Zwift update stopped this entertaining effect from happening)

This isn't a bug, or an error with either the Neo or Zwift. Zwift will apply a slight braking effect to your avatar when you're not pedalling to assist with bunch ride dynamics. If your virtual speed and downhill inertia isn't enough to overcome this braking you will come to a stop, but the Neo keeps spinning away like it's on a downhill. Again, not a bug, this is by design. It also proves that Downhill Drive does not itself propel you anywhere.

The Kickr does a good job of simulating descents by significantly reducing resistance and letting the heavy flywheel spin up to carry inertia. Downhill Drive provides a similar inertia feel for the Neo. It propels the flywheel forward so you have to get on top of the pedals, as you do outside on a real descent.

In summary - "In case that you don’t plug it in the wall, it won’t drive when going downhill and the cycling feeling is a little bit less good." - TACX Neo Questions and Answers

.... a little bit less good. Um... What? :) 

That Green Jersey Smell

The first three green jersey sprints I tested the unit with on Zwift (~900W 20 seconds) resulted in an electrical odour coming from the Neo. The unit gets pretty hot under normal operation, so I suspect this is simply some bedding-in from the factory taking place. Maybe some excess glue on the heatsinks inside the unit?

A Tacx representative has posted the following statement after others reported the same,

The smell is caused by the power resistors which converts the energy from the sprints to heat. The resistors have been burned in at a high constant power level but in sprints the peak power can be much higher and this causes the smell which will reduce after repeating the same power levels. - Martin Smits 

Virtual Tyre Slip

The Neo is a direct drive unit with no drive belt. It should be impossible for any tyre slip issues. Right? Under certain conditions I encountered issues with the Neo resistance backing off for a fraction of a second at the bottom of each pedal stroke immediately after maximum torque. I suspect there's some kind of resistance protection kicking in. I'm not able to quantify this with data as the sample rate of the Quarq isn't high enough.

This is a noticeable anomaly when doing low speed hill attacks. The uniform  resistance of the pedal stroke is interrupted. It has been described over on the Tacx forums as the resistance becoming "mushy".

Discussion Link of this issue over on the Tacx Forums

I've been told this "mushy" issue feels like you're running oval chainrings. I'm sure this similarity is a coincidence and isn't by design.

This issue has delayed this review as I've spent a days researching this issue, testing, testing, and more testing. I've spoken to a number of Neo owners about their experience and there's a general consensus with the latest firmware updates the Neo has become troublesome for high torque sprint efforts. I have an ongoing channel of communication with Tacx direct at the moment looking into this issue and I'll update this post as things progress.

User Support

The local distributor has been excellent, and the team at Tacx have responded to my queries within a few hours. This has been extremely helpful as I've worked on this article.

The Price

Here's the real sticking point in Australia. The Neo has an RRP of $1899 $2199 AU$2499 (RRP updated recently), and can be seen as low at AU$1729 from online stores (beware of import duty and taxes!). You'll have to supply your own cassette with the Neo, so factor in another AU$50-$100 on top.

Wahoo Kickr has an RRP of AU$1599 (with cassette supplied). Rumours of multi-buy discounts can bring this down below AU$1500 if your local store is willing. The going price for a 2nd hand Kickr is from $800-$1150.

In Europe the Kickr and Neo are both the same price. I'm not sure why the Aussie market is so different. Tacx will need to review the Neo price here in Australia if they're going to move anywhere near the same volume as Wahoo with their Kickrs.

Levelling the Battle - The recent Wahoo counter punch!

"What differentiates the NEO though from something like the Wahoo KICKR are two main aspects: Downhill drive, and noise. Or rather, lack thereof. First, the noise from the unit is pretty close to silent." - DCRainmaker, September 2015.

Knowing what I know now about the Downhill Drive feature of the Neo, and taking into account the recent update by Wahoo to Kickr firmware 1.4.47 that incorporates acceleration power and better simulation mode operation - The head to head battle between these two smart trainers is closer than I first thought. The only feature of the Neo that differentiates the two at the moment is the noise. And the Kickr isn't too obnoxious when it comes to that.

Straight to the Point Q&A

Is the Neo bad for my carbon frame? No. Ergos don't break bikes. Misuse does.

Is the Neo a good trainer to buy? Yes..... if you can get a good deal on one.

Is it the silver bullet of smart trainers? No.

Will I be selling my Kickr? No.

What are main differences between the Neo and the Kickr? No calibration required on the Neo. The road surface simulation.

Whatever Lama, I want to try one for myself! Excellent! I really encourage this. Find a Dealer Here

You didn't cover X or Y about the Neo! There's a ton of things I haven't covered, I'll add them in if there's a lot of queries. Fire away in the comments section!

Will these answers change? YES! Just as Wahoo released a game-changing firmware for the now three year old Kickr only a few weeks ago, I'm certain Tacx have a few tricks up their sleeve in the near future. I'll keep a changelog at the bottom of this article.



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Changelog

19th/August/2018
- Updated Q&A now the Kickr18 is silent too.

2/June/2016
- First post publication.

3/June/2016
- Updated AU $RRP.
- Import duty and taxes if buying overseas.
- Find a Dealer link added.

7/June/2016
- Update from TACX via NEO Owners Group Re: Virtual Tyre Slip

6/July/2016
- Zwift updated to stop infinite flywheel spinning under certain conditions.
- Quote from Tacx representative about the SMELL!

25/July/2016
- Road Surface Simulation video added

29th/Dec/2017
- AU Pricing Updates
- January 2018 onwards Neo ships with Shimano/SRAM freehub only.

Winter is Coming - Upgrade Your Bike Cave!

Here's the rundown on the equipment used at the May 2016 Zwift Australian event nights, plus additional items I use in my own indoor bike cave. Hopefully there's one or two things here you'll spot that will make your indoor sessions more enjoyable.

Let me know if you'd like more info about any of the content below and I'll do my best to get back to you and update this post with the information.

Video:

Subscribe to Shane Miller - GPLama on YouTube

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Flooring

Starting from the ground up. Wahoo Kickr Trainer Floormats were used on the hard flooring at Rapha CC in Sydney and at Bilia Volvo in Melbourne. The solution I use at home is custom cut rubber backed marine flooring from Clark Rubber. Thicker floor mats dampen vibration and trainer noise which is always a good thing in close quarters. Yoga mats are a cheaper alternative if you're looking for a cost effective solution.

Items:

Wahoo Kickr Trainer Floormats ~AU$100
Clark Rubber ~AU$35/m
Yoga Mats ~AU$5-$100+

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TV Screen Tripods

Having a large screen at the right height in front of you really helps with the immersion into whatever you're watching on the screen. The Allcam TR940 were the tripods of choice for screens ~40inches in size that we used. They're an expensive solution to by locally in Australia as they're shipped from the UK. Let me know in the comments section if there's something similar locally people have seen.

Item:

Allcam TR940

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Side Table

Somewhere for your keyboard, remote controls, additional drinks, food. I use a conductor stand from a music shop, along with a bar stool from Ikea for any extras.

Items:

On Stage SM7211 Conductor Stand AU$60
Ikea Stools AU$x

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Fans - Move that air!

Anything that moves air is good in this department. I've used a number of different fans over the years, my #1 is now the Sunair 30cm High Velocity Turbo Fan. These are brilliant for a number of reasons: They're cheap, small, quiet, and move a TON of air.

Item:

Sunair 30cm High Velocity Turbo Fan ~$AU30-40

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Computing

Dell Alienware Alpia i3 - These are mid-range computers with beefed up mobile components to keep the unit size down. I run one of these units at home with a few hardware modifications. They're compact Windows 10 machines so they're great for other everyday use, or multitasking while on the ergo for YouTube playlists, Spotify, etc.

Note: The i5 and i7 versions of these units will run Zwift at exactly the same frame rates as the i3, so the cheaper i3 model is the best choice.

Items:

Dell Alienware Alpha ~AU$799
i3 Alpha Custom Upgrade Guide (with GPU overclock info!)

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Keyboard/Mouse Combo

Logitech K400R, available at Officeworks. We've had 6 working in the same room with a lot of other wireless signals flying around.

Item:

Logitech K400R ~AU$39

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Headphones

Over-ear noise cancelling headphones are fine for indoor work as long as you've got enough air moving around. I use a wired Audio Technica set that I take everywhere with me. They're great for air travel too. They don't fill up with sweat, and they're wiped down with baby wipes (see below) after every use.

Item:

Audio Technica ATH-ANC9 ~AU$229

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USB ANT+ Sticks / USB extension cables.

Required kit for your computer to talk to your ANT devices (smart trainers, power meters, heart rate monitors, etc). As ANT is low power it is susceptible to interference. An extension cable is a really good idea to ensure 100% signal from your sensors to your computer. Cheaper USB extension cables can be hit and miss, stick with premium known brands for best performance.

All four in the photo do exactly the same job. All four are difference prices. If you want an in-depth review of these devices, I wrote this last year: Garmin USB2 ANT Stick In-Depth Review

Items: (only ANT stick one required per machine)

Garmin USB ANT+ Stick ~AU$59
Generic ANT+ Mobile Stick ~AU$42
ANSELF USB ANT+ Stick Cheap! (Watch this space. Shipping is slow. I've ordered a ton!)

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Internet

Good quality Internet in the bike cave is critical. ISP supplied modem/routers are usually sufficient, but if you're looking at getting the most out of your connection go for the best wifi modem/router your budget will allow. The Billion range are brilliant and allow for some back end tinkering if that's your thing.

If your bike cave is tucked away in your back shed, you might need to go with upgraded wifi antenna or wifi range extenders.

Tip: There have been reports of users encountering a Bermuda Triangle of dropped ANT signals if their wifi is using channels 9-12. If you're having issues, switch over to channels 1-6 and see if that resolves the issue.

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Misc (everything else)

QuadLock Phone mount - Quick and easy access to phone with waterproof case. My review of the iPhone6 Bike Kit. AU$70 (30% off with "zwiftlama" discount code!)

Baby Wipes - Great for keeping things like headphones, heart rate straps, and bikes clean after an ergo session. AU$2.50/pack

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Putting it all together

 

Kinomap Wahoo Kickr Challenge 2015

The indoor trainer competition scene has kept me busy over the last month. The potential of the Kickr and other smart-trainers is finally being tapped into.

In comparison to other smart-traner applications Kinomap falls into the 'Training Tool' category. The videos are simply you against the clock, something I'm known to enjoy.

Anyone keeping an eye on my Strava rides might have seen a few references to the Kinomap Challenge rounds and final that were completed between late April through to May.

This was the first world-wide challenge run by Kinomap. There would be four qualifier rounds to complete over four weeks, where the top 16 qualifiers would be sent Wahoo Tickr HR strap to use in the final to ensure the integrity of the rides. I'll do another post on the challenges faced in regard to data integrity/accuracy for these types of challenges, in this instance Kinomap used a crafty twist in the final to ensure they could verify the efforts when there was something significant on the line.

I always need a carrot to chase in training to keep the motivation up, and a shot at a free heart rate strap was all I needed to sign up to this challenge. Stephen 'SLane' Lane was also up for a shot at qualifying for the free HR strap too, so it was game on for the both of us!

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Qualifying 

Round 1 - Cyclosportive Gran Fondo Eddy Merckx-Andenne  21.9km

I had no plan for the effort, I just cranked out the power from start to finish. Grinding up the hills and spinning out on the descents. Time: 32:29.

SLane completed Round 1 the next day and made an important observation on how to ride the course. It wasn't all about cranking as much power as possible from start to finish. Like outside, the descents didn't require stomping the pedals to maintain speed. As we were able to submit as multiple rides for each qualifying round (the best time counting to our total), I kitted up and gave Round 1 another shot.


Round 1b - Cyclosportive Gran Fondo Eddy Merckx-Andenne  21.9km

Using SLane's pacing strategy I set out again and knocked another 34 seconds off my time. Time: 31:55.


Round 2 - 16 Mile Loop Gillis Falls Climb Fest 26km

Knowing what it took each week to get the effort right, I set out to give the following rounds just one shot, all out, nailing it first time. Time: 38:13


Round 3 - Foggy PV Ride 39.2km

This round was one of the hardest things I've ever done on the indoor trainer. 25 minutes of rolling hills into 10 minutes of climbing, then another 20 minutes bringing it home. Time: 54:38 at just under 360W, ~5W/Kg.


Round 4 - Amgen Tour of California 2015 ITT 24.1km

3..2..1... Go! The video was a recon of the proposed AToC TT which was changed at the last minute for the actual race due to snow. Time: 33:02

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Qualifying Results

1st place! Yeah! SLane rolled in 4th in the qualifiers and also had a Tickr sent his way. Great to see four Aussies in the top 11 places.

Side note - Note the name in 2nd place. That's Karl Zoetemelk. French National XC Champion 2002, and son of Joop Zoetemelk (Vuelta winner 1979, Tour de France winner 1980). We were in good company and I was a little worried what someone like Karl would unleash in the final!

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The Final 

On the line was an entry to the Haute Route of your choice ($1,100-$1,600) and $500 travel expenses. The Haute Route events are a whole week of epic mountains during August-September. By epic they're all around 20,0000m of climbing over 800-900km. I already had my qualifier prize, a Tickr HR strap for the 2 1/2 hours of indoor TTing, so I was competing in the final just to see where I'd end up.

I was expecting a horrendously difficult 90 minute video for the final and once it was released I was surprised to see Kinomap choose the same video as qualifying round 2. Crafty! They had a data baseline from everyone on the course already so could use this to help verify the integrity of the rides.

The final challenge was a one-shot only affair, no second chances. Once complete, ride data was then submitted to the Kinomap team for review before being posted to the final result sheet.

With the five previous efforts in my legs and the experience with how best to pace the route I knocked off a few seconds on the 16 Mile Loop Gillis Falls Climb Fest 26km video in the final and submitted that over to Kinomap.

At 1am on May 27th my phone beeped with an email from Kinomap. They'd verified my data and had confirmed I'd won! Hah! Wow!

Final Results

After looking into the return flights and transfers from Melbourne over to the Haute Route events, I had to turn down the major prize. The team at Kinomap were understood my decision and with my ok they passed the Haute Route opportunity down the qualifying list. With Karl also unable to attend 3rd place getter from Canada is on his way and looking forward to the experience.

Kinomap kindly suppled me with an almost-lifetime access to Kinomap, and sent out a neat trophy (thanks guys!)

Zwift on a Budget - zPower Fury Road!

The first Mad Max movie in the quadrilogy started off as a fuel shortage, that resulted in a breakdown in law and order. The fiction has become the poster child of the 80's post-apocalyptic genre, now called The Apunkalypse.

Fast forward 35 years and still in the Aussie wastelands, we're facing a shortage of Wahoo Kickrs. With all the hype around Zwift and no Kickrs, we're again on the brink of a breakdown in law and order. Demand is higher than ever yet nobody can get their hands on one. Let's hope the supply issues are resolved before we're faced with The Kickralypse.

"I'm just here for the gasoline.... and the Kickrs."

For those waiting for the Kickrs to arrive on our shores, or for those on a budget, there are alternatives to get yourself set up and flying around on Zwift. 

The three setups are Basic, Flexible, and Premium, as detailed below: 

Today I tested out the Basic setup after pulling my Zwift compatible CycleOps Fluid2 out of storage.

The only two additional items needed. An ANT+ speed sensor, and the USB2 ANT+ Stick. The speed sensor and USB2 stick are around AU$50 each.

Spoke magnet and speed sensor.

Fluid trainers are notorious for changing their stripes while they warm up, so I fast-tracked warming it.

Optimal pressure is ~100PSI.

Clean tyre, clean roller, and enough tension to prevent slippage.

After selecting "Speed" and pairing your sensor, Zwift asks you to choose your trainer type.

In action.... also Socks for Nepal by Hells500 - Get yours here! 

The Ride

I've been spoiled by the dynamic resistance of the Kickr as you ride up and down the changing gradients, however that is only one component of the Zwift effect. The biggest difference is the lack of inertia compared to the Kickr or the LeMond Revolution that I use on a regular basis.

Everything else on Zwift worked a treat. The zPower calculation wasn't too far off my Quarq and allowed me to chase people down, sit on wheels, attack up the climb, and go for sprints.


zPower

Behind the scenes isn't a simple 'speed -> power' curve calculation to give you your zPower wattage. Official support forum posts indicate they're implementing a system that replicates real-world riding (accelerations, coasting, etc)... and they're still refining this during their beta period.


One Lap Results

Quarq is in yellow, zPower is in red.

It appears the CycleOps Fluid2 zPower takes a continual dive throughout the whole lap. I'll speculate on a few reasons why this may be the case shortly, for now average power between them both was very close:

(Strava Tip - TCX Export (with full data): Strava allows you to export .TCX versions of your activities. Just add "/export_tcx" (without quotes) to the end of your activity page URL). This can now be imported into WKO/TrainingPeaks etc.)


Review

Was zPower good enough to #rideon and enjoy the Zwift experience? For sure. Was it as accurate as the well fed, well looked after, and well calibrated Quarq? No, but that is partially my fault....

The tyre size I used in this test was a 23/25, a hybrid sized tyre that will be a little larger than the standard 23mm, and it would have an impact on the zPower calculations which are based on a 23mm tyre (2096mm).

My Fluid2 trainer. It is at least 5-6 years old now and although I warmed it up up before starting the test, I should have spent another 10-15minutes at the target wattage on it before starting the test.

Testing is good training, so I'll see if I can get my hands on other zPower trainers and put them through similar tests, while correcting the above discrepancies in my testing protocol.


Conclusion / tldr; 

You don't need a Kickr or high end smart-trainer to enjoy Zwift for your indoor sessions. A compatible trainer, PC/Mac, USB2 ANT+ stick, and ANT+ Speed sensor will get you up and running.

Zwift - Next Level Awesome.

I've been feed flooding my Instagram account for a few weeks with screen shots of Zwift and the shenanigans I've been up to on the virtual island. This has prompted a number of questions from people asking what it is all about. There are a few reviews of Zwift already floating around but I thought I'd put it into my own words... and describe my new indoor training addiction.

I've owned a Wahoo Kickr for almost two years now, and was recently close to selling it. I only held onto it because I knew the potential of the unit was huge. The applications I have used with it to date were bit of a let down.... until now.

What is Zwift?

"Massive, multiplayer video game technology meets the indoor cycling community."

Zwift is an indoor training application/game that plays on all my weaknesses. Indoor cycle training, real-time statistics, real-world opponents, and goals to achieve. Zwift is what the Wahoo Kickr needed from launch.

To get involved you'll need a power meter or a compatible trainer, a computer with enough grunt to run the application (Mac/Windows), a USB2 ANT+ stick, and at the moment an invite to the beta testing pool.

Zwift cover this in a lot more detail here: http://zwift.com/what-is-it

Getting Up and Riding...

It is straight forward to get it up and running. Load the app, pair your devices, ride on!

While you can use Zwift with a number of different indoor trainers, it comes into its own when paired up with a Kickr (or other electronically controlled resistance units).

The realisation of just how good this is with a Kicker was on a ride outside last week. As I rolled down a hill and started pedalling faster with less resistance. My first thought was "this fells like I'm on Zwift island". When was the last time riding outside reminded you of an indoor ergo session?

With a good set of headphones you can notice the level of detail they've gone to in making this virtual world very realistic. The faster you go the more wind noise you'll hear. It is only subtle, but you'll almost subconsciously know when your speed has changed. The visual representation of gradients, corners, and speed are also nicely done. 

The triple jersey!

Trainer X has done this for a while...

Just as there were touch-screen phones before Apple came along and did it right, there is similar software and set-ups that do similar-ish things to Zwift. And like Apple, Zwift have nailed it, and they're still only in beta! (*replace Apple with Android if you're that way inclined) :)

Zwift Island....

The Island itself is a real place (Jarvis Island). When you upload your ride to Strava it has a real location, elevation, and all your stats. You can even use tools like Strava Labs Flyby to see who else you were riding with at the time. The Strava KOMs are there, and somewhat messy, the real KOMs are transient on the Island within Zwift where they all expire after 60 minutes.

Island racing with this guy. Almost like the Tour of Fiji. #hotlap #cooked #ergo #indoorcycling #zwiftbeta #Zwift 🌴🚴🚴

A photo posted by Shane Miller (@gplama) on Mar 30, 2015 at 10:49pm PDT

The Potholes...

Like most things, it isn't all roses. There are very simple ways to cheat the system that can ruin a jersey chasing session. The developers are well aware of this and have a massive pool of equipment data to work with, I expect cheating will be at a minimum soon.

A 6:38 lap is around 420W at my current weight (72kgs). 5.83k/kg. A 5:32 lap, taking into account the virtual wind resistance would be pushing boundaries never seen in the pro peloton.

A lot of ergo workouts are focused on specific efforts that may be difficult to replicate within the Zwift world, for now. A standard 5x5min at FTP is interrupted by that damn hill, every time. Once more roads and options are paved in the application, I expect there will be more than enough terrain to use for any kind of training.

The Potential...

Is mind-blowing. Real-time races, Gran Fondos, replication of classic climbs, you name it. Zwift-Roubaix with virtual cobbles? 21 virtual switchbacks on Alpe d'Zwiftez? They could even mix it up with muddy virtual CX races or single-track MTB routes.

Imagine paring a Sufferfest workout with the Zwift world to create a parcours that visually matched the workout. Sprint signs, hills, virtual pro riders popping up on course to chase, and/or other riders completing and competing in the same workout in-real time.

Maybe they could replicate a classic stage of the Tour with a virtual peloton of pro riders you could mix it up with.... I'm sure we'd all love to sit on Floyd's wheel on Stage 17, 2006.. then teaching him a lesson by rolling him at the end.

For now... Get on it (request a beta invite) and get riding! 

Links:

Zwift.com

Unofficial Zwift User Guide

Zwift Reddit Group