Velometry

Anyone switching over to Rouvy?

alcjphil

I prefer Rouvy, It has rides that I have actually done

terrymorse 

Same for me. Not just rides I've done, but more significantly, rides I want to do.

jaxgtr

I tried Zwift a few years ago, but I did not want a game type product, so I tried Rouvy, liked it and have been using it since Aug 2020.

Bald Paul

Funny, there's a subforum for indoor riding somewhere here....

Mtracer

I know I tried Rouvy ~4 years ago. As I recall it was based on video recordings of rides with playback speed adjusted for the calculated speed I would be going, given my power output on the indoor trainer. As I recall, the big problem was that many of the videos were clearly recorded by someone on a motorcycle moving at speeds higher than a bike. As a result, when adjusted for cycling speed, the frame rate was too low. This created a very jittery experience. While I can understand doing it this way, there are ways to adjust frame rates to avoid this. But they chose not to do this.

I also recall, there was audio but this was nearly useless in most rides. Either all wind noise or dominated by the sound of the vehicle making the video.

But maybe I'm thinking of some other indoor riding app. I tried all I could find at the time. But if I have this correct, has Rouvy improved on this somehow?

PeteHski

I assume you mean because of the Zwift price increase right? I like Rouvy and have used it on and off for a few years. It is particularly good for real life recon rides. But I find Zwift better for group rides and races. In some ways I prefer the Zwift simulated graphics vs real life video, but I enjoy both.

Sometimes I subscribe to both Rouvy and Zwift together just to mix it up and especially if I’m preparing for an event where the route is available on Rouvy.

To answer your question, no I’m not switching over to Rouvy just because Zwift is now a few $ more. If I had to pick one cycling app only, it would still be Zwift.

oldwinger14

I've been using Rouvy for 4-5 years after comparing it and Zwift. I chose Rouvy because of the real-world videos rather than animated rides and continue to be happy with it. The Rouvy team has listened to users' suggestions and have made great improvements to their overall product since my first experience with it.

MoAlpha

I can't give up Zwift because competition is my best motivator and the robotic pacers are a great training aid. Spouse has a Rouvy subscription and I use it occasionally, when I can't stand the cheesy Zwift graphics anymore.

oldwinger14

Rouvy has many races, challenges and other competitive events. Many of these events are held live on real-world routes. When you register for and participate in an event, you can see and compete with other participants, who are depicted by animated representations of themselves. You also have the ability to create an image of yourself that you and others can see.

I do not race but when I ride on Rouvy routes, I always choose to ride with other riders who are similar in speed to me that have ridden the same route previously.

force10

I want to like Rouvy but use Zwift because it allows me to run workouts that I import from Training Peaks without using erg mode.

And I have almost got the stupid Tron bike...

alcjphil

I did a Rouvy ride which was recorded during a Grand Fondo. There were so many bad riders that it was almost scary. I was afraid I was going to crash

oldwinger14

Your experience shows how realistic Rouvy's rides are. I've rigged up a seatbelt to my saddle! 😁

rsbob 

Hanging with ZWIFT since I can create my own workouts and erg mode keeps me on track, but the graphics suck.

PeteHski

I actually quite like Zwift graphics in 4K and the frame rate is very smooth. Rouvy is obviously a totally different look with real life video. I find the video quality a bit patchy depending on how it was recorded, but it is mostly ok. I really like the concept of augmented rider graphics in Rouvy for group rides and racing, but the rider graphics and animation are pretty poor. I used to find it really irritating how the rider avatar would start doing “push-ups” on the bars whenever changing position on the bike. I much prefer the Zwift rider animation. The other free sim apps also seem to struggle with rider animation. I guess this is down to cost and Zwift’s bigger budget clearly shows here.

unterhausen

moved here from general

spelger

ohhh, the rouvy push-ups. i did complain about that to them. have not noticed them this year. it was really weird.

PeteHski

I haven’t used Rouvy for a year or so now, so maybe they improved the rider graphics/animation.

spelger

graphics look the same to me. he is just not bulking up his arms anymore/as often.

PeteHski

lol, well that's an improvement anyway.

Eric F 

Rovvy works for me if I want to do a solo ride and enjoy some scenery, but interaction with other real riders in real time is the draw that keeps me using Zwift. I also get glitchy video with Rouvy (probably due to my mediocre WiFi connection), which contributes to a less than great experience, most of the time.

Sierra_rider

I generally prefer Rouvy if I want to just spin off some unstructured indoor miles. The only thing I use Zwift for is building structured workouts...IMO the training quality of most of the canned Zwift workouts is fairly poor, but they make it easy to build your own.

kcjc

I switched over to Roovy after Wahoo bought RGT.

zacster

I tried Rouvy this winter for a month or two and quickly got bored with it. I did the one ride in it that I really wanted to do, Mt Haleakala in Maui, but after that it just didn't grab me. It seemed nice to have all those routes but after trying a few they all became generic unless you've done one in real life. I attempted Haleakala in real life but didn't make it and wanted to finish it. I went back to Zwift where there are always others riding, some faster, some slower but also some at your pace. It's sometimes a challenge to keep up with a stronger rider, the robopacers keep you all together, group rides, the climb portals. I mostly stick to Watopia and the roads are getting familiar. I particularly liked the coastal route because of the sprints. I do Central Park when NY is on the calendar because that's home turf for me although ironically enough I haven't been in Central Park to ride in a few years now for no particular reason. Maybe I need to go next week!