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Do we rename this sub forum as "Indoor Racing"

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Do we rename this sub forum as "Indoor Racing"

Old 12-19-18, 05:26 PM
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Do we rename this sub forum as "Indoor Racing"

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/indu...M#.XBrR4FxKiUk

Races are dying.
Racers are leaving.
Teams are folding daily.
Shops are closing daily.
Everyone is disappearing or going bankrupt.

...yet Zwift is expanding by securing a $120 Million investment- allowing further expansion into e-sports (not just cycling). Welcome to generation, "we'll compete but only online from the safety of our homes where we don't have to talk to others".

Headline from 2021 "virtual" Tour de France - "Tour winner wins by calling SWAT team on closest competitor's home during critical climb"
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Old 12-19-18, 06:26 PM
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calm down.
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Old 12-19-18, 06:31 PM
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Originally Posted by gsteinb
calm down.
HAHAHAHAHa - what makes you think I am not calm? I'm not ranting I'm actually posting this as a curiosity. It's good to see actual growth. I do think it's makes a huge mockery of actual racing.... but the fact is no one really cares about that. Obviously. It's just fascinating.
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Old 12-19-18, 06:32 PM
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it's just an expression. internet thing.
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Old 12-19-18, 08:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Psimet2001
HAHAHAHAHa - what makes you think I am not calm? I'm not ranting I'm actually posting this as a curiosity. It's good to see actual growth. I do think it's makes a huge mockery of actual racing.... but the fact is no one really cares about that. Obviously. It's just fascinating.
I agree. And the prize purses offered by some of them...
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Old 12-19-18, 10:31 PM
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the fewer races there are the better quality the group rides will be, at least.

I think the midwest and east coast winter is making you all depressed.
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Old 12-19-18, 10:49 PM
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The winner of the Tour of Flanders, 27-year-old Dutch racer Anna van der Breggen, took home $1,415. The winner of the CVR (Cycligent Virtual Racing) World Cup, Carey Conabeare, a 42-year-old professional gardener from the UK, pocketed a cool $7,800.

The 2018 World Cup—the finals for which took place on March 24 and 25—awarded competitors with $100,000 in combined cash and prizes throughout the winter series, as well as prizes from sponsors such as PowerTap, CycleOps, and Garneau.

They have a whole lot more money to give away, because in virtual racing, there are no support vehicles, no road closures, no motorcycles or neutral cars, etc, etc. Saddening as it may be, this appears to be a big chunk of the future of competitive cycling. I do think CX will continue to grow for awhile. Compact format.
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Old 12-20-18, 12:00 AM
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I wonder how rampant cheating is in zwift. What prevents someone from calibrating their computer to read 100W higher, or just putting electrical assist bike on it?
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Old 12-20-18, 07:14 AM
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I now hear conversations about the Zwift ride everyone was on. (I'm not on Zwift.)

I didn't really care about discussing the group ride, let alone the virtual group ride.
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Old 12-20-18, 10:54 AM
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According to the press release, more than 1/3 of the 2018 TDF peloton are zwifters. Now I wanna be a zwifter. Anyone use the $15 ANT+ to usb adapters from Amazon or should I buy the $32 one from zwift to connect my powertap?
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Old 12-20-18, 02:02 PM
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Originally Posted by cmh
Anyone use the $15 ANT+ to usb adapters from Amazon or should I buy the $32 one from zwift to connect my powertap?
I have one of those Amazon ANT+ dongles and it connects my Powertap G3 to Zwift just fine.
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Old 12-20-18, 02:47 PM
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Originally Posted by Clipped_in
I have one of those Amazon ANT+ dongles and it connects my Powertap G3 to Zwift just fine.
Thanks - added to my last minute xmas gift to myself list.
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Old 12-20-18, 03:41 PM
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My race is to get somewhere here before they close. Indoor racing would really annoy my cat.
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Old 12-20-18, 04:38 PM
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I'm not a 'never' guy, but I haven't had the slightest interest in it yet.
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Old 12-20-18, 05:07 PM
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Bicycle racing is not dying. Check out the crowds at the TdF!

Indoor "racing" can take off all it wants, but the people that are skilled/motivated enough to race for real will keep doing it. It's two different groups of people, with some overlap of course.

What has slowed down in the last few years is amateur bike race attendance in the US, but it's really hard to say (or prove) that it's dying.

The scene is still huge out here, Intelligentsia Cup in Chicago was pretty damn big this year, plenty of folks showed up for Elite Nats & Masters Nats, etc, etc.

If the measurement is how many people show up to the generic office park crit (aka "Red Kite" out here), I'm not sure that's the best measurement.
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Old 12-20-18, 05:46 PM
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Anything that gets people on the bike is a good thing, even if that's on their bike in the basement. I've always been of the opinion USAC should leverage Zwift in some form, it could use another revenue stream. Its not the future of cycling but its definitely a new element. Its not going to replace anything,

Originally Posted by gsteinb
I'm not a 'never' guy, but I haven't had the slightest interest in it yet.
I thought it was stupid when I tried it on a standard trainer, but once you use a smart trainer the experience isn't that bad.
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Old 12-20-18, 06:27 PM
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Originally Posted by UmneyDurak
I wonder how rampant cheating is in zwift. What prevents someone from calibrating their computer to read 100W higher, or just putting electrical assist bike on it?
There is weight doping, where you enter a lower weight to get a more favorable power to weight ratio. SMH
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Old 12-20-18, 06:32 PM
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Originally Posted by UmneyDurak
I wonder how rampant cheating is in zwift. What prevents someone from calibrating their computer to read 100W higher, or just putting electrical assist bike on it?
Or applying a powerdrill to the cranks, or just lying about weight, etc.,....
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Old 12-20-18, 06:56 PM
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Originally Posted by furiousferret
Anything that gets people on the bike is a good thing, even if that's on their bike in the basement. I've always been of the opinion USAC should leverage Zwift in some form, it could use another revenue stream. Its not the future of cycling but its definitely a new element. Its not going to replace anything,



I thought it was stupid when I tried it on a standard trainer, but once you use a smart trainer the experience isn't that bad.

I'm definitely not of the mindset that it's stupid, it's just that I really like my training regimen and haven't been compelled to change what works for me.
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Old 12-20-18, 07:52 PM
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Originally Posted by mattm
Bicycle racing is not dying. Check out the crowds at the TdF!

Indoor "racing" can take off all it wants, but the people that are skilled/motivated enough to race for real will keep doing it. It's two different groups of people, with some overlap of course.

What has slowed down in the last few years is amateur bike race attendance in the US, but it's really hard to say (or prove) that it's dying.

The scene is still huge out here, Intelligentsia Cup in Chicago was pretty damn big this year, plenty of folks showed up for Elite Nats & Masters Nats, etc, etc.

If the measurement is how many people show up to the generic office park crit (aka "Red Kite" out here), I'm not sure that's the best measurement.
Speaking first hand - Intelli is smaller every year. Not to mention at its best it was still an tiny wannabe version of Super Week before the fall.

Racer days are down something like 54,000 for the year this year. Again. ~12%. It's not "dying" but it's undergoing an illness that is grave and not to be joked about.
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Old 12-20-18, 07:54 PM
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Originally Posted by furiousferret
Anything that gets people on the bike is a good thing, even if that's on their bike in the basement. I've always been of the opinion USAC should leverage Zwift in some form, it could use another revenue stream. Its not the future of cycling but its definitely a new element. Its not going to replace anything,

I thought it was stupid when I tried it on a standard trainer, but once you use a smart trainer the experience isn't that bad.
Agreed in large part. Bikes are bikes. Past that - I do like racing and would greatly prefer it if people were still coming to and interested in trying the real thing...outdoors. As we all know it's a thing worth trying.

USAC is running a winter competition on Zwift between the LAs right now. I didn't get Illinois involved in it but the early response is mixed. So USAC is doing things with Zwift. They aren't ignoring it. USAC has been a lot better in the last few years IMHO
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Old 12-20-18, 08:22 PM
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I tried Zwift using my Kirt Kinetic dumb trainer and SRM power meter and I prefer doing a structured workout and listening to music. I did not try any group rides or races.
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Old 12-20-18, 09:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Psimet2001
Speaking first hand - Intelli is smaller every year. Not to mention at its best it was still an tiny wannabe version of Super Week before the fall.

Racer days are down something like 54,000 for the year this year. Again. ~12%. It's not "dying" but it's undergoing an illness that is grave and not to be joked about.
I believe that Intel is smaller than before, but it's still a big event right? Maybe it was "gigantic" previously and now it's just "big".

You would know better than me if the promoters of that race are losing $$ vs breaking even vs profiting, but it's bigger than any multi-day race I know of in CA.

Intelligentsia aside, my point is that it's not like quality races aren't attracting anyone. Around here the big races (Snelling, Chico, etc) still have big fields. The crap races have tiny fields. That's just the free market at work I guess.
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Old 12-20-18, 10:37 PM
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A power ballad dedicated to the outdoor road racing scene is the only song saved to my heart's spotify account.
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Old 12-21-18, 05:45 AM
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what's spotify?
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