Jughed

Easy choice - work my 10 hour day, get out in the cold/wet northeast weather... oh yeah, and its dark. And road riding around here is not really optimal even in the daytime...

or

Sit in my nice temperature-controlled basement... nice and dry... safe... and get the best quality riding/training that I get all year.

and

Since we tend to spend $$$$$$$$$$ on bikes, parts, accessories, bike trips - what is $18 per month in the grand scheme of things? I do know its a whole ton less than my medical deductibles after getting squashed by a dump truck on dark wet roads.

Michael Novo

This is a bit nonsensical. Sure you can ride outdoors in the winter, but if you're on a training program and looking to do certain things. Some cannot be done outdoors at all and others are even more difficult in the winter. I can and do go for rides in the winter, but for true training I have to be indoors on a trainer because I'm not going to be able to do a VO2 max or threshold session out on the roads most of the time and for sure not in the winter. But I can get on a trainer and hold precise watts and target the zones I'm after. I also live in a pretty flat area so if I want to do any climbing then I'm either driving a couple hours to another state or selecting a hilly route on Zwift. I'd also need to ride quite a few years to make the investment in a virtual trainer worth the cost of a fat bike.

Michael Novo

While not over the course of one year, but same story here. 50lbs over a couple of years. I even have my weekly crit races that I look forward to after work in the winter months and race with the same folks over and over.

indyfabz

I’m Blackburn wind trainer old. It was totally free.

Jughed

Yep - flat here as well.

But on zwift I've climbed Mt Ventox, Col du Tourmalet, Alpe d'Huez, Mt Fuji, Col d'Aspin, Col de la Madone...

I can train for my upcoming trip to the French Alps, on the same mountains that I plan to climb in the French Alps. Worth every penny.

indyfabz

Sad if that’s the best quality riding you get all year.

prj71

Mountain bike, Gravel Bike, Road Bike, Fat Bike.

I have a bike for all seasons. Only time I don't go is if it's pouring rain or super cold out. Other than that...can ride all year outdoors which is much better than a Zwift trainer and staring at TV screen for $20/month.

Jughed

Training.

Velometry

Sorry I didn't know such a thread already existed.

indyfabz

Still sad.

PeteHski

Don’t you just love it when ignorant people tell you what you should do 😂

PeteHski

It’s quite a price jump, but I was surprised it stayed at the same price for so long (7 years I think). I’ve tried most of the other major apps (including the free ones) over the last few years, but I always come back to Zwift for various reasons.

I’m ok with it as long as they keep developing the app and adding new content.

jaxgtr

Same where I live, the tallest hill I have are bridges and they are pretty much limited to a max high of 120 ft. So I use Rouvy to build my legs for when I do go someplace where you actually have to go uphill.

Jughed

Not sure if your trolling or not… but anyhow -

Its flat awesome having something like this technology sitting in your basement.

As a man with a full time job, a family and all of the other day to day - I step out of my office and jump on my smart trainer and get in kick ass workout/race/climb an Alp… all in the comfort of my house during the cold dark winter.

indyfabz

I am not trolling. And who said anything about winter? You wrote “all year.”

“…and get the best quality riding/training that I get all year.”

I think it’s sad if the best riding, training or whatever happens in your basement, which I am pretty confident doesn’t come close to an Alp.

Koyote

You asked for my thoughts, and here they are:

They're not "giving themselves" anything; they've raised the price, and you can decide whether to pay it or find an alternative.

What has summer's impending arrival got to do with anything? Do you expect them to tailor their business decisions around the climate in your hemisphere?

Do you believe that Zwift is immune to rising labor costs and other increasing business costs?

What is your motivation for this post? Just to complain, and looking for support?

Those are my thoughts.

Jughed

OK, for the last time - TRAINING. And yes, its the best place to train - for me - ALL YEAR ROUND.

Try doing a 20 min interval outside - try finding a place close to home in the north east where one can do a 20 min interval without a traffic light, stop sign... There is nowhere within a few hours of the house where I can actually get beyond 8 min. Yep - 8 min at FTP and I hit a traffic light, town, stop sign. Even on my local bike path.

And DUH - no crap, it probably doesn't come close to an Alp. Lemme ask you this - do you have an Alp in your back yard that you can ride and train on 2x per week? I don't have any form of mountain within 3 hours of the house. And those mountains are pimples.

So - since you seem to have the answers - when living in pan flat country, 3+ hours from a "mountain", with no areas of open road that allow for long intervals - tell me how training indoors is "sad".

Convenient, easy, consistent and better-quality training isn't = sad.

PeteHski

Well said.

I would wager that most of the clowns who ridicule indoor training don’t actually ride more outdoors anyway. All the strongest outdoor riders I know also ride indoors too. They are not mutually exclusive activities and indoor training certainly benefits outdoor riding in almost all cases.

Even if I literally lived at the foot of Alpe d’Huez I would still sometimes prefer to ride indoors for all sorts of reasons that don’t really need justifying. Sometimes outdoor rides just suck and sometimes indoor rides feel great. Having more options available is not sad.

Black wallnut 

Well aren't you just special. Not everyone has what you have. Not everyone lives in a place that is so accommodating. Some even would laugh at you for not riding in the rain. It's coming across as arrogant condescension your disdain for folks that use Zwift. Why even bother to post in the thread? Do you add any value with your opinion? Where I live indoor riding is nearly necessary in the winter months and more beneficial on the gale force windy days. Not even counting the safety factors. What about a tire puncture in cold, wet windy conditions, in the dark. Death by hypothermia is a real possibility. Same issue and risks of a crash with a substantial increase in the risk of crashing due to ice, snow, or sand. Yeah every ne should just ditch zwift and spend more money on winter clothing that has a rather narrow useful temp range depending on intensity of exercise and then even more money on a fat bike. Six years of Zwift will cost you about what a fat tire bike. We all know that we have the financial resource that you do, right?

Today's weather where I live is wind 29mph sustained, with highest recorded gust of 49mph, and it is just morning. Winds usually pick up in afternoon to evening.

RChung

This is a 33% increase over the last 7 years. The CPI has increased 28.5% over the same period of time. The price has thus increased 33/28.5 = 1.16x as fast as inflation. Whether the product is 16% better than it was in 2017 is up to you.

spclark 

I'll re-up when I can't ride outside anymore this season.

unterhausen

I feel like waiting and having a price hike all at once is a marketing mistake. Could have been increasing the price all along. Now they have made everyone mad and probably given everyone an expectation that there should be a step increase in the quality of their product. Okay, maybe nobody has such an expectation, but every time someone has a problem, they are going to think bitterly about the price increase.

unterhausen

merged two threads with exactly the same title, one from general cycling. Not sure if that's going to make any funny exchanges, but I imagine people can figure it out.

PeteHski

I was thinking this too. It’s a big, sudden unexpected price jump. It’s like they forgot to creep up the price annually like most other businesses do with inflation. A 7-year price freeze is almost unheard of and now people will complain about the sudden catch-up. Nobody will be thinking of the positive that they had been paying the same fixed price for 7 years. I wonder if they will make the same mistake again over the next 7 years?

spelger

yes a bit price increase as RChung points out but still cheaper had they been making small incremental price increases. 33% is still pretty steep though. i can only imagine the climb would be like.