The accumulation of drops based on calories burned is interesting. I see a ZwiftInsider test coming to compare drops accumulated for heavy and light riders putting out the same w/kg.
1. no real-world money for in-game items is the right way imho. it keeps me motivated to do more workout (and not spending more money) 2. zwift has a good reason for keeping XP: It would be frustrating for people riding far distances for high levels in the past if it was "worthless" now, if they just did a conversion from xp to drops. And you still need xp for higher levels and higher levels for unlocking bikes! Good way to go, Zwift! :-) 3.Finally Zwift recognizes the effort of climbs with the drops. I never made that many xp, because I 'm still trying to ride hills getting that tron bike eventually. and more climbs is less speed is less km/miles is less xp. Finally climbing pays off big time.
What I was noticing with my Alpe the other day was approx 8 drops per second when around 3w/kg (~180w) and about 12 drops per second when ~4w/kg. Interesting though: on the descent even at roughly 2.7 w/kg the drop rate was faster than 10 per second without the climbing or thumb multiplier. Maybe speed also has something to do with it?
Hi Shane, Thanks again so much for the info. As always your vids are very much appreciated. Take care down there, and hoping to see more of your new TCR vids...
One thing I saw on the inter webs was the theory that in the future drops could be used for entry fees to events and experiences on Zwift. Aka earn to ride special events (aka ride with pros etc) Also lucky enough to join the #disc club by spending with abandon early to match my beta shoes.
They've level-locked things in the past.. but I don't see them 'charging' Drops for events that are effectively marketing/advertising for the platform and other companies as they are.
I am still pretty new to Zwift and trying to figure how all this stuff works. Hell, I think I just figured out how to give "ride ons" with Apple TV. I have what seems to be a lot of drops, but never knew what that stuff was. I've just been training and riding for the upcoming cycling season. I guess I can do some bike customization now.
My wife was fairly confused by the system (drops vs xp). She never did much gaming. But usually my analogy to anyone would be XP is like XP in any role playing game which you earn from playing and levels your character up. As you level, you unlock new stuff. Think in World of Warcraft. You kill monsters. You get xp. Which gives levels and (at least when I played) gave skill points so you could unlock new skills and abilities (similar to getting level based unlocks). Drops are currency. When you kill those monsters they drop coins or stuff you can sell. You use that currency to buy specific items. So say I kill some monsters and have 10 gold. I can go spend that 10 gold The confusing part is the rate that we earn that currency (drops). Some things I tested were riding at higher and lower power. And tweaking my FTP to see if riding at higher and lower %ftp had an effect. It SEEMED to (didn't take any exact data). But it was not a linear thing. Cutting my ftp in half and doing 200% ftp was not giving me double the drops at the same power (vs riding at 100% ftp but with normal ftp). But I wonder if maybe riding at a higher power zone (say zone 6 vs zone 4) has a slight modifier. If that is the case there are pluses and minuses. The plus to that. A lighter, smaller rider will usually have a lower ftp. After all, my 5'2" petite wife does not have to pedal as myself (5'10" and overweight). I have to ride about 15-20% harder than her at the same power on flats outside. And around 5% gradient closer to double her power at the same speed. It means I will be forced to build more strength. So if there was not some modifier based on power zones or %ftp and it was based purely on calories earned (which is directly proportional to power) or just straight power, then I will earn drops faster than her. Even if we both ride at the same TSS, same %ftp, whatever. If they make it purely based on %ftp, people can abuse that. There is already weight doping, and now height doping. There are people that mess with their power accuracy (purposely getting bad calibration). People on non-smart trainers that do not tighten their rear wheel enough. And things like that. Now imagine FTP doping? Imagine setting your FTP to (pretend there is an artificial minimum of say 50w) at 50w. Say EvilShane riding at 300w is 600% ftp if he set it to 50w. If it was %ftp and Shane was riding at 300w with an ftp of 300w. He was riding 100%. EvilShane would earn drops say 6 times faster. Sure drops are only frames and wheels (and you only can ride one bike at the same time so chances are you only need 1 or 2 frames and 1 or 2 sets of wheels to cover all situations... but there's still the fact that someone COULD earn extra) But making it based on something like calories and modified by say power zone would put a cap to that. Say there was a 2% bonus per power zone. That evil cheating Aussie would only get a 6% bonus (he'd be riding in Z7 rather than Z4 like the honest and upstanding Lama that didn't cheat). If someone wanted to make their TSS and other things worthless in game for such a small bonus just for a currency that most people will not "need" after getting say a TT frame, an aero drafting frame, a climbing frame, aero wheels, and climbing wheels (so 5 purchases but really probably just a TT frame and deep wheels once you count the Tron bike), then not a huge thing.
That was interesting. I am gonna do my Alpe du Zwift today and see how many drops i am gonna have. I will probably unlock level 35 kit too when i'm riding on a way up.
I find the rate of accumulation funny, to me it's (and item price) easily off by a factor of 100 for how fast it spins by, reminds me of currencies spun out in hyperinflation where a loaf of bread costs thousands, where they got the idea for the single digit to blur by so fast you can't read it I don't know. Re gaming confusion xp vs drops etc, would love to see a poll for how many Zwifters have a Steam account, let alone actively play a game. My guess, 90% don't have a steam account having come from outdoor lifestyles.
Not sure if you are still running on zwift but there are a few things that are different. Appreciate this is a cycle focussed channel but might be good to link to some run info as you have covered it in the past... love the content and updates!
Very informative. Thank you for the detailed explanation. However, now that I've just got the tron bike (over a year of climbing) I feel less inclined to spend all my drops.
climbing at a lower wattage gives less drops/minute, but it takes longer to climb the entire mountain. So in the end it could be that both situations deliver the same amount of drops.
Have you by any chance checked what happens if you get multiple ride-ons in a 15second interval ? Does the multiplier increases for the overlapping time period, or are you better off getting ride-ons in serial ?
One thing you didn't touch on: are there still awards/reward items for leveling as there were previously? And can drops buy items that are otherwise earned through challenges, etc, or are those still only earned via levels, challenges, or achievements? (Can you get the monochrome kits or concept bike with drops, for example? I already have them unlocked so can't tell. Just curious if this has replaced the other reward systems.)
Level rewards are now all 'soft goods'. No more bikes or frames though the XP levels. ZwiftInsider has an updated list somewhere if you pop over there.
If you get multiple ride-ons so that the last one hasn't run down the 15 seconds for increased drop rate is the overlapping ride-on wasted or do they queue up?
Think of difficulty setting as having more front rings on your bike... it doesn't matter which ring you choose, the calories burned ( or total work required) remains the same. Your cadence will change... effort to pedal will change... but overall work done is not affected. So no... drops should not change with difficulty setting.
A couple things I think can be improved with the drop shop. First, the item rating are only a range of 1-4 stars. Many wheelsets/frames have the same ratings. Does this mean that there is no difference between them? Both Zipp 808 and 858 are 4 star aero and 1 star weight. Are they the same? It might be better to have a scale of 1.0 to 5.0. Second, the items are organized by vendor brand. If I am looking for a 4 star weight wheelset, I need to go through each brand. It would be nice if you could sort by weight and aero and then choose the item that meets your needs.
From what I've seen in your videos I wonder, do you ever drop out of the 15 second ride-on boost? :D You seem to be getting endless amounts of ride-ons all the time :)
So about 50k per hour with lots of ride ons and climbing. Maybe about 25-40k per hour without ride ons. Call it 33k? So a ~1 million drop frame takes about 30 hours of climbing. If you were going flat and say 22mph for 30 hours that'd be about 660 miles or 19,800 xp. So you can unlock a top tier frame with about the time it takes to gain a level in the 40s. And like I said on a wall of text earlier. You really only "need" at most 5 things from the drop shop if you care about saving that about 1s that tests are finding that separate the 5th best from 1st best. TT frame, aero drafting frame, climbing frame, aero wheels, climbing wheels. If you get the Tron bike then really just TT frame and aero wheels (maybe aero drafting frame for flat races but the Tron bike is so close that it isn't a huge deal).
Wow, how did you manage to get 7000 XP for one AdZ? 250 points is the KOM banner, 15km x 20 xp = 300 points for kilimeters ... Where do other 6500 XP points come from?
I'm on that accelerated path to Level 50 (Given I had 500,000 points when they released Level 50). That took everyone back to Level 25 / 115,000 points. Accelerated path means I get 160XP per km. 5120XP. Alpe Du Zwift has a +2000 XP bonus at the top. 7120XP..... and I screwed up reading out 179324 not 179224 .... so I was off by 100. Everything checks out.
What brilliant person thought calories would be a good unit of measure. The less you weigh the more disadvantage you have. What can you expect from a company that measure their calories in slices How about a test of a light weight rider and heavy weight rider at 50% the same w/kg FTP on aero bikes side by side? Both are putting out the same effort but using different amounts of fuel and in my mind should be awarded the same points.
Stephen Cunningham why is it unfair... I’m twice you weight ... therefore to do the same distance up hill I will need to expend twice the calories. Therefore if drop are more based on calories it fair for all. If it was like xp... where it’s base on distance ... it would be unfair for me who would struggle to get up the mountains
@@chrishierons1615 Just because you are expending twice the calories does not mean you are putting out more effort. If the w/kg is the same it's just different amounts of fuel being used and the same effort. IMO it should be based mainly off TSS with complex algorithm because I feel people should mainly be awarded based on effort and not who finishes first.
So what would that mean for me .... FTP about 150 ... about 1.2-1.4w/kg max for an hour at the moment (still untrained/unfit)... so 500-600 cals/hr. Does that means my 2-4hour AdZ climb (not done it since it would take too long at my fitness) is worth the same as someone 30mins climb? That’s how xp currently works. Traîner/power meter measures Watts not watts/kg.... so if I put my weight to 1kg or 1000kg... is w/kg sensible?
Do the Ride On drop accelerations stack? If I get two a second apart, do I get 29 seconds of increase? Or 14 seconds of double increase? Either way it definitely works in favour of popular riders. As in real life the rich just get richer! :)
I worked hard for my Tron Bike and there is nothing I want in the shop right now. Actually all i would consider spending drops on would be kit. But not any old kit. I want my own custom kit. If Zwift allows you to upload your own designs for a Drop Fee, I am all in. Until then my 1.7million drops accumulated in what will be my first year on the 30th March will just increase.
It's all in the T&C published on their webpage. Automation of any type can have you removed from their service. Actually, ANYTHING can have you removed from their service at their discretion. The short being - If you cheat the system, you're at risk.
Not really... if it's rewarding Drops on effort, it's still about doing the effort. So even at 50% you could earn more riding harder than having the trainer on 100% and riding easy.
I suppose, like with the Tron bike, repeats on the Radio Tower (aka "Bonus Climb") would be a quick way to accumulate drops (I assume it's a sweat equity pun). As for the Ride On bonus, generous use of the EMP of Ride Ons (I like to think of the proximity mines in Goldeneye 007) is a good way to get Ride Ons (and followers) ruclips.net/video/GXTewsV7URg/видео.html
What is the difference in calories if I ride the Buffalo bike vs the Tron bike - does it make no difference? It’s just based on watts so I go slower!? So if I ride the Buffalo bike on ADZ it takes me longer so I earn more drops!!!
My mountain bike on a cheap kinetic wheel-on trainer is very slow on zwift. I guess you need to have a fast "real" racing bike to compete? Do you need an expensive trainer to go fast? Do people spend a lot of money to go faster in Zwift? Thanks
@@gplama 25*calorie + 2x15 sec /ride on + 5* m climbed is a good enough estimation. 27,000 / hour is a good estimation for relatively flat courses riding at z2.
Shane Miller....questions for you. I am not level 26 yet(a fresh 25) and that is the level you need to buy the Trek Emonda SL......Have you bought the Emonda SL yet? If you have, can you run a test to see which one is faster?
@@gplama Wow!! Those drops burned a hole in your pocket!! Hahahahaha. The Emonda with the lightweight wheels is the fastest climbing bike in the game, just wondering if the new SL is even faster.
@@NikeonaBike Correct, if you are to believe the star ratings, the Emonda SL has fewer stars on it's weight rating ... when I noticed this, I opted to not buy it.
@@trevorsgaragemusings Its correct if you look at the zwiftinsiders testing too, its about 5 seconds slower up the alpe give or take a few depending which wheels you use.
So when i'm riding up a 15% grade and I get a ride on is that 2x accumulation of drop based off the normal rate or 2x based on the faster uphill rate? Is is better to get/give ride ons while going uphill or downhill?
I'm raining them down but as I'm on Apple TV it's tricky to target them so I'm using the map function. Any of my countrymen (people) are getting them on spec.
I'm on that accelerated path to Level 50 (Given I had 500,000 points when they released Level 50). That took everyone back to Level 25 / 115,000 points. Accelerated path means I get 160XP per km. 5120XP. Alpe Du Zwift has a +2000 XP bonus at the top. 7120XP..... and I screwed up reading out 179324 not 179224 .... so I was off by 100. Everything checks out.
I have been in the market for a new bike. Been following your story on your real Propel. I currently have a Defy advanced. I also purchased an in-game Propel with the SLR0 wheels. Nice to see some more frames in the game now.
@@gplama So my wheels are correct? They (Zwift insider Eric S.) keep saying 808's are the fastest overall, except on steep climbs, but with a 1 star for weight I find it hard to believe I wouldn't be better of going with a 3-4 wheel like 202 or ENVE SES 3.4 instead of the 4-1 808's. I mean with the 808's you get 1 extra aero star, but lose 3 stars in weight. Thanks for the reply Shane.
Zwift is Age-ist. 😉😉 Old riders with less power earn less drops{currency/money) than younger riders who, in general, can put out more power. Should be based on % of FTP. 😁 If only Zwift was around in the late 80's and 90's when I had some real power! 😢😢
I lost my 1.5 million drops just because I wanted purchase new Zipp wheels for 250k'something. When I clicked green purchase button, nothing happened (lag?), so I clicked few times more. After some time I realised those 454 NSWs cost me like 1.5 mil, making them the most expensive item in drop shop. Beware of this folks, as you'll need to wait for some time as zwift team solves such problem...At least they promised my "lost drops" will be returned:)
Oddly enough, the only gamified thing about Zwift that sort of bothers me is the Tron bike since it isn't real. Even though it was a big motivator for me to unlock it and I love using it, it's not a real bike and makes the game look a little cheesy. I'm such a hypocrite but I wish there were some races where the Tron bike was banned and you had to use all real gear.
I've watched your live feeds, Shane. You get a ride-on every ten seconds or so, on average. I here publicly accuse you of ride-on/drop doping. I don't know who to report this to... but you just watch out.
I know you're having a laugh... but I knew this would come up... so let me address it with a proper answer. I'm happy to be responsible for my own actions. What I'm in control of. When it comes to the actions of others - such as giving ride-ons - That's not me. I think I've said "Hey, give me a ride on to see it on screen" a few times on live streams. It's already been joked about "big RUclipsr gets more points" ra ra ra.. I'm here to learn things myself, and pass that on to others. I'd like to have a 'secret' ride option on Zwift where people aren't notified. Anyhow... As I said, I know you're having a laugh... but I also know people are pissed.
@@gplama Shane - I was definitely just having a laugh, but I am also glad to give you the opportunity to provide a proper answer to anybody who might be seriously questioning this. I am Team Llama through and through, and you fully deserve every ride-on that you get.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
The accumulation of drops based on calories burned is interesting. I see a ZwiftInsider test coming to compare drops accumulated for heavy and light riders putting out the same w/kg.
You answered every question I had and even ones I hadn't thought of yet. Fantastic! 👍💧👍💧👍💧👍💧
1. no real-world money for in-game items is the right way imho. it keeps me motivated to do more workout (and not spending more money) 2. zwift has a good reason for keeping XP: It would be frustrating for people riding far distances for high levels in the past if it was "worthless" now, if they just did a conversion from xp to drops. And you still need xp for higher levels and higher levels for unlocking bikes! Good way to go, Zwift! :-) 3.Finally Zwift recognizes the effort of climbs with the drops. I never made that many xp, because I 'm still trying to ride hills getting that tron bike eventually. and more climbs is less speed is less km/miles is less xp. Finally climbing pays off big time.
What I was noticing with my Alpe the other day was approx 8 drops per second when around 3w/kg (~180w) and about 12 drops per second when ~4w/kg. Interesting though: on the descent even at roughly 2.7 w/kg the drop rate was faster than 10 per second without the climbing or thumb multiplier. Maybe speed also has something to do with it?
Hi Shane,
Thanks again so much for the info. As always your vids are very much appreciated. Take care down there, and hoping to see more of your new TCR vids...
When I saw that mountain icon flashing, I couldn't help but think I was getting Mountain Dew, haha
One thing I saw on the inter webs was the theory that in the future drops could be used for entry fees to events and experiences on Zwift. Aka earn to ride special events (aka ride with pros etc)
Also lucky enough to join the #disc club by spending with abandon early to match my beta shoes.
They've level-locked things in the past.. but I don't see them 'charging' Drops for events that are effectively marketing/advertising for the platform and other companies as they are.
I am still pretty new to Zwift and trying to figure how all this stuff works. Hell, I think I just figured out how to give "ride ons" with Apple TV. I have what seems to be a lot of drops, but never knew what that stuff was. I've just been training and riding for the upcoming cycling season. I guess I can do some bike customization now.
My wife was fairly confused by the system (drops vs xp). She never did much gaming. But usually my analogy to anyone would be
XP is like XP in any role playing game which you earn from playing and levels your character up. As you level, you unlock new stuff. Think in World of Warcraft. You kill monsters. You get xp. Which gives levels and (at least when I played) gave skill points so you could unlock new skills and abilities (similar to getting level based unlocks).
Drops are currency. When you kill those monsters they drop coins or stuff you can sell. You use that currency to buy specific items. So say I kill some monsters and have 10 gold. I can go spend that 10 gold
The confusing part is the rate that we earn that currency (drops). Some things I tested were riding at higher and lower power. And tweaking my FTP to see if riding at higher and lower %ftp had an effect. It SEEMED to (didn't take any exact data). But it was not a linear thing. Cutting my ftp in half and doing 200% ftp was not giving me double the drops at the same power (vs riding at 100% ftp but with normal ftp). But I wonder if maybe riding at a higher power zone (say zone 6 vs zone 4) has a slight modifier. If that is the case there are pluses and minuses. The plus to that. A lighter, smaller rider will usually have a lower ftp. After all, my 5'2" petite wife does not have to pedal as myself (5'10" and overweight). I have to ride about 15-20% harder than her at the same power on flats outside. And around 5% gradient closer to double her power at the same speed. It means I will be forced to build more strength.
So if there was not some modifier based on power zones or %ftp and it was based purely on calories earned (which is directly proportional to power) or just straight power, then I will earn drops faster than her. Even if we both ride at the same TSS, same %ftp, whatever.
If they make it purely based on %ftp, people can abuse that. There is already weight doping, and now height doping. There are people that mess with their power accuracy (purposely getting bad calibration). People on non-smart trainers that do not tighten their rear wheel enough. And things like that. Now imagine FTP doping? Imagine setting your FTP to (pretend there is an artificial minimum of say 50w) at 50w. Say EvilShane riding at 300w is 600% ftp if he set it to 50w. If it was %ftp and Shane was riding at 300w with an ftp of 300w. He was riding 100%. EvilShane would earn drops say 6 times faster. Sure drops are only frames and wheels (and you only can ride one bike at the same time so chances are you only need 1 or 2 frames and 1 or 2 sets of wheels to cover all situations... but there's still the fact that someone COULD earn extra)
But making it based on something like calories and modified by say power zone would put a cap to that. Say there was a 2% bonus per power zone. That evil cheating Aussie would only get a 6% bonus (he'd be riding in Z7 rather than Z4 like the honest and upstanding Lama that didn't cheat). If someone wanted to make their TSS and other things worthless in game for such a small bonus just for a currency that most people will not "need" after getting say a TT frame, an aero drafting frame, a climbing frame, aero wheels, and climbing wheels (so 5 purchases but really probably just a TT frame and deep wheels once you count the Tron bike), then not a huge thing.
If you spent as much time riding as you did analyzing the theoretical algorithms to earn drops, you would probably win the Tour de France lol.
That was interesting. I am gonna do my Alpe du Zwift today and see how many drops i am gonna have. I will probably unlock level 35 kit too when i'm riding on a way up.
I had drops somewhere between 45000-50000. Less power and less friends than Shane :D.
46600
Juha Lehtinen 46600 or 725 per minute downhill 675 a minute soft peddling
@@zeekryder7735 something like that yes.
Unrelated. Had the equipment stats/stars changed with the new drop shop as to what you can buy VS what you were rewarded with as per old Zwift rules?
Yes. The level unlocks are ‘soft goods’ so no more bikes or wheels for levelling up.
I find the rate of accumulation funny, to me it's (and item price) easily off by a factor of 100 for how fast it spins by, reminds me of currencies spun out in hyperinflation where a loaf of bread costs thousands, where they got the idea for the single digit to blur by so fast you can't read it I don't know. Re gaming confusion xp vs drops etc, would love to see a poll for how many Zwifters have a Steam account, let alone actively play a game. My guess, 90% don't have a steam account having come from outdoor lifestyles.
Not sure if you are still running on zwift but there are a few things that are different. Appreciate this is a cycle focussed channel but might be good to link to some run info as you have covered it in the past... love the content and updates!
Very informative. Thank you for the detailed explanation. However, now that I've just got the tron bike (over a year of climbing) I feel less inclined to spend all my drops.
Riding up AdZ with the disc wheel??!! It's one of the heavier wheels in the game...pulling more watts, I assume?
climbing at a lower wattage gives less drops/minute, but it takes longer to climb the entire mountain. So in the end it could be that both situations deliver the same amount of drops.
What is that profile who show up above the pocket while people ride? sometimes is small others is bigger? thanks
Have you by any chance checked what happens if you get multiple ride-ons in a 15second interval ? Does the multiplier increases for the overlapping time period, or are you better off getting ride-ons in serial ?
One thing you didn't touch on: are there still awards/reward items for leveling as there were previously? And can drops buy items that are otherwise earned through challenges, etc, or are those still only earned via levels, challenges, or achievements? (Can you get the monochrome kits or concept bike with drops, for example? I already have them unlocked so can't tell. Just curious if this has replaced the other reward systems.)
Level rewards are now all 'soft goods'. No more bikes or frames though the XP levels. ZwiftInsider has an updated list somewhere if you pop over there.
Hi Shane, I’ve always wondered: Do you not get XP when you quit a workout early? Basically: Do you have to end a workout to get XP?
Where do we find the zwift drop cryptocurrency exchange rate to the dollar? How do we spend it at our local bike shops?
If you get multiple ride-ons so that the last one hasn't run down the 15 seconds for increased drop rate is the overlapping ride-on wasted or do they queue up?
Thanks, Shane! Great info!
What about drop in relation with difficulty setting?
99% sure, like everything else with the poorly named "difficulty" setting, it will have zero effect ☺️
Think of difficulty setting as having more front rings on your bike... it doesn't matter which ring you choose, the calories burned ( or total work required) remains the same. Your cadence will change... effort to pedal will change... but overall work done is not affected. So no... drops should not change with difficulty setting.
Newbie here to Zwift. Thanks for the helpful info :)
Welcome!
A couple things I think can be improved with the drop shop. First, the item rating are only a range of 1-4 stars. Many wheelsets/frames have the same ratings. Does this mean that there is no difference between them? Both Zipp 808 and 858 are 4 star aero and 1 star weight. Are they the same? It might be better to have a scale of 1.0 to 5.0. Second, the items are organized by vendor brand. If I am looking for a 4 star weight wheelset, I need to go through each brand. It would be nice if you could sort by weight and aero and then choose the item that meets your needs.
From now on it will be harder to unlock a bike because you must be at a certain level and have enough drops
Hi Shane, what is the better on Zwift ? The Aero Zwift bike or the ribble bike ?
One for Zwift Insider. I bet they have the details. I'm not sure sorry.
so with the drops being based on power output, do you get more drops per second from a higher w/kg or is it purely the wattage number?
Unknown. The calculation isn’t published. It’s a rabbit hole I’ll let someone else chase.
From what I've seen in your videos I wonder, do you ever drop out of the 15 second ride-on boost? :D
You seem to be getting endless amounts of ride-ons all the time :)
So about 50k per hour with lots of ride ons and climbing. Maybe about 25-40k per hour without ride ons. Call it 33k? So a ~1 million drop frame takes about 30 hours of climbing. If you were going flat and say 22mph for 30 hours that'd be about 660 miles or 19,800 xp. So you can unlock a top tier frame with about the time it takes to gain a level in the 40s. And like I said on a wall of text earlier. You really only "need" at most 5 things from the drop shop if you care about saving that about 1s that tests are finding that separate the 5th best from 1st best. TT frame, aero drafting frame, climbing frame, aero wheels, climbing wheels. If you get the Tron bike then really just TT frame and aero wheels (maybe aero drafting frame for flat races but the Tron bike is so close that it isn't a huge deal).
Wow, how did you manage to get 7000 XP for one AdZ? 250 points is the KOM banner, 15km x 20 xp = 300 points for kilimeters ... Where do other 6500 XP points come from?
I'm on that accelerated path to Level 50 (Given I had 500,000 points when they released Level 50). That took everyone back to Level 25 / 115,000 points. Accelerated path means I get 160XP per km. 5120XP. Alpe Du Zwift has a +2000 XP bonus at the top. 7120XP..... and I screwed up reading out 179324 not 179224 .... so I was off by 100. Everything checks out.
It appears that this doesn't apply to runners. Cool! I hope they keep it that way.
Raving Cyclist there would be nothing to but for runners other then looks
awesome - thanks for sharing
What brilliant person thought calories would be a good unit of measure. The less you weigh the more disadvantage you have. What can you expect from a company that measure their calories in slices How about a test of a light weight rider and heavy weight rider at 50% the same w/kg FTP on aero bikes side by side? Both are putting out the same effort but using different amounts of fuel and in my mind should be awarded the same points.
I agree - I though that maybe I missed something, but from what you write seems that body weight is irrelevant... that's not a smart system.
Maybe they are trying to give an incentive to give an accurate weight
So heavyweights riders (like me) will earn more drops per mile.
And I was wondering why everyone gets them so fast in comparison to me :/
This is so unfair for me at 58kg. It's bad enough that the Zwift aero advantage does not seem to be very accurate for lightweight riders.
Stephen Cunningham why is it unfair... I’m twice you weight ... therefore to do the same distance up hill I will need to expend twice the calories. Therefore if drop are more based on calories it fair for all. If it was like xp... where it’s base on distance ... it would be unfair for me who would struggle to get up the mountains
@@chrishierons1615 Just because you are expending twice the calories does not mean you are putting out more effort. If the w/kg is the same it's just different amounts of fuel being used and the same effort. IMO it should be based mainly off TSS with complex algorithm because I feel people should mainly be awarded based on effort and not who finishes first.
So what would that mean for me .... FTP about 150 ... about 1.2-1.4w/kg max for an hour at the moment (still untrained/unfit)... so 500-600 cals/hr.
Does that means my 2-4hour AdZ climb (not done it since it would take too long at my fitness) is worth the same as someone 30mins climb? That’s how xp currently works.
Traîner/power meter measures Watts not watts/kg.... so if I put my weight to 1kg or 1000kg... is w/kg sensible?
The stuff in the shop isn't very exciting, I hope they improve it.
Do the Ride On drop accelerations stack? If I get two a second apart, do I get 29 seconds of increase? Or 14 seconds of double increase?
Either way it definitely works in favour of popular riders. As in real life the rich just get richer! :)
I don't know. It didn't look like it when I had 3-4 hit during a 15 second window.
I worked hard for my Tron Bike and there is nothing I want in the shop right now. Actually all i would consider spending drops on would be kit. But not any old kit. I want my own custom kit. If Zwift allows you to upload your own designs for a Drop Fee, I am all in. Until then my 1.7million drops accumulated in what will be my first year on the 30th March will just increase.
This might be really silly and pointless , but can you put the watt bot at 2,000 or 1,000 watts all the way up the epic Koms?
Sure. But then you risk getting booted off the platform for violating Terms and Conditions you’ve agreed to.
Shane Miller - GPLama watt bots at 300 watts are allowed too?
It's all in the T&C published on their webpage. Automation of any type can have you removed from their service. Actually, ANYTHING can have you removed from their service at their discretion. The short being - If you cheat the system, you're at risk.
Shane Miller - GPLama private servers?
@@Dennis4523 For...? Zwift will have dev services. As for us, the public, we have to use the live/production ones.
Thanks for the information!
Shane does having the trainer setting on max matter?
Not really... if it's rewarding Drops on effort, it's still about doing the effort. So even at 50% you could earn more riding harder than having the trainer on 100% and riding easy.
@@gplama so 300 watts is the same effort at 50% and 100% setting. I know you have yours at 100 just trying to understand why. Thanks
I suppose, like with the Tron bike, repeats on the Radio Tower (aka "Bonus Climb") would be a quick way to accumulate drops (I assume it's a sweat equity pun).
As for the Ride On bonus, generous use of the EMP of Ride Ons (I like to think of the proximity mines in Goldeneye 007) is a good way to get Ride Ons (and followers)
ruclips.net/video/GXTewsV7URg/видео.html
What is the difference in calories if I ride the Buffalo bike vs the Tron bike - does it make no difference? It’s just based on watts so I go slower!? So if I ride the Buffalo bike on ADZ it takes me longer so I earn more drops!!!
My mountain bike on a cheap kinetic wheel-on trainer is very slow on zwift. I guess you need to have a fast "real" racing bike to compete? Do you need an expensive trainer to go fast? Do people spend a lot of money to go faster in Zwift? Thanks
You only need a good source of power (watts).
Thanks, I'm too slow for Zwift, going to fulgaz:-)
Do you have any idea if Drops are based on the watts or on W/kg?
Nope. The calculation is their 11 secret herbs and spices too.... they won't tell. I'm sure someone can test this and work it out.
@@gplama 25*calorie + 2x15 sec /ride on + 5* m climbed is a good enough estimation. 27,000 / hour is a good estimation for relatively flat courses riding at z2.
If I wanted to go back a lvl do I just pedal backwards?
Sure. Report back how that goes :)
How are you getting 160xp per kilometer? I am only getting 30xp per mile.. Is it the accelerated path you are talking about?
Yes
I've noticed that once you use up your monthly free 25k, and then push the "not now" button, you stop earning drops
Do you still automatically own a bike as you unlock it or do you need to purchase them with drops after unlocking?
There’s no more automatic level bike unlocks. As I understand.
Can confirm you must purchase your bikes now. You unlock the ability to purchase them.
If your ftp is lower do you get more drops at same wattage
i discovered winter cycling and have been able to pass all of this :D
I discovered Zwift and have been able to pass on winter cycling :p
I can confirm freewheeling down hill earns zero drops. It still gets you the xp from km's that going up hill takes away.
Riding up hill earns you less XP than riding on flats, so the Drops balances that out. I like it.
Shane Miller....questions for you. I am not level 26 yet(a fresh 25) and that is the level you need to buy the Trek Emonda SL......Have you bought the Emonda SL yet? If you have, can you run a test to see which one is faster?
I'm all out of Drops.... so nope. We'll have to wait for ZwiftInsider on this one.
@@gplama Wow!! Those drops burned a hole in your pocket!! Hahahahaha. The Emonda with the lightweight wheels is the fastest climbing bike in the game, just wondering if the new SL is even faster.
@@kenmiller5106 the SL is slower uphill than the challenge Emonda
@@NikeonaBike Correct, if you are to believe the star ratings, the Emonda SL has fewer stars on it's weight rating ... when I noticed this, I opted to not buy it.
@@trevorsgaragemusings Its correct if you look at the zwiftinsiders testing too, its about 5 seconds slower up the alpe give or take a few depending which wheels you use.
Interesting fact. If your free trial runs out then drops stop but xp continues.
So when i'm riding up a 15% grade and I get a ride on is that 2x accumulation of drop based off the normal rate or 2x based on the faster uphill rate? Is is better to get/give ride ons while going uphill or downhill?
Good questions. I don’t have the answers sorry. Best to receive them when your power is higher, so I’ll go with uphill better for getting rideons.
Hi Shane, do you know why the zipp 808/Super9 wheelset has been removed from the drop shop? And how to unlock it now?
It appears they weren’t meant to be in the store... so they removed them. 🤷🏻♂️
@@gplama So some people were able to buy them before they were removed?!?! How cruel!!!!
How much are the bikes?
I was annoyed that even though I have the required drops, I can't buy certain bikes until I reach a certain level.
Where do u get that t shirt?
Freebie from the Tour Down Under.
Shane Miller - GPLama love it!
Is there a cap for drops ... like 9.999.999 or so?
No idea sorry. I'll let you know in 246 years when I hit that level ;)
When watching your channel I see that you get over 100XP at any one time. I only ever get 20XP at a time. Is this related to the level you are??
This was a legacy thing when they upgraded to Level 50 in game. I’m back to normal now.
So this is why everyone's stopped giving ride ons :P
I noticed this too. Perhaps over time folks will relax and start handing them out again. The oddities of human nature.
I'm actually giving more Ride Ons. I just want to be nice (and I hope to get some back haha)
I've been getting loads of Ride Ons since the drop came out. I guess people are throwing them to get some back.
I've been giving more. Mostly to people I know or regularly race with though.
I'm raining them down but as I'm on Apple TV it's tricky to target them so I'm using the map function. Any of my countrymen (people) are getting them on spec.
How could you get 7200XP points just riding one time Alpe du Zwift? At 12km 20 XP per KM you'd get 240XP points... 7220 XP points is 361km!
I'm on that accelerated path to Level 50 (Given I had 500,000 points when they released Level 50). That took everyone back to Level 25 / 115,000 points. Accelerated path means I get 160XP per km. 5120XP. Alpe Du Zwift has a +2000 XP bonus at the top. 7120XP..... and I screwed up reading out 179324 not 179224 .... so I was off by 100. Everything checks out.
What did you spend most of your drops on?
Well... long story. I purchased TWO Giant Propel frames.... somehow. I have a ticket in with Zwift on this one.
I have been in the market for a new bike. Been following your story on your real Propel. I currently have a Defy advanced. I also purchased an in-game Propel with the SLR0 wheels. Nice to see some more frames in the game now.
Looks like it's time to vEverest the Radio Tower :D
Thanks, I just need more friends
Who will be the richest Zwifter come the end of this month?
Not something I've thought about, or will give another thought to again to be honest.
Shane Miller - GPLama lol didn’t you see Chris Pritchard’s billionaire video? Maybe a garage sale soon. 5 million dollar Trike?
@0:23 Your 808's are 4-4 stars and mine are 4-1 stars. What gives?
Maybe an update/error from Zwift? The store did have a few bugs when they rolled it out.
@@gplama So my wheels are correct? They (Zwift insider Eric S.) keep saying 808's are the fastest overall, except on steep climbs, but with a 1 star for weight I find it hard to believe I wouldn't be better of going with a 3-4 wheel like 202 or ENVE SES 3.4 instead of the 4-1 808's.
I mean with the 808's you get 1 extra aero star, but lose 3 stars in weight.
Thanks for the reply Shane.
If only I had a popular RUclips channel and could get 100 ride ons too... being vaguely likeable may also help me with this as well, granted 😋
You should try Today's Plan. Way better than TrainingPeaks IMO.
Kudos for staying linear on topic.
I'm level 42 and only get 30xp 🙄🙄
Zwift is Age-ist. 😉😉
Old riders with less power earn less drops{currency/money) than younger riders who, in general, can put out more power.
Should be based on % of FTP.
😁 If only Zwift was around in the late 80's and 90's when I had some real power! 😢😢
So the Drops?...Are Zwift referring to sweat droplets, the harder you push the you sweat...
I assume so... getting dropped from the group isn't ideal. Dropping your bike, no good either.
I just ride my bike.....
when you say "XP points", you are saying experience points points. It's like saying PIN number. We all do it!
Unless XP is short for eXPerience.
@@gplama nice work - trying to style it out. Ask Nathan. He'll keep you right! Good piece nonetheless. Thanks Shane.
Basically Zero watts= Zero Drops
So they don't run on Blockchain...do they run on "dropchain" then... ;-)
I lost my 1.5 million drops just because I wanted purchase new Zipp wheels for 250k'something. When I clicked green purchase button, nothing happened (lag?), so I clicked few times more. After some time I realised those 454 NSWs cost me like 1.5 mil, making them the most expensive item in drop shop. Beware of this folks, as you'll need to wait for some time as zwift team solves such problem...At least they promised my "lost drops" will be returned:)
I'm probably in the minority, but the more Zwift 'gamifies', the more I look for alternatives.
Fair enough. Platforms need to differentiate themselves somehow... or they’ll all be the same thing. And there’s lots of the same thing out there.
Yeah completely agree. I'll still stay a Zwift subscriber for a long time, the other platforms have a lot of catching up to do@@gplama
Oddly enough, the only gamified thing about Zwift that sort of bothers me is the Tron bike since it isn't real. Even though it was a big motivator for me to unlock it and I love using it, it's not a real bike and makes the game look a little cheesy. I'm such a hypocrite but I wish there were some races where the Tron bike was banned and you had to use all real gear.
I've watched your live feeds, Shane. You get a ride-on every ten seconds or so, on average. I here publicly accuse you of ride-on/drop doping. I don't know who to report this to... but you just watch out.
I know you're having a laugh... but I knew this would come up... so let me address it with a proper answer. I'm happy to be responsible for my own actions. What I'm in control of. When it comes to the actions of others - such as giving ride-ons - That's not me. I think I've said "Hey, give me a ride on to see it on screen" a few times on live streams. It's already been joked about "big RUclipsr gets more points" ra ra ra.. I'm here to learn things myself, and pass that on to others. I'd like to have a 'secret' ride option on Zwift where people aren't notified. Anyhow... As I said, I know you're having a laugh... but I also know people are pissed.
@@gplama Shane - I was definitely just having a laugh, but I am also glad to give you the opportunity to provide a proper answer to anybody who might be seriously questioning this. I am Team Llama through and through, and you fully deserve every ride-on that you get.
Which flaming drongos keep giving the thumbs down?