Zwift Play Controller Review: Surprisingly Useful!
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2024
- A complete in-depth review of the Zwift Play controllers, diving into what works well, what it does, and what needs a bit of work.
Zwift has just released their Zwift Play controller, which lets you do everything from steering in-game, to quickly accessing settings while riding, all while also hurling burritos at other racers. It’s Zwift’s second piece of cycling hardware they’ve announced in the last year, following the Zwift Hub trainer last fall. And not to spoil too much of this review, Zwift seems to have once again nailed the hardware execution with a product that’s largely affordable and functional.
#Zwift #ZwiftPlay #IndoorCycling 
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Totally agree with the commentary on price point. I suspect they will sell a decent number of them at $99, but at $150 this is a complete non-starter for this Canadian Zwifter, especially when you factor in the CAD/USD exchange. That's getting very close to $200 CAD for something that adds marginal functionality to the Companion app (never mind not being able to actually buy it in Canada - thanks Zwift!!).
Got my 17 year old daughter into cycling and she had just started doing Zwift. I told her to watch this guy Ray! She might learn a thing or two 👍 I know I did and continue to do. Thanks Ray. Love your work!
Yes, your daughter is now busy watching Ray's videos. But this silence comes with a price tag...
Always need to be thoughtful when thumbing up someone. This could be a gamechanger peripheral for me. I wanted these features ever since I rode the original Expresso bikes many years ago
I bought a set of these and it’s really useful and improves the Zwift experience in many ways 👍🏾. My 11 year old also loves them as enjoys Zwifting when the weather isn’t great.
Their new action bar menus make a lot more sense now. I am quite impressed and looking forward to a broader steering implementation. Also figners crossed ita a generic controller that can be used on other platforms too.
The part where you said 'oh nee' when you failed a couple of time bonuses made me remember that you are a Dutch person and laugh a bit. Good review :)
haha...thanks!
The 2 features I use the most are virtual shifting and Ride On bombs. The shifting is great since I use an older bike hooked to my Zwift and I just keep the chain on the big ring and in the center of the cassette and don’t have to worry about the mechanical bits much.
Cool...steering that works with the kickr climb😊
First thing I thought too. I had sketched out a few bidges to use Sterzo...nope. Looked onto a programmable button box...no connection to steering.
Not a impulse buyer most days, but today I am! A good addition for my setup.
When Zwifting on PC I simply use the companion app and unified remote (free) on my mobile. This will enable the keyboard/mouse features you need in the game, you can even customize additional hot keys if you like.
These Zwift controllers would be a nice upgrade to add steering but not at this price point.
Thanks Ray, good review. Zwift has right idea to attract early adopters with the reduced price. If the protocol is available to 3rd parties then we may see either less expensive models or more functional models....maybe permutations of both. I can see someone programming view buttons that could cycle through the options and select automatically.
More 💵 for my Zwift bike...
Yep, definitely an impulse purchase for me too. I considered it a birthday gift to myself. B/c I'm tired of using my keyboard. I even use Commander, but now I lost it .. oh well. It's very convenient being able to brake (finally), So I don't keep shooting out the group ride or robo-pacer, then have to soft pedal, then chase back. Now I can just brake. And yeah the ride-on bomb in one button! ✊.No need to scramble my phone again to give a ride-on.
Coffee break has been available for a few days already. You just need to be in a group ride mode. Thanks Ray for the review as always.
It is only available in the first 5 minutes (for 30 seconds) or after having ridden for 30 minutes. Ray was outside those windows.
@@rasherdk And currently broken in group events as of 1.42 PC. All you get is the 30 second break. There's a thread on the zwift forums.
I love it, ordered. I can’t imagine life without Zwift. I haven’t ridden outside in three years due to insane city drivers and losing two friends on the streets in five years. It’s just not worth it to me anymore. I miss riding outside somewhat but I really love riding Zwift. Zwift is better than riding outside in so many ways. Thanks for the video Ray.
Dude that is insane. Have you tried riding in the night? I have seen many IG videos of Japanese riders going for rides in the nights. Probably due to less traffic.
I got into zwift this year after buying my kickr for the holidays. I was hit by a car 2yrs ago and suffered a TBI. Last year I still rode outdoors a lot, 5k miles in a year (albeit with a lot of anxiety every time) but I much prefer zwift to riding outdoors. My HR is a lot lower and I don't have to constantly be on high alert someone will pull out and hit me again.
@@joshuadrewlow Yah, when I worked 2nd shift for about 5 years I'd get home at 11:30 pm then ride after midnight, I really loved it but now I'm on an early schedule, in bed by 8pm! :)
Join a ride group and get back to riding in fresh air.
@@rjoly8029 Riding in groups doesn't make it any safer. I led Sunday morning group rides with up to 30 people for many years.
Google this: "2 killed, 19 injured in Goodyear bicycle crash"
From the story: "A pickup plowed through a bicycling group on Feb. 25 in Goodyear, killing a man and woman and injuring many others."
Grrrr, you & Shane & my inability to resist toys.
Love the vids
😂😂😂
Sorry...not sorry! 😂
Great review.
Unfortunately for us in Australia/NZ/Asia, we can't order these at the $99. They are not even available to us. Why is it only available to US/Europe/UK, in this beta phase?
I totally agree on the impulse at $100 and probably not at $150. Unless the $150 comes with a few months of free riding. Maybe that's how they eventually sell it at $150.00
Great video Ray. I wish they were available in Australia 😢
Thanks for nice and clear video. May I know whether they would affect your holding on shifters when you pushing a hard session?
Can't wait for this to arrive. Perfect for those that can't reach the keyboard while riding.
I would have liked to see steering assistance for the TACX Blacktrack, which is much more intuitive than steering the bike via buttons.
All other functions could have been solved via voice recognition in the companion app.
kegland and then the yeast ones. thanks enjoying it
I have to admit that these are pretty cool. Zwift is all about gamifying the indoor training experience, and what better way to gamify it than to provide you with basically video game controllers. You don't have to reach for keys on your laptop, or have your phone in your hand, you just press the button on the controller. And the price isn't too ridiculous either.
I have a KICKR Bike V1, these are a big improvement compared to what's built into my bike.
Impulse buy. Can't wait to test with ATV. Thanks Ray.
Enjoy!
This was my impulse buy of the week. At 150 this looses it shine.
Likewise, they will be handy in a few months when indoor will take over for me again .
Interoperability the other way around would be great - e.g. Zwift Play buttons working with the Wahoo RGT platform.
F-Zero.
Man, what a call back.
After doing a bunch of research, watching this and other videos and deliberating, I decided to go for it and spend the $99 to get a pair. What convinced me was the recent addition of virtual steering to the Core, which is what I have. The other features are nice, but it's what I most got these for as I'm finding that physical shifting on the Core is noisy and annoying plus I'd prefer to use an old cassette and save my new cassette for the road. When riding outside ambient noises and the sound of the wind rushing by mostly mask the noise of shifting, but indoors it just annoys me and I'm sure anyone who's around. But it should be nice to be able to do all those other things like steer, brake, ride on, change pov and direction, etc. I haven't gotten them yet and have yet to see how well they'll work with my Campy Ergo shifters though.
Great review! How would you attach this to a mountain bike with the T-style handlebar?? Thanks
The USB-C-A comment killed me 😂 USB is such a hot mess of naming conventions... 😭
Would this work using Apple TV? I've read there is a 2 device limit for BT, so if you've got HR and power connected, then this would not be able to connect, right?
Can we also move into the menu, select worlds and workouts ?
Ray I simply need to know what that stem is please? With the Garmin mount built in. It's super clean
I tend to do my punchy efforts on the hoods and out of the saddle so I need a good grip at that point. Do these need to be installed lower to do that and would they then be too low to easily reach them when I am sat down again?
Can you zoom & rotate the camera view with the D pad, like you can with the arrow keys on PC? 🤷♂️🤔
Will it work pre game as in the workout page scrolling and such that’s still horrible with the Apple ATV remote ?
Yes, they work before you start riding.
Any idea how to mount this to MTB handle bars, please? I already have Zwift steering, so I’d want this purely for the 8 buttons. Thanks!
so cool - about time though
Why did they not put accelerometer for steering…
Thank you
How about these with the Tacx Neo Plus Smart Bike? Is there enough added value since they already have steering buttons?
Great review thanks 🙏 and I agree, £150 is too dear. Tempted at £99 though.
I could imagine Zwiftetris tourneys in the future. Win the race by either completing a course or beating your oponent on tetris. Like Chess Boxing, but with biking and tetris
Is there a way to keybind the actions on a keyboard or mouse?
any idea on campagnolo mechanical thumb shifters? would that be in the way you reckon?
Per Zwift Plays Tech section, the Campy with thumbies are NOT compatible.
Thanks
As an ATV user my Bluetooth connections are already used up so this will push me down the Companion App connection route. Question though, will my Kickr and HR monitor have to go through Companion app too? Reason I ask is that prior to getting my Kickr two years ago I used to have to connect via the Companion app and I found it pretty unstable back then. Has it improved?
With Apple tv... You either do all your Bluetooth connections directly to it, or through the zwift companion app. You can't do both.
anyone with stages sb20 bike try them out? would you just need to relocate the sprint shift buttons or does it block the shifter buttons them self?
I use an iPad Pro (for the display) and iPhone (for companion app) on my Stages SB20. Doesn’t seem like these controllers really add any value over the companion app. Am I missing something?
Ordered
Can it do virtual gear shift on a cassette. Or do I need both click button and this
When is the TT version coming?
Tempted by the impulse buy but is this another Sterzo ? Or will any glitches be ironed out by firmware updates ?
I notice your hands are not placed on the drops when you are using the controller. How do the controllers work when you are actually on the hoods? I did a 5-second test at lunch and I didn't think I could reach the buttons if I had my hands fully on the hoods.
How does it affect your grip on the hoods?
You can use this with any Smart Rainer, But what about the new shifting mode?
Zwift is still missing a single button to turn ERG mode on and off, this should be something simple to implement, but still you have to go in the menu and search for this option, which is dumb.
The ERG mode toggle button would be extremely useful for some trainings that include short sprints (where you always have turn ERG off, and then on again afterwards), and also to avoid the ERG spiral of death (where if you slow down on a red zone you cannot spin up again, so you it would be easy to turn ERG off, spin to right cadence, and then turn ERG on again).
These look cool. Do the controllers, when they're attached to the handlebars of a Kickr Bike, infringe on the Bike's steer buttons? Is there enough finger room between the Zwift orange steering keys and the Kickr Bike's shifters? And does choosing Zwift controllers render the Kickr Bike's brakes unusable?
No blockage there, it sits about 2-3cm below the KICKR Buttons. And no finger clearance issue either. I haven't tried dual-pairing them yet, but I'll check and circle back.
@@Dcrainmaker Thank you. Going to order them today.
Hi, great video.
These look great.
So much easier to navigate than with apple tv remote.
Do you know if these would fit onto a Wattbike atom ng??
Without interfering with the atom gear change buttons??
Looks like they would as seen on your bike and brake/gear leavers.
Any info greatly appreciated 👍
Not compatible with Wattbike Atom unfortunately. Says so on the Zwift official release 😢
@@Cmeniol bit pricey just to use as a remote. Wonder why it’s not compatible, fitting onto bars or something more technical??
@@1972andyb yep. I wondered if it might fit on the aero bars but who knows. I'm not paying £99 to find out.
Aero bars are quite narrow compared with bars, might not tighten up. I’ve also asked GPLAMA if he knows anymore
Is it possible to connect this with other indoor cycling apps, like Rouvy?
are these standard game controllers? meaning can you use the buttons and controls with other games?
Would like to understand what happen if I use with another steering device like Elite Rizer...
Would love one of these but will probably never get my hands on them in South Africa 😔
I have two questions about these. Firstly, and this is subjective, I wonder if these will get in the way for my hands when sprinting in the drops.
Secondly, navigating through submenus looks irritating to do during a race. It would be great to have assignable 'hotkeys' to carry out common functions, like switching to the rear view with a single press. I wonder if that's coming.
1 they won't
2 most common actions are already mapped to single press buttons. Including the rear view that you mentioned.
Do I need this for stage sb20.
Hmm.. I'm zwifting on a MTB? Is it possible to mount them in some way on a flat bar?
Curious if there’s a mounting method for TT bars
Nothing at this point, hopefully people figure out some creative solutions. I did some poking on the two TT bikes we have, and couldn't think of anything all that great in a steering-kinda-way. For general button access you can mount it on something nearby, which is still better than the companion app.
Thank you for this in-depth video. So far I've seen several articles that just say "Zwift released this" with no real information. From your video, I can see that for me at least, it really is an impulse and something I really don't need.
If you use steering to zig-zag on steeper gradients, does it take some of the gradient out? Asking for a friend ;-)
Picked up a set of these but question regarding using with Apple TV
I use kickr bike, and HR monitor and tv only lets me connect 1 of the controllers as it reaches max connections. So have to use Zwift companion app?
Pity Zwift couldn’t have the two controllers talk to each other and need only 1 connection
They need one connection each.
The main solution is connect them not to your apple tv, but to your phone using the Zwift Companion App.
You can also do this to any other sensors... Quite clever solution.
@@ErickMoreno tried that but seems to keep dropping
I want this just for the sticker to stick on a small child 😂
I agree!
😂😵💫🤣
I just want Zwift to bring back the ability to pay for a year at a time. I'm okay with the potentially diminished value during the summer months knowing that I have the yearly rate locked in. I just see the "monthly only" option as a way to raise rates without having to worry about some subscribers being locked in at a lower amount.
I will still probably buy these. $99 is a buy, $149 is a pass. Maybe they'll open up the ability to use an XBOX controller, since it's basically that cut in two and without the joy sticks!
Can you turn erg mode off or on .
Would love to see you review the Avotro controller :) at a similar price of $150 AUD, it's a fully functional general purpose bike handlebar game controller - but it's very low on reviews at the moment (see: 0) - If you're able to find out if it's any good, would be happy to purchase through an affiliate link :)
I have a Steerzo that does not work with the Tacx Neo Rockers, so enough peripherals sitting around not being used, maybe at $99 but no to $150. With $150.00 I would buy something for my road bike.
Is there actually a way to brake on Zwift without the Zwift PLAY controllers? And what would you use it for, apart from not having to wait a few seconds before being able to change your bike setup?
You can use it to avoid going off the front of a group.
Also wheel / bike change mid ride
If you buy the controllers in beta will they upgrade to the final firmware?
Yes
was virtual shifting not available when yo udid this demo?
Not compatible with Campy shifting or have someone experience with controller on bars with Campy shifting?
4:09 “press the blue purple button” 😅
Did you just say "o nee"? 😎👊🏻
Can one use this AND sterzo same time? Steering with sterzo seems more intuitive to me….
Would love an answer on this also...
Kickr bike has built-in steering, but you have to choose to pair either the bike steering or this device. I suspect that means this device or the sterzo but not both. Just a guess.
I also have a Sterzo and like it and would prefer to be able to continue to use it. I wonder if it would just behave like a computer does with two mice connected, either works. If you dont touch the orange paddles then I'd hope it would just use the Sterzo input.. it would be nice to know how it works in this respect.
Hmm 🤔 when’s the tron trainer coming
Did I miss this? Does this take up 2 bluetooth spots? I use Apple TV for Zwift right now.
With Apple TV, you'll use the companion app to pair it instead.
I’ve bought them. using them with an android device (Samsung galaxy tab S6) paired with Favero and with the Kikr is having a lot of issue and crashing the zwift app. Really annoyed. any views?
Would be disappointing if Zwift no longer works with my Elite smart steering block. Sometimes actual steering helps break up the monotony of multiple hours ride and provides some real positional movement. Pulling levers seems silly. Also, what's the point to brake?
There is only one thing as an eRacer... You want to sprint in the handlebar and not on the hoods. Missed change. Besides that it looks nice
I received mine yesterday and did notice there is limited space when sprinting from the hoods. Moving the controllers downwards slightly does correct and able to sprint from the hoods. I also was able to steer comfortably from the hoods but may not work if your have small hands.
Small hands and narrow bars - these really don’t work for me. Bummed but returning them.
Can I use this to control my submarine?
What will be the difference between Beta and final version? Smaller Hardware?
Hardware will be identical/same, that's not changing. Only the software side of things (the Zwift Game, and unit firmware). For example, the current app doesn't have vibrations enable. It was in previous test versions, but was pulled for release, and will be added back in on the next software update (likely in a few weeks).
So, is this steering really any better than the kickr bike? Seems pretty much the same.
Not really much different than that. But I'd argue the best part of this isn't actually steering - it's access to the menus.
So I tried with kickr bike and it would work well but I have no idea why they also have auto steer you have to constantly fight or try to compensate for….not sure why.
Yeah, the auto-steer is annoying with Repack Rush.
@@Dcrainmaker well. Maybe they will listen to you. I have sent feedback.
If someone doesn't need it anymore I will give it a try. Otherwise 100$ (discount) is a lot. Thanks for the information though!
(Typo in video title, sir!)
Extra YT comment engagement unlocked! 🤣 Thanks!!!!
A xbox controller is 65 USD, is capable of a lot more and can be connected to any device with Bluetooth. Implementing something like that would be cheaper and better for the environment, since a lot of people already has a controller for gaming etc.
Is it true that it doesn't work with ant+.....? Thank you
If one orders them from within EU - will it then be shipped from within the EU? Or would I have to expect further import expenses?
Zwift has a shipping/distribution warehouse in the EU (mine came from their Netherlands warehouse). So nothing extra.
@@Dcrainmaker Awesome! Cheers mate!
@@rolighed1277 Fun update: Specifically, it departs from Zwift's EU partner warehouse in Vijfhuizen, which is basically a very very very small town right next to one of the runways at Amsterdam Schiphol airport.
Do you have to steer during the game? Or can you decide to not steer and simply use the buttons?
You don't have to steer, you can simply use buttons.
Stages SB20 smartbike has many buttons waiting there to be implemented with functions… is Zwift not willing to cooperate with Stages?
Discussed in the last 2 minutes of the video. :)
Hopefully soon!
Will these work with a Tacx Neo Bike?
It works on the NEO Bike Plus (tested that), but it's listed as not-compatible with the original Tacx NEO Bike.
@@Dcrainmaker ah right i forgot the _new_ NEO has real handlebars. My Apple TV and original NEO bike might just make the setup not worth it.