For those that are hesitant about trying Velocity, you should give a listen to the Athlete’s Compass podcast where velocity was explicitly discussed.
I personally thought Velocity was going to be a Peloton clone and wasn’t much interested in that kind of service. After hearing the Prof and company discuss what was possible with Velocity, I’m going to give it a try.
I’m not saying I’m a convert yet, but I’m going to give it a whirl. I still would prefer to see a 5:30 or 6:00 am EST live class, because that is when I have to be on the bike in time for my day to start.
you are already committed to another platform like Zwift.
Our live session offer is not fitting your schedule.
You prefer to ride outdoors
5 usd/month is undoable with other subscriptions
IF you were to join, you’d like to see:
outdoor route simulations (FYI with laptop Velocity app, you can watch YT, Netflix or run another service simultaneously)
Nothing can sway you away from your current setup.
LIVE rides for East coast US/ EUR time schedule are lacking
Would EST evening time work for anyone? I’d be willing to step up and coach LIVE sessions on select afternoons/evenings EST. Do we have any coaches who would like to coach morning EST sessions?
One thing I would add here is that we are also using Velocity to give you an improved experience of all our Strength sessions. You just start the workout on Velocity and follow the instructions of the workout. In the future, if you’d like to join LIVE strength sessions, I’d be happy to coach those as well. Run workouts are also possible via Velocity, if you have a run power pod, like Stryd, or smart treadmill. Happy to coach our sessions there as well in the fall. Just let me know!
My main takeaway (and what I felt even though I did still join Velocity) is that people have a lot of inertia into Zwift, we have clubs and friends and races and streaks and drops and gamification we’re hooked on, and w/o the social aspect or network it’s asking a lot to get people to change. The $5/mo is completely doable, but the question becomes “why should I make the effort to spend that $5 when I’m happy in my habit?”
I personally do love and appreciate the added value of Velocity especially for specific HIIT and intervals and the live rides, but…
…another thought: the users on the forum answering the poll are more invested and aware of the Velocity integration than many others, but even here it seems that the purpose, type of app, and integration aren’t well publicized and understood. Even me, doing the beta for weeks on Velocity, almost overlooked the single email about the integration and discount! And when it came time to convert from beta to subscription, I had to ask MJ where to find the info and how to
So maybe another round of outreach and education about it? Update emails often go into spam or are just skimmed, not everyone is on the forum, and out of sight is out of mind. Might find more appetite with a brief Velocity vs Zwift educational piece, a graphic or how to mix together etc. for those that don’t know much about it yet, or have forgotten it.
I have been using Zwift since their original beta many years ago and reached level 100 some time ago. I’ve just started using Velocity and will be making the switch. A lot less expensive if the $5 offer is still valid, integration with althletica and data focus are the main reasons. I don’t use the the group rides, nor social aspects of Zwift, and really don’t care about the gaming features including buying equipment etc etc. I’m more interested in focusing on my training and how I perform throughout the prescribed session.
Having raced on an erg in the past, I could appreciate the simplicity of the format:
predetermined distance (2k)
all-out-for the win (static resistance…most power wins)
Trouble with that setup for littler, less powerful folks like me is the physics of rowing: bigger folks (bigger body = bigger lever) dominate in non-real-world settings. Attempts have been made to address this, but the market is too small, really, for anyone to care too much.
But I was thinking that the basic concept could be ported to indoor cycling with a few adaptations:
predetermined “route”
a) could be a real-world route that reflects gradient physics. Adds/subtracts interim “difficulty”
of the route, though I suppose it doesn’t really change anything (because shifting…) except
rate of forward progression. So the points aspects kick in to press riders for the interim win
b) maybe some interim “sprint” and “K/QOM” points
Relative performance is gauged versus CP (rather than w/kg + draft)
a) power/weight workaround? Thinking out loud, it makes the race first a race against oneself,
then against others, but a race nonetheless
b) rider with max power relative to CP wins
c) CP (or FTP to make it more universal?) is imported from Athletica or user-set (honesty
required, obviously)
I would totally do this! And I probably would drop Zwift, as “racing” is the only reason I keep Zwift now. I’m otherwise watching terrible TV during training sessions, keeping Zwift open only for the badges and upgrades.
