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Rouvy vs Zwift
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For people who have used both. What are the pro's and con's for Rouvy and Zwift?

I've been using Zwift for a while which I am happy with, but I like the fact Rouvy has real IM courses you can ride and am thinking of trying it out.
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [42point2] [ In reply to ]
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I like Rouvy better for the courses as you mentioned. Zwift has more users because most of their budget goes into marketing and sponsoring pros.
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [42point2] [ In reply to ]
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This is Slowtwitch! How dare you mention anything other than Zwift!
I like Rouvy! Don’t really have anything bad to say about Zwift though.

Team Zoot So Cal
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [42point2] [ In reply to ]
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Rouvy is great if you enjoy scrolling around Google Maps streetview

Zwift is great if you like e-racing, training plans, group rides, and lots of other riders on the map
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [indianacyclist] [ In reply to ]
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Would it be possible to use both at the same time? I don't know whether Rouvy has those routes but racing in Richmond/Bologna/Yorkshire on Zwift while displaying the real course on Rouvy could be a nice thing...

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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [captainolek] [ In reply to ]
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I recently tried a free trial of FulGaz which is real life video footage to ride along to that reacts to your speed and show power, cadence, hr etc, but after trying a few routes I've ditched it as I prefer the inter-activeness of Zwift.
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [42point2] [ In reply to ]
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The huge, deal breaker, issue with Rouvy is (or was) the fact that the video was taken at normal frame rates on a fast moving vehicle.

To account for a slow moving rider going uphill, they simply drop the frame rate dramatically. So climbing Alpe D'Huez or whatever, you're running few frames per second leading to a horrible juddering mess of an experience IMO.

Apparently there is now a "video smoothing" option somewhere, don't know how much it improves things though.
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [indianacyclist] [ In reply to ]
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indianacyclist wrote:
Rouvy is great if you enjoy scrolling around Google Maps streetview

Zwift is great if you like e-racing, training plans, group rides, and lots of other riders on the map

I actually do prefer live street views to riding in a cartoon world which is why I'm coming up on 3 years w Rouvy this summer. Zwift is definitely a more social platform but the animation is a turn off for me.

Rouvy offers reality, variety, e-racing, workouts, career levels w annual reset, and monthly challenges which ususlly entail riding 4 or 5 climbs. I doubt I've scratched the surface of it's capabilities as the functions I use serve my needs.
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [HuffNPuff] [ In reply to ]
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What are the chances that Ironman VC/VR will soon require ride segments be completed on standard Rouvy courses with smart trainer? (to help minimize some of the obvious cheating - at least on the bike leg)

tinman
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [tinman] [ In reply to ]
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I have been using Rouvy for a long time and just gave Zwift a try now that I have been stuck at home for 3 weeks.
They are different and for now I think I will keep on using both.
As others have already mentioned Rouvy is great for all of the courses you can ride all around the world, so the have all of the famous climbs of the Tour and Giro along with Kona and many of the other triathlons.
It's great to do intervals without the distractions of trying to chase other riders, and "close the gap" and all of the other distractions that Zwift has, sometimes I will even run Rouvy on the side and watch a movie or something.

The flip side is that Rouvy is (more or less) a solitary activity, where in Zwift you feel like you are with other people, it is especially good if you have trouble getting motivated to bang out intervals indoors, and of course there are all of the group rides and races that you can do to help keep the motivation going.

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http://www.instagram.com/cyclewise
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [tinman] [ In reply to ]
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tinman wrote:
What are the chances that Ironman VC/VR will soon require ride segments be completed on standard Rouvy courses with smart trainer? (to help minimize some of the obvious cheating - at least on the bike leg)

I expect (or hope) they have a category of the VRs that requires just that so that the results are at least somewhat apples to apples. Then they could still have an "open" category that is a free for all.

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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [TOMOP] [ In reply to ]
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TOMOP wrote:
The huge, deal breaker, issue with Rouvy is (or was) the fact that the video was taken at normal frame rates on a fast moving vehicle.

Without any sort of proof or detail, I think they've done something about this. I tried Rouvy about a year ago, and that was one of the things I didn't like.

But I tried it again over the past few weeks, and it's pretty darn good, even at low speed. I don't know if I was using routes captured at higher framerates, or something else. But I was doing like 15% ramps up like the Paterberg, and it wasn't visually annoying.

I use both Zwift and Rouvy now. Zwift when I have to, because that's what all my buddies require me to do when they want me to join them in a race, etc. Rouvy for group rides and solo training. Occasional racing. The big advantage of Zwift used to be rider density. But that's become problematic for me recently. Doing 700+ rider group rides and races is kind of shitshow-ish.

Rouvy is more of a classy joint, like a good Italian restaurant to Zwift's Olive Garden. Cleaner UI, no porn soundtrack, no fantasy bikes or power-ups. Good scenery.
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [tinman] [ In reply to ]
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tinman wrote:
What are the chances that Ironman VC/VR will soon require ride segments be completed on standard Rouvy courses with smart trainer? (to help minimize some of the obvious cheating - at least on the bike leg)

I have no idea since I'm not playing that IM game. But with the pro tour coming to Rouvy swiss courses, they have the technical ability to do it. But I think cheating is possible on an online platform. I swear that some of the course records on Rouvy are ridiculous and must have been done by someone with an e-bike mounted to their trainer!
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [HuffNPuff] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah, I don't think any of the virtual ride platforms has "figured out" cheating on the whole. It's a really hard problem.
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [trail] [ In reply to ]
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The cheating on Rouvy is beyond crazy, there is some chatter about it on the facebook user group.
At the moment it seems like Rouvy isn't doing anything about it.

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http://www.instagram.com/cyclewise
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [trener1] [ In reply to ]
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trener1 wrote:
The cheating on Rouvy is beyond crazy, there is some chatter about it on the facebook user group.
At the moment it seems like Rouvy isn't doing anything about it.

I don't doubt it, but it hasn't seemed that bad to me. I've seen probable cheaters, but in the small groups that Rouvy tends to have, it's easy just to let them go so everyone else can get on with life.

I've been a little bit more annoyed at some of the huge 600+ groups in Zwift. Even in "D" or "E" categories, there's always some fraction that takes off at like 6-7 W/kg for sustained efforts. Maybe it's unintentional, but why on earth do people do that in lower categories? You have to just let them go to, but with more of them they can be a bit more destructive to "group riding."
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [trail] [ In reply to ]
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We've been using Rouvy before it was called Rouvy (it was called Virtual Training back then) and many of the courses brought over from that platform were indeed recorded with a motorcycle or car.

That doesn't seem to be the case with the new AR courses, and on some of them you can see the shadow of the bike and rider that recorded the video

The old Virtual Training and original Rouvy did not tale a lot of hardware to run. The new version with the AR support appears to be taking a lot of gaming machines to their knees according to social media. Our machine is an Alienware Area 51 with a 1060 video card and the internet connected by ethernet and we've never had a problem, but there are reported cases where Zwift ran fine and Rouvy AR had problems.

It is certainly more low key and simpler to use than Zwift, and cheaper if you are a family using it. My wife and I pay a whopping $12 a month for both of us.

Also keep in mind, because of Rouvy's roots, there are a significant number of workout programs that are similar to Golden Cheetah (minus all the cool analysis that is offered with GC of course) for the days with you just want to get it done and over with.

Also keep in mind that Rouvy can dial down the realism making climbs easier and more manageable. Your result won't show on the leader board but you do get credit for the ride.

"...the street finds its own uses for things"
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [AutomaticJack] [ In reply to ]
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AutomaticJack wrote:
Our machine is an Alienware Area 51 with a 1060 video card and the internet connected by ethernet and we've never had a problem, but there are reported cases where Zwift ran fine and Rouvy AR had problems.

I just have a measly Alienware Alpha with early-gen i3 with NVidia GeForce, and it seems to do OK. I get in trouble if I don't download routes in advance, but I think that's just the wireless in my garage being slightly sub-par.

One thing I do appreciate about Rouvy is that it seems to do very well about gracefully handling dropouts. Like if I *don't* download in advance and the video freezes for like a minute or so, it keeps me going in the event. So when the video picks up I'm still with the same group. Zwift tends to drop you like a hot potato immediately.
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [trail] [ In reply to ]
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trail wrote:

I've been a little bit more annoyed at some of the huge 600+ groups in Zwift. Even in "D" or "E" categories, there's always some fraction that takes off at like 6-7 W/kg for sustained efforts. Maybe it's unintentional, but why on earth do people do that in lower categories? You have to just let them go to, but with more of them they can be a bit more destructive to "group riding."

I'll never understand what prompts people to enter a group ride, then promptly ride hard off the front. It makes no sense to me. All rides have an advertised w/kg published when you sign up, and there are always plenty of races to choose from. So if you want to go hard, there are always plenty of options. Why join a group and then not ride with it?

Until ride leaders get the fence capability back, there isn't much we can do about it. I will say that most group rides I do, it's generally a small percentage that ride off the front, and while it can be frustrating, as long as the majority (or at least a good # of people) stick with the beacon, it still ends up being a good ride experience.
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [tinman] [ In reply to ]
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To be clear, riding in a large group on Zwift was not cheating for the Ironman VR. In order for there to be cheating, there has to be a rule against it.


tinman wrote:
What are the chances that Ironman VC/VR will soon require ride segments be completed on standard Rouvy courses with smart trainer? (to help minimize some of the obvious cheating - at least on the bike leg)
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [42point2] [ In reply to ]
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A huge draw for Rouvy for me is the "family plan". I pay for my membership and I have have 2 family members with their own accounts that get full memberships as well. That is a huge advantage for me.
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [Brent 1] [ In reply to ]
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Brent 1 wrote:
A huge draw for Rouvy for me is the "family plan". I pay for my membership and I have have 2 family members with their own accounts that get full memberships as well. That is a huge advantage for me.

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This. And that we both prefer the ‘real world’ feel. It’s bad enough being inside without having to feel like riding in a cartoon.

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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [trail] [ In reply to ]
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Used Rouvy for the first time today. One question:

I tested it by doing a reasonably flat/downhill route called Cow Creek but I’m not on the leaderboard. I haven’t paid yet, but I likely will soon, it’s pretty cheap. Any idea why that would be? I *think* I have the trainer difficulty at 100.

Dan Mayberry
Amateur a lot of things, professional a few things.
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [drm437] [ In reply to ]
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drm437 wrote:
Used Rouvy for the first time today. One question:

I tested it by doing a reasonably flat/downhill route called Cow Creek but I’m not on the leaderboard. I haven’t paid yet, but I likely will soon, it’s pretty cheap. Any idea why that would be? I *think* I have the trainer difficulty at 100.

I don't know!
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Re: Rouvy vs Zwift [trail] [ In reply to ]
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trail wrote:
drm437 wrote:
Used Rouvy for the first time today. One question:

I tested it by doing a reasonably flat/downhill route called Cow Creek but I’m not on the leaderboard. I haven’t paid yet, but I likely will soon, it’s pretty cheap. Any idea why that would be? I *think* I have the trainer difficulty at 100.

I don't know!

Took me a bit to find the right FAQ. I rode in training instead of face. Just FYI.

Dan Mayberry
Amateur a lot of things, professional a few things.
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