I love TrainerRoad and I'm grandfathered in with no interest in going elsewhere. Plus the fact that Nate and crew are always so helpful and prompt with any issue or opinions. I truly have seen very few companies open to suggestions and the response time is crazy fast. I'm an old guy who never got into video games and I just want to train, not be entertained, so I'll stay with TR.

I assume you probably already know about these, but there are currently 3 ways (that I know of) to do this sort of thing. Teamspeak, Twitch (as described here), and Discord (described here)

I'm, personally, hoping my extra $5 is going towards more "organic" live audio/video so that hardcore gamer skillz aren't needed to do this sort of thing.

Remind CaptainCanada to turn off his webcam after his workouts.

Not really. They will surely followup with a price increase of their own.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

TeamSpeak and Discord are really comparable - they are strict spaces for voice. A bunch of the big groups on Zwift - in particular ODZ - use Discord currently. Twitch is a fully-featured streaming platform that really competes with YouTube Gaming and Microsoft Mixer.

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

I just got back on Zwift for my first fall ride. I was impressed that even though I suspended my membership last spring, they gave me a 25K ride for free so I could check things out again. I saw significant improvements to both the application itself and the mobile app. So I signed up again for the (totally reasonable) $10/month. Then I get the notification of the price increase today, but I'm grandfathered in for a year @ $10. Again totally reasonable. Not much to complain about. Prices increase, it's what happens. Personally, I have no objections.

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"The first virtue in a soldier is endurance of fatigue; courage is only the second virtue."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

I was just getting ready to buy "gift card' for 2 people and a subscription for myself, now the price for what I wanted to purchase just went up $180 ... makes me reconsider my plans, and my main reason was to do virtual workouts with those two people, as they are moving from California to England. I'mnot complaining, just looked last night and was going to do this weekend, what crappy timing :-(

It will increase my seasonal churn. I kept my account active from May to September to support the development with maybe 5 uses in that period. I am not sure I will be so supportive in the future.

Team ODZ does chat and chill rides. Theia interviewed Leah thorvilson, 2016 Zwift academy winner for the one I listened to. I treated it like a podcast while driving.

So I’m more invested in Zwift this year because I signed up for a women’s endurance lab through team ODZ. It was 4 weeks of workouts with a forum. Much more engaging than the open source workouts although I’ve heard better things about the 4 week FTP booster than some of the other plans.

This topic actually seems to be the primary complaint about Zwift and why some people prefer TrainerRoad. I used to have TR run the erg and Zwift on just for changing scenery. Now I’m just Zwifting. I still have TR, Fulgaz and Sufferfest but the order of use is 90% Zwift, 7% Sufferfest, 3% Fulgaz. Don’t know last time I actually logged into TR. Zwift price increase will lead me to drop something else, not Zwift.

Yea, I don't see COD as being the type of game to need a widely available beta. I was mainly making a point to the government man that Zwift was, at one time, free.

This is why I still use PeriPedal for my trainer time, and will go to PerfPro if PeriPedal ever finally fails (it hasn't seen an update in forever). Everything wants you to pay "just $10 a month!". No. No no no. Let me buy the software. If you want more money, write more software that does something newer and better.

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

CoD: WWII had a beta over the summer.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Yes, it was free while in beta. That's why it's a beta. That's how things work in the software world. It's not market ready in beta, hence why it's free to users so the users can test the software for bugs and stress and all that. It's disingenuous to say Zwift was free. The beta was free for us to test. The market product was $10/month.

I know you're just trying to be an obtuse troll here but at least throw a little bit of wit into it.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

That's like saying that CoD or Overwatch or Battlefield or Destiny were, at one time, free. They weren't. The beta was free. The finished product was $60. Your point is fucking pointless.

So a game that sells $500 million worth its first week (like CoD: WWII did) doesn't need widely available beta testing? Sure thing. Whatever your day job is... please stick to that.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Why are you being a dick?

+1

I don't know. I tend to agree with GMan. Zwift was never really free. It was in beta. Beta is always free. At least, I've never heard of a public beta for software that wasn't free. So I don't really agree that the change from a free public beta to a $10/mo commercial product constitutes a price raise. But I suppose that's largely semantics... Anyway...

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"Non est ad astra mollis e terris via." - Seneca | rappstar.com | FB - Rappstar Racing | IG - @jordanrapp

I must say, I don't know much about the platforms you mentioned. However, Zwift isn't just a piece of software. They use a subscription model because it's actually more of a service than a good, if that makes sense. They provide the platform and host the servers required to keep it going. More like a gym membership. They also have to use a subscription because I don't think people would actually buy the product if they made it cost as much as they would have to.

15 dollars is not much, but 9,99 was such a nice pricepoint though.
For most it wont matter and zwift is still spiralling upwards.
But it is now more costly that e.g. TrainerRoad, so people in doubt about which to choose might pick TR now.
Personally i use both (TR workouts, and lets the power transfer to zwift). 180 dollars a year for a nicer look when riding is quite some. So i hope they add something for the money, new world, new achievements (sooo overdue), new world is comming jan/feb 2018.

But their training plans so are sub par to TR (which makes sense as the trainingplan is all that TR got), so i think they should up that, or ideally buy TR which wont happen i guess.

whether you're spending $10 or $15 on TR or Zwift I can't see where else you can spend this little amount of money and potentially get a product which has such huge potential to improve performance.

i'm a TR user for 3 years now and love the simplicity of the squiggly line scrolling across the screen, coupled with the training plans and immense data base of workouts. 3 years down the line my bike power/times have improved beyond all recognition for a fraction of the cost of the latest wheels/frames/products. wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if TR followed suit but I'd swallow any increase in subscription.

as someone has said before you're either in or out: use it consistently and even at $15/month it has to be the best value for money investment.

As someone who hasn't jumped into trainer apps yet & uses the trainer only once a week (PM/dumb trainer), I'd be pretty reticent to pay $15/month. For others, I can see that $15 is well worth it.

If they still do the free trial though, I should probably give it a go just to see....

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29 years and counting

They will definitely lose some subscribers with this increase. In my opinion they will lose a lot less if they offer an option to sign up for the entire year for a lump sum of something like $150 (just throwing a number out there...)

Minus the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

I got in on zwift beta and have been loyal since then. Not suspending my account so I could jump in any time the weather or my mood dictated. But I feel the price bump was too much. I subscribe to a couple of training programs for variety and believed the cost was reasonable. Zwift probably completed a cost analysis and determined it necessary and now I'm doing the same. I will likely complete my winter training on the grace period but after that sadly I'm out... or until TR jacks their price.

Can we get a decent user manual for the extra $5?

I generally ride once or twice a month (vs. 5 or 6 times a week on my standard CT courses) on it and even at that, $15 or $7.5 per ride doesn't bother me.

As for the enhancements - races, group rides etc. I don't do them outside, so why do it in an "virtual" world.

What other enhancements are a benefit - it already tells me my speed, watts, time, distance...