Listen Up, Data Nerds! New Features Announced on Cyclists’ Favorite Apps
Sure it’s nice to unplug and simply soak in the views from time to time, but let’s be honest, we’ve all turned into data geeks. And why not? You get the endorphins from your ride, and then another extra boost of dopamine when you upload and see the PRs roll in. Luckily, some of our favorite apps keep improving and adding new features
Zwift is keeping us excited
Zwift just launched version 1.40 and is trickling out the updates in phases over the next few weeks—including bug fixes that came up in the last update.
“Our last game release, version 1.39, was not at the quality level that it needed to be, and we know that there were many issues that prevented you from enjoying riding and running in Zwift,” Mike Lusthaus, the Chief Technical Officer at Zwift said in a statement. “We take your feedback very seriously, and are grateful to the many members of the Zwift community who reported issues and provided helpful information about your experience, environments, and devices.”
Another exciting bit of news is that compatibility with Apple Silicon is on the way. “We’re in the final stages of testing Zwift for native Apple Silicon which we’ve observed to have huge performance improvements across the board,” Lusthaus said.
For lots of us, trainer riding is for the dead of winter. But really those all-out indoor sessions can be great any time of the year. This month, Zwift also released their Spring Training Series, which they’re billing as the perfect way to get ready for big summer rides. The series includes six effective, efficient, achievable workouts that will get you ready for outdoor goals.
Zwift’s Ride with Pride series opens May 22, just in time for Pride Month in June. The month will include all kinds of virtual group rides and runs, and ways to get involved with the community.
And finally, be on the lookout for the Tour de France / Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift Mission coming in July. The Zwift Watch the Femmes campaign will include an on-demand mission that challenges Zwifters to complete four stages, with different course options provided with the new Segment Portal.
Strava is keeping us organized
For those who occasionally opt for foot sports over two wheels, Strava’s new automatic gear tracking feature will make it easier to know when you need to replace your shoes. Now you can automatically assign gear based on sport type. You can have default running shoes, hiking shoes, and walking shoes.
This works for bikes, too. Before, you had the option of choosing one bike as your default for all rides, but would have to manually switch if you used a bike that was not your default. For example, if your default bike was your road rig, you’d have to switch bikes in the activity if you went on a mountain bike ride. But now, you can have a default bike for road rides, and a different default bike for mountain bike rides.
This new feature is for both free and paid subscribers to the Strava app. And because Strava now offers so many different activities, you can assign every bike in your garage a default.
Have a Peloton? Default it to virtual rides. Have an e-cargo bike? Assign it to e-bike rides. Mountain bike, gravel bike? There’s a default for that.
It’s going to be a great summer of riding, improving, and our favorite, data!
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