Other Zwifters will be able to see when you are doing a workout via a color coded hologram screen (click to enlarge).
After a year of giving its product away for free, Zwift has announced it's moving to a paid-for subscription service, as well as launching into the structured training market with the addition of a workout mode. Zwift will begin a non-contract monthly pricing structure of $10 starting October 29.
Zwift's structured training or 'workout mode' will focus on gamifying the training experience to make it more inspiring and engaging. In the beta version that will be released later this month, riders will experience new levels of motivation, as they receive encouragement from other cyclists on Zwift's virtual course.
Zwift will launch a selection of workouts, focusing on pre-programmed activities before moving to supporting user generated/created workouts. Other Zwifters will be able to see when you are doing a workout by a color coded hologram screen. This structured training mode will support ERG on most smart trainers, helping you do near real-world intervals, claims Zwift.
As a reward for their support, Zwift beta users who signed up and downloaded Zwift prior to October 2015 will be rewarded with Zwift virtual goods, in acknowledgement of their early support and feedback.
Introduced to the world in beta in the fall of 2014, Zwift has grown to include riders from over 100 countries that have put in more than 300,000 rides covering over 4.5 million miles (or about 19 trips to the moon). Zwift users have also burned over 315 million calories or 1.1 million slices of pizza in their first year of virtual riding.
But most importantly, Zwift has made indoor cycling a truly social endeavor, with tens of thousands of users being able to ride together online and also analyze and share their ride data on social networks for athletes such as Strava.
"In only a little over a year, the community of riders on Zwift has grown beyond what we thought possible. This winter it's likely they'll be riding a million miles a month on Zwift Island," said Zwift co-founder and CEO Eric Min. "From the day we introduced Zwift last year we clearly signaled our intention to offer our game as a fee-based service. Our beta community helped refine Zwift to the point where they felt it was worth paying for and the introduction of structured training brings us to the moment where I'm proud to say we have a huge contingent of riders willing to subscribe to Zwift."
Learn more at www.zwift.com.