The latest indieVelo update V0.2.38 released February 26, 2024, improves group ride flexibility and adds option to have power meters primary.
With the rapidly increasing number of people using indieVelo for group rides and other non-competitive training, this week’s release (see below for full details) focuses on improving the quality and flexibility of indieVelo for everyone. Key headlines include:
Group Rides: Event organizers and riders now have much greater control over how they ride in non-competitive events. It includes the ability for organizers to set an initial rubberband strength to keep everyone together (or not!) as you wish and, if desired, automatically set a default distance to remove it from the finish for a final sprint. Riders now also get notified of any changes to the rubberband strength and can teleport within the ride to friends, teammates, or just back to the middle of the pack – ideal for socializing and quickly getting back on if you drop off the pace.
Powermeters: indieVelo now supports using a powermeter as a primary source of power (with the option still to pair a Smart Trainer to control resistance). You can control it via a new “Prefer Powermeter” option on the Trainer Settings menu. Still, it is explicitly only a preference – in Performance Verified events that require a Smart Trainer as primary, organizers can ignore the setting, and you will use the trainer instead.
Workouts: indieVelo completely reworked ERG mode to be more user-friendly. If you’re struggling with a workout, then ERG mode will disengage to allow you to recover and avoid the “Spiral-of-Doom,” but now it will automatically re-engage when you start hitting the power targets again. You can turn this behavior off entirely if you want to suffer instead!
Other changes include several additions and improvements to streamline the initial account creation process, UI, collision mechanics, indieVelo’s unique dual-recording FIT files, and numerous minor bug fixes, as well as the usual constant improvements in the behind-the-scenes infrastructure and documentation to keep everything running as smoothly as possible as we continue to scale up in size.
Note for Mac Bluetooth users: If you find that the Bluetooth icon on the pairing screen has turned red, please follow the instructions linked from https://wiki.indievelo.com/docs/apple-mac-ble-permissions/ to first completely remove, and then re-add, permission for indieVelo to use the Mac Bluetooth connection.
Do you want to steepen your indieVelo learning curve? Check out our How-to-Guides page for details!
If all has gone well, you shouldn’t have to do anything to get the new version, as indieVelo will self-update the next time you start it up. If you find any problems, however, instructions on how to manually update are on the website: https://wiki.indievelo.com/docs/updates
Please note that, depending on when you installed indieVelo, you may see a warning message recommending that you update the installer/launcher to the latest version. If you see this, download it again from https://indievelo.com/downloads, and the update will automatically apply. The entire process typically takes a minute or two, often much less.
The full patch notes are below!
“A huge thank you to everyone for all the suggestions for further additions, improvements and bug fixes. Please do keep them coming, and let’s keep on making indieVelo even better every week.”
George Gilbert
Patch Notes – V0.2.38 – Key changes from the last version:
Added ability to use a powermeter as primary power source.
Added ability to set a default rubberband strength in group rides.
Added ability to set a default location for rubberband to turn off.
Added notification of rubberband strength changes to all riders.
Added ability to join friends / team mates in group rides.
Added ability to teleport to the middle of the pack in group rides.
Added ability to turn off ERG mode dis-engage when missing targets.
Added ability to view own password when typing it.
Added lots more teams.
Improved player collisions at high speeds & going downhill.
Improved player collisions when moving through packs.
Improved ERG mode to dis-engage only when missing target by a lot.
Improved ERG mode to re-engage when on target after dis-engaging.
Improved flow when joining an event from warming up in a free ride.
Improved custom elimination events to allow 1000 riders per arch.
Improved FIT file format for dual recordings.
Improved new account creation UI.
Improved download size on Mac.
Improved log spam.
Improved UI infrastructure.
Improved API infrastructure.
Improved pairing infrastructure.
Improved networking infrastructure.
Improved Unity release to latest supported version.
Fixed bug which could sometimes lead to the screen freezing on logout.
Fixed bug with login sometimes freezing.
Fixed bug with FIT file not containing power data if only powermeter paired.
Fixed bug with display of powermeter icons.
Fixed bug with text input boxes sometimes losing focus while typing.
Fixed bug with incorrect sprint text being shown in elimination races.
Fixed bug with group workouts sometimes being described as group rides.
Fixed bug with rubberband settings if doing two group rides in a row.
Fixed bug with duplicate entries in Join Friends list when riding.
Fixed bug with data being sent to trainers after disconnecting.
Fixed bug with foliage shader settings on Mac.
Fixed various typos in workout texts.
Semi-retired after more than 20 years as the owner and director of a private Orthopedic Physical Therapy practice, Chris now enjoys the freedom to dedicate himself to his passions—virtual cycling and writing.
Driven to give back to the sport that has enriched his life with countless experiences and relationships, he founded a non-profit organization, TheDIRTDadFund. In the summer of 2022, he rode 3,900 miles from San Francisco to his “Gain Cave” on Long Island, New York, raising support for his charity.
His passion for cycling shines through in his writing, which has been featured in prominent publications like Cycling Weekly, Cycling News, road.cc, Zwift Insider, Endurance.biz, and Bicycling. In 2024, he was on-site in Abu Dhabi, covering the first live, in-person UCI Cycling Esports World Championship.
His contributions to cycling esports have not gone unnoticed, with his work cited in multiple research papers exploring this evolving discipline. He sits alongside esteemed esports scientists as a member of the Virtual Sports Research Network and contributes to groundbreaking research exploring the new frontier of virtual physical sport. Chris co-hosts The Virtual Velo Podcast, too.
