Smart trainer, Zwift and alternatives

[paulh]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I'm probably going to pick up a smart trainer between now and cyber Monday.
With my current dumb trainer I watch concerts or GoPro videos of folks riding in Mallorca or somewhere with music on, and keep track of time and wheel spinning "distance", and heart rate with Garmin.

For a cycling app, I don't know if Zwift or an alternative would work for me. I don't really want to join in races or do a whole "social" thing. If there's some app where I could put in rides I've done, up Loveland Pass, etc. and re-ride them in a virtual world, that would be great. Or create rides in ridewithgps and load them into a system. Or put in Alpe d'Huez and ride that. Is there a system that "knows" most paved roads and can recreate routes in the virtual world. Then do some structured workouts as well. Thanks for any advice for someone new to this.

[Mikej]

Get an Elemnt and a kicker or snap - then read up

[trener1]

Look no further, you can do this on Rouvy and it should work great.
https://support.rouvy.com/s/article/How-to-create-a-virtual-route-from-my-activity-2?language=en_US

[Yoshi]

I alternate between Zwift and BitGym. BitGym closer to your description and costs much less. You can try either one before you buy.
BitGym is video of beautiful roads, paved and dirt, from all over the world. Zwift is a much more realistic workout but I find the graphics really tiresome.

[commonguy001]

Perfpro is another option if you really don’t care about the visuals and you buy it and you’re done, no subscription fee monthly.

I’ve been on Zwift for a few years and am trying . On Rouvy, my wife and I can both use the same subscription vs Zwift which currently costs us 3 times as much.

[GonaSovereign]

OP: based on your description, "...re-ride them in a virtual world..." you're looking for FulGaz.
https://fulgaz.com/

[tigoat]

I have had a Kickr, a Hammer, and a Neo. Neo is the one I like best, mainly it does not have a secondary belt drive like others, so there are no internal mechanical parts to degrade and replace.

As for riding apps, you don't them if you have a Garmin Edge 830 or 1030, as these GPS units can do virtual rides (real road courses) and workouts for free.

[glepore]

Check out Veloreality. Its beautiful cinema quality film of all the great euro climbs plus some cool US and Canada stuff, and more.

It sychs perfectly with a smart trainer. Its not a workout program, just virtual riding, although I do intervals with it just as i would outside. Much more engaging than erg mode.

[Mikej]

An Elemnt can directly download a resistance profile route from your ride to your kickr or snap by Bluetooth

[makoti]

Zwift can be as social as you want it to be. I personally don't use that aspect of it much at all. You can ride solo rides, set up your own training rides or use pre-built training programs. I like it because it mixes up roads, grades, and scenery. I rode 2hr 15min inside today. Not a chance I do that watching other people ride someplace.
I see PerfPro was suggested. I used that before Zwift. Very good program with lots of flexibility.

[trener1]

Here is a video of how to do it with a Garmin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_X82njeO8I&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0bVnHK3bEP9t7Vxzu6vrH-MQu9MUIfuN9MwoUgaFJkxBREQZabWUxEnms

[paulh]

Wow. Thanks everyone. I never heard of some of these programs. Looks like it could be a "time sink". :) Lots to learn.

Enjoy your leftovers!

[trener1]

Haha if nothing else, that it definitely is, enjoy.

BTW there are some good deals to be had on trainers today.

[cash05458]

As mentioned above...you don't have to race or so social rides on Zwift...I never do really...and dig it...you might want to try Fulgaz given your stated preferences...I did the free week trial...liked it for a day or two, then not so much...lots of glitches in it's running...pretty small operation I believe...like one guy...which is fine, but as it costs nearly as much as Zwift...well...but certainly worth checking out via the free trial...

Good luck with your new smart trainer...personally, I found it the best cycling related buy in about 20 years or so...

[kgreene10]

FWIW, I use Zwift with a dumb trainer and a power meter on my bike. Power meters are coming down in price and you get to use them outside too. Dumb trainers are cheap (I have a Kurt Kinetic Rock n Roll for $150 off Craigslist). It’s future proof as freehub standards change.

Plus it rocks (and rolls) without buying that new $1,200 pivoting platform to put your $1,200 Kickr on. Not meant to be a rant, but I think you get more bang for your buck and versatility that way.

The one thing you miss is having the app control your resistance. Maybe it’s cool but seems minor to me. Funnily enough, there’s such a strong psychological effect that I feel like it’s harder when Zwift shows an uphill and easier when it shows a downhill, even if I don’t shift. Fascinating.

[cash05458]

just got an email from wahoo...guess they have reconditioned kickr's for 700 bucks today...

[GScot]

I've been enjoying a sufferfest training plan after growing sort of apathetic towards Zwift. Also have the new Kinetic R1 direct drive that can rock. I find the rocking of the bike to be a huge benefit for comfort allowing longer rides without trainer burnout.

[makoti]

The one thing you miss is having the app control your resistance. Maybe it’s cool but seems minor to me.

It's the entire point of a smart trainer. Without that one thing, there's no reason at all to buy one.

[trener1]

Well yes and no, doing erg mode is also something that smart trainers are great for.

[LJohnny]

Never mind, misread the posts above

[makoti]

Well yes and no, doing erg mode is also something that smart trainers are great for.

Wouldn't an app control the trainer for that, too? If you set up a workout, how is the trainer going to know what to do without an app? Something has to control it.

[trener1]

You can do erg mode with a Garmin/Wahoo head unit (which I am assuming 99% of us already have) without subscribing to /paying a subscription fee for an app.
I agree that using an app would make the experience more fun, but I was pointing out that you can still make use of a smart trainer without an app.

[glepore]

You can do erg mode with a Garmin/Wahoo head unit (which I am assuming 99% of us already have) with subscribing to /paying a subscription fee for an app.
I agree that using an app would make the experience more fun, but I was pointing out that you can still make use of a smart trainer without an app.

Or just with a phone and the wahoo app.

[purplecu22]

If you have the budget i highly, like 5x over recommend what ever you buy its a direct drive. I have a road machine. Not having to deal with tires, contact, and you must calibrate every time if you after accuracy.

Direct drive is the best way to go. I could never go back to a wheel on trainer.

[kohagen]

+1

if you have the budget i highly, like 5x over recommend what ever you buy its a direct drive. I have a road machine. Not having to deal with tires, contact, and you must calibrate every time if you after accuracy.

Direct drive is the best way to go. I could never go back to a wheel on trainer.

[R3awak3n]

+1

+2.


and the best part of a smart trainer is indeed the auto resistance adjustment

[cash05458]

+2.


and the best part of a smart trainer is indeed the auto resistance adjustment

x3...and yeah, I started zwift on a kinetic road machine and the wahoo speed thing...then moved onto a kickr...the differences in the experience are light years in terms of the controlled resistance...just no comparison really...

[redir]

FWIW, I use Zwift with a dumb trainer and a power meter on my bike. Power meters are coming down in price and you get to use them outside too. Dumb trainers are cheap (I have a Kurt Kinetic Rock n Roll for $150 off Craigslist). It’s future proof as freehub standards change.

Plus it rocks (and rolls) without buying that new $1,200 pivoting platform to put your $1,200 Kickr on. Not meant to be a rant, but I think you get more bang for your buck and versatility that way.

The one thing you miss is having the app control your resistance. Maybe it’s cool but seems minor to me. Funnily enough, there’s such a strong psychological effect that I feel like it’s harder when Zwift shows an uphill and easier when it shows a downhill, even if I don’t shift. Fascinating.

I agree. I road Zwift last winter on dumb rollers using a Powertap and heart rate and it worked great. I did just get Smart TruTrainer rollers and so now I have the build in resistance and while it's actually kind of cool I coudl do without it. In fact it actually gets in the way of scheduled workouts like for example when the workout has you hold 260 watts for 20 minutes that's hard enough to keep steady on rollers and then when you come to a hill it screws you all up.

[trener1]

I am pretty sure that you can program in your target wattage on Zwift.

[makoti]

I am pretty sure that you can program in your target wattage on Zwift.

For sure. In ERG, this is really easy to set up with workouts