Originally Posted by
PeteHski
I've had both and the smart bike is way ahead. I've just done a 1 hour race on Zwift and the competition was brutal. 300W average with 500+W pulls on the front just to stay in the front group. Never had anything like that level of motivation on a gym bike. We actually have a gym bike at home too (fully programmable high end model from about 2018) but I haven't touched it since I got a smart bike. It can simulate resistance, gradients etc no problem, but it is mind numbingly boring. Zwift is fun and very effective when you really want to push the limits. I also use Rouvy for real life route recons (I did the L'Etape du Tour last summer and all the major climbs are available on Rouvy).
So did you get out on the fat bike today?
I tried one of the other apps where you can ride any route, but there won't be any other real people on it, just pacebots, and I didn't find it engaging. Having real people to compete with makes things like sprint finishes fun - the other day I started too early and I could feel myself losing momentum when another rider pulled up even, which pushed me enough to give a final effort and stay just ahead. Mind you, while this was going on somebody else - who timed it better and may have been drafting us - blew by us and took first.