I need some help figuring out my indoor configuration. I feel like I have a ton of stuff, but am still trying to figure out how to put it all together.
I have a road bike, an iPhone, and an Apple Watch I am using for HR monitor.
I just bought a kinetic roadmaster. I have Wahoo cadence sensor and speed sensor.
I was using mapmyride, but now have my Strava account and app that I hope to switch to (for sake of community interaction).
I have Zwift app. I think I’ll benefit from the motivation of a “game”.
Do these all work together?
I haven’t figured out how to get the Wahoo sensors to feed to Strava... do I have to use another cycle app for them? Use them both?
Do I need a dedicated bike computer? What’s the benefit indoor or outdoor vs phone?
Do I need a power meter? Which one?
It’s all quite overwhelming! Thanks for you help.

I think you are struggling with sensory overload. The only two things I am concerned with is time and distance and both of those can be read from a cheap wireless bike computer. It doesn't enter it into your phone or computer automatically. I'm sure that any app that is based upon change in location (like riding down the road) is not going to work on your indoor trainer. You can get a cheap wireless computer from Chinese vendors for $5 postpaid. I have used the Sunding brand computer on my recumbent trike. It is accurate as long as you enter the right data in it for the circumference of the wheel. I measured it precisely using a run out where you measure the distance on the ground equal to each revolution of the wheel.

Wireless LCD Bike Computer Odometer Speedometer Cycle Bicycle Waterproof $5.05 with free shipping https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wireless-LC...YAAOSw3ydV1vnH It takes about 2 weeks for it to arrive in your mailbox.

I can appreciate your point. When I’m outside riding, I have an app that I use that basically gives time and distance and speed only. I don’t use Cadence, power or other measures. However, indoors I find it more difficult to keep motivation and achieve the same level of exertion. There’s also a need to change pace, simulaye Hills, etc. My hope is that some of the technology will make the indoor experience more tolerable and allow me to mimic better what I will do outdoors.

You should be able to use all that you have to get a decent setup with calculated power. Your speed and cadence sensors are good, you have a name brand trainer which should allow for virtual power without a power meter, but you have to check whether your app can support that.

I think if you start your app and have all of your devices up and running the app should find them.

As for phone vs. computer, it's the sensors that'll make or break the setup. Where computers work better is in battery consumption. Phone batteries don't last as long because, well, they're phones, gps, wifi, cellular, etc... A computer just has to worry about reading the sensors and the GPS if so enabled. For indoor training, where boredom will overcome you long before the battery runs out, you probably don't need a computer. For outdoors, on that all day ride, maybe you do. My wife tried using her phone to track running training and she would run out of power. She is very happy with her Garmin watch as she could run the entire marathon without worrying about it. She also has it interfaced to Strava, but she doesn't remember doing anything to make it happen. It just worked.

Here's the connection:
riding bike on kinetic roadmaster REGISTERING ACTIVITY VIA Wahoo cadence sensor + Wahoo speed sensor SENDING BLUETOOTH TO Zwift App on iPhone RESULTING IN VIRTUAL RIDE.

End ride on Zwift. Zwift sends virtual ride data to Strava.

In your Zwift profile, connect your Zwift account to your Strava account before you ride (you need to do this just one time).

It's nice to have your iPhone feeding video to a bigger screen, but not necessary. Or run Zwift on a PC, Mac or iPad.

zacster,
Thanks for the advice.
The computer for sake of battery life makes a lot of sense. I have to carry a battery charger with me on workouts >1 hour to keep phone charged (old phone = poor battery).
I haven't figured out the calculated power part of it yet, but I did use strava outdoors for the first time. Initially the apple watch didn't work. I realized I have to initiate the workout on the strava app on the watch, rather than via the phone. The other sensors did pop up intuitively.

athens80,
Thank you! This is the part I couldn't figure out. I couldn't figure out which app is the "master" app and how they all feed together. I didn't know how to ask the question, but you answered it. I haven't moved bike indoors yet due to better than normal fall weather, but will be doing so in the next week or two. Thanks for getting me started!

Here are a couple of videos useful for getting a grasp of a Zwift setup and experience -- the first specifically targets mobile devices (iPhone) and the second is a general overview. There are many others on YouTube; a few follow below.

thank you all for your help. I have been riding for the past 6 weeks once I got the bugs worked out. I found Zwift to be a good motivator and worth the monthly subscription. The advice you all gave allowed me to get set up and ride indoors. Again, Thank You!

Ride on!