Is Zwift worth it?
 

Anybody using Zwift for training? I live in a fairly rural area, and don't mind riding at night (usually that's how it goes, got 3 young kids). Was it thinking about trying Zwift to log some more training miles. A typical road ride for me is 30-40 mi at 16-17mph average. The other night I road the magnetic trainer in the garage, and averaged 17.5 mph over 10 mi (using a fixed gear). Thing is, I never even got out of a zone 1 heart rate, so I'm not sure it really did anything for my training. The magnetic trainer was also on the hardest setting. Would it be worth putting a trainer tire on my road bike to ride some Zwift indoors for training? Will I get my heart rate up enough??

Dave

There is a Stationary and Indoor Cycling Forum on this site that may help you make your decision. Have a look at what others have to say about Zwift.

They have a 30 day free trial so you have nothing to lose. All you need is a trainer and a sensor that can communicate with the software. To get the most out of Zwift a move to a smart trainer is recommended. With your trainer you are limited by the trainer itself to make it hard enough for you to get a benefit out of it (as you have mentioned).

Your question about your heart rate is not dependent on Zwift or any other software, that is all on you. Training apps may motivate to push harder but without a smart trainer they are pretty limited. Others will hopefully chime in and share their experience with Zwift.

I went from a fluid to a direct drive, absolute game changer. I would do that if possible. Although I am surprised to hear that you weren't able to get your resistance up on the trainer. I know for me I was absolutely dying on my fluid trainer if I had the resistance too high. Zwift isn't going to make your HR go higher. It just makes the training more interesting.

You are asking 2 separate questions.

Q1: If I am going to ride a trainer, will zwift be a benefit?
A1: Yes

Q2: Is my current trainer setup working for me?
A2: No

Indoor training on a smart trainer vs. a "dumb" trainer is the first "is it worth it question." You could replace the magnetic trainer rollers or with a low end ($500) wheel on trainer or with a higher end ($1500) wheel-off trainer and most likely get better workouts than on the mag trainer - without paying for any online service, just using free apps.

I've been paying for Zwift since 2017, have found it worth it - I tried every other way of putting more miles in indoors during the winter and they all were too boring to me. A low end smart trainer and $15/month for Zwift has been worth it for me.

A thorough guide to smart trainers is https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2019/10/...2019-2020.html.

I tried Rouvy this winter and it didn't work for me. I haven't been riding the local trails much lately as they are busy with people. So I decided to set up my trainer with Zwift and I'm sold.

Yes, I think zwift is worth it but only in the winter months.

I find that I ride zwift more often than I'd ride a bike for a workout otherwise. Since I only have one complete bike currently, the fact that it's on the trainer in the basement means I do go on fewer easy after dinner rides though, but that's really the only downside. If my 5 year old son wants to go for a ride and no one else does, I'll just grab my wife's bike and we'll go - the fact that it doesn't fit and is meant for upright riding doesn't affect me keeping up with 5 year old on 16" wheels pace.

On the other hand, I find that my workout rides are a lot harder and more efficient/faster than they would be on the road. There's no traffic, no stop signs, no coasting and a number of obvious segments to shoot for best times on, so I'm always pushing. Sure there's no wind, but my workout rides on Zwift are always several mph faster on average than in real life due to those factors (by average I mean miles per time I first click in until I click out at the end of the ride, not typical travelling speed).

And it's something I can do if I have a spare hour while I need to be in the house (kids napping and/or doing a long school project and my wife's not home so I couldn't go out for a long road ride), which lowers the barrier for me to get a ride in many days.

I'd use it during winters only. It's clearly the best virtual training app out there. I wouldn't mind supporting them by paying a few bucks a month.

Friends of mine love it, totally love it. My hesitation is the investment in 'start up costs' ... My dumb trainer was $100 bucks used, and it's lasted for years. Now I would need a smart trainer, a laptop with a decent screen, decent internet connectivity in the torture chamber, diamond earrings for the wife... mmmm

You don't need a smart trainer. See for example https://zwiftinsider.com/getting-sta...assic-trainer/

You don't need a laptop with a decent screen - you can use a tablet or a phone. However, a decent screen does help the experience. I use a tablet connected to a widescreen TV. Probably a tablet or a phone connected to any old screen (say, an old LCD computer monitor) would work.

Yes, decent internet connectivity is needed.

diamond earrings? Well, you should have done that years ago....

I think you need a speed sensor too from what I've read. Diamond earrings are definitely recommended for the wife lol. How do you connect the tablet to the TV?

Dave

A speed sensor is a far cry from a smart trainer, but yes, you need some means of measuring effort.

I have a ipad with an a VGA adaptor. Like this

But there are lots of other solutions - bluetooth to HDMI adaptors, etc.

If you can find an old Ant+ powertap wheel for an affordable price (now that there are other, fancier, newer powermeters sometimes you can find one cheap), it'll pair up with a "dumb" trainer to give you a lot more data and precision on your ride.

You don't need a good Internet connection. You need a connection to login and sync rides, but you can ride completely disconnected and it'll work fine, just without other riders. Compared to streaming videos, Zwift needs far less bandwidth.

Over 30thousand kms on zwift since 2015. I ride whenever I can outside but in Canada that’s not as often as I would like. It’s a game changer for me, and I still look forward to 3-4 hour rides on it on a weekly basis. I went from a 3.8 - 4.4 wkg FTP in 2 years. And from riding 8 hours a week to over 20 now.

My set up
tacx Neo 2t, with Garmin vector 3 pedal for verification
caad optimo r7000
60inch 4k tv
4k gaming pc with gtx 1080ti video card
fan on remote on and off

more money you spend the more immersive and entertaining it gets .
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ae2728126.jpeg

How do you like the Neo 2T?

Love it, it won’t flatter you at all, but it makes you stronger outside for sure compared to other trainers.. Owned a kickrOG kickr17 KK Road Machine..the neo2t is better then everyone in every way.

Thank! I went from KKRM to KICKR1 to Hammer1 since it was released. How does it make you stronger than other smart trainers?

Oh yeah, Dopefish905 mentioned something important. You gotta have a fan. Doesn't have to be a fancy one.

From what I’ve experienced owning all these trainer is..
1. All of them over read from my other real power meters(included the variable 3% drive train loss from crank//pedal to measuring power at the hub)

and 2.
the “virtual” fly wheel of the neo has absolutely zero momentum like the other 15+lb real fly wheels that the others trainers use to measure their optical power. Somthing about that giant chunk of metal makes it easier to keep spinning. Maybe not in erg mode with consistent power but free riding 100% if you were to ask me.

My outside rides are strong since being on the 2t aswell, and changing nothing but the trainers.

Is Zwift worth it? That's completely up to you. It is for me.

Even before the lock-down, I was only able to ride outdoors on the weekends due the demands on my life during the week. 2 nights per week, I would be in my garage on my ancient wind trainer, using just my HR and stopwatch as a guide for my sessions. It was decent work, but pretty boring. I got turned on to Zwift, and it made a HUGE difference to the experience. I was still using my dumb trainer, paired with Wahoo BT sensors, connected to an Apple TV and old computer monitor. It was fine. The entertainment level went WAY up to the point where 1.5-2 hour sessions were possible. Although I couldn't feel virtual grade changes in my pedals, I could still ride the courses, and participate in group rides. Since the shut-down, 100% of my riding has been indoors. A couple of weeks ago, I pulled the trigger on a smart trainer (Saris M2). The added interaction with the Zwift landscape added a new dimension to the experience, and I'm very happy with it for an indoor setup.

Last weekend, I rode on the streets for the first time in over a month. The improvements in my strength and fitness from my time on the trainer have been pretty significant (for me). As someone who will continue to have some indoor training time, regardless of the social scene, the investment was definitely worth it.

It’s worth it for me. Although I ‘prefer’ riding in all weather conditions , I’m on the road sometimes years on end for work, and cleaning the winter salt, snow or mud off a bike on the 4’ wide x 12’ long vinyl floor of my RV’s ‘kitchen’ got old quick. I’ve been on Zwift with my original Kickr since late 2015. I think I’m right at 500 hours total on it over that time.

v
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4a46498af.jpeg
2014 TCR in winter setup in my RV

It's great as a supplement to normal riding when you don't have the option to get out on the road. In general, you'll sweat more than on the road because you won't get as much cooling . . . but that can be useful in and of itself. Some use a fan, but I just ride in my car port.

I think the experience is much better with a smart trainer. I use the Cycleops Hammer. One thing to note - by default, Zwift makes the difficulty of climbs about half of the real load that you would experience if you were climbing. If you want to feel a more realistic climbing load, be sure to change the setting to maximum resistance. The app also lets you descend faster than you would be able to in the real world, but that's no big deal.

I think it's pretty enjoyable, but it's hard for me to devote more than about an hour sitting in place. So, yes, I think it's very much worth it as a supplement to normal riding (or if the weather precludes you from riding) but is much better with a direct-mount smart trainer. I never liked my fluid trainer, particularly the wear it put on my tires.