Virtual Cycling Apps

[dlovett]

Swift or Bkool which is better and why?

[GregMay]

Ride your bike outside.

[Richard G]

Do you mean Zwift?

...and @Greg, that's not always an option for any number of reasons (and frankly, can be a massive pain in the arse when you include prep / cleaning).

[ianfitz]

Ride your bike outside.

+1

But I f you want or need to use an indoor trainer then face a wall. Preferably outside. In the rain.

Builds mental as well as physical strength. Write your heart rate or power zones and times on a scrap of paper. With a waterproof pen. And crack on.

[Justchris]

while i completely agree that riding your bike outside is much more satisfying and enjoyable, indoor trainers are very convenient to getting a bit of condensed training into a very short period of time.
I have tried zwift, the only reason i used it was it was free with my strava premium membership, and i had all the bits i needed. speed and cadence sensor, ant+ enabled computer. setting up was a doddle as was calibration. I do not have a power meter and so used 'virtual power',
Didn't like virtual power, very inaccurate and very difficult to replicate session after session. one day 300 watts for 20 mins was hard, the next day with different tyre pressures and air temperatures 300 watts and your heart rate wasn't getting over 145. as for the 'social side' of zwift i could not get my head round it. and going round a virtual world is beyond me. to be honest i found a decent warm up and a gcn you tube training video for 25 to 55 mins was far far better quality time spent.

And I certainly wouldn't PAY for zwift.

[Richard G]

Out of interest, what trainer were you using?

[DrMekon]

I use Zwift - did the Crikey, how much 500 on it, and have done 200km in a session on it. Its actually good fun, especially with mates. Some of the "club runs" are quite a laugh. I've not raced on it, but it appears to bring out the worst sorts. I haven't used it for months. Syncs with Strava, got a clever mobile app. New features appear all the time.

I've got a Tacx Vortex Smart. It works well. I've current lent it to a mate with a Ilizarov cage on (second round of pin site infections) to help with his rehab. I'll be back on it again when the weather gets (even) shitter. It let you properly hammer when the roads are greasy and you CBA getting filthy.

[whitestone]

Not used Zwift but have used Trainerroad for the last couple of winters. More a structured traditional turbo app than a virtual environment but you can hook up to SufferFest if you have a subscription to that.

Yes, I'd rather be outside on my bike but in the middle of winter with patchy ice and "Sorry mate I didn't see you lit up like a Christmas tree" drivers I'm happy to use the turbo. As for bad weather riding - well I set aside the summer for that!

[GregMay]

Only excuses you make are to yourself. No one needs to ride a bike, let alone indoors.

Speaking as an ex track cyclist BTW. Wasted a lot of my life doing so.

[Richard G]

Not sure what excuses are being made. I train indoors to make my outdoors rides more fun.

There are rides and events that I can handle now that I wouldn't have stood a chance of doing had I not spent a time training intelligently with a program. Sure, I might have got to the same point by doing rides outside... but I might not have (I know people that do literally hundreds of miles every week and still aren't that fit / fast), and even if I had, it would have taken me far longer, time I really can't spare because of work / life commitments.

You could argue that I "waste" a lot of my life doing weight training too... but just like my turbo trainer time, that comes with its own benefits.

[dlovett]

I do ride a bike outdoors lots and lots. However at the location the trainer will be based, riding a bike is very dangerous due to the high road traffic.

If anybody has opinions on tacx smart trainers please can you let me know.

[barney]

Only excuses you make are to yourself. No one needs to ride a bike, let alone indoors.

Speaking as an ex track cyclist BTW. Wasted a lot of my life doing so.

some excuses are genuine Greg, my wife travels a lot with work and I'm often left on babysitting duty. Monday to Friday I have no chance of getting out due to family stuff so the odd roller session after the girls are in bed is about all I can manage.

(don't want to turn this into a STW argument by the way)

[DrMekon]

I do ride a bike outdoors lots and lots. However at the location the trainer will be based, riding a bike is very dangerous due to the high road traffic.

If anybody has opinions on tacx smart trainers please can you let me know.

The DC Rainmaker review in his overview convinced me that the Vortex was the sweetspot unless I really, really wanted the boost feature of the Neo

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/11/2015 ... tions.html

It's great for Zwift. Maybe if you are really powerful, you'll need something better for intervals. However, I think the most I've managed is 900w momentarily. I'm a 70kg spinner - I don't trouble it in the least. Just looked up how many km I've done - 5200 on it. Still feels like new.

[mountainbaker]

This thread is why I don't have children. I can still ride my bike.

bikes > children

fact.

[Richard G]

bikes > children

fact.

Well duh.

[benp1]

But you'll never have the joy of going cycling with your children

Which is one of the best things in the whole wide world!

[Richard G]

I have nieces and nephews I've gone through that with... it's overrated.

Silly slow little people. Plus I'm always terrified they're going to hurt themselves.

[benp1]

My daughter (3) has, at times, enjoyed sitting in front of me on my clown bike brompton so much, that she is literally screaming out for joy. People around us were smiling and laughing at such a little ball of joy




Sorry for the thread derail

[I'm an outdoor cyclist and my only riding of substance or 'training' is from commuting to work]

[Richard G]

[johnnystorm]

Only excuses you make are to yourself. No one needs to ride a bike, let alone indoors.

Speaking as an ex track cyclist BTW. Wasted a lot of my life doing so.

some excuses are genuine Greg, my wife travels a lot with work and I'm often left on babysitting duty. Monday to Friday I have no chance of getting out due to family stuff so the odd roller session after the girls are in bed is about all I can manage.

(don't want to turn this into a STW argument by the way)

Tacx Vortex/trainerroad/ipad/amazon or Netflix is brill. Well, as far as turbo training goes!

[benp1]

I'd like to try a sufferfest thing one day, just to see what's its like. CBA to get all the kit for that at home though! One day maybe

[Justchris]

Out of interest, what trainer were you using?

Tacx something. Can't remember. About £100.

If buying a turbo. Tacx vortex smart is a minimum for best zwift experience.

[dlovett]

I got the Vortex, it's great.

With Kinomap software you can upload videos and px's of your rides and then re ride them indoors. Skuga lets you ride your strava rides. It's proving very handy for me to practice on a course for a race that I have coming up and which I cannot get to often to ride on.

MTB training bike is a Hard Tail with on old 7 speed cassette/wheel, Tacx blue tyre, 8 Spd chain and 9 Spd CR's/mechs/shifters. Some how it all works ok together!

[Richard G]

Have you done an oh so enjoyable FTP test yet?

[dlovett]

Not yet, been too busy lately. But I have go the Big Dog course on it now so I can practice it as a roadie and wind up the other locals about it!