If you’d like to improve your fitness through indoor cycling, choosing the right equipment can be tricky, which is why we’re providing a complete guide to all the best options you can buy currently. Once you’ve chosen the setup that’s right for you, the best cycling clothing will help you stay comfortable and get the most from your experience.
Indoor cycling – whether on a turbo trainer, a smart bike or an exercise bike – is safe, time-efficient, and controllable so you can develop your fitness quickly and without distractions, especially if you use a heart rate monitor and/or the power meter to focus your efforts.
Riding inside also means that you’re not at the mercy of the weather, which is especially important in a country like the UK. You’re not going to miss an indoor ride because it’s raining or icy.
Many components will last longer indoors than they would outside. You’ll need to stay on top of bike maintenance, of course, but cleaning won’t be a major chore (make sure you wipe away sweat because salt can be corrosive).
Indoor cycling used to be mainly confined to the off-season when weather and darkness made riding outside unappealing, but these days it has hit the big time with excellent trainers and smart bikes, immersive apps and even indoor-specific clothing and shoes, making the whole experience much more attractive, comfortable, and fun.
We’re going to tell you everything you need to know about:
- Basic turbo trainers
- Smart trainers
- Rollers
- Exercise bikes and smart bikes
- Best bikes for indoor cycling
- Indoor cycling apps
- Indoor cycling accessories
- Indoor cycling clothing
- Indoor cycling shoes
How to choose the right trainer
If you want to get a cool indoor cycling setup, there are several options open to you:
Here’s how to choose which one is best for you…
Basic turbo trainers
The best turbo trainers allow you to get fit and improve your cycling indoors. Turbo trainers – also called home trainers or indoor trainers – have been popular for many years. Essentially, you mount your bike on the trainer and pedal against a resistance unit.
With most basic turbo trainers, your rear tyre runs against a roller. The resistance comes from air, fluid, or magnets.
Basic turbo trainers are sometimes called ‘dumb turbo trainers’. It’s a harsh name, but it distinguishes them from smart trainers.
The difference is that smart trainers are interactive turbo trainers that can connect with indoor cycling apps, while basic turbo trainers are self-contained. Oh, and basic turbo trainers are cheaper.
The vast majority of indoor trainers that we see these days are smart, but the best wheel-on basic turbo trainer that we’ve reviewed over the past few years is the Saris Fluid 2, which is still available in the UK with a few retailers.
The Saris Fluid 2 Smart Equipped is a dependable classic wheel-on turbo trainer with progressive fluid resistance that increases naturally as you pedal harder. Its built-in cooling system, relatively low noise and robust construction make it suitable for regular indoor training, while it’s compatible with apps such as Zwift and Rouvy. Setup is straightforward, and at just over 9.5kg it’s easy to move and store. The ride feel is among the best for a non-smart trainer, although it can wobble during hard effort. Overall, it offers realistic training without smart-trainer complexity.
Find a Saris dealer
Read our review of the Saris Fluid 2
Buy now from Winstanleys for £169.99
Smart trainers
Smart trainers can be connected wirelessly via ANT+ or Bluetooth to your computer, smartphone, tablet or Apple TV box. These devices can then be used to control the level of resistance you pedal against, given as your power in watts, via an inbuilt power meter.
Smart trainers are the better option if you want to ride on one of the best cycling training apps, such as Zwift, TrainerRoad, or Rouvy. Your power can then be reflected on the app, allowing you to train effectively and race against other users.
Smart trainers can simulate hills, making virtual riding more realistic and enjoyable. If you hit a hill on your training app, the resistance increases.
You can either change gear in the usual way via your shifters or use ERG mode – find out all about ERG mode here – with a fixed power target. If you do this, the smart trainer will constantly measure your speed and adjust the resistance to ensure your power remains constant.
You can also get trainers that sit between basic turbo trainers and fully controllable smart trainers. These can measure power and send data to another device, such as your phone or computer, but they cannot receive commands from your training app to change their resistance. As a result, they can’t automatically adjust resistance to simulate hills or other changes in terrain, and they can’t provide ERG mode.
Most smart trainers are direct-drive. Here you remove your bike’s back wheel before mounting its rear dropouts directly onto the trainer. You run the chain around a cassette that’s attached to the turbo trainer.
Taking your rear wheel out of the equation means that there’s no tyre to wear out or slip against the roller on a direct-drive turbo trainer, although you will need to buy a new cassette (unless you fancy swapping the cassette from your rear wheel to the trainer every time you want to switch between outdoor cycling and indoor cycling).
So many new smart trainers have been launched over the past few years that the market is rammed. We really like the, which offers accurate power measurement and a realistic ride feel, along with a 2.4GHz built-in Wi-Fi connection and a really good ERG mode. When we reviewed it back in 2022, reviewer Aaron Borrill reckoned it was the best turbo trainer on the market.
Find a Wahoo dealer
Read our review of the Wahoo Kickr Smart Trainer v6
Buy now from Wahoo for £774.99
If you don’t want to pay that much, the JetBlack Victory Smart Trainer with Zwift Cog and Click is far cheaper at £399. It offers exceptional value, combining accurate power measurement, strong resistance, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ANT+, USB-C connectivity for hardwired connection to PC or Mac (once supported by training apps), and 10Hz race mode. It is easy to set up, stable and compatible with most bikes. While its virtual shifting feel and uneven-foot adjustment have minor drawbacks, the overall performance is superb.
Read our review of the JetBlack Victory Smart Trainer with Zwift Cog and Click 6
Buy now from JetBlack for £399
The Cycplus R200 Smart Trainer also puts in a fabulous performance. This is a lightweight, stable and portable smart trainer offering impressive accuracy, responsiveness and realistic gradient simulation. It works with major cycling platforms, supports self-powered outdoor use, and includes useful accessories. Its combination of performance, reliability and affordability makes it an exceptional budget trainer.
Read our review of the Cycplus R200 Smart Trainer
Buy now from Amazon for £299
If you really want the best value, though, the ThinkRider XXPRO Direct Drive Smart Bike Trainer is hard to beat. It offers accurate power measurement, quiet operation, strong resistance, and broad app compatibility. Setup is simple, and the ride quality is impressive for the price. We found that its ERG mode responds slowly and can struggle during standing intervals, but you get a lot for your money here.
Read our review of the ThinkRider XXPRO Direct Drive Smart Bike Trainer
Buy now from Amazon for £254.15
Rollers
Rollers are an indoor cycling system normally comprising three cylinders, or drums, that are lifted off the ground by a frame. Your bike’s front wheel rests on one cylinder while the rear wheel sits on the other two.
A belt connects the middle and front rollers so that both wheels of your bike spin when you pedal. It sounds more complicated than it actually is.
There’s a knack to riding on rollers – you’ll need to practise to keep your balance – although the Wahoo Kickr Rollr Smart Bike Roller, for example, uses just two cylinders and makes things simpler by holding your front wheel.
Many people like the fact that rollers require more skill and attention than turbo trainers and so can be a more involving experience. That said, smart trainers have also made indoor cycling a whole lot more interesting over recent years.
The best rollers are the Kreitler Rollers and Flywheel (£449-469). These are beautifully smooth, made with 6061 alloy drums turned on a CNC lathe to make them near-perfectly cylindrical.
They’re available in various diameters, and you can choose optional accessories; it’s just that the price is higher than most people will be willing to pay.
Read our review of the Kreitler Rollers and Flywheel
Buy now from Soulor Cycles for £449-£469
The best at a more accessible price is the Tacx Galaxia Advanced Roller Trainer (£219.99). Although still not cheap, this system offers a smooth ride and the two rear rollers move slightly backwards and forwards, absorbing your inputs when you change speed or swap from seated to standing. It gives a natural feel.
Find a Tacx dealer
Read our review of the Tacx Galaxia Advanced Roller Trainer
Buy now from Garmin for £219.99
Exercise bikes and smart bikes
Whereas you use a standard outdoor bike on turbo trainers and rollers, the best exercise bikes and smart bikes are standalone devices designed specifically for indoor cycling.
If you’re intending to ride indoors only, one of the biggest advantages of an exercise bike or smart bike is practicality. There’s no need to clamp anything in place; it’s ready to go whenever you want to ride.
The difference between an exercise bike and a smart bike is essentially the same as the difference between a basic turbo trainer and a smart trainer: interactivity. With a simple exercise bike, you have to adjust the resistance yourself, whereas a smart bike will adjust the resistance automatically to reflect what’s happening on whichever of the best indoor cycling apps you’re using, such as the market-leader Zwift.
They’ll present a virtual world either via their own monitor or by linking to a smartphone, computer or tablet.
Wahoo makes a couple of really good smart bikes: the £3,499.99 Kickr Bike Pro and the Kickr Bike Shift, which was £2,699.99 when we reviewed it, but it’s now £1,799.99.
The Wahoo Kickr Bike Shift is a high-quality indoor smart bike that offers excellent adjustability, a smooth and exceptionally quiet ride, reliable power accuracy, and flexible connectivity. Its simpler design keeps costs below Wahoo’s flagship model while retaining strong performance.
Even at its reduced price, you’re paying a big chunk of cash here, so it’s best suited to those who spend a lot of hours riding indoors, or households where more than one rider wants to train.
Find a Wahoo dealer
Read our review of the Wahoo Kickr Bike Shift
Buy now from Wahoo for £1,799.99
The Proton is the most affordable model in Wattbike’s range, aimed mainly at fitness enthusiasts and households with multiple users. It offers extensive, tool-free adjustability, smooth and quiet performance, and compatibility with apps like Zwift and Strava. The Wattbike Hub app provides extensive training options and data. You get strong value for money here, although ri-bars would be great for longer workouts
Read our review of the Wattbike Proton
Buy now from Wattbike for £1,549
We reviewed the Zwift Ride with Kickr Core and found it to be a solid, affordable smart-bike setup for dedicated Zwifters. It was easy to assemble, stable, comfortable, and provided accurate power and excellent ERG performance. The virtual shifting could be slow and awkward, and separate controller charging and accidental button presses were drawbacks, but it was still great value.
Zwift now offers the Zwift Ride with Kickr Core 2, with added WiFi connectivity and the brand’s updated Ride V2 indoor bike. It looks even better value for money.
Read our review of the Zwift Ride with Kickr Core
Buy now from Zwift for £1,099.99
The best bikes for indoor cycling
If your bike has 700C or 650B wheels and uses a standard quick-release skewer for the rear wheel, chances are that it’ll fit most basic turbo trainers and smart trainers, although you might need to swap the skewer for one that’s trainer-specific, depending on the mounting system.
Things have got a little more complicated with the popularity of bikes with wheels held in place by thru-axles. Some indoor trainers are immediately compatible with thru-axle bikes, others require that you buy an adaptor.
If you use a trainer that requires you to keep the rear wheel on your bike (as opposed to a direct-drive turbo trainer), a smooth tyre will make far less noise than a knobbly tyre. You might want to buy a tough turbo tyre, like a Tacx Trainer Tyre, to reduce wear.
Rollers work with the vast majority of bikes. You’ll be able to adjust the distance between the cylinders to suit the wheelbase of your bike.
If you’re going to ride exclusively indoors, there’s no point in spending loads of money on a superlight and/or aero bike, so one of the best road bikes under £1,000 will do the job perfectly well.
The Boardman SLR 8.6, for example, is a great bike for just £650. Comfortable, with a lively ride, an excellent gear range and well-chosen components, it’s among the best entry-level bikes out there.
Find a Boardman dealer
Read our review of the Boardman SLR 8.6
Buy now from Tredz for £650
Indoor cycling apps
The best indoor cycling apps will keep you interested and maximise your fitness.
Apps like Zwift and TrainerRoad offer you a virtual environment in which to ride, train and race on your smart trainer or smart bike, while apps like TrainingPeaks give you tools to log and monitor your training, measure your progress and even help create training schedules (TrainingPeaks Virtual gives you a virtual riding experience too).
Zwift (£17.99 per month) is the overall best indoor cycling app, largely because it’s ultra-immersive. You can ride in a virtual world against or alongside other people from around the globe. Indoor cycling becomes a game, so it’s fun – which means you’re much more likely to stick with it.
If you use Zwift with a smart trainer, the resistance level adjusts to match the terrain, so climbing feels realistic.
Read our review of Zwift
Subscribe to Zwift for £17.99 per month
TrainerRoad ($21.99/£16.45 per month), on the other hand, is the best for structured training and fitness. It can connect to compatible training sensors (like a power meter or one of the best heart rate monitors) and can provide workouts appropriate to your fitness.
Read our review of TrainerRoad
Subscribe to TrainerRoad for ($21.99/£16.45 per month)
Indoor cycling accessories
A few of the best indoor cycling accessories will improve your training time.
If you didn’t get one with your trainer, a front-wheel riser will keep your bike level and stable. Although it’s not made anymore, Kurt Kinetic’s riser (£27.99) is still available in some places. With four different heights, it’ll get your bike level for the most common wheel sizes.
Buy now from Amazon for £27.99
A fan is a really valuable accessory for indoor cycling, the flow of air helping to keep you cool and dry – or, at least, cooler and drier than you’d otherwise be. You can use any fan, although there are a few aimed specifically at indoor cyclists.
We like the powerful Vacmaster Cardio54 Fitness Fan (£99.99) that comes with a remote control you can mount on your handlebar.
Read our review of the Vacmaster Cardio54 Fitness Fan
Buy now from Cleva for £99.99
We also like the Cycplus High-Power Smart Fitness Fan, which can adjust its intensity based on the intensity of your riding. You can also control it via remote or app, and there’s a lot of adjustability. It’s an expensive option, but it’s worthwhile if you’re a dedicated indoor cyclist and value your comfort.
Read our review of the Cycplus High-Power Smart Fitness Fan
Buy now from Amazon for £229
You’re still going to get hot, though, so a sweat catcher is useful for protecting your bike. This is an absorbent fabric stretched between the handlebar and the seatpost, such as this one (above) from Van Rysel.
Buy now from Decathlon for £9.99
A turbo trainer mat is a valuable accessory to protect your flooring. The mat will stop your trainer from marking the floor and also keep dripping sweat off.
The Van Rysel Turbo Trainer Mat Flanders training mat is made from a dual-layer material. The lower layer is made from anti-slip foam for stability, while the upper section is a dense foam. It’s not absorbent, so it can be wiped dry and clean after training.
Buy now from Decathlon for £34.99
As mentioned above, if you use a wheel-on trainer, an indoor training tyre provides more grip and durability than a regular outdoor tyre, minimising the risk of overheating and slipping. Indoor training tyres are also designed to be quieter than normal rear tyres. Tacx offers a rear Trainer Tyre for three common wheel sizes.
Buy now from Garmin for £44.99
Many people like to listen to music while riding indoors. The best headphones for cycling will allow you to do that without disturbing other people.
The H2O Audio Zwift x RIPT Ultra Headphones come with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and offer excellent sound quality. Most importantly, they’re fully sweatproof and stay put during indoor workouts and warm-ups on the rollers.
Read our review of the H2O Audio Zwift x RIPT Ultra Headphones
Buy now from Amazon for £179.99
The JLab Epic Air Sport ANC earbuds are highly suitable for indoor cycling too. Their secure, comfortable ear-hook design stays firmly in place during hard sessions, while ANC effectively reduces trainer and fan noise. Excellent battery life supports long training blocks, and the sound quality is strong. The main drawback is fiddly touch controls, which can occasionally misfire during workouts.
Read our review of the JLab Epic Air Sport ANC True Wireless Earbuds
Buy now from JLab for £79.99
Indoor cycling clothing
The best indoor cycling clothing is lightweight and airy enough to keep you cool and comfortable while you work out.
Some people do without a jersey and just go with a lightweight base layer up top for indoor riding, but many of the best summer cycling jerseys are suitable for indoor use too. The men’s Assos Equipe R Jersey S11 and women’s Assos Dyora R Jersey S11 are superlight and ultra-breathable.
Find an Assos dealer
Read our review of the Assos Equipe R Jersey S11
Buy now from Assos for £135
You’ll need shorts with a high-quality seatpad and many of the best cycling bib shorts will do a fantastic job. We recommend the Nopinz SubZero (£149.99) as the best indoor cycling suit. It is lightweight with a comfortable pad, and even has pockets for replaceable frozen gel packs.
Read our Nopinz SubZero review
Buy from Nopinz for £149.99
Indoor cycling shoes
Most of the best road cycling shoes are suitable for indoor cycling with superlight and airy options the most effective for keeping you cool and sweat-free.
The all-round best indoor cycling shoes are the Fizik Vento Powerstrap R2 Aeroweave shoes (£334). They come with very stiff soles and offer an excellent level of breathability.
Read our Fizik Vento Powerstrap R2 Aeroweave shoes review
Buy from Evans Cycles for £279.99
Fizik’s Lyra shoes also offer excellent ventilation to help keep your feet cool, and they’re a little more affordable. The wide, comfortable fit and easily adjustable dual Boa dials work well for longer sessions, though the slight heel movement our reviewer noted during hard sprints may be a drawback for some.
Read our review of the Fizik Lyra shoes
Buy now from Sigma Sports for £170
If you’re using some of the best clipless pedals, make sure you choose compatible shoes. For example, cleats for Shimano SPD pedals require a sole that takes two bolts (above), while cleats for Shimano SPD-SL, SPD-SLR and Look Kéo pedals require a three-bolt sole (below).
As a rule, 3-bolt cleats are designed for road cycling and 2-bolt cleats are for mountain biking. However, if you use an exercise bike at a gym/fitness centre that’s fitted with clipless pedals, chances are that they’ll take 2-bolt SPD cleats. Double-check before spending any money.
One advantage of a 2-bolt system is that the cleat is usually recessed into the sole, so you’re less likely to slip or mark the floor when walking indoors, hence their popularity in gyms.
Everything you need to know about indoor cycling
Is an indoor cycling trainer worth it?
Yes, absolutely. An indoor trainer provides you with an excellent means of developing your fitness, staying healthy, and losing weight – if that’s your goal.
It’s also incredibly time-efficient because there’s no traffic to hold you up, and serious cyclists can tackle sessions focused on their precise needs rather than having terrain and weather conditions affect things. An indoor bike trainer allows you to do all this without the need to leave home or pay gym fees.
You don’t have to spend a fortune. You can often find indoor trainers discounted by major retailers, and once started, you can gradually develop your setup as you go.
Do indoor bike trainers wear out tyres?
Wheel-on trainers run the rear tyre of your bike on a roller that’s part of the resistance unit. You can use a regular tyre on your wheel. Naturally, this will result in wear.
You can buy special turbo trainer tyres. These are made from compounds designed for improved grip – to avoid slipping on the roller – and greater durability. They’re also quieter than standard rear tyres. The Tacx Trainer Tyre is £33 from Balfe’s Bikes, for example, and is designed for use on the brand’s trainers. Turbo trainer tyres aren’t suitable for outdoor cycling.
With direct-drive turbo trainers, you remove the rear wheel of your bike so there’s no tyre to wear out.
Is indoor cycling actually a good workout?
Yes, you can build your fitness by indoor cycling in the same way as if you were cycling outdoors. Cycling is an excellent form of cardiovascular exercise, and it’s low-impact so it causes less strain and fewer injuries than many other sports. You’ll mainly work your quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves, although other muscle groups come into play too.
One of the beauties of the best cycling apps is that you can ride workouts that are precisely targeted to you and your fitness requirements. There’s no need to find yourself doing a session that’s either too hard or too easy.
One of the other advantages of indoor cycling apps like Zwift is that they’re so immersive and realistic that you get caught up in the game. You get all the fitness benefits while enjoying yourself.
What’s the difference between spinning and indoor cycling?
Spinning is a form of indoor cycling. Spin bikes tend to have heavy flywheels that take a lot of effort to get moving but then carry loads of momentum so they’re hard to stop once up to speed.
The pedals and the flywheel are fixed on a spin bike. This means that while the flywheel is in motion, the pedals are moving too, even if you’re not pushing on them.
In contrast, you can stop pedalling and coast on a turbo trainer.
How long should you indoor cycle a day?
There’s no simple answer to this one. If you’re new to cycling you might just do a few minutes and work up from there.
At the other extreme, you might be an experienced racer sharpening your fitness on a turbo trainer, in which case the quality of your session will be much more important than the duration.
We’d encourage you to subscribe to one of the best cycling apps and target the fitness goals that are important to you, at least until you get the idea of what you’re doing. Apps like TrainerRoad take the guesswork out of indoor cycling, telling you exactly what you need to do to achieve your aims.
