Zwift Subscription (Monthly)

Zwift is more than an online training platform – it's changed indoor training completely. Gone are the days of staring at your garage wall for hours on end with a laminated piece of A4 dangling in front of you showing times, heart rates and cadence targets; now you can ride with anyone throughout the world, even just for fun, so long as you're happy to pay the monthly subscription.

I hate the traditional turbo trainer with a passion. I've tried many, many times since I started riding (in 2000) to use its controlled environment and repetition for training, especially when I was being coached for racing. But I just found it sucked the life out of riding my bike.

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Fast forward seventeen years and my life was very different: I'd started working from home so the 35-mile daily commute had gone, and more importantly my wife had picked up her career, leaving me to fit daddy care duties for three young kids around my daily work and training.

Zwift became a lifesaver, especially during the school holidays when it was impossible for me to get out.

What is Zwift?

You could call it an online game, a training platform, or a kind of social media. It's a lot of different things for a lot of different people, but all you need is some basic tech, a turbo trainer, a bike and an internet connection to get involved in its worlds.

I say 'worlds' as there are currently nine. Watopia is the original Zwift platform with its range of loops, climbs, descents and sprint sections, but there are more: France, London, Yorkshire, Richmond, Innsbruck, Paris, New York and the Makuri Islands. So not only can you ride in fictional places, you can also train around real environments too. Zwift uses Watopia and two of these nine at any one time, and those change on a daily basis.

Once you've created an account and set up your avatar you can get riding. That can be just going for a casual spin around whichever world you fancy, or joining any number of training sessions including Functional Threshold Power (FTP) tests and the like. You can sign up to dedicated plans too, or even create your own.

You can also join an organised ride or event by going to the events part of the site, and select anything from a club run to a race in various categories.

The categories for all events are based on Watts per kilogram, so it's worthwhile doing that FTP test. Zwift uses your FTP score to control how fast your avatar moves on the platform, so if everyone has been truthful you should find yourself in a competitive race... it's not unheard of for people to make themselves lighter and get an edge in a race, but they're only cheating themselves though, right?!

The group rides have a ride leader who controls the pace, just like on your local club run, and instructions appear on screen to keep the group together. I found these rides great for when I just wanted to get some miles in at a steady pace.

You can also set up your own events too, as we have done with our road.cc rides.

Kit requirements

The minimum you can get away with is something to run the app (phone, tablet, PC, Mac desktop or Apple TV), a basic indoor trainer, and a bike. Your bike needs a speed and/or cadence sensor. Most of these things will connect via Bluetooth. If not, you'll need an ANT+ dongle.

You can usefully add to this. Some form of power measurement makes a massive difference, as it gives a more realistic experience, while a heart rate monitor also adds worthwhile info.

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Power data can either come from a compatible power meter or a smart turbo trainer – these cost anything from a few hundred quid to thousands. Smart bikes are another option, and if you can afford one and have the space, great. The bigger the screen the better the overall experience. You'll need a fan too, and a towel!

Finally, if you want to communicate with your ride buddies, it's best to download the Companion app to a separate device so you can add to the group text during the event.

What's it really like?

This is the key thing, isn't it? As I touched on earlier, for me Zwift completely changes indoor training. The app is easy to use, and there's loads of variation in your routes and riding types. Over the years the app has got smoother-running, too, and it now has a more fluid feel.

Also, while it'll never feel the same as riding outside, it does bring quite a high level of realism to your session – especially combined with some kind of smart trainer.

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The downhills are fun while the uphills can feel like a complete slog, and for someone like me who doesn't spend a whole lot of time in the mountains, pacing really is paramount.

It's not all gritty realism, though; like a lot of computer games it has various power ups to earn, from quick ones for use in the session itself to new kit for the long term. And we all love some new wheels, don't we? Riding more can earn you new components, or even a new frame from a range of brands. I find this a big motivation to keep getting back on the turbo day after day.

Value

Register and you get a seven-day free trial, and after that it costs you £12.99 per month. Consequently the true value will come down to how much you are using it... if it's every day, then you are looking at about 43p.

In comparison Wahoo's SYSTM training app costs £14.49 a month. If you read Matt's review, you'll see it's quite different from Zwift, as it's a bit more focused on intense training, rather than giving you the freedom Zwift does.

Alternatively, BKOOL offers preset routes and the ability to upload your own routes via video or .GPX data, which is a nice touch, and costs £8.50 a month.

Overall

Of the various online cycling platforms I've used, Zwift is one of the most complete for those of us who just want to ride as well as train – although you can of course train hard, and those sessions are easy to follow and effective too.

Verdict

Realistic alternative to cycling outside, whether for fun or dedicated training