Seek Gear Recommendations for Indoor Training w/ Zwift

[Daniel Upton]

Fellow Roadies,
Please educate me, friends.  Following a knee replacement scheduled for early January, I plan to do indoor cycling as a big part of rehab, but I'm clueless about the proper gear.  I'll probably sign-up for Zwift or (thanks Karlos) Rouvy, but I'm wondering what hardware is needed to make the indoor cycling workout really compelling.   

I have an old Cyclops, unwired, wheel-on trainer.  Would simply adding a Cadence and/or Speed Sensor (Wahoo, Garmin, or another) do the trick?  Or, would you say it'll be worth it to invest in a smart trainer that will simulate climbs, etc? 

What great products are out there that I should consider?  I've been pretty good, so some stuff belongs on my Santa List.

Daniel Upton
NCCC Member since '99

[karlos]

Daniel - I started out with just using a Garmin speed and cadence sensor on my bike. No investment there as I had it. I had to buy a USB Ant+ receiver to plug into the USB port on my laptop. In my garage I had my laptop screen cast to a bigger display. This was a "dumb" trainer setup, but worked reasonably well, when I hit hills I just shifted up to simulate resistance for a poor man's smart trainer.

But my wife (nice excuse, eh  ?) wanted a setup for winters in Minneapolis so I opted for a Cyclops Hammer smart trainer. I was lucky as I got it when the H2 model came out, so I picked up a new one for $800. The high-end smart trainers ain't cheap, but someone may have some other ideas.

I also am not a big Zwift fan, although it is hugely popular across the globe and allows you to ride with a huge community. At Nigel Rodgers suggestion, I switched to Rouvy. The primary difference is that Zwift uses cartoon fantasy routes whereas Rouvy has real recorded routes on GoPRO or similar of real rides. You can ride Alpe de Huez, Mt Ventoux and nearly all the epic climbs you've ever heard of and more. I like an Italian coastal route and my wife has a lovely ride along the Rogue River in Oregon that's her favorite. Rouvy is less popular. You may only see 2-5 other riders out there at the same time as you, so it's a different experience socially and competitively than Zwift. What I like with Rouvy is that I can find someone else in the world who has ridden the same course as I but a tick faster. I can then ride with them as a "virtual partner" and try to beat them, if you want a workout.

Both Zwift and Rouvy give you short-term free trials so you can check out which software you like after you get a basic h/w setup in place.

Like you, I used it a lot more recovering from a hip replacement.
Karl

[Daniel Upton]

Thanks Karl.  Looking at the Cyclops H3 and Rouvy!