Zwift users - show me your setup

JonathanRyan

JonathanRyan

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So I'm looking at building a Zwift rig. I don't really do bikes but unpowered treadmills are stupidly expensive (and heavy) so I figured I'd go either for a fluid trainer with a roadish bike I have or a dedicated static bike.

The choice is bewildering....

What are you using? Do you like it?

Oh and TrainerRoad/Sufferfest users, don't feel left out! Feel free to convince me your way is better :D
 
I cant get on with it - get bored too easily

Simplest option is a turbo trainer where the rear wheel sits on a roller. You will need a slick tyre. This has a tendency to slip under power so most prefer a direct drive turbo trainer where you remove the rear wheel and bolt it to the turbo trainer. Cheapest one is the Elite Turbo Muin B+ this has the sensor that works with zwift. works very well for about £300 and all you need is a rear cassette that matches the one on the bike - or use the one on the rear wheel if you never intend riding the bike outside again. The one issue with this is it does not change the effort required when going up or down hill. Zwift will adjust the output requiring you to go up a gear or 2 when the onscreen avatar goes down hill or down a couple of gears when going up. It does make you work as you want to maintain a cadence but is not as immersive as you dont feel it. I got on alright with it but because you dont have to hold the bars, avoid potholes, avoid trees i got bored very quickly - any sort of exercise machine does the same after 5 minutes. A friend has almost completed zwift interms of the points and challanges with in it. Started in March. Think the only thing left is to do the everest challange. He pretty much takes part in a race every day but then he has a competetive personallity and is the British Paddleboard endurance champion paddling 90 km over 2 days on a paddle board.


That leaves you with the £500-£1000 Options from Elite or Wahoo. which as your avatar starts the incline the trainer will make it harder so you will feel the effect rather than reacting to data on screen.

You will need a laptop or tablet that has bluetooth for the equipment to connect via so it then works with Zwift. Wifi where you intend using it. A rubber mat or double up yoga mat under the trainer keeps the noise down. They are noisy so not something you can do in the front room with the Mrs watching some award winning drivel on TV.

A really good fan or fans. Even in a shed in winter with the door open you will overheat massively.

Some link to a large TV so that you get a larger image and some just use the laptop/tablet. You will want a stand close to the bars so that you can interact with other riders either way.
I have no experience of dedicated all in one systems
 
Thanks. Yes, I was looking at the Muin B. Looks like their second hand value is close to the cheapest new ones.

Even some of the smart trainers get scarily expensive. And as for the dedicated bikes.....

I'd mainly be using it for endurance training so a constant cadence with nice scenery to look at would work for me :)
 
sold mine in lockdown for near what id paid with some clever discounts.

The muin is fine just make sure its got the sensor - you can buy it separately but its more expensive to do it that way. I work my arse off at work mentally as well as physically so dont want to sit in my shed doing then same. I bought it to get fit to ride with a cycle club but discovered I enjoy participating with others from a social aspect but often find I struggle to keep pace with a group but will complete the same route faster if I ride alone at the pace that suits me.
I have a friend that is fearless on the road but is a woos on down hill mountbike routes. Turns out I can descend better than I climb!
As I mentioned the only thing it lacks is the feel of gradients. but the software will require you to work harder by changing gear to maintain the virtual pace. you just wont feel the effect similar to real world riding of going up hill.

Ive discovered paddleboarding in the last 18months and while it can be hard going paddling into a wind, ive done more sunrises than ever would for riding or for photography. Had some amazing days out. And while it can be just like cycling the group I paddle with have a slowest person philosophy so no-one ever feels they are holding up the group. It is also very good for the soul and being out on the water alone or with friends allows you to loose your self that cycling on the road doesnt allow
 
I recently bought a used cyclocross bike - a Boardman CXR 8.9 that someone had put a set of wheels on that cost half the price of the bike - £1500 worth of bike and wheels for £650, and still under warranty. Then got a used smart trainer from facebook marketplace - a Tacx Vortex - at £180 (The smart trainers seem to be holding their used values quite well at the moment due to the lockdown and general stock availability) - short term I'm using it in the old drafty garage - but having not ridden a bike for over 15 years I'm getting in a bit of practice with the turbo trainer, with my next aim to get out on the streets. Connected my iPhone to an old tv mounted on the wall - and off I've pedalled. So far have used the Zwift free trial - and I like the way the trainer adjusts the difficulty in line with what's on the screen. I've also used the Tacx own app - which works well if you don't want the pretty scenery - just an onscreen display of progress. I haven't yet tried the Sufferfest - that'll come next. I don't use the 'smooth' tyres - and seem to be getting on well with these nobbly tyres.

I've only started using it in the last couple of days as I've got all the setup together. I do also have one of those big treadmills - and I like the combination of a bit of exercise on both. I gained a few kg over lockdown as I had shingles, and spent almost a month and a half in bed eating chocolate biscuits, but since getting back on the treadmill 3 weeks ago, and starting to use the turbo trainer a few days ago, I'm now down 4kg, and heading back in the right direction. I'm no marathon runner or fitness freak - I'm an averagely (currently overweight) mid 40's kind of person who just wants to lose a bit of weight again. I can imagine it'll get boring after a while in terms of what's on the screen, but I tend to have my workout playlists in Spotify to keep me motivated. Excuse all the rubbish around in the pic - but I'm just set up in a space that's full of my dad's rubbish :) The important thing for me setting up this little bit of kit was to be able to buy it for roughly what I could sell it for again, so if I didn't get on with it, I wouldn't be too far out of pocket. So far so good though, it's certainly got the sweat dripping - I do 20 mins minimum a day on the treadmill, and then 20 mins minimum on the bike daily without fail, using my apple watch as a tracker.

IMG_1290.jpg
 
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Wow - thanks for the detailed replies :)

AgentOrange76 said:
Ive discovered paddleboarding in the last 18months and while it can be hard going paddling into a wind, ive done more sunrises than ever would for riding or for photography. Had some amazing days out.
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Sounds awesome. I live a mile from the beach so am always jealous of the paddleboarders on the beautiful flat calm days we occasionally get. When it's too rough for swimming, not so much :)

cymruchris said:
I do also have one of those big treadmills - and I like the combination of a bit of exercise on both.
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Do you also connect the treadmill to Zwift? How does that work for you? What I really want to do is run but (1) running on a treddie on its own is boring (2) the kind of treadmill I want is about 3K and weighs as much as a car so I think a bike will be simpler.

cymruchris said:
I recently bought a used cyclocross bike - a Boardman CXR 8.9 that someone had put a set of wheels on that cost half the price of the bike - £1500 worth of bike and wheels for £650, and still under warranty. Then got a used smart trainer from facebook marketplace - a Tacx Vortex - at £180 (The smart trainers seem to be holding their used values quite well at the moment due to the lockdown and general stock availability)
Click to expand...

Vortex looks a good shout (and you got a great price on it) I've got a straight bar road bike (owner swore it was a hybrid - she was selling off her ex-boyfriend's kit before he came back....) that I could put on it. It's terrifying on wet roads :D
 
JonathanRyan said:
Do you also connect the treadmill to Zwift? How does that work for you? What I really want to do is run but (1) running on a treddie on its own is boring (2) the kind of treadmill I want is about 3K and weighs as much as a car so I think a bike will be simpler.

Vortex looks a good shout (and you got a great price on it) I've got a straight bar road bike (owner swore it was a hybrid - she was selling off her ex-boyfriend's kit before he came back....) that I could put on it. It's terrifying on wet roads :D
Click to expand...

Yes - I connect the treadmill to Zwift on an old iPad to measure all the vitals (I have bluetooth shoes and heart rate earphones that all connect up) - The iPad sits in a tablet holder that came with the treadmill. The treadmill is also one way smart - so it feeds data into zwift as well. The model I chose had the ability of going crazy speeds (not that I do) and came with a more than decent warranty (so as to help resale if ever I want to). 10 years on the motor, 5 years on parts, and 3 years on parts and labour. I ordered it the day before the original lockdown - and it was delivered a couple of weeks later. It's a beast. But didn't cost £3k. I originally ordered the model below this one - the F65 - but they ran out and gave me a free upgrade to the F80. I'd also used a 10 percent discount code (although sites like topcashback also offer a way of lowering the price) - so I only paid £1080 against the £1599 list price. It's not as SMART as some of the models in the gym (my gym had Cybex treadmills that were £13k a pop) but for what I wanted - this does the job perfectly. Wide/long track, smooth, quiet, easy to run on, lots of speed and incline options.

https://www.bestgymequipment.co.uk/...ills/products/f80-folding-treadmill-new-model
 
cymruchris said:
Yes - I connect the treadmill to Zwift on an old iPad to measure all the vitals (I have bluetooth shoes and heart rate earphones that all connect up) - The iPad sits in a tablet holder that came with the treadmill. The treadmill is also one way smart - so it feeds data into zwift as well. The model I chose had the ability of going crazy speeds (not that I do) and came with a more than decent warranty (so as to help resale if ever I want to). 10 years on the motor, 5 years on parts, and 3 years on parts and labour. I ordered it the day before the original lockdown - and it was delivered a couple of weeks later. It's a beast. But didn't cost £3k. I originally ordered the model below this one - the F65 - but they ran out and gave me a free upgrade to the F80. I'd also used a 10 percent discount code (although sites like topcashback also offer a way of lowering the price) - so I only paid £1080 against the £1599 list price. It's not as SMART as some of the models in the gym (my gym had Cybex treadmills that were £13k a pop) but for what I wanted - this does the job perfectly. Wide/long track, smooth, quiet, easy to run on, lots of speed and incline options.

https://www.bestgymequipment.co.uk/...ills/products/f80-folding-treadmill-new-model
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Nice :)

The one I want is this one - https://www.bestgymequipment.co.uk/...ucts/curve-runner-pro-non-motorised-treadmill

But I have a hard time justifying it when there's miles of tarmac outside :D
 
Don't normally drag up old threads but.... I've bought a Bluetooth spin bike, does anyone know if they generally can be connected to Zwift?
 
Depends on the blue tooth connection. It needs to transmit data and not just recieve a signal from a music player- revolutions is the bare essentials. Zwift can be used to be usable with out the subscription but you couldnt save the ride or join rides/use the workouts. It has a free trial either way. If it doesnt work you can get a bluetooth cadence meter that will mount on the crankshaft and transmit to Zwift
 
keef32 said:
Don't normally drag up old threads but.... I've bought a Bluetooth spin bike, does anyone know if they generally can be connected to Zwift?
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If you link to what you've bought - we can see the spec - and can let you know if it's likely to connect.
 
cymruchris said:
If you link to what you've bought - we can see the spec - and can let you know if it's likely to connect.
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Yeah share your kit. I've been looking at cheap BT bikes on eBay. A lot of them are cheaper than a decent smart trainer.
 
cymruchris said:
If you link to what you've bought - we can see the spec - and can let you know if it's likely to connect.
Click to expand...

Basically this ....

JonathanRyan said:
Yeah share your kit. I've been looking at cheap BT bikes on eBay. A lot of them are cheaper than a decent smart trainer.
Click to expand...

The it just litterally says "with bluetooth". Just wondered if it's as easy as just connecting up to say a tablet and loading up the Zwift app if it's compatible?
 
I keep seeing this one pop up in adverts

Nero Sports Bluetooth Upright Exercise Bike Indoor Studio Cycles Aerobic Training Fitness Cardio Bike: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Outdoors

Shop Nero Sports Bluetooth Upright Exercise Bike Indoor Studio Cycles Aerobic Training Fitness Cardio Bike. Free delivery and returns on all eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk

It says it works with Zwift but has some flaky power measurements.

But there are lots of others that say BT that either connect to proprietary apps or just feed RPM to a Garmin.

Obvious answer is to get a trial of Zwift, load it up and see if it works.
 
One thing for those using the indoor trainers that you fit a normal bike to, get a cheap rear tire, as a lot of these machines tend to chew tires up over time.
 
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