Not heard of Zwift until I read 2 recent posts on here. So I’m thinking of getting out my old indoor trainer for the winter as I need to keep up some kind of exercise, but memories of it being painful to get to half an hour (painful as in boredom) has got me curious about Zwift and, I think, Trainer Road etc. so I’ve a few questions that other users can probably answer better than sitting here trawling the internet for hours … thanks.

I’ve got an older basic indoor trainer, it has magnetic adjustable resistance, from what I’ve read quickly all I need to do is add a cadence and speed sensor, I’ve seen Ant+ mentioned. Can someone point me to everything I’d need to purchase to make this work. Thanks.

Not too bothered about serious racing against other people, could be interesting. Racing against virtual racers of myself could be good as I could do that whenever, but mainly having a screen to look at going along somewhere will be better than staring at the wall. Is there one thing better than the other for that? Zwift, Trainer Road, or what else is out there?

Do they all need to go through a PC, or can one be run on a phone – then I could plug this into a flat screen tv to have a large screen in front of me.

Urm, think that’s about it.If there’s anything else important I’ve missed please let me know. Basically, just want to get started on it, not get bored and not spend a fortune on new equipment 🙂 thanks.

Trainerroad runs on Android and iOS. I believe Zwift is now on iOS but not yet on Android. I’m on trainerroad now and am on the lookout for a cheap tv for the garage wall that I can Chromecast to.

As for your turbo, both applications have a list of compatible models as they calculate virtual power differently depending on the variation of model but I suppose there’s nothing stopping you choosing any models profile and using it – it just won’t be an accurate power reading. If that makes sense.

Ant+ speed and cadence sensor
http://www.acycles.co.uk/elite-cadence-and-speed-sensor-bluetooth-smart-20cm-12939.html?utm_source=google_produit_cpc&gclid=CjwKEAiAu6DBBRDDr6-e_6698E0SJACvuxnylz6zbNnao_SC-yMo8O9MQbnUI5R3ffGE7vgGkdVt3BoC9Unw_wcB

There are loads of ant+ USB sticks available and they seem to all be much of a muchness. Whether you need one or not depends what you are going to be streaming to. My phone is Ant+ enabled so I don’t need one. If you’re using a PC or laptop for Zwift, then you will.

The big limitation (as you already will be aware) in using a basic mag trainer is that you won’t get any feedback to adjust the resistance automatically, so you will have to manually adjust resistance to mimic changing terrain. You will still be able to chase other virtual riders, but how well that works depends on how accurately you can guess the correct resistance and avoiding the temptation to just select an easier setting. You don’t mention having a power meter. Without that you are not going to have any power reading to help estimate the accuracy of your settings. I think Zwift is very good, but you lose an awful lot of the functionality without a smart trainer.

Would it be worth trying something like the Sufferfest videos first, if you haven’t already? Cheaper than buying new bits and subscribing to Zwift. If you search YouTube you will even find free POV riding videos that might be better than staring at the wall.

Thanks.

Had a quick look at some Sufferfest videos, they had a really annoying loud techno tracks on them – can always turn it off of course. So I might set it up and try that first to see how I like it. Might invest in a smart trainer if I like it. I guess with the video you just adjust you resistance and speed to whatever you feel might be right as you watch the video.

Found a video on youtube where someone sets up a basic indoor trainer with Zwift so looks easy.