I have an Elite turbo trainer that I have used fairly regularly over the last two years, but am interested in Zwift to make life more interesting.
What is involved? I have limited space and a limited budget, so will stick to watching Netflix while riding if I have to. But it would be helpful to know exactly what I need to do in order to become Zwiftable.
So, is Zwift useable with my current trainer, or do I need to upgrade to something much more technologically advanced? Regardless, what else do I need, and what sort of start-up costs tend to be involved?
You need a Speed sensor, Ant+ dongle, ideally cadence sensor. They're all in about £40.
Obviously you need a compatible PC/laptop/iPad....
Then just connect the Ant+ dongle, (Or bluetooth if iPad i think) and connect the speed/cadence sensor, then away you go.
Heart rate monitor not essential but nice to have.
On a PC/laptop, I'd advise getting a heart rate monitor that can transmit over ANT+ and Bluetooth, I'm using a £20* Coospo H6.
ANT+ dongle for ~£10.*
3m USB cable extension ~£5* to have ANT+ dongle close to you and turbo.
* All on Amazon
You an use the Zwift Mobile Link app to connect Bluetooth gadgets to a PC, but I found the signal dropped a lot.
what model is your elite?
I think it's the Crono Fluid ElastoGel.
OK, so that will work but will use a virtual power curve. I think zwift without a smart trainer which automatically alters resistance based on terrain is a bit like watching a 4k movie on a phone, it`ll work but you are not getting the full experience.
The zwift website will have all you need to know on it.
Your turbo will work fine, if it's worth it depends on what you want out of it. Barely used the turbo over the last few years now doing three or four hours a week, I find it entertaining enough to bash out an hour when I wouldn't normally be able to. There are races and proper training regimes but currently I'm just getting used to it and riding around. In addition to what people have mentioned a fan is pretty useful as it gets hot quickly when there's no airflow.