If you’re one of the many people who has looked to training indoors over the past couple of years, then you’ve probably got some questions about what products you need in order to take your cycling indoors.
Various solutions are available. If you’ve done any research, you’ll have noticed that the best smart trainers can easily cost four figures, while the best exercise bikes cost even more, but you can absolutely bring your training indoors on a budget.
A Zwift spokesperson told Cyclingnews that it loses more customers before they make their first pedal stroke than anywhere else in the purchase journey, and the reason is that many of those people cannot work out what hardware they need to make everything work.
To fix this, Zwift launched the Zwift Hub smart trainer, designed to simplify the process for new cyclists wanting to get onto Zwift. It’s priced incredibly aggressively, and it scored five stars in our Zwift Hub review. However, it’s not the only means to getting onto Zwift, and while the Zwift Hub is a very good value smart trainer, it’s not the cheapest Zwift setup out there.
Here we’re going to run through all the options, with a guide on how to get the cheapest Zwift setup, so that you can have the interactivity of the apps without it costing a fortune. We’ve also shared today’s best turbo trainer deals to help you get maximum value for money.
Turbo trainer deals
In this section, we’ll break down the deals by trainer type, and explain whether or not they will be compatible with Zwift straight out of the box.
As a broad overview, smart trainers, smart bikes and smart rollers will be compatible, whereas basic trainers need you to bring extra sensors along to ensure compatibility.
Smart trainers
Smart trainers, by definition, feature ‘smart’ connectivity in the form of Bluetooth and ANT+. This allows the trainer to connect to your computer/phone/tablet and allows the app (Zwift, et al) to control the resistance in line with virtual hills or workout intervals.
Smart bikes
While trainers need you to mount your own bike onto them, smart bikes offer everything: pedals, saddle, handlebars and more. They’re also easily adjustable so that multiple people in one household can use them, and they typically come with belt-driven gear, which is quieter, cleaner, and more durable than the chain on your bike. The downside to all this is that smart bikes are far from the cheapest Zwift setup available.
Basic trainers
This is where we get into the weeds a…
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