Getting Started With Zwift

[Ben Reeve]

Evening everyone.

I've found getting through the first stages of Swift a bit complicated, so have decided to write a set of posts as I start my adventure!

Hope you find it useful.

Ben

So it’s come to that time of year. I’m seriously having to consider setting up the turbo trainer again. In previous years this has always proved to be a depressing thing to contemplate, but thanks to Zwift, this year may just be different.

Over the next few articles I am going to take you with me on my journey into Zwift. From buying the right kit, setting up the software to my first few races and achievements.

This isn’t a review, more like the ultimate set up and unboxing guide to help you understand what’s involved and how to start.

What Is Zwift?

Zwift’s aim is a simple, but utterly brilliant one.

To make the experience of cycling solo on your turbo trainer into more exciting. To make it social, interactive, challenging, and above all fun.

A computer game and a fitness tool!? Don’t know about you guys, but I’m sold.

Zwift lets you enter a new world right from the comfort (!?) of your garage (front room, shed, military bunker or anywhere else you set up your turbo!).

You are transported into a 3D landscape with other riders from around the world, cycling on virtual courses and earning achievements along the way.

What Do I Need To Get Started?

Getting started is more simple than you think.

I have produced this simple flow chart to show you how little you actually need.

Before starting Zwift I already owned a laptop, Garmin sensors, a bike and a turbo trainer so the only thing I have actually had to buy is the ANT+ dongle and the software itself.

I would imagine many cyclists will be in a similar position to this before starting with Zwift.

Work your way through the chart on the right, then head on down to the gear guide to see what combinations Zwift recommend using.





Gear Guide
As you’d expect there’s a really good guide on the Zwift site.

It essentially gives you three options

BASIC = A turbo trainer with speed sensor

FLEXIBLE = A turbo trainer with a power meter

PREMIUM = A smart turbo trainer





Once you’ve worked your way through the flow chart to establish what gear you need, examples of products are below:

ALL

– A laptop or computer

– An ANT+USB dongle so your computer can receive the data from your equipment.

– An example of that would be Garmin Ant Chip

– The Zwift software available from Zwift.com (Free trial for 50km, $10 USD thereafter)

– A bike (yes, really!)

BASIC SETUP

ANY TURBO TRAINER

There are lots of different types of trainer out there.

I’m not going to attempt to take you through them all here, but if you want to read more there is a fantastic site called turbobiketrainer.com that will give you every bit of information you ever wanted about trainers (plus a bit more!)

I personally picked mine up from Ebay a couple of years ago, and you can get some great deals on them.

SPEED OR CADENCE SENSOR

Garmin have recently released a fantastic speed and cadence sensor which is perfect for Zwift. They are ANT+ enabled and will allow you to get an accurate speed on your stationary trainer.

Check it out here.

FLEXIBLE SETUP

ANY TURBO TRAINER

There are lots of different types of trainer out there.

I’m not going to attempt to take you through them all here, but if you want to read more there is a fantastic site called turbobiketrainer.com that will give you every bit of information you ever wanted about trainers (plus a bit more!)

I personally picked mine up from Ebay a couple of years ago, and you can get some

A POWER METER

This is where the going the ‘flexible’ route starts to get more expensive.

Power meters are fantastic bits of kit, giving you really feedback on the work your are doing on the bike.

The challenge is they are expensive. Expect to pay prices about £500 to get a good quality one.

If you want more information on power meters I suggest looking here CyclingPowerMeters.com

PREMIUM SETUP

If you want the perfect Zwift experience then there is no doubt ‘premium’ is the route to go.

For this, you need to go down the smart trainer route.

A smart trainer will link into Zwift and then automatically change the resistance when it needs to, on a virtual hill as an example. NOW THAT IS COOL!

Again the challenge with most of these is going to be the added expense. If you already have turbo in your garage it is a big investment to pick up some of these, and you’re not going to be finding any in the below £200 price bracket either.

Below is a list of the smart trainers compatible with Zwift, and I have put beside them the best price I could find on the internet (1st December 2015)

– Wahoo KICKR £948.99
– Wahoo KICKR SNAP £499.99

– Racermate Computrainer £1080
– CycleOps Powerbeam Pro £639.95
– Tacx Bushido Smart ANT+ T2780 (needs ANT+ FE-C update) £356.99
– Tacx Vortex Smart ANT+ T2180 (needs ANT+ FE-C update) £280
– Tacx i-Genius Multiplayer Smart T2010 £625
– Tacx Genius Smart T2080 £478
– Tacx IRONMAN® Smart T2060 £550
– Tacx Smart Neo £1,074
– BKOOL (needs ANT+ FE-C update) £449
– Elite Qubo Digital Smart B+ £270
– Elite Real Turbo Muin Smart B+ £370
– Elite Qubo Power Smart B+ £235

What Route Did I Take?
Given I had alot of the equipment already, I have decided to go down the basic route to start with.

If I really get into Zwift I will consider buying a smart trainer for the ultimate experience, but let’s give it a couple of months first!

Summary
I am really excited about getting started with Zwift.

My Ant+ dongle arrives any day now, and for the first time ever I am looking forward to getting the turbo trainer.

Will this prove to be uniformed optimism!?

Keep an eye out for my next few articles, where I am going to take you through my first experiences of Zwift.

Thanks for ready and happy cycling!

Ben

 

[2oldnslow]

Hi there and thanks that was indeed very useful. I've just bought a "dumb" trainer an Elite Turbo Muin Smart B+ so no Zwift control for me but thus far (and I've really only dipped my toe in the waters with a trial Zwift subscription I'm quite impressed and despite warnings that it's a pointless exercise without a smart trainer I think it's going to prove great in motivating me to actually get onto the trainer.

Are you in the time since your initial post still as optimistic about the usefulness of Zwift on a dumb/classic trainer ?

 

[Fisheh]

Just been through the above , I use a basic set up and it's great . With manual trainers zwift gives you the resistance setting to use to get the correct power calculation , my trainer is digital and the reading on the trainer matches the game exactly. I have found you still have to work harder going up hill to maintain speed and as such it gives a good feel to the game.
To add to the above if you are a Strava premium member you get two free months every year so that may well be enough to cover your winter training indoors.

 

[2oldnslow]

Just been through the above , I use a basic set up and it's great . With manual trainers zwift gives you the resistance setting to use to get the correct power calculation , my trainer is digital and the reading on the trainer matches the game exactly. I have found you still have to work harder going up hill to maintain speed and as such it gives a good feel to the game.
To add to the above if you are a Strava premium member you get two free months every year so that may well be enough to cover your winter training indoors.

Hi there and yes despite only being a new user to both Zwift and Bkool I really don't find the lack of a "smart trainer" to be much if anything of a disadvantage. Sure if you are mostly interested in the league aspect of Bkool a dumb trainer is a big no no, but that's not where my interest lies. Rather I'm looking for something which keeps my interest provides motivation and allows me to maintain/build on my fitness when the weather outside is anything but conducive to getting out on the bike.

In the real world, the effort I have to put in to maintain a particular speed into the wind (which I know all about living in the coastal North West of England) or up a hill is down to me so really can't see that having a programme control the resistance is any sort of big deal.

Before I retired I worked in the Middle East where a trainer was something you needed in the summer heat and I bought a Taxc Fortious the software was (and bear in mind this was some years ago) decidedly clunky and I never really got on with the "ride feel" to be honest. Hence my decision recently to go direct drive with the Elite Turbo Muin Smart B+ whereas for somewhat less I could have bought an Elite Qubo Smart B+ or a couple of the lower priced Taxc smart trainers.

Horses for courses I guess. Now just have to convince my partner we really don't need a "study" and get set up in there for a (hopefully) fruitful winter spinning, sweating and gasping for breath on the road to nowhere.

Oh and thanks for the tip re: Strava.

 

[Leodis]

I started with a dumb trainer on Zwift, I soon fell in love with it. I have been struggling with winter commuting and motivation fighting traffic, weather and the shorter dull winter route through Leeds centre, so I decided to stop commuting and switch to a trainer and spend more time on focused sessions to get ready for next season. I am finding the workouts good, I have created a couple of my own sweetspot & interval 60 min sessions but looking at the 12 week FTP builder from Jan.

I found this site very helpful in guides. Also take a look at the UK Zwift Facebook site which has been info and race events.

 

[Ben Reeve]

That Titanium Geek site is brilliant. Was reading through the manual last night, though just made me want to get straight back out to the garage. Think I'm going to try and join a group ride over the next week or so

 

[2oldnslow]

Thanks for the link to the Titanium Geek site lots of v v useful info there. 12 week FTP builder after the Christmas excesses sounds just what I need. I'm (admittedly) only a couple of days into my Zwift trail period I'm definitely finding it quite addictive. Particularity now I've got permission from the significant other to set up in the study and am running on a fairly decent spec Mac Mini with a large monitor all proving to be quite immersive and certainly provides a lot of additional motivation. Thus far from my perspective the only downside to not having a resistance controlled trainer is also sort of a positive in as much as I don't get the "benefit" of reduced resistance on the flat/downhill sections.

 

[Fisheh]

Thanks for the link to the Titanium Geek site lots of v v useful info there. 12 week FTP builder after the Christmas excesses sounds just what I need. I'm (admittedly) only a couple of days into my Zwift trail period I'm definitely finding it quite addictive. Particularity now I've got permission from the significant other to set up in the study and am running on a fairly decent spec Mac Mini with a large monitor all proving to be quite immersive and certainly provides a lot of additional motivation. Thus far from my perspective the only downside to not having a resistance controlled trainer is also sort of a positive in as much as I don't get the "benefit" of reduced resistance on the flat/downhill sections.

My intension was to see how many hours use I get out of my trainer then look at upgrading to a smart trainer during the summer when I just might pick one up for a good price. I'm not so sure now, the continual resistance for prolonged periods seems to be doing my legs the world of good, and the game itself gives loads of motivation .If your not going for the kom your sprinting and if you ain't doing those two things your drafting which can be like the worst interval training ever...
I can understand that with a smart trainer you will get a better VR cycle experience but is it as good training wise?
This is my first time on a turbo so have no idea .

 

[2oldnslow]

"
My intension was to see how many hours use I get out of my trainer then look at upgrading to a smart trainer during the summer when I just might pick one up for a good price. I'm not so sure now, the continual resistance for prolonged periods seems to be doing my legs the world of good, and the game itself gives loads of motivation .If your not going for the kom your sprinting and if you ain't doing those two things your drafting which can be like the worst interval training ever...
I can understand that with a smart trainer you will get a better VR cycle experience but is it as good training wise?
This is my first time on a turbo so have no idea ."

That pretty much mirrors my experience/thinking I had a "smart" VR trainer some years ago but to be honest feel what I have now provides a more effective workout

 

[2oldnslow]

well a couple of days into both a Zwift and a Bkool simulator trial period and I have to say I'm thinking it's looking like it will be Zwift that get's my hard earned.

Sure Bkool has all those additional routes, which is fun and the league thing which may or may not be open to me given I don't have a resistance controlled trainer but goodness me it seems clunky. Every time I use it I have to re-pair my sensors which is a bit of a pain. Still got some time left but I am enjoying the experience and whilst it'll never replace the simple pleasure of getting out on a bike I think with a proper structured approach Zwift ticks a lot of boxes for me.

Surely can only be a matter of time before Zwift has more routes to add that level of variety. Well here's hoping

 

[Leodis]

Watopia is been extended in the next couple of weeks, also another course I think will be released in the new year.

 

[2oldnslow]

"Watopia is been extended in the next couple of weeks, also another course I think will be released in the new year."

Feel my credit card twitching already

 

[Fisheh]

Anybody here use Strava ? My profile is in my signature.

 

[2oldnslow]

Not me I'm afraid when it came out was living in Cyprus and there was not a lot of point there. Quick aside though. Do you actually find it useful? I'm thinking in particular for giving you ideas for rides or routes whatever.

 

[PaddyMcc]

I have just bought the garmin dongle and will be zwifting as soon as an infection, which I currently have in my right leg, clears. Looking forward to a new experience!