Zwift has taken over the world of cycling indoor training. Everywhere you go people are talking about it, posting their rides on social media and bragging about race wins. But you might still be wondering what Zwift is and how it works. So let’s go on a journey into a beginner’s guide to Zwift’s virtual world of cycling.
What is Zwift
Zwift is an interactive, virtual cycling world for indoor cycling originally released in 2014. Since then it has taken over the world of cycling. It blurs the line between video game and virtual reality (think Wii sports). With just your bike, reliable WIFI and a few basic components you are able to “ride” with cyclists from around the world.
Zwift was designed to overcome the boredom of regular indoor training rides by simulating group rides or races. There’s nothing worse than hopping on your indoor trainer and staring at the wall in front of you for a 2-hour ride.
The Zwift interface allows you to ride real-world routes making training rides much more enjoyable.
How does Zwift work
In the most basic sense, Zwift determines the power that you are producing on your bike and correlates that to a speed for your avatar to ride in the Zwift world.
When you set up your Zwift avatar, you input your own height and weight. Taking those variables with either your cadence or power output from your actual bike determines the speed that you ride.
Zwift uses ANT+ or Bluetooth technology to communicate your power/speed output to the Zwift app (running on PC or Mac computers, tablets or phones).
If you have a smart trainer or a power meter on your bike, then Zwift will take that data as your power. However, if you are using a regular trainer (without a power meter on your bike) then you need a speed sensor. Zwift’s algorithms then use your speed sensor to determine your estimated power output and thus your avatar’s speed.
If you need help getting your smart trainer set up with your bike then you should check out my picture guide of assembling and setting up a Wahoo KICKR smart trainer.
The Zwift app is your view of the Zwift world. It gives you a first- (or third-) person view of your surroundings. It also gives you important riding metrics, such as your wattage, speed, who is around you and your ranking in a race or segment you are riding.
You can use the keyboard of your computer or use your phone as a remote for the Zwift app, via the Zwift companion app. This allows you to give kudos, change routes, use powerups and generally control all aspects of your ride.
What type of riding do you do on Zwift?
Riding options on Zwift are essentially the same as in the real world. You can cycle freely, join group rides, race or take part in structured workouts.
The Zwift world includes 6 virtual worlds – Watopia, Richmond, London, Innsbruck, Yorkshire, and New York. Watopia is the Zwift created world. When cycling in the other worlds (cities), you can cycle past actual landmarks from those cities.
Because Zwift is a social app the developers want people riding together. As a result, only two Worlds are open at any given time (Watopia and a real-world city). Although this limits your options on a given day, it keeps the community feel of the game. It means that there will be plenty of people to ride within a given day – everyone from absolute beginners to Tour de France champions could be on your route.
These worlds provide 80+ routes of varying distances, hills and scenery for you to ride. One of the coolest things is the climbs available. Many of them are exact copies, in terms of gradient and length, as real-world climbs. And although the scenery isn’t real, it is interesting enough to make the ride feel more outdoorsy.
Check out this great video from GCN comparing Alp D’huez vs. Alp du Zwift.
Free Riding on Zwift
This is the same as free-riding in the real world. You get to explore the world without worrying about keeping up with others or staying on a set path. When free riding you have the option to turn onto different routes, tag along with other riders or ride at your own pace.
As you explore more of the Zwift world you earn badges and collect points. The more badges and points you have, the more routes and roads open up for you.
Group Rides and Races on Zwift
Group rides and races are broken up into categories based on your functional threshold power (FTP). This is a measure of how your fitness by determining the relative wattage (Watts/kg of body mass) that you can sustain.
You want to join group rides and races at the appropriate fitness level. Being in the right category will allow you to ride with others while getting a solid training effect. Just like riding in the real world if your fitness isn’t up to snuff you’ll get dropped. Alternatively, if you’re more fit than the rest of the group you will either be riding alone in front of everyone or not get a training effect.
These rides and races start throughout the day to meet everybody’s training schedule
Zwift Workouts
Zwift also offers thousands of pre-made workouts/training rides for you to choose from.
If you’re looking for a one-off training session, you can select from a list. The one-off training sessions are typically based on a time frame (i.e. 60-minutes). So that you can hop on your bike, get a good workout in based on your available time and then move on with your day.
Or there are full training blocks (2-8 weeks) devoted to building up specific components of your fitness (i.e. power increase, time trial tune-ups).
The pre-made training plans are designed by world-leading coaches and are based around training levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced, everyone).
You also have the option to create your own workouts. There are an easy drag and drop interface to create workouts that focus on your own needs.
What equipment is needed for Zwift
Depending on how much you want to spend, riding with Zwift can be anywhere from pretty cheap to very expensive. Luckily though, beginners can start off without too much of an investment.
This is going to gloss over the fact that you need a bike to ride (obviously). It doesn’t matter what type of bike you have (MTB, road, cyclocross).
A Compatible Screen and the Zwift App
Of course, you need a screen to be able to see your avatar and the route. This could be a TV, computer, tablet or phone – although it is suggested you use a large screen (i.e. not your phone). Then you can see all the details and metrics that make Zwift so great.
Zwift has a full breakdown of what operating systems work best. But generally, if you have the latest version of iOS, macOS, Windows or Android you should be good.
In addition, you need to Zwift: Ride and Run App (available in the App Store and Google Play Store). This is how you ride through the Zwift world.
The Zwift Companion App is not necessary, but it helps as well. I recommend downloading it on your phone and using it while riding through the Zwift world. Use it to interact with the world as you are riding – like choosing to go left or right at a fork in the road, waving to other riders or using your boosters.
Indoor Trainer
You need an indoor trainer to be able to ride. This can be a smart trainer or a regular trainer. I broke down the difference, and whether you should get a trainer in the first place, in this article.
While a smart trainer is more expensive (sometimes by a lot), they allow more accurate assessments of power outputs. Smart trainers determine your power output “in-house” and are able to communicate that data to Zwift automatically. That means your avatar’s speed will be a lot more accurate.
Zwift can control smart trainers. In these cases, if you are approaching a hill in the Zwift world your trainer will automatically increase the resistance you feel in the pedals. This makes the ride feel more like real-world riding.
Zwift, and I, recommend smart trainers from Wahoo (like the Wahoo KICKR Snap) and Tacx (like the Tacx Flow Smart).
With a regular (not-smart) indoor trainer, you will need a couple other pieces of equipment too.
Power Meter or Cadence Sensor
Additional tech is required with regular trainers because they don’t measure power.
A power meter is a small device fitted to a bike that (surprisingly!) measures the power produced by the rider. They use a strain gauge that is deformed when force is applied to the pedal, and then uses some physics to calculate power.
Power meters can be pretty expensive, so I wouldn’t make them a beginner purchase. But if you want to check out some:
Personally, I would go with a simple cadence or speed sensor. As the name suggests, these sensors measure your cadence (revolutions per minute) and calculate speed based on that.
Three sensors are attached to the bike: a spoke magnet and a cadence magnet on either side of the electronics pod mounted to the bike frame (as shown below). They then can use ANT+ or Bluetooth to communicate with Zwift to calculate power.
I recommend cadence or speed sensors from Wahoo. The RPM Cadence, RPM Speed or Blue SC (which does both)will be a perfect sensor for you, all are priced competitively and easy to use.
Another optional but valuable piece of equipment for indoor and outdoor cycling is a heart rate monitor. All the major brands have heart rate monitors (Wahoo, Polar, Garmin). I would definitely suggest a strapped version as opposed to a wrist-based HR monitor.
Price of Zwift
Zwift operates on a monthly subscription business model. As of the writing of this article, it is $14.99/month to ride, and they’re currently offering a 30-day free trial.
Plus, you’ll need a trainer.
As a beginner, I would recommend these basic indoor trainers:
- Fluid Bike Trainer (check the price on Amazon here)
- Elite Novo Force Trainer (check the price on Amazon here)
If you want to step up to a smart trainer, I suggest the Tacx Flow Smart Trainer
I would go with a membership ($14.99/month), a basic trainer (about $200-$250), and a cadence sensor ($35) to start.
So that means you could get started on Zwift for as little as about $250.
Happy Riding!