The Wahoo Kickr Core has been my go-to direct drive turbo trainer recommendation since it was released in September 2018. In fact, I reviewed the Wahoo Kickr Core last year, five years on from its debut, and could still only find minor faults, which can be overlooked at its price point. So, when Wahoo and Zwift announced their Wahoo Kickr Core Zwift One collaboration in February 2024, I was intrigued.

The concept is ingenious. Traditionally, you install a cassette (the cogs on your bike’s rear wheel) on the turbo trainer, and increase or decrease the trainer’s resistance when free-riding (and not following an ERG-mode workout) by shifting up and down with your bike’s drivetrain. The Zwift One cog replaces the cassette with a single-speed cog, and instead of controlling resistance with your bike’s gears, you modify resistance with two handlebar-mounted buttons.

How does this compare to that traditional cassette-based set-up? And will the Wahoo Kickr Core Zwift One knock its cassette cousin from my top spot as the best turbo trainer?

Wahoo Kickr Core Zwift One: Price And Availability

The Wahoo Kickr Core Zwift One was released in February 2024 and costs $599.99 in the US and £549.99 in the UK. When the Wahoo Kickr Core was first launched it cost $899.99/£699.99 and didn’t include a pre-installed cassette, so the total set-up has come down by roughly $400/£200—bucking the trend seen across the rest of cycling. What’s more, it includes a free 12-month Zwift membership (RRP $149.99/£129.99), which reduces the actual cost of your investment to $450/£420.

How I Tested This Turbo Trainer

I logged 10 hours of turbo training on the Kickr Core Zwift One. I’m currently training for the Paris-Roubaix Challenge and I performed several long interval-based workout sessions on the training apps Zwift and TrainerRoad. I also spent time free-riding in Zwift’s virtual worlds and attempted (and failed) to test it in other virtual world-based training programs, such as Rouvy and MyWhoosh. I have experience with most of the best turbo trainers and smart bikes, including the cassette version of the Wahoo Kickr Core, Tacx’s top-of-the-range Neo 3M, and Wahoo’s Kickr Bike V2 smart bike.

Features

The Zwift One edition of the Wahoo Kickr Core is a carbon copy of the standard one, aside from the new  Zwift One cog replacing a cassette. That means you get the same maximum output (1,800W), simulated incline (16%) and power accuracy (+/- 2%) as the Kickr Core that’s been around since September 2018. 

While there are direct drive turbo trainers that can beat all these stats (most notably the Tacx Neo 3M), it’s important not to get fooled into thinking bigger is better. Even serious club riders aren’t able to exceed that maximum power output for more than a second or two at best, while you’d have to be a masochist to want to ride up gradients above 16% for sustained periods. The power accuracy may be an issue if you’re a professional athlete following strict interval sessions, but even the best turbo trainers have a +/- 1% margin of error, so it’s a minor sacrifice to make for substantial savings on the cost of a premium set-up. 

The main difference between the standard Wahoo Kickr Core and this update is the Zwift One cog. The 14-tooth sprocket comes installed on the unit and is compatible with most 8- to 12-speed bikes. This is different from the cassette version, which required the purchase of a separate driver and the installation of a drivetrain-specific cassette if your bike didn’t have a Shimano/SRAM road set-up. This makes the Kickr Core Zwift One more accessible to Campagnolo and mountain bike/gravel bike users, whose drivetrains aren’t compatible with the standard Wahoo Kickr Core out of the box. It also means if you have multiple bikes, or multiple riders want to use the turbo trainer, you can swap the bikes over without having to remove and install different cassettes and drivers.

The resistance is controlled by a Click button rather than shifting between gears on a bike’s drivetrain. The virtual drivetrain has a 24-speed drivetrain and a wide enough gear ratio for inching your way up Watopia’s inclines or putting down the hammer on the flats without spinning out. During ERG mode workouts, it can also increase and decrease the difficulty of the session—ideal if you’re struggling with a hard drill and want to dial it down rather than stopping. The Bluetooth button can be mounted in multiple locations on a handlebar, whether you have flat, drop or triathlon bars, and its coin battery is said to last 100 hours.

The Kickr Zwift One has one major flaw: It’s only compatible with Zwift. While the cog can be used in ERG mode in platforms such as TrainerRoad, if you want to simulate free-riding and shifting between virtual gears, you won’t be able to on rival platforms like Rouvy and MyWhoosh.

The Set-Up

The Kickr Core Zwift One requires some self-assembly but should pose no issues. In the box, you’ll find the main unit, two stabilizing feet, instructions and tools, and it’s hard to get it wrong. Unlike previous Kickr Core models, the Zwift One cog is installed, so once the feet are on the base unit, you just need to remove the back wheel from your bike and slot it in place on the turbo. 

The Click button is a cinch to install on your handlebars. You can put it in various spots, but I found that the inside of the right hood allowed me to easily shift up and down with my thumb in my standard indoor riding position.

The Ride

The Kickr Core Zwift One has a similar ride feel to the cassette version. It has the same 5.4kg flywheel, and the resistance feels smooth and controlled, even when completing intervals that quickly switch from anaerobic efforts to recovery. In free-ride mode, the shifts in gradients feel realistic, and a sharp hill will soon have you out of the saddle.

However, there are notable differences. The single cog design seemed quieter than the cassette version I tried previously, while there are no clunks of the derailleur between gear shifts. The 24-speed virtual drivetrain had no noticeable jumps between gears, and it solves the issue you can have with a cassette where you start to cross-chain or when you spin out after shifting between the big and small rings when downshifting quickly. Keeping track of what gear you’re in is easy and it’s displayed alongside speed, cadence and power output.

As with the cassette version, the main downside is the lack of lateral movement. This was noticeable when jumping from the Wahoo Kickr V6 with Axis feet to its cheaper sibling, and the latter has a stationary riding position, which started to get uncomfortable on training rides of an hour-plus.

Is The Wahoo Kickr Core Zwift One Worth It?

The Kickr Core Zwift One is the cheapest it has ever been, and when you consider that it also comes with a year’s subscription to Zwift, it’s hard to beat on cost. The Zwift One cog should last longer than a cassette because there’s no shifting between cogs to wear out the teeth, reducing long-term costs, while the fact that it can be used by multiple people could help you share the investment between others.

If you’re searching for the most cost-effective way to get started with Zwift, then it’s difficult to look beyond the Kickr Core Zwift One. The smart direct drive turbo trainer, pound for pound, is the best design available, and the addition of the Zwift One cog removes some of the hassles that can come with a cassette version. If you plan on using other training programs then you’re better off with the original Wahoo Kickr Core, but for Zwift and TrainerRoad, the Zwift One version takes some beating.

If your January fitness kick has taken you to the treadmill in 2024, it might well be the case that you’re starting to get a little bored of indoor runs already. Unless you’re following a treadmill workout plan or have uncommonly high levels of motivation, indoor running can be hard to stick with without some kind of entertainment, and the best free running app for this is Zwift.

I am an obsessive runner who usually logs 50-70 miles a week. I do the majority of this outdoors, but if I do run on the treadmill I will always fire up Zwift to make the run more enjoyable.

What Is Zwift?

Zwift is a virtual training app where you control an avatar that runs through dramatic landscapes. Some of these landscapes are entirely fictional, like the island of Watopia, while others are based on real places, like Paris and London.

The app began catering to cyclists on turbo trainers and connected indoor bikes and it’s very popular. Cyclists have to pay a monthly subscription, but it’s free for runners. 

Download Zwift: App Store and Google Play

How Does It Work?

To control your avatar you need to either link your treadmill to Zwift, or use a footpod or running watch that can send your pace to Zwift so it knows how fast you are running.

In the past this used to be quite difficult. Most treadmills weren’t directly compatible with Zwift and footpods were expensive, and a bit fiddly to set up and calibrate for Zwift. Nowadays, however, most modern treadmills will link directly to Zwift and they have a tablet or phone holder.

You can check if the treadmill, footpod or running watch you’re using is compatible with Zwift on the app’s website, but I will say the list there is not comprehensive, especially on watches as some newer Garmins have the virtual training mode and aren’t listed.

Linking the treadmill directly to the app is the simplest option if available. If you’re using a watch or footpod you will need to calibrate the pace on it, which is easily done within Zwift via a guided process where you run at three different speeds. The pace readings will not be infallible, especially if using a watch, so you might find you’re running a bit slower or faster than your avatar, but it will still make the run more fun.

Getting Started

Once you’re set up on Zwift, I recommend exploring a few of the virtual worlds at first, then look at the guided workouts available in the app and the group runs. The group runs are divided up by pace so there is an option for runners of all levels, and joining them will mean you get to run with other people within the app. This will help with motivation, especially when tackling workouts on the treadmill. 

There are also full training plans for runners on Zwift that you can follow to build up to events like a 5K, 10K or half marathon. If you want to get a full introduction to the app, there’s a Zwift 101 plan that will ease you into your first workouts. I’ve also written a Zwift for runners guide which may be of help.

Finally, if you really want to push yourself, there are races you can join on Zwift, which are graded by ability to ensure you’re not lapping the field or getting left behind.

Find out more about these picks in my guide to the best treadmills.

The world of indoor cycling has been transformed in the last decade. Improvements in the best turbo trainer tech and the best cycling apps have combined to create a more immersive experience when riding a stationary bike. It’s now possible to climb famous mountain passes or race against others in virtual worlds from the comfort of your home.

This new tech tends to come at a cost, though. While it’s possible to pick up a basic wheel-on turbo trainer for double figures, a smart direct drive model is required to make the experience as realistic as possible, and that’s before you factor in any monthly subscription fees.

In this context, it’s easy to see why the launch of the Zwift Hub turbo trainer was revolutionary. Priced at $499 in the US and £449 in the UK, it was the first smart direct drive turbo trainer to be launched at less than $500/£500. It undercuts its direct competitor, the Wahoo Kickr Core, and matches it in terms of specs.

On paper, the Zwift Hub looks like a no-brainer for anyone starting their turbo training journey. But how does it fair in the real-world environment of high-intensity interval training and spinning around the virtual roads of Watopia?

Zwift Hub: Price And Availability

The Zwift Hub was released in October 2022 and costs $499/£449 – an attractive price that’s in stark contrast with other turbo trainer manufacturers, which have been putting their prices up over the last 12 months. It is the first hardware release from Zwift, which is best known for a training app first released in 2014, and is a direct competitor to the Wahoo Kickr Core (£599) and Tacx Flux S (£599.99). 

How I Tested The Zwift Hub

I’ve logged 10 hours of turbo training on the Zwift Hub, including free rides around the virtual worlds of Zwift’s Watopia, interval-based workout sessions and more. I’ve also tested the turbo on the Zwift, Wahoo X and TrainerRoad training apps. I have experience with most of the best turbo trainers and smart bikes, including the Zwift Hub’s direct rival, the Wahoo Kickr Core.

Background And Rivals

A lot of attention is paid to the top-tier turbo trainers produced by Wahoo and Tacx, and each year sees them release refined versions of the Wahoo Kickr, Tacx Neo 2 or their respective smart bikes that incrementally make further improvements. In reality, the closest most cyclists will get to these turbo trainers is in a shop window. In excess of $1,000/£1,000, these pioneering products are out of reach for most.

This is what makes the Zwift Hub such an interesting release. Instead of striving to have the best specs or the most immersive ride feel, Zwift has spotted a gap in the market for a relatively cheap turbo trainer that makes indoor cycling more affordable.

Mind you, the trainer itself is anything but cheap. The frame is made from robust metal and feels like it could withstand years of anaerobic efforts and sprint drills, while its two feet are secured by four substantial bolts.

Its maximum limits in power and gradient simulation are more than most users will ever need and its built-in power meter (accuracy of +/- 2.5%) opens up the world of FTP-based zones and structured training.

The built-in Bluetooth and ANT+ transmitters allow the trainer to sync to a variety of training apps and devices, and while these connection methods aren’t as secure as the Wi-Fi connection offered on the latest Wahoo Kickr V6, I didn’t experience any drop-outs during testing.

The Set Up

Once removed from the box, there are two stabilising feet that need to be installed to the main body of the turbo trainer, but the packaging also includes clear instructions and the required tools.

The trainer comes with a cassette installed and it’s possible to buy it already set up with an 8-, 9-, 10-, 11- or 12-speed cassette, or with no cassette if you use a SRAM XD/XDR driver. If the last sentence has gone over your head, count the number of cogs on your rear wheel and buy the model that matches. If you’re still unsure, a bike shop will be able to help with this.

The turbo trainer needs to be plugged into the mains to work and, on your first time using it, you’ll need to sync it to the Zwift Companion App (available on iOS and Android) to get the most up-to-date firmware.

From here, it’s ready to slot on your bike and take for a virtual spin. The turbo trainer connected seamlessly to my heart rate monitor and Zwift, and I was pedalling my way around Watopia within 30 minutes of unboxing.

However, the Zwift Hub doesn’t come with a handle and it doesn’t fold away, so it’s something you’ll want to set up in its final resting spot. If you plan to use it only during the colder months it’s easy to pack away again in the box for storage.

The Ride

The smart direct drive nature of the Zwift Hub has two benefits over wheel-on models. In simulation mode, it can alter the resistance of the turbo trainer to match the gradients of the virtual paths your avatar is riding around and then your bike’s gears make it easier, or harder. In ERG mode, you keep it in one gear and the resistance is automatically changed by a pre-set workout.

In both riding modes, the Zwift Hub was as good as its main competitors. It was quick to adapt to on-screen changes, could handle the big jumps in power output required during hard interval training, and was relatively quiet. It is bettered only by the top-tier turbo trainers because of their superior gradient simulations, but there are only a handful of road sections on Zwift where you can ride over 16% and you’ll be too busy gritting your teeth when tackling a gradient this steep to notice the Zwift Hub topping out. 

Its construction means that it doesn’t allow side-to-side swaying (unlike the Wahoo Kickr range from V5 onwards), but that’s nice to have rather than an absolute essential. As long as your turbo training mat has padding, you will get lateral movement anyway.

Is The Zwift Hub Worth It?

The main selling point of the Zwift Hub is its price. It’s significantly less than its direct competitor, but the fact that it comes with a cassette of your choice installed will save you at least another $30/£30.

While $499/£449 may still sound like a lot for a turbo trainer, I’d highly recommend saving up a bit longer if it means you can get a Zwift Hub rather than a cheaper wheel-on turbo trainer.

Whenever friends asked which turbo trainer they should buy, I used to say the Wahoo Kickr Core. It combined all the capabilities they would ever need and was a great piece of kit that would see them through numerous indoor training sessions, while being slightly more affordable than the top-of-the-range options. Now, I’ll be recommending the Zwift Hub. The training app’s hardwire debut has knocked its main competitor off the best all-round turbo trainer perch at the first time of asking, and has made turbo training more affordable and accessible in the process.

More About Zwift

• How To Get Started With Zwift Cycling
• Zwift Review: Is Zwift A Good Way To Get Fit?

Indoor cycling giant Zwift has launched its own turbo trainer, the Zwift Hub, which arrives with a clear purpose – to make setting up and using Zwift easier. The Zwift Hub will cost £449/$499, a competitive price for a direct drive (wheel-off) trainer, and will be available from 3rd October on Zwift’s website.

The Zwift Hub is based on the JetBlack Volt and looks set to be one of the best turbo trainers when it lands on the market, purely because it’s been designed to make the set-up process easier.

While experienced cyclists will be dab hands at popping the back wheel off their bike and installing it on a turbo trainer, many of us are less familiar with the mechanics of the process, and when terms like “cassette” and “axle adapters”  start cropping up it’s easy to decide that maybe you don’t want to ride your bike indoors after all (although our how to get started with Zwift guide can help).

With the Zwift Hub, you pick the cassette you need for your bike while buying it, with video guides to help you do that on the website, and the Zwift Hub then arrives with the cassette already installed for you. 

Working out which axle adapter your bike needs is also not always clear, so Zwift’s adapters are packaged on cards that have instructions on how to identify which one you need and install it in place.

Despite not cycling outdoors, aside from the occasional commute, I love cycling on Zwift and have done so for years without knowing what cassettes or adapters are, because someone once set up my turbo for me and I haven’t touched it since. Hopefully the assistance you get with setting up the Zwift Hub will open up indoor cycling to more beginners like me. It even has colour-coded feet so you can be sure you’ve attached them to the right leg of the turbo trainer.

The Zwift Hub will also connect to other indoor cycling platforms such as Wahoo Systm or TrainerRoad, and while it is beginner-friendly, it has the specs to satisfy experienced cyclists too. The maximum resistance is 1,800 watts, and the power measurements are accurate to within 2.5%. The maximum gradient it can simulate is 16% and a forthcoming update will allow the Zwift Hub to calibrate itself.

Zwift has been expected to launch its own smart exercise bike for some time, but that plan has been shelved for now. Instead, the Zwift Hub is arriving to make it simpler for people to get into indoor cycling on the platform.

The treadmill gets a bad rap. Sure, running on the spot isn’t the most exciting way to run, but it allows to get your training done easily when time is tight or the weather is frightful, and there are many ways to entertain yourself during an indoor session. These range from classics like sticking on your favourite playlist or podcast, to more immersive experiences like Zwift, where you watch your avatar run in a virtual world.

If that sounds like it might be complicated to set up, don’t worry, it really isn’t. And to help you get started, here’s some advice from Zwift group run leader Tim Grose, who, when we spoke to him in April 2019, had logged 1,655km on the app and is the man behind the Power Of 10 and Run Britain results and ranking websites. We’ve also logged some Ks since then, and you can read about our experience once Grose shares the 411.

What You Need

To get going on Zwift you need a device to use the Zwift app on, a way to tell Zwift how fast you are going, and access to a treadmill – the good news is any one will do. You can also link a heart rate strap to see how hard you are working live on screen

Although the Zwift app is available on multiple platforms (iOS, Android, PC, Mac and Apple TV), I find the most practical device is an iPad because it has a good screen and you can easily take it to the gym or use it at home if you have your own treadmill. You’ll also need a small device called a footpod which clips on to one of your running shoes to tell Zwift how fast you are going. Zwift itself sells the relatively cheap RunPod or you can get the more feature-packed and expensive Stryd.

If you get really into Zwift and want to get your own treadmill, you can get smart ones like the Technogym MYRUN, which convey the treadmill’s exact speed and your cadence direct to Zwift so you don’t need a footpod. And if you are able to get your own treadmill you can also think about more immersive big-screen set-ups, while the really adventurous can stream their runs live on platforms like YouTube and Facebook.

Find out more about these picks in my guide to the best treadmills.

How To Start Running

Open the Zwift app on your chosen device and either create an account – Zwift Run is free at the moment – or login. Then you need to pair your footpod with Zwift and, if you have one, your heart rate strap. Select which route you want to run on, click “Run” and start running on your treadmill – you should see your avatar running on Zwift.

How To Get Involved In Group Runs

My favourite part of Zwift is that you can run with other people remotely, and the best way of doing that is to join one of the several group runs that take place each week. Each run normally has four pace groups, ranging from A (fastest) to D (slowest), so most runners should be able to find a suitable one.

There are three main group runs each week. On Monday we have Monday Run Club which is a “stay together” group social run where we typically do a mild progression run, starting slow and building up the pace gradually. We try to have some chat on the way using the Zwift in-game text messaging. On Wednesday we step up the pace in Workout Wednesday Run and do a traditional interval session like 10 x 400m. Then on Saturdays there is Run in the Park, which was the first ever group run. It is also a progression run and has an optional 500m race at the end.

Each of these events is held at multiple times in the day to cater for different time zones, and these are not the only group runs. We also have a few popular run/walk events and you can even set up your own group run with the Meetup feature.

Every month we try to have a special event on Zwift which can be a race for some or just a challenge for others. In January we had a 10K race, in February a festival with both a half marathon and 5K and in March we had our first marathon event, although I have to admit I went for the easier half marathon option!

To find out more details and to sign up, you can use the Zwift Companion app (App Store and Google Play) or visit the Zwift website. Another great resource for Zwift Run is the Zwift Runners Facebook group that I help to administer. Head there with any questions or problems you may have, as well other other Zwift-related stuff and events.

The Best Running Routes On Zwift

1. Watopia 5K Run Path

Watopia is Zwift’s virtual world, complete with volcanoes, glass underwater tunnels, jungles and mountains. It is also home to the largest runners-only course on Zwift. It is an exact 5K loop and has a seaside feel with a large part next to a beach and a section on a raised platform that takes you out to sea. It is the best place to meet up casually with other runners and not feel overrun by bike riders whizzing by.

2. New York

The other dedicated running route in Zwift is modelled on a real-world path around a lake in Central Park called the Shuman Trail. It is not that long – you need to go round twice for 5K – but Zwift has lots of other routes that take in some of it. It is a good place to see other runners as well as experiencing the rest of the New York course, including the futuristic elevated glass roads.

3. Find Some Hills

Runners nearly always go slower than riders on Zwift, but on steep hills things can even out, especially since matching the incline of the course is only optional for runners on Zwift. So if you can’t find a group run but want some company try selecting a route takes you up one of Zwift’s major climbs: the Alpe du Zwift (modelled on Alpe d’Huez), the epic KOM on Watopia, or Box Hill on the London course and see how many riders you can pick off! Remember to give a Ride On – a virtual thumbs up – to each one though.

Zwift Running Review

Having access to a treadmill during the COVID-19 lockdown has led me to become very well acquainted with the world of Zwift running. After overcoming a few early frustrations, the platform has really grown on me.

The frustrations arose mostly from trying to get a reliable link to Zwift, since both the Zwift RunPod and Runn Smart Treadmill Sensor consistently let me down. The RunPod was often not found at all when setting up, and although the Runn sensor would be found so I could connect it, the signal frequently dropped during runs so my avatar kept stopping. I imagine with persistence either option could have worked, and perhaps they’d link better to a phone or tablet rather than the set-up I was using (a MacBook Pro with an ANT+ receiver in a USB port), but I was ready to give up on Zwift running full stop until I tried the Stryd footpod.

Zwift had no trouble finding and connecting to that, and I only had to calibrate it once. This meant I could take to the treadmill every day and run in Watopia knowing that I wouldn’t have to spend ten minutes at the start of my run faffing with sensors trying to get them to work. I have a baby in the house, so every minute of exercise time is precious.

It was a great solution for me, but it may not be right for everyone. The Zwift RunPod is just £37.99 and the Runn sensor is £77, while Stryd costs £218. Unless you also want the Stryd for its running power measurements and reliable, better-than-GPS pace stats when outside, it’s overkill for a Zwift set-up.

However, if you do have a Stryd or are able to get a cheaper sensor to work reliably, running in Zwift is great – definitely an upgrade to a standard treadmill session. With Zwift displayed on a TV in front of my treadmill, I found the colourful world of Watopia in particular surprisingly immersive.

When I arranged an ersatz group run with a friend who also uses Zwift it really came into its own. Running together on screen while chatting on WhatsApp was a lovely break from all the solo running I’d been doing during the COVID-19 lockdown. Whether I’d feel as positive about it at a time when I could just meet friends for a run outdoors, I’m not so sure, but certainly it would be a fun way to catch up with friends who don’t live locally.

The onscreen stats are also presented well. You get a breakdown of each split you’ve run at the side of the screen, plus the time you’re on track to run in your current split. At the top of the screen you see total run stats like time and distance, and you can also link up a heart rate sensor to get your heart rate and zone on screen. There are also workout options, and when you set targets you get a virtual finish line to run through at the end of each interval, which is a nice touch.

There’s even a track you can use for sessions in Watopia; while I didn’t think there would be much point to running in circles when the whole virtual world can be as flat and free as running on a track in the real world is, I did find myself choosing that option from time to time.

Zwift will never appeal to runners like it does to cyclists. When riding, the app can control your turbo trainer or exercise bike to account for the hills in the virtual worlds, which it can’t do with treadmills.

A home indoor cycling set-up also tends to be cheaper than a treadmill. And aside from a couple of run-specific options, the routes on Zwift are mostly aimed at cyclists, which sometimes means long straights where the landscape doesn’t change much. That’s fine when it’s just one or two kilometres of a 30km ride, but not so good when it’s almost half your 5K run.

That said, if you are lucky enough to have a treadmill and a reliable sensor, Zwift is a great way to spice up your indoor running. The app itself is free to use at the moment (cyclists pay £12.99 a month) so it’s definitely worth a try.

As a runner I’ve always envied the wealth of indoor training options that cyclists have. For one thing a good-quality exercise bike (or turbo trainer you can ride your bike on) is cheaper and smaller than a treadmill, making it a more accessible domestic cardio option. For another, there are a lot more entertainment options for indoor cyclists, if only because it’s easier to watch TV when sitting on a bike than using a treadmill.

Virtual training app Zwift is one of the best options cyclists have for making indoor training more exciting – and although Zwift caters to runners as well, the point about affording a treadmill fitting in your house still stands.

To use Zwift you connect a smart turbo trainer or exercise bike to the app, and it’s this that controls your avatar, which rides in a virtual world. The main Zwift world is called Watopia, an island with underwater tunnels, snow-capped mountains, a desert and a volcano, among other environments. Alongside Watopia you have access to cycle routes in London, New York and select World Championships courses in Yorkshire, Innsbruck and Virginia, with one of these guest worlds available each day.

Zwift will automatically control a smart trainer to simulate the hills your avatar is riding on, creating a very realistic and immersive experience that’s absolutely if you want to keep riding for cyclists looking to train through the winter to prepare for their outdoor rides when the weather gets warmer.

Zwift’s appeal to cyclists is obvious, but what about the average person who’s just looking to get fit? Since Zwift is relatively cheap to set up (costs are detailed below) and allows you to train at home in a convenient way that’s also more exciting than simply sitting on an exercise bike or rower, I thought it could be a great option.

After a few months of riding on the platform, I think Zwift would suit some people perfectly as a get-fit-at-home option – but the heavy, and understandable, skew towards keen cyclists can be a little off-putting for others. If you don’t get sucked into the world of cycling, indoors and out, you may struggle to find the motivation to keep at it.

The Set Up

I’m going to go ahead and assume you already have a bike (ideally a road bike, although a hybrid will probably suffice – check before investing). If you don’t, factor that price into your initial budget. If you do, you can choose between a cheaper wheel-on turbo trainer and a pricier direct drive trainer, where you remove your back wheel and attach your bike directly to the trainer. This creates a more realistic feel to your ride and stops you wearing out your back tyre cycling indoors.

A smart trainer will automatically communicate with Zwift to add resistance when you’re climbing hills in Watopia, and let you freewheel down hills, which really enriches the experience. You can opt for a cheap turbo and then buy sensors that will provide Zwift with your power and speed/cadence in the app, but it’s far more enjoyable with a smart trainer and I’d say it’s worth the extra outlay if your budget can stretch that far.

For the purpose of this review Zwift provided me with an Elite Direto smart direct drive trainer, which is usually available for around £500 to £650 online. That took care of all the required cycling sensors, and I already had a chest strap heart rate monitor I could link to the app once I bought a cheap ANT+ dongle for my laptop.

The trainer and bike are the key bits of kit, but I also put an old TV in my garage to link to my laptop, because the bigger the screen you play Zwift on, the more immersive it is. It’s also worth having a mat under the trainer and a fan, because indoor riding is about as sweaty an activity as there is.

The Zwift subscription itself costs £12.99 a month. You can set everything up for less with a standard smart turbo, which will set you back something in the region of £200 to £300.

If you don’t have a bike, or don’t want to attach your bike to a trainer, you can opt for a smart exercise bike like the Wattbike Atom for Zwift. This will set you back a lot of money, however, at £1,599.

Once I had all the gear, it took about 30 to 40 minutes to get my bike rigged up. I’d not used a direct drive turbo before and am not what you’d call handy, so most people would probably get this done more quickly. Most people probably wouldn’t have drawn blood from their hand in two places during the process either… Anyway, after that mild palaver, it was time to ride.

See related 

• How To Get Fit At Home
• How To Get Started With Zwift Running
• The Beginner’s Guide To Turbo Training
• The Best Turbo Trainers 2021: Which Direct Drive, Magnetic And Smart Indoor Trainers Are Worth Buying
• Savage Turbo Trainer Workouts From Pro Cyclists

The Experience

I was not expecting Zwift to be as fun as it is. I like being outdoors, but cycling outdoors in London isn’t always that enjoyable for the obvious reasons. The best part of riding in Watopia is that you can cycle at whatever speed you like safely.

Easy rides on Zwift are a joy, pootling along admiring the virtual landscape. That’s especially the case early on when you’re exploring the different areas of Watopia and the other worlds. I was using Zwift for one to three 30-minute sessions a week, and at that slow pace it takes a while to explore all the routes, though you could see everything a lot quicker if you knocked out two or three 50km rides.

Throughout the Zwift worlds there are little mini challenges, like a King of the Mountains segment up a climb or a sprint on a flat section. These add a little spice to rides, because even if I was on an easy cycle I’d feel compelled to put in some effort for those short sections.

If you choose a particular route on the start screen you don’t have to do anything to navigate around while riding, but if you want to explore the map on your own terms the best way to do so is with the Zwift companion app. This allows you to make turns when you come across them and shows where you are on the map.

One feature I didn’t expect was that you have to level up on Zwift to be able to visit every area of Watopia whenever you want to. Certain routes, including the daunting but exciting Alpe Du Zwift, a 1,036m climb that recreates the famous Alpe d’Huez, remains locked to me until I have hit level 12 yet. It takes a while to progress through the levels when only using Zwift for short rides a couple of times a week, because you earn points through distance covered. You can, however, reach the locked areas of the map if you enter group rides, workouts and races, or if you ride with a more experienced Zwift user who has hit the required level.

Group events are a key part of Zwift and there are a lot to join every day at times to suit every rider. There is also a range of rides to suit all abilities, with each having an advertised category from A to E. The letters correspond to your functional threshold power in watts per kilo, which is complicated, but basically E is the easiest and once you’re in a group pride you’ll be expected to stay in a certain power range so you stick with the group. You can see your watts per kilo rating onscreen at all times, so there’s no excuse for not staying in the right zone, and if you fail to do so repeatedly you’ll be kicked out of the group ride (after many warnings).

There are also lots of workouts and training plans that you can follow on-demand on Zwift. There are long and short workouts, and plans designed to help you work towards cycling events, or improve a particular aspect of your cycling. All of the workouts are designed around your functional threshold power (FTP), which Zwift will detect automatically while you pedal, but it’s best to do a proper FTP test on the app before you start on the workouts to make sure they’re tailored correctly to your ability. The FTP test is fairly brutal, be warned.

If any or all of the above sounds quite jargon-heavy, it did to me too. This is one downside of using Zwift just to get fit: it’s all aimed at cyclists so things like FTP are central to everything, and all the workouts and plans are built to help you nail cycling events rather than just, say, burn a load of calories. The interval workouts will have the same effect as doing a HIIT class with a peppy, charismatic instructor on a luxury Peloton spinning bike, but on Zwift it’s all couched in cycling terms that take a little while to get used to. Over time you might well get dragged into the world of cycling and start considering entering outdoor events, but if you’re purely using Zwift as a way to log your 150 minutes of cardio activity a week, the jargon might be a bit off-putting.

However, Zwift is still a brilliant option for people trying to get fit at home, and it will probably appeal to a different kind of person than something like Peloton. If you love being out in the open air when possible, actually cycling in a virtual world will appeal more than indoor spinning sessions, as odd as that might sound since you are still indoors. Simply riding around Watopia is tremendously enjoyable, moving from the desert to the forest and then up a mountain in the space of one ride, and if you can get a TV rigged up to play it on, it’s highly immersive.

A large upfront investment is required, but it’s a lot cheaper than Peloton (bike £1,990, monthly unlimited classes £39) and will even out with a gym membership after a few months (or years if you use a budget gym). The ongoing cost of Zwift is also low, and with an indoor trainer you’re not tied just to the Zwift platform – there are others like TrainerRoad to explore, and you can try spinning classes from other apps too.

There is one other question that you might well ask – why not just ride a bike outdoors? And of course you can, but when the weather is bad, or you want to do a hard workout in a short space of time, or you’re housebound for whatever reason, or when you just fancy riding without having to worry about other road users at all times, there’s Zwift, and it’s excellent.

Join Zwift | £12.99 a month

Whether it’s running, cycling or rowing, doing your cardio training indoors can be challenging. That challenge is often boredom – if you do anything in one place for long enough, it becomes as much a test of mental endurance as a physical one.

Cyclists have long been able to overcome this problem thanks to an array of options to spice up their turbo training, and chief among these is Zwift, a virtual world where you can enjoy group rides with thousands of other cyclists. If you’re a runner who has looked with envy at cyclists in the past, there’s good news: you can now run in Zwift’s virtual world as well.

The feature has been available on Zwift for a while in beta, but its official launch date is 8th February. You won’t have to pay to use the running mode on Zwift for the time being, which means you just need to source a treadmill and footpod, which links to Zwift via Bluetooth or ANT+ and controls the speed of your running avatar.

We tried Zwift using a Stryd footpod (£199.99), one of the more expensive options. The Stryd pod also measures your running power – an advanced metric that can used to measure the intensity of your runs more accurately than pace or heart rate – but you don’t need that for Zwift. A cheaper option like the Milestone footpod (£29.99) works just fine for speed.

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You can also link a heart rate monitor to Zwift, which will then display your heart rate and heart rate zone during your run – useful if you’re doing interval efforts.

Once you’ve clipped on your footpod, fired up the Zwift app and linked the footpod to it, you need to calibrate your speed by running for one minute at a comfortable pace. Then you’re good to go.

You can dive straight in to Watopia – Zwift’s virtual world – at random or select a certain route and/or workout from the pre-run settings. Right now there are only a few running workouts available, but more should arrive soon, along with the ability to create your own workout.

It’s easy to set up and get going, but the experience of looking at your phone resting on the treadmill does leave a little to be desired. The small screen doesn’t really show off the virtual delights of Watopia, which has a volcano, its own mountain range and (our favourite bit) many underwater tunnels.

It’s also a bit hard to see your stats when running, especially during fast intervals when the treadmill’s juddering moves your phone around. That juddering also had an annoying habit of locking our phone screen sometimes, which meant pausing and restarting the run in Zwift. No biggie – until your hands get sweaty from running.

Running in Zwift’s virtual world at home would be glorious, we have no doubt, but the gym experience doesn’t match up. Although if your gym’s treadmills have tablet holders, that would upgrade the experience considerably.

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Even so, Zwift on a phone is an upgrade to simply running on the treadmill, especially when doing interval workouts. Use the preset workouts on Zwift and it will guide you through the sprint sections with start and finish lines on the roads of Watopia – a handy motivational tool. Zwift also gives the pace you should be running at during the sprint sections, which is based on the times you give it for how fast you run distances like 5K and 10K. These times should be your current estimated time for those distances, not your all-time PBs, or you’ll find that you struggle to hit the paces Zwift demands.

Once you can create your own workouts on the app we think this will be the main benefit of Zwift for runners using it on a phone at the gym. There is also the option to join group runs, but that again would benefit from a larger screen and there aren’t so many of them at the moment – just a handful each day.

The preset courses on Zwift are currently designed for cyclists, which means they’re pretty long, though there are a few that are 10K and under. Obviously if cycling on Zwift you fly along the roads pretty quickly, but when running you can be on a long stretch of Watopia Tarmac for a while, which rather defeats the object of trying to escape treadmill boredom by using the app. Dedicated running routes are coming soon though.

Zwift is not going to be the same experience for runners as it is for cyclists, because many more cyclists will use the app at home – turbo trainers being more affordable and smaller than treadmills. However, it is something that we think every runner should try at the gym at least once while it’s free – the cost of a footpod is worth it, especially as it’s a useful bit of kit to have for all treadmill sessions anyway, because you can link them to a running watch to get more accurate distance readings for indoor running.

Once Zwift upgrades the running experience on the app with dedicated routes and custom workouts, it will become a very useful training tool for running during the winter. However, we still find it hard to picture paying the £12.99 a month it costs cyclists to use Zwift for running, unless you have a home treadmill or at least a tablet-friendly treadmill at your gym. Zwift is yet to confirm how much the running subscription service will cost when it rolls out in late 2018. While it’s free, though, we’re definitely going to enjoy moving our winter runs from the cold, wet streets of London to the sun-drenched paths of Watopia.

When the weather outside turns frightful, indoor training becomes a very appealing option for runners and cyclists – but the trade-off between escaping the worst of the elements and dealing with the boredom of long, solo sessions on treadmills and turbo trainers is still a tricky one.

Cyclists, on the other hand, have been able to reduce the boredom of indoor training for some time now thanks to Zwift, an interactive game that plays host to thousands of riders every day.

Zwift links with a sensor that lets players control an onscreen avatar with their pedalling – the faster they go in real life, the faster their avatar moves on screen – but the real fun is in joining the many group rides and races available each day.

This kind of gamification is the perfect antidote to the boredom of whirring the pedals alone. It’s a new way to make your exercise social, as Zwift CEO Eric Min explains: “It’s not gadgets and apps that motivate people to be fit or be active, it’s other people. What we’ve done is just bring other people into a virtual space.”

And now runners will be able to get the benefits of Zwift when they’re forced off the streets and onto treadmills. You can already use Zwift for running via an Easter egg released in an app update in November (and hundreds already do), but a more formal release is expected in early spring.

The set-up for cyclists on Zwift can be fairly complicated. You need a bike, a compatible indoor trainer and a Bluetooth power/cadence sensor. Plus the Zwift subscription, which is $10 (about £8) a month, and a screen to watch your avatar on (or an iOS device with the app, which isn’t currently available on Android).

It all adds up to something that’s designed for pretty serious riders, but it should be more accessible for runners.

“It’s actually easier to run on Zwift than it is to cycle,” says Min, who had just completed a Zwift run before speaking to Coach.

“I used an iPhone, Apple Watch and footpod. I think we can get it down to your iPhone and Apple Watch, or iPhone and sensor. That would work on any treadmill. Eventually we’ll migrate to treadmills that will connect directly to Zwift.”

A Bluetooth footpod like the Polar Stride Sensor will still set you back £60 and you’ll obviously also need access to a treadmill and the Zwift subscription. But if it opens up a new world of virtual running to make treadmill session more palatable, that’s something many runners will be happy to accept. Running with companions, even virtual ones, makes the distance fly by.

“I guarantee that every 15 minutes there will be a 5K or 10K run with a couple of hundred people lining up to run together virtually,” says Min. “It’s happening already with cycling.”

“[Imagine] runners from all over the world going out for their 5K. I think there was a virtual Parkrun this past weekend on Zwift – maybe the weather was foul or something! There was maybe 30 or 40 runners that did it together.”

The other advantage for more serious runners could be accessing coaching, something that’s already happening with cyclists on Zwift.

“There’s nothing stopping a coach talking live to the runners as they're doing their session – a group run with an instructor who may or may not be running,” Min says. “It opens up a whole new way of training with others from the comfort of your home or the gym.”

For more info on Zwift and a free seven-day trial subscription, visit zwift.com