Advice for a starter

[Otto_Destruct (CJ)]

I’ll quote myself: Zwift on a spin bike - #24 by Otto_Destruct

@Otto_Destruct

OK, I’m going to be “The Bad Guy” in this thread and say the difficult thing.

If you are within the return period for that bike, return it.

Using Zwift on a spin bike is hollow and unsatisfying - the statistics on this are clear: most people who try this eventually get bored with it and go back to watching Netflix while spinning because most spin bikes don’t have the necessary smarts to be controlled directly by Zwift.

Adding a power meter to a bike that doesn’t have one is a multi-hundred to thousand dollar upgrade, which still won’t get you smart control. (hills in game don’t feel like hills on the bike)

If you really want to dive in, the Zwift Hub is probably the best value going in smart trainers. Get “any bike that fits you” from the used market. (with some caveats - it can’t be a Walmart Huffy, needs to be of a certain quality level)

TL;DR: buy a smart trainer (Zwift Hub is good value) and put a real bicycle on it.

Your mountain bike, as someone else commented, may not having the gearing necessary to work well with Zwift so you could be looking at another bike.