Hi, interested in joining the zwift community.
I’m looking for a bike or bike setup that integrates with zwift, I only have a £400 budget, what can I get for that, is it worth it?
Thank you in advance.
Craig
Hi @Craig_Bagnall and welcome to the forum.
Are you looking to buy a turbo trainer? I recently purchased a Kickr Snap for about £420, and I can highly recommend it. Works perfectly with Zwift. The Kickr is worth about 10x more than the bike I’ve got on it 
I’m after a exercise bike if I’m honest.
Hi Craig. Did you look here? Among these supported bikes, you can search online for any that meet your budget. It looks like the only ones that automatically control resistance (i.e. automatically making it feel like you’re going uphill when you’re going uphill in the game) are the Tacx, the Wahoo, and the Wattbike Atom—all of which are going to be way above what you want to spend. If someone else has good info for you, great. But I’d say do a quick search based on the link I gave and a little online shopping, and make another post below here, listing the bikes that meet your budget. After that, the discussion might be more fruitful in terms of “is it worth it?”.
Yeah like you say, pretty expensive.
How fruitful are speed and cadence sensors on a spin bike?
I haven’t looked exhaustively through the whole range of spin bikes, but (assuming the bike itself doesn’t send speed/cadence data)… if you imagine a typical modern spin bike with fairings covering everything except the pedals/cranks, I don’t know where you would attach a speed or cadence sensor (?). Typically you’d attach the sensor to the chainstay (bike frame in the rear) and then some kind of magnet on the spokes–but you don’t have those parts on a spin bike.
Do you have a regular bicycle? Doesn’t haven’t to be fancy. If so, it’s pretty straightforward to get up and running on Zwift for not much money. Or is there a particular reason you want to use a spin bike?
Yeah I want to use a spin bike, so it’s stationary in the house, can be moved around and can also follow spinning videos on YouTube aswell as the races/classes in zwift.
A spin bike isn’t going to give you a good experience with Zwift. Try a search for “spin bike” on here and you’ll see.
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Thanks.
Would any stationary bike give me what I’m after?
I’m told this works with zwiftt
Ebay item 392710741455
Seems too good to be true
I’m told this works with zwiftt
Not mentioned (in the link in my reply above) by Zwift as being supported. Probably too good to be true.
@Craig_Bagnall re: one of your posts above:
- stationary in the house Any configuration could do this (i.e. spin or regular with turbo)
- can be moved around Any config could do this (but regular with turbo is easier)
- can also follow spinning videos on YouTube Any config could do this
- races in zwift Maybe any config could do this, but you really should have accurate power reporting at least, which a general spin bike won’t have; otherwise you don’t really know if your results are honest (important both for you, so that you can gauge your ability/progress, as well as for others, whom you may “beat” if your system is over-reporting power/speed).
- classes in zwift By “classes” do you mean “structured workouts”? You really should have accurate power reporting at least, which a general spin bike won’t have. Without accurate power, the structured workout in Zwift won’t know what to demand of you so that you train efficiently/effectively. The system will ask you to do more than just “ride hard”–it’ll want you to be producing specific power targets for specific durations (sometimes specific difficult outputs, sometimes specific easy outputs), so as to train your body systems effectively.
Thanks mate, appreciate your time.
I think somewhere needs to be pinned a version of progression of integration of cycling apparatus. In addition to the info above, following is my standard reply:
Cheapest assuming you have a bicycle already, i.e., any bike will do as long as wheels are 24" and up (I do not think a BMX bike would work with small wheels):
Fluid trainer such as a Saris Fluid2 or Kurt Kinetic Fluid and a speed sensor. Depending on where you are these are found used for ~$150. Get fluid…do not mess around with magnetic. Other option is to check Zwift for compatible trainers. Somewhere on their website. Compatible means they have a Speed vs resistance curve for the trainer and Fluid trainers are reasonably repeatable.
Next Best:
A much experience can be had with a wheel on SMART trainer such as Wahoo Kickr Snap or Saris M1/M2. Search around and you should be able find one used unless you are in the woods. Wheel on means it will work with just about any bike. If you have a road bike get a trainer wheel…$30 on Amazon or wherever. If a mountain/hybrid, get a slick with a solid casing and not a glue on tread. The glue will melt from the heat. Elite and TACX have their versions and are probably more available in Europe.
Much better:
Direct drive but if you have less than 7-8 speeds, might not be possible. Or at the least, difficult/PITA.
Money to burn:
Get a bike: Wahoo Kickr, Tacx, Watt bike (although some issues with Watt bike per Zwift forums) and Stages.
SPIN Bikes: DO NOT GET A REGULAR SPIN BIKE WHERE YOU MANUALLY CONTROL RESISTANCE…SCHWINN IC4/8, PELOTON, ETC. It will become an exercise in frustration. Some of the higher end models might have cadence, speed and even power…but DO THEY Broadcast. I do not think Peloton broadcasts even though they have loads of data. But if my wife can do 300 watts on a Peloton…I would really suspect the accuracy.
If you find something and are not sure…ASK before purchasing. Just because the device claims Zwift compatibility does not necessarily mean it is so…SCHWINN…Here or on Zwift forums people will readily help you out.
Good luck…it can be addictive…it got me to climb the Zwift Alp and I have weight, age, and inability to breathe working against me.
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I think somewhere needs to be pinned a version of progression of integration of cycling apparatus.
Completely agree. Would be very helpful for prospective users, and maybe those looking to upgrade. You could have general guidelines (bullet list?) like what you posted, and in each category, subcategory links to forum- or other reviews of the various systems/trainers in that category.
I agree with the above. I put a few links on this past post. I recommend a used kurt kinetic road machine fluid trainer.
You can also get a decent bike with gears for less than $150 and be within your budget after purchasing all the necessary accessories.
Yeah, the reason I wanted a static spin bike is because I really enjoy spinning too with lots of online classes so I have plenty of options.
But do you NEED a spin bike to follow along with the online classes? I think, know rather, you can use a real bike on a fluid “dumb” trainer for an online spin class and get the same result. Instead of turning a dial to add resistance just change gears. The bonus being that you can also use the bike/trainer for Zwift.
As mentioned above, spin bikes don’t work well with Zwift because the program has no way of knowing how much resistance you have set with the little dial on the spin bike.
Not even with a stages power meter?
I’m just thinking what setup would best suit, I don’t have a road bike so I would have to purchase one of those aswell as a trainer, and if I was to get a trainer I’d want a smart one.
A power meter is an option, but your budget will need to increase.