Hello,
I am thinking of getting a Life Fitness IC5 (link). Ths Bike hs BLE and Ant+ and compute Watts.
Would it be possible to connect the Life Fitness IC5 to the Zwift Companion App?
Thanks,
Karim
Hi Karim,
Iâm sorry, the Life Fitness IC5 is not a currently supported bike for Zwift. Iâll gladly add this model to our list of requested trainers, though!
Hereâs a link to our hardware page so you can see what trainers/bikes are supported on Zwift. It looks like you could still go with the Life Fitness IC 8 Indoor Cycle. Yay!
If you need any additional help on Zwift, feel free to submit a support ticket. 
Ride On!
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On this website, they are saying that it works when using an Ant+ dongle + iPhone. Can Zwift confirm that to us?
KompatibilitÀt mit Apps von Drittanbietern (z.B. Zwift & Strava)
Ăber ANT+ können die Life Fitness powered by ICGÂź IC5-IC7 Indoor Bikes und der IC8 Power Trainer mit Apps von Drittanbietern (z.B. Zwift & Strava) auf externen EndgerĂ€ten verbunden werden. Bei einer Verbindung mit einem Apple-GerĂ€t wird fĂŒr die DatenĂŒbertragung ein ANT+ Dongle benötigt. Es werden folgende Daten an Apps von Drittanbietern gesendet: Leistung(Watt), Zeit, Herzfrequenz (HZ) und RPM (Umdrehungen pro Minute).
Translation from Google:
ompatibility with third-party apps (such as Zwift & Strava) The Life Fitness powered by ICGÂź IC5 IC7 Indoor Bikes and the IC8 Power Trainer can be connected via ANT + to third-party apps (such as Zwift & Strava) on external devices. When connecting to an Apple device, an ANT + dongle is required for data transfer. The following data is sent to third-party apps: power (watts), time, heart rate (HZ), and RPM (revolutions per minute).
I would also be interested in a connection for Zwift and Ic5.
Just got a new IC5 from life fitness and I can confirm that with a ANT+ dongle plugged into my Mac Zwift will pick it up as a power source and cadence.
I am totally new to Zwift riding so yet to work out how to calibrate speed (if its possible or if I even need to)
I have the IC5 and purchased an ANT+ usb dongle and plugged this into my Windows 10 laptop (Surface Pro 6). I also purchased a Polar H7 heart rate monitor which works with the IC5. I now run Zwift on the laptop which is plugged into the HDMI on an old TV and it all works perfectly.
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I contacted zwift about the IC6 and they stated that they were only supporting the IC8 despite others being perfectly capable. They donât seem to grasp the concept of not wanting to buy an entirely different marked up system when the lower tiers should work. This is great news that a dongle may work after all. Thanks for the confirmation.
@Lauren_MZwift Whatâs so different between IC5, 6, 7, 8 that Zwift does not support?
I have the LifeFitness IC5 and it works (power/cadence but not âsmartâ, obviously.)
You can use a USB ANT+ dongle with a laptop.
OR:
I use the CABLE bluetooth dongle/adapter which takes the ANT+ signal and makes it bluetooth. It then automatically connects the IC5 to Zwift through my AppleTV.
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Can somebody explain me how you get a Life Fitness IC5 indoor bike working with Zwift? I bought a TacX Ant + dongle to plug into my windows 10 computer, but I donât see how I can pair the power source in the Zwift app.
Hope you can help me with this!
Greetings,
Marc
@Marc_LeJeune and all on this thread:
Many flavors of Bluetooth and ANT exist, and not all of them work with Zwift. If the chipsets in these bikes arenât capable of the protocols Zwift uses, it will not work.
Zwift and other third party fitness apps have changed the landscape of the exercise equipment industry. Moving forward, youâll see newer models work perfectly, and itâs possible that Life Fitness will update their popular IC5 model. But as of model year 2020, the IC5 is not on our list of supported bikes.
I recently bought the IC6 with the ânewâ Wattrate TFT 2.0. Zwift detected and connected to it without any problems. Not sure if that works with the older models of the Wattrate computer. The one thing that is a bit weird about it is that you have to connect Zwift while you are on the Wattrateâs home screen and after connecting you need to start a Watt training on the Wattrate. Then it works nicely, transmitting power and cadence. In theory it would transmit HR as well, but I donât have a sensor connected.
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Stephen - this is inspiring! I have on order a second hand IC6, but it comes with the older wattrate computer. I may look into upgrading to the newer version (if thatâs even possible)
Can I ask what you are running Zwift on, and do you need anything else to connect the wattrate 2 to it? I keep reading about an Ant + dongle, but I donât seem to be able to find one with a lightening connector for an iPad - or is that only needed for a PC?
Iâm using my old ipad mini 2 (was surprised it actually runs on that). The connection is purely via Bluetooth. Nothing else needed.
Amazing⊠I just need my bike to hurry up and arrive now
Hello, I also have an IC5 from the year 2018. I do not care to connect the PC to the iPhone or Android tablet ⊠the case is that I want to make it work. It would be good to get something clear, if someone has managed to put some photos or a short video and tutorial on how it works and what is necessary. Thanks colleagues, if we can get something clear, it would be appreciated by other users
My response in another thread answers your specific question: Connect Life Fitness IC8 with Zwift - #7 by Howdy_Doody
It summarizes all of the possible ways to connect the Life Fitness IC6, IC7, & IC8 bikes to Zwift. It includes what is necessary to upgrade to the TFT 2.0 console, which I have done successfully with an IC7. I donât believe that the IC5 and lower can be upgraded to this new console. But, the other information in that response might provide an alternative solution.
You can connect Life Fitness bikes (IC5, IC6 etc.) using a Viiiiiva Heart Rate monitor. I just used it to connect my Cybex IC5. You connect the bikesâ power (Watts) via Ant+ and then you can use the heart rate monitor bridging capability to connect Power, Cadence and heart rate via Bluetooth to an Apple TV 4K. I found the Cadence wonky so I taped a Wahoo Cadence sensor to the left crank and all is working perfectly.
Anyone connect to your phone via bluetooth then to tv with Chromcast?
Thank you Stephan! Just ordered an IC6 and was starting to fret that Iâd never connect to anything! ROUVY said ânoâ to Life Fitness IC6 connectivity. Iâll be sure to add anything useful I learn once it arrives and is setup.
By any chance, does the IC6 connect to Apple Watch for HR?
Cheers.
I donât have an apple watch. For me my old polar strap connects via ant+.