Hey everyone,
Have a friend who likes the rides I have shown him I have done, he has a Schwinn IC Pro bike, basic, nothing fancy (Spin bike)
He already has an Apple TV / Apple watch which he can use for Zwift and HR (i was reading some people having recent issues though with Apple watches?)
What else would he need to track his rides? Just a Cadence sensor like the Wahoo?
You don’t need cadence (its nice to have though), you need a speed sensor and a supported trainer, unless he gets a smart trainer, then no need for the speed sensor. Or a power meter.
Oh is this a spin bike?
This will be helpful to check for a compatible trainer.
Yup, Spin bike, as basic and simple as it comes
So looks like a power meter of some kind will be needed
https://support.zwift.com/en_us/power-meters-Bk7hoXWlS
He would need a power meter then, if one will fit on that spin bike. Pedal based is probably the easiest, but they are hundreds of dollars. Might be cheaper to get a used road bike and a dumb trainer with a speed sensor.
Would a Speed / Cadence sensor be of some use? I presume wattage can not be “reverse” calculated from one of those in Zwift? Assuming that could even be mounted some how on the fly wheel…
Was just reading over power and seems pedals are the way to go, but as you said, they get pricey!
From what I’ve seen here on the forums, it is hard to affix a speed sensor to most spin bikes since the flywheel is usually a solid heavy wheel.
And Zwift doesn’t have a power curve for it anyway, so it would not be accurate.