Overweight non cyclist. Is Zwift for me?

A lot of the Zwift groups has the discord link in the Ride description on the companion app.

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Thanks once more for even more food for thought and additional info/things to consider.

It’s good to hear from someone else in a similar position to me, fitness/weight/gaming/motivation/etc. The social/gaming aspect is what I think will motivate me to continue. Planning on hooking zwift up to an old, unused pc and large Ish screen. There was a comment earlier about there being a lot of cyclist metrics. I don’t think that worries me much, as while I might not understand their real world application, I understand I want them to improve. Min maxing fitness like I would a pc game!

However I feel like I have almost come full circle. People saying go cheap bike and wheel on trainer (£450 Ish). People saying direct trainer adds a lot (I don’t disagree, this is what I wanted originally after my research), but then for that and a bike I’m spending £700 ish plus. My worry with this is I then need to be matching up gears/cassettes, I need tools, all things I have absolutely no clue about as a non cyclist, which put me off at the time.

That’s what originally led me to the concept 2 bikeerg. For a slightly higher price, I get something that just works, needs no maintenance, needs no set up, needs no parts/knowledge, in theory should be more likely to last longer than a real cheap bike, I’m not going to ride it outside so that doesn’t matter, can be ridden by my fiance (if she wants) without needing a second and different size bike, and concept 2 stuff seems to be really well made looking at their equipment and reviews, and holds value. I know it won’t change resistance automatically, but I feel like that isn’t something I will miss as I’ve never experienced it. I see what it can add to realism, but again, I don’t ride a bike outside anyway.

So coming full circle, as I feel like you have all alleviated any fears I had about not enjoying or sticking with zwift, so entry price is less important to me, am I going massively wrong if I get the concept 2 bikeerg? I’ve pretty much convinced myself at this point unless anyone things it’s a huge mistake! :stuck_out_tongue:

I hear ya! I have just started and am struggling to do more than 30 mins because of a sore back side!!

However Zwift does keep me coming back for more and have the ftp ramo test tomorrow to test progression.

Good luck and keep us informed.

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I’m pretty new to Zwift and cycling, and am actually using it as a training route to doing Ride London later this year. All of this has come about because I was taken ill with heart failure back in 2016 and spent 4 weeks gravely ill in hospital. Believe me, I’m not a natural athlete at all, but took up exercise after many years sitting in front of a computer doing everything possible to avoid physical exertion, eating rubbish, drinking far too much and smoking heavily. The heart failure stopped all that and made me take charge of my own condition. I started running (very slowly) and have worked my way up.

It didn’t worry me that I’m “not a cyclist”, and my initial outlay was a second hand bike and a Tacx Flow smart trainer which are proving to be absolutely fine! Zwift may well turn me into a cyclist, but not being one now isn’t something that puts me off.

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Hi Richard,
congratulations on turning your life around.
I wish you all the best.
Keep up the good work(out)

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Hi Dan,

I think you may be a bit disappointed in the Bikeerg. According to this list, it appears that Zwift will not be able to control the resistance of the Concept 2 Bikeerg: Indoor Bikes

If you’re looking for a setup that will keep you engaged and remain challenging due to the automatic variability of resistance, the Concept 2 won’t provide that. I think you may be better served with an inexpensive bike and a low end wheel-on smart trainer that interacts with Zwift. This is my opinion based on my own experience.

Taking myself as an example, previous to joining Zwift, I tried dieting alone as a means to try and lose weight. At the beginning of my journey I was 280 pounds. I started that several months ago, but I wasn’t seeing much in the way of significant progress. Thus I decided to find some form of exercise that would keep me engaged to try and increase the calorie deficit required for weight loss.

I discovered Zwift while researching interactive stationary bikes. I used to cycle casually and enjoyed it and already have a mountain bike collecting dust in the garage. I don’t ride much outside these days due to time restrictions and weather (I hate riding in the cold and wet). I also have a stationary exercise bike, but that is incredibly boring to me, so it is also collecting dust.

After discovering Zwift and doing a bunch of research, I decided to take the plunge and bought a trainer (the Wahoo Kickr Snap), signed up for Zwift and haven’t looked back. Since I started about a month ago, I’ve logged almost 260 miles in Zwift.

For me, the interactivity with the smart trainer is a crucial aspect of this formula, The gaming and social aspects of Zwift keep me coming back even though my legs and seat are sore most of the time these days.

Some people may not like the wheel-on smart trainers due to the limitations either in max watts or max grades, but for myself, being overweight and out of shape, I have a long way to go before my capabilities exceed those of the trainer.

I hope that helps, and I hope to see you around Watopia soon!

Drew

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Hi All,
I’ve never cycled - ever.
(I have CP & walk with crutches. So I’ve never walked - ever [just to be dramatic], yet)

I can’t ride a bike yet. However, I can ride a stationary bike. Slowly.

I wonder if zwift could be for me.
Id ride too slowly to keep up with the pack.

Anybody here who rides slowly, can you tell me if the pack ride ends up being demotivating or motivating…

Rachael

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YEP, Zwift is perfect for anyone with a bike.
Get a bike, set it up on a wheel on trainer.
Ride Zwift in the Winter and ride the bike in Summer.
It doesn’t have to be expensive.

Welcome, @RachaelShaw7. It is possible that many group rides would be difficult to keep up with if you turn the pedals over at a slower rate and/or with lower power than average. You might however be able to change some settings in Zwift that would allow your avatar to move faster to compensate for that.

Putting that aside, there is always the possibility of free riding solo at any time, which is enjoyable in itself and doesn’t force you to keep up with anyone. But on top of that, you can organize meet-ups (or be invited to them by people you meet in Zwift), in which a ‘keep together’ setting is activated, which means that everyone in the meet-up group is, as the name suggests, kept together. That allows you to choose the time and location of the ride and who you’re riding with, giving you all the social benefits of a group ride, with no major downsides.

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There are some “keep everyone together” events as well as clubs and groups that do these types of rides – the ride organizer ticks an option in the ride settings that will make it so your avatar moves with the group regardless of pedaling power. So that could be an option!

H*ll yes! If you can pedal a bike and it’s beneficial for physical and/or mental health you should definitely go for it :+1:t2:

Rachael, I’m pretty sure you’ll love Zwift! Maybe the story of Linda can convince you: Zwifting with Granny on youtube

It’s not exactly your story but she’s soooo inspiring, like her zwiftinsider.com-story when she conquered the Alpe. Have fun and ride on!

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