Power meter on spin bike

General Discussion
1

I’ve been using Zwift on a spin bike with speed and cadence sensor for a while and I tend to show about 1.5 to 2x the watts on Zwift as the bike reports on its computer. Would adding a power meter instead of a speed/cadence sensor on a spin bike be more accurate or will it just be way off no matter what because it’s a spin bike? Has anyone had experience with a power meter on a spin bike?

I’ve gotten pretty good at modulating climbs with resistance and have wheel size/selected trainer dialed in as best I can but my watts are still too high. My speed is also too high so my distance is off. I would like to have it dialed in better so I can do cycling challenges and group rides. Would a power meter be more accurate?

Yes, I understand an indoor bike is not compatible with Zwift but I needed something quiet.

Thanks,
Steve

2

If you can add power meter pedals or a power meter crank (so if your spin bike can take those) then it will likely be a lot more accurate, yes.

1 Like
3

You can also check out the open source project SmartSpin2k if you’d like to add smart trainer functionality to your spin bike.

4

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I’d sooner go that route than invest a lot in a spin bike.