Road bike with smart trainer vs. dedicated 'spin bike'

Quite a few issues on this forum about getting spin bikes to work. Just because they claim compatibility does not make it so. I hope it works out.

sorry about the pricing for the Stages…for some reason I thought it was $2K - $2.2K…Maybe it came out at that price and demand has driven it up.

I read that several high end spin bike have some level of compatibility with cycling apps, like Zwift. Somewhat told me that for extra money one can get an interface to Zwift on Peloton, and I think I read that top of the line Schwinn also has some ability to communicate with Zwift. Since there is absolutely no way how cycling apps can control resistance of a spin bike (in all spin bikes resistance control is mechanical, with a single red handle on the frame), you would not be able to do workouts in Zwift in ERG or Level mode - you would have to adjust resistance manually to reach target power. It is an open question if you would be able to use other cycling apps, like SUF or Rouvy, I never saw a statement that they are supported by spin bikes manufacturers. Well, I do not even know how Zwift will like a trainer which cannot be connected as controllable! I do not know if it will be able to pick up cadence, either.

This means, you most likely would have to forget about Zwift and subscribe to Peloton (their program can in principle be used with any spin bike, although without power data) and do their simulated spinning classes. This is a good workout, but it is a different experience.

Your question is half way to a question if you should sell your TACX and buy a treadmill. :slight_smile: Road / MTB biking simulation and spin bike are quite different ways of exercising. None of them is better than the other. It is up to your preferences.

I would imagine a cheap bike might be cheaper than a decent new spin bike. I built a broken frame into a trainer-only bike and I love not having to put my regular road bike on and off the trainer in the shoulder seasons when I ride outside and still zwift a lot.

Hey, I’ve got the smb1 v1 and I’ve had the following experience: The sales pages say: “The bicycle connected to cycling simulator apps such as ZWIFT or Bkool can automatically adjust the resistance depending on the selected route, you can also change the resistance manually and have full control of the exercise.”

That means exactly that.

The resistance is only regulated automatically on the route on a free ride. This is based on the slope of the route. The sensitivity can, however, also be regulated to be easier or harder.

In a workout, the resistance to be pedaled does not automatically adjust to my cadence. I have to manually adjust the resistance here to balance the cadence and watt.

I do not have a solution for this yet. Maybe there is one. Would be nice if someone knows someone who knows something :slight_smile:

I did see a Spanish video setting the smb1 v1 up with zwift, do a youtube search, have no idea if the videphelps as I don’t speak Spanish.

I’m sure this will be of no help, I did contact bodytone and asked then what the difference was between v1 and v2 bikes, they said both worked with zwift and automatically changed resistance, but with v1 you could not change gear/resistance when riding but could with v2.

I did have a v1 on order, but the company supplying it cancelled my order, I’m now waiting of feedback on the v1 and v2 (v2 will ship mid April i was told)

Hi,

How did you get on with the SMB1?

I picked up one of the inxide XS08’s its a spinning bike with magnetic resistance the same as the bodytone (smb1) the controlled resistance is a little odd though when riding in zwift and rouvy doesn’t seem to be able to control the resistance, I found in zwift I can average higher and more stable power out put when setting it to manual controls, using the controlled option the bike seemed to be way too low geared in the flats and too difficult on the hills, EGR mode is different again, that seems to be a better balance.

https://www.inxide.eu/producto/indoor-cycling-x08/

The Inxide XS08 actually shows up as an SMB1 IN zwift and rouvy, they do look similar as well, just the flywheel difference 22kg bs 24kg really.

I’ve a V2 i only ride 2 times on zwift but until know it works fine…

There are a million ways to Zwift and it is amazing to see how others get it done.
That said, Zwift was developed for a bike on a trainer and the farther you get from that, the more issues people seem to have.
Enough money and ingenuity seem to work wonders.

Sadly it doesn’t seem to work properly for me,

I got a replacement unit of the smb1 after the first one was doa.

The replacement does react to gradient changes but adjust e.g. shifting doesn’t work. The bike adjust for a second but immediately goes back to whatever data is being sent by the app.

Weirdly enough in bkool you can adjust as long as you are on an incline, but on a flat you seem to be stuck on the easiest resistance.

Customer care isn’t helping, takes days to respond and generally doesn’t seem to have a clue about their machines.

I would not recommend getting the smb1 for zwift, or at all.

P.S. i have the v2

I’m pretty new to Zwift but having just received my Bodytone SMB1 V2 it seems to be working out of the box.

I am getting speeds and distances that are comparable to my road cycling.

The resistance seems to be being controlled correctly.

You could try this app. I contacted him and he has added the SMB1 but its only in the beta version at the moment.

As I said, I haven’t needed to use it for Zwift, but will for other apps and just recording a workout to add to Garmin.

robertoviola.cloud/qdomyos-zwift-guide/

What’s the maximum resistance like on your SMB1 V2?

On 32 it doesn’t feel that hard to me. I was expecting it to be like going up a 20% hill but it’s nothing like that. More like a slight incline.

Thanks.

Tacx neo bike its much beter then using your own.

Hi there, when i’m using ZWIFT my bike doesn’t show the level of dificulty…
On the app in the “Trainer dificulty” menu i turned it off. And it works better.
Best regards

Boas!

Deduzo que sejas Português pelo nome.
Queria perguntar qual é o teu feedback acerca da V2, vale a pena?

Obrigado

Boas, sou tuga mesmo tuga vivo na Amadora. Olha eu estou mesmo muito satisfeito com ela mas eu sou amador eu dou pedaladas 2 ou 3 vezes por semana e nunca passando os 30 ou 40 km de cada vez, às vezes 20km… a unica coisa que não cinsigo meter a funcionar é a mudança da resistência automaticamente, quando há subidas ou descidas… Mas digo-te que o calculo do programa é super fiável… Se tiveres mais alguma dúvida estás à vontade para perguntar…

Cumprimentos,

Paulo Moreira

Boas,

Sou de Evora, costumava fazer BTT mas não tenho saído a horas de ir pedalar e como já estou a chegar ao 3 dígitos, tenho de ver se faço alguma coisa.
Onde comprastes?

Paulo César Duarte Moreira via Zwift Forums <gozwift@discoursemail.com> escreveu em qui., 2/09/2021 às 21:49 :

Tb ando lá perto dos 3 digitos… lol

Comprei na gymcompany, foi rápido e onde o preço era mais baixo!

Cumprimentos,

Paulo Moreira

I use a Schwinn ic800, it works fine for me both for training and races. It send all necessary data to Zwift including cadence, power and heart rate. It’s also very compact and silent.
On the downside it doesn’t have ERG mode, so it’s necessary to adapt the magnetic resistance manually, from min to max it’s only about 3 full turns of the handle, I kind of got used to it. The difficulty level doesn’t have any impact at all in game or as it feels, so I left if at 50%. Another problem probably common to most smart spinbikes is its calibration, this model only shows a level (0-100) which is interpreted by Zwift trough an hardcoded power curve that is only indicative and may greatly differ from the values measured by a professional sensor. The Schwinn ic800 has a calibration procedure, but it is necessary to try and compare the data with an external sensor, it must also be said that the console only allows three attempts after which it locks up. I don’t know what my real FTP is but this setup puts me in group D, or with great effort in group C. I can live with that estimation since I don’t plan to do professional races. In practice it would also be possible to fit zwift compatible sensors to any dumb spinbike, but for me the cost was also decisive as the Schwinn costed as much as a good power sensor so I preferred the compromise and dedicate part of the budget to my outdoor gear. But obviously everyone has to make their own considerations.

My IC4 works great on Zwift. Having a dedicated indoor bike means no fuss of having to disassemble your road bike every time you go indoors. Also, no added wear to your road bike. I can race, do group rides, etc. It’s essentially being in ERG mode the whole time and because the IC4 doesn’t recognize hills. The only thing you’ll see is your speed drop off and you’ll need to pedal faster or manually increase resistance each time. The IC4 generally overestimates your watts so I’ve recalibrated it. I’d recommend a power meter.

Also, there’s no coasting. You’re working the entire time. The only time changing resistance gets tiresome is during workouts when there are 30 sec HIIT sections and changing cadences. Zwift is constantly telling me to speed up or slow down. If you don’t want to touch a lever, button or knob the whole workout, go for a smart trainer.

It all depends on your budget and personal preferences. If I had a large budget I’d trade in the IC4 and get a Kickr Core and find a descent used dedicated indoor road bike. But the IC4 gets the job done.

Como vai o teu feedback? A bike continua sem ajustar a resistência á inclinação no zwift?

Obg