Schwinn IC8 Spin Bike

General Discussion
367

Hi LBreezy and all
Thanks for this interesting discussion. Because I was frustrated about the power output of the IC 800, I bought SRM power pedals and also found that the Swinn output is well above what the SRM power pedals show. I have not calibrated the bike. I used Wahoo SYSTM for measuring, but I will also try it with Zwift.

It is difficult to exactly pinpoint the wattage because it jumps a bit, but my pedals show around the following wattages at Level / RPM (which is way below what LBreezy listed and very much lower than what IC800 output shows):

Below level 12 it shows 0 (while Schwinn shows around 100w)

Level 15, RPM 60: 45 Watts (LBreezy: 70)
Level 15, RPM 70: 55 Watts
Level 15, RPM 80: 60 Watts (LBreezy: 115)
Level 15, RPM 90: 70 Watts

Level 20, RPM 60: 55 Watts
Level 20, RPM 70: 75 Watts
Level 20, RPM 80: 85 Watts
Level 20, RPM 90: 90 Watts
Level 20, RPM 100: 10 Watts

Level 20, RPM 60: 55 Watts
Level 20, RPM 70: 75 Watts
Level 20, RPM 80: 85 Watts
Level 20, RPM 90: 90 Watts
Level 20, RPM 100: 100 Watts

Level 25, RPM 60: 70 Watts (LBreezy: 115w)
Level 25, RPM 70: 100 Watts
Level 25, RPM 80: 125 Watts (LBreezy: 185w)
Level 25, RPM 90: 140 Watts
Level 25, RPM 100: 150 Watts (LBreezy: 270w)

Level 30, RPM 60: 105 Watts
Level 30, RPM 70: 135 Watts
Level 30, RPM 80: 160 Watts
Level 30, RPM 90: 190 Watts
Level 30, RPM 100: 205 Watts

This leaves me a bit confused whether my power pedals show the right values - or whether every bike is just differently calibrated and that Level 30 on one Schwinn bike is totally not comparable with a different bike.

Best, mark

368

Hi Riccardo

I am happy to share some power output readings from my SRM power pedals to get you to some new formula, if you are interested.

Best, Mark

369

Hi @mark_star

Welcome to the forum.

You could record with a seperate device and use the two fit files in zwiftpower.com to analyze the data. (ie. Spin Bike to Garmin and SRM to Zwift)

370

You say that you connect the trainer to the controllable tab in zwift. But your trainer is not controllable. Isn’t that the issue?
You need to connect the power meter, speed and cadance sensor.

371

:thinking: if you have a power meter you dont need a speed sensor, and cadence is nice to have but not required

372

Hi all ! As this thread really helped me I thought I would contribute and tell my story with this spin bike.

I bought mine mid-september as I needed to get back in shape after big changes in my life : becoming a father and buying a house. I needed a quiet way of zwifting and my wife wanted to be able to use it too so the schwinn bike seemed perfectly fine.

So, mid-september 2022 I started my zwift journey at 31 of age. First FTP test : 168 for 85kg. I had no idea what it represented at the time even if it was pretty clear that it was pretty low as I was a cat D.

I started riding 3/4 hours weekly then quickly 5/6 hours. Really enjoyed my first races and my first 100km in one go. In november, I was promoted to C cat and was feeling pretty proud. I also started noticing that something might be wrong with the spin bike calibration because I was really struggling to get a decent sprint… giving my max, I was only able to produce 550W for a few seconds which seemed off comparing to loads of people on zwiftpower.

So I started googling and found this thread and I thought “there is a big chance that Im actually still a very bad rider”. I had to find out so last week I bought a pair of assomia uno power pedals that I’ll install on my bike when I go riding outdoors in march. As of this week, my FTP is 223 and I lost 8 kilos which gets my W/kg to around 2.9.

So, ramp test and i immediately notice that 140W feels like much more work… I imagined myself with a 170W FTP and going back to D cat but then 220W feels normal and at the end 300W felt easier ! I managed a FTP of 228 which was slightly more than with the spin bike as a power source. The perception is very much different though. It seems that the spin bike does not have a linear calibration and overestimates low power and underestimates high power. I was able to sprint at 750W without pushing too much and am really relieved.

My Z1, Z2, Z3 will feel like much more work but during workouts I always felt like I had to add 15W so now I understand why and as I want to push myself I think I ll be able to produce more watts :slight_smile:

Big thanks to all contributors of this thread and to assomia for making a value for money power meter :slight_smile:

373

Bowflex c7 owner here, which is pretty much the same bike as the scwhinn but with a connected tablet. It’s gotten a more than a handful of updates since purchasing it nov '21 but most seem to be entertainment updates for disney/prime etc.

I’ve been using it for workouts for about a year now on zwitft. It’s been a pretty enjoyable experience minus the few times it’ll disconnect from the companion app at the most critical times it seems. I don’t feel like I’m any different from the other riders I ride against, my numbers don’t seem to be out of wack. I haven’t raced on the bike until 2 days ago with the zwift Flat is Fast. My first race on zwift as a Cat D rider was Stage 4, I put out a average of 2.6w/kg at 185LBS w a avg. HR166, avg. bike resistance 36 and completing it in 28:31.

Now zwift says I can’t race in cat D anymore and can only que into cat C now after my first race. I can hit the power cap on the bike which is 1200 watts so if I do sprint I’m capped compared to some others, hitting 1200 watts on the spin bike i’ll be over 130 cadence 40+ resistance, as well as having to constantly spin and not having breaks I feel has been a disadvantage.

374

Don’t want to be offensive, but I feel it is a disadvantage to race against spin bikes (= Zpower) with my Neo and power meter.

375

Very few people can hit 1200w especially those in C and D.

You got upgraded based on your performance Zwift calculated that you are able to race in C.

376

Yeah I figured such, I was just bummed because If anything I’m a rathwr strong cat D who had beginners luck. My endurance for 100%+ftp is really poor, super high HR OOS, I’m built more like a sprinter.

*edit. I just noticed you’re from simsbury. I’m from torrington.

It’s cool, I’ve never experienced a proper bike setup so I can’t speak about differences, I was more speaking about the constant pedaling needed compared to when I’m on the road. I find the spin bike to be a great workout tool, wether or not they’re good for zwift I guess that’s for zwift to decide. I get beat by those on prober setups so I just figured it was my poor endurance.

377

Neo is hard work, both 1 and 2T versions.

You have to work hard for the power you do. When I went from a computrainer to Neo 1 on PerfPRO workouts I had to reduce the FTP a bit for a few weeks until I got used to the tougher resistance.

It makes you fast.

378

I switched from a Schwinn Speedbike IC8 Fitness Indoor Bike (bought in December 2020) to Zwift Ride & Wahoo Kickr Core 2 on 15th of October 2025. I was aware that the Schwinn power meter is not very accurate, but I did not expect that difference: Schwinn FTP: 296 W, Zwift Ride & Wahoo Kickr Core 2 FTP: 199W .The 199W is fitting also better to the power caculations in Strava when riding MTB. So I am no longer a Watopia superman :slight_smile: :frowning:

I measured FTP with Zwift Elevation Evaluation in Watopia.

See also my power curve with Schwinn IC8 (until October 5th 2025) compared with Zwift Ride with Wahoo Kickr Core 2 (from October 13th 2025)

379

If you want your PRs reset, email zwiftpower@zwift.com and tell them about your trainer change

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380

FTP_Schwinn_IC8_vs_Zwift_Ride_wahoo_kickr2
FTP_Schwinn_IC8_vs_Zwift_Ride_wahoo_kickr21265×641 70.1 KB

Power curve with Schwinn IC8 (until October 5th 2025) compared with Zwift Ride with Wahoo Kickr Core 2 (from October 13th 2025)

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381

Many thanks for the hint !

382

My version (800IC) shows results identical to the 4iiii power meter on a street bike. I have never encountered an overestimation since I bought it in 2022

383

That’s good news.

I too use a trainer that can be inconsistent but, when calibrated to my power meter, demonstrates very good consistency.

I think people who use power sources that are potentially inconsistent should do 2 things.

  1. They should utilize a 2nd power source for calibration to determine for themselves wether or not their trainer CAN BE accurate.
  2. Utilize dual recording during races or FTP measurements to demonstrate to OTHERS that the set up is still accurate.

Set ups that can not meet these 2 conditions may be subject to hardware exclusion IMHO.

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