I’ll be straight, I’m a total noob, never done any proper cycling. I’m a 21yo male and after loosing weight on a big diet that was highly needed, I need to get into some sports.
I hate running outside, or doing bodybuilding in my garage without anyone else. Due to current Covid, gyms are mostly closed and I will say I’m quite happy abt it… I hate that atmosphere where people look at you like wtf are you doing here stupid noob (flex muscles).
Zwift is really tempting but I have no clue how it works.
The website doesn’t explain at all what I need and so on. I want a cheap setup since I will just use it maybe 1hr a day.
Has anyone got clues on where to start? What to buy?
All I own is a bike and a fitbit watch (not sure if they can link up).
PS : I live in France so Amazon US isn’t great for me.
Thank you. I will have a look.
Well I don’t have any bike. I have no treadmill.
All I own when it comes to physical activity is a pair of trainers and two body building benches cos when you are a kid, you think it’s cool to have big muscles but it actually takes years to come.
I want to get into a physically activity quickly, but as I said I hate doing it outdoor. I like the fact where if I’m on a Zwift running or riding my bike and it gets simply impossible and everything hurts, I can step out my bike and be straight here in my home.
If Running Zwift is actually better/cheaper, I’m well interested into looking at it but I need to work out a budget on where to start, what to buy, etc
Also do I need a high end bike, since I’ll never use it outdoor? I’m supposing all those carbon and titan bikes are just lighter for a better hill climb but will it change anything virtually?
Hi Enzo and welcome!
A lot of people on Zwift will recommend expensive high-end gear, but you can get started really cheaply. A Wahoo Kickr and Apple TV would be a brilliant setup, but I can recommend a simpler “start-up” option if that’s what you’d like.
All you need is:
A computer device. This can be a laptop, a desktop computer, a tablet or an Apple TV.
A bike. This can be just about any bike, the age and quality makes no difference. Many people use old bikes on Zwift.
A smart trainer. This can be wheel-off (which is the more expensive and accurate option) or wheel-on (which are cheaper and great for beginners and need a road bike, not mountain bike)
I got started with a second-hand Tacx Smart Flow trainer which I bought on Facebook marketplace for £110. I paired it with my laptop and ride a donated, worn out old touring bike. For me that was ideal - I got started cheaply, got a flavour for Zwift, and really love it and use it loads. I recommend this as a starter setup. Do make sure you choose a bike which fits you well, as that will make a big difference to your comfort leve.
Now I can justify the cost, I’m looking to upgrade to a wheel-off trainer and am taking my time based on what’s most important to me. One example is there’s no point me paying for a trainer which can measure 1200 Watts of power, when I struggle to produce 600W.
I wouldn’t recommend you buy a “non-smart” turbo trainer, as I think feeling the resistance change is a fundamental part of what makes Zwift fun, and the Tacx Smart Flow does this at a really low cost.
That’s an awesome reply.
I am glad you could help without telling me I need to buy a great bike and spend 1k in a turbo trainer!!
One last terribly noob question and I think that will be it for me, if I buy an Apple TV set, connect it to my screen, do I need still a computer to make it work or does it all work from the Apple TV app installed?
I haven’t got the experience of using Apple TV or another smart TV to guide you on that I’m afraid. Here are a couple of links which may help you on that:
i would NOT get the wahoo kickr if i were you, it’s too much to start with – especially if you aren’t even sure if you like indoor cycling.
you COULD consider the kickr snap, though, if you wanted wahoo. here it is brand new:
i imagine you could get one used for $200-300.
random search on ebay reveals cheap bikes like this one to get you started (it’s probably better to check your local bike shop first, but here’s a price check):
Wow you guys are amazing! Thank you for all the input.
I will start looking into this from now on! And hope within a few weeks have a good setup and get going!
I am also relatively new to all of this and love my Wahoo Kickr Snap, which is the wheel-on trainer. That means that you put your whole bike into the trainer without removing the back wheel. When I bought mine it was a cheaper and easier option. When I started, I just used my laptop and it worked fine. I also recommend the YouTube channel: Shane Miller - GPLama . He has some great information on setting up your indoor area. A very important thing is a powerful fan. It gets very hot riding indoors and you really need a fan to keep cool (I now have 2.). Good luck! Zwift and indoor riding are really fun!
Hello,
Just to let you know, I have decided to go with a Wahoo snap and a new road bike from a local shop.
Really happy abt my buying and I try to do 1hr a day average.
It’s now been a little over 1 week I have all the stuff and hope on this Saturday to make a 100km ride!
I know you already have your stuff for set up but I wanted to add…
I generally use my laptop with an Ant+ dongle.
On a few occasions , I will use my android phone to run Zwift and I cast or mirror the android screen to a big screen TV with an Amazon Fire stick.
I’ve used this set up as a "portable setup’ when I wanted to take my bike to a real life Zwift party.
I just take my trainer, the bike my phone and the fire stick. I use an extra TV at my friends house or I can take mine if needed.
We have been having Zwift meetings on Zoom and that is fun too.
