I completely disagree with the people saying Zwift isn’t beginner friendly.
The user-interface is a bit unintuitive at first but watching a few of GPLama’s tutorials and reading some guides will have that sorted. Visit a local bike shop or anyone who already has Zwift set up and have them walk you through what it takes to run it.
Lemme bullet-point this for brevity, with some context:
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I only recently got back into cycling and this winter was my first full season on Zwift. I’m at level 29 now and have every intent of Zwifting over the summer, with a separate bike for outdoor use.
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I went “high end” and bought a NEO2T but set a friend up with a Tacx Flow Smart as she’s on a budget. There is NOTHING wrong with going with an entry level smart trainer…but I would strongly suggest making the Flow Smart your baseline - don’t trying to save money going cheaper than that. If you have the money, a direct-drive trainer is an improvement but don’t sweat it if you don’t. Read DCRainmaker’s indoor trainer guide: The Smart Trainer Recommendations Guide: Winter 2020-2021 | DC Rainmaker
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See this reference: https://forums.zwift.com/t/links-to-zwift-resources/
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If you have a device (tablet, computer, phone etc) that you plan to run Zwift on, great! If not, you either build a PC (see link in above thread to the ZwiftInsider guide on that) or an AppleTV or iPad which are my preference.
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The Companion App is your friend. Run that on a separate device (cellphone) mounted on the handlebars and it makes accessing a lot of features much easier.
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For bicycles, you need one that fits you properly and that’s critical. You can buy on the used market (I did last year) but make sure it fits. If you NEVER ride outdoors, you could even build a “mule bike” that doesn’t have brakes, or even wheels, to mount on a trainer permanently. (This was a GPLama idea from one of his livestreams). Walk into a bike shop and tell them what you’re after - many have parts bikes they might sell you.
Why listen to me? I lost 100lbs tracking what I ate, ditching processed food, and getting on a bicycle. Zwift kept me entertained and riding practically daily over the winter because I just liked being around other people (virtually) in Watopia. The simple addition of live text chat and the ability to schedule meetups, join events and group rides was enough. The most important aspect to fitness is finding something you’ll keep doing.
On the PC vs AppleTV/iPad: IMO, Zwift is experiential - the idea of “click, you’re riding!” instead of booting a PC and waiting reduces friction just enough to make me more likely to hop on the bike and ride. You do you though! Maybe the higher res graphics of a PC are your jam.