Zwift
Zwift is probably the most popular virtual trainer for cyclists. It’s thanks to the virtual world it has created. Zwift has really nice graphics, easy setup, and it turns your training into a community event. Besides real tracks, the fictional world of Zwift’s Watopia offers countless tracks designed with great attention to detail. Zwift offers group rides and races where you ride with others in real time and you are divided into different categories based on your watts per kilograms. Zwift also offers structured workouts, you can build your own or import them but Zwift doesn’t specialize in this feature.
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Price: Zwift costs €14.99 per month, which is at the higher end of virtual trainers but you do get a 15-day free trial.
Rouvy
Rouvy is probably the best all-around indoor training app and it’s gaining popularity thanks to its augmented reality routes. Where Zwift creates the routes digitally like in a video game, Rouvy takes a video of an actual real-world route and overlays your virtual self onto it. This way, you can experience over 2,500 video and GPS routes from all around the world. You can also create your own routes and they have a lot of options for structured training. Rouvy also gives you ride analysis including pedal analysis with compatible power meters and it also has a lively social element with plenty of events, challenges, group rides, and races. There’s not really anything missing.
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Price: Rouvy costs €10 per month. At this price, it’s the best value for your money on the market. Each membership also includes “Family sharing”, which gives you two more memberships attached to your main one for free. There is a 14-day free trial available.
Trainer Road
Trainer road is the best indoor training app if you’re interested in structured workouts. It offers a huge library of power-based cycling workouts and triathlon plans. You can browse through hundreds of workouts or create your own via TrainerRoad Workout Creator. They have a well-designed structured training plan for triathletes, off-road cyclists, road racers, and many others. TrainerRoad also offers a great analytics tool for each ride and throughout your season. TrainerRoad has a lively community on their forum and Facebook, which can be helpful.
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Price: You can get Trainer Road for $15,75 a month if you buy a whole year or $19.95 for a single month.
The Sufferfest
The Sufferfest is a trainer app that has a long history. It offers a huge library of structured cycling, triathlon, and running workouts with video footage of professional races, soundtracks, and fun storylines. They also offer a more “coached” environment thanks to their 4DP personalized workouts. Another way they differentiate themselves is their all-around athletic approach. With the Sufferfest membership, you get access to Yoga, mental toughness training, and strength training. Also, it doesn’t require a stable internet connection like Zwift, for example, because you just download a video for a given route once and then you can ride it offline.
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Price: The Sufferfest costs $10,75 per month if you buy a whole year or $14.99 for a single month. They offer a 14-day free trial.
There are other options like BKool, FulGaz, Road Grand Tours, Kinomap, Tacx – the list goes on. So, if none of the four above mentioned virtual training apps seems attractive, you can try your luck with others. Next time, we will take a look at how you should spend your time on the bike at home, what type of workouts to go for and why.
