Zwift. TR is all about the numbers and Sufferfest doesn’t really allow for just noodling around. I’d take a look at the information on the workouts/training plans on a site called whatsonzwift as it breaks down what’s available. I’ve had all 3 and order of use lately is Zwift with Sufferfest distant 2nd and haven’t even logged into TR in months. Good luck getting back to it

I like TrainerRoad. The workout library is superior to either of the other services.

Personally I don't need all of the video game graphics of zwift. I am doing the workouts to get fitter so I would rather get logical progressive workouts that are the best in that industry and handle the entertainment myself. Music for VO2 max workouts and Netflix for stuff at threshold or below.

If you need structure I'd go with TrainerRoad.

I use Zwift because I am trying to chill and have fun in the off season, but TR has much better structure, and really well laid out training plans that cover all types of triathlon and time commitments. If you have a second screen for watching videos, go TR. If you can only have 1 screen, TR allows you to play it in a bar with the video behind. It is also only 2/3rds the price of zwift. But.... I dropped TR to use zwift because I am looking for some fun at the moment and don’t want my training to feel like a job.

I use TR primarily with sufferfest second. I've tried zwift a few times and I just can't get into it. It really depends on the person because I know a lot of folks that really like Zwift. For me trainer road is the best if you can only have one. It has any kind of workout that you might need.

I like sufferfest for my hard workouts though. The music, video and a little humor really helps to make it through the difficult workouts. I have also seen my greatest gains in FTP when I've done sufferfest consistently.

I use TR because I think the plans and the structured training are the best. I also prefer to watch movies or TV series while training indoors, rather than a simulated environment. Zwift seems like it is about as good a simulation of outdoor riding as you can get indoors - but I'd still rather go out and do a group ride or race.

I do think that if you're relatively new to training and are training almost exclusively indoors, then it is important to regularly turn off erg mode and do rides where you're pushing yourself, exploring your limits, blowing up occasionally, etc. rather than just riding to pre-designated power numbers. I think Zwift and Sufferfest are probably better for this, but I get that aspect of my riding outside.

P.S. It may also be a factor that I used to be a rower and spent much of my teens and 20s staring at numbers on a tiny Concept 2 screen. So my boredom threshold while training is pretty high...

I don't have much experience with Zwift or TR, but I'm enjoying The sufferfest.

I don't like group rides in general - they all seem to be about trying to drop the people you're riding with and Zwift seems like that x1000 ( my uninformed concern ) and TR didn't have the media / entertainment value when I tried it a couple years back.

Sufferfest has great music and video accompaniment as part of almost all the workouts ( some drill workouts don't offer music). I was doing a fast cadence drill the other day, and the video cut from a race scene (90% of video is actual race and team car footage) to a hamster on a wheel running his ass off!

The best one is the one you will enjoy and use - I think that they can all make you stronger. Try the free week they all offer and see what you like best.

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" I take my gear out of my car and put my bike together. Tourists and locals are watching from sidewalk cafes. Non-racers. The emptiness of of their lives shocks me. "
(opening lines from Tim Krabbe's The Rider , 1978

I'm paying for zwift, but have used TR in the past. Probably need to make the switch back. I don't really love zwift, but it's kind if neat. I did my first work out with erg mode just going for a ride and not following a work out. It's neat that it changes with the route elevation, but I found the need to shift gears to be too rapid and annoying. Maybe I'm from too flat an area and am just not used to dealing with gears that much on the trainer, but it was more annoying than interesting. Maybe in a virtual race it's interesting, but I haven't dine that.

Now it's super easy to create custom workouts in zwift. My coach will give me a description of a workout and I can create in zwift in minutes and have it control the trainer which is nice. TR has a better library and training plan if I didn't have a coach and needed ideas for a workout or plan. Might be easy to do in TR as well, but I just used their workouts when I had it.

I use all 3.

TrainerRoad is awesome for structured training and like it says on the tin: It's certainly made me a faster cyclist.
Zwift is good for just messing about and having a fun long ride. It's winter here so i'll rarely go outside anymore - Yesterday I had a 2 hour, 45 mile race up a mountain and back and it was brilliant fun. Often i'll load up Zwift for visuals and let TR control the power for say a 2x20 sweet spot workout.
Sufferfest is great for a really hard beasting session. When you want loud tunes and something to scream at you to go harder! harder!! then this is the fun way to do it.

The monthly costs of these things is equivalent to a couple of energy bars or a coffee here and there so it's a lot of bang per buck. Anything that keeps you off the roads and alive in the dark, wet winter months has got to be worth the investment.

The only downside compared to being out on the road is that your wife and kids can wander in to the pain cave and ask you otherwise innocuous questions when you're 3 minutes into your 4th VO2 Max interval and bleeding out your ears!

  

For structured workouts with a goal (i.e.a half-IM), I'd go with TrainerRoad.

Edit: Removed offer for referrals - I'm all out.

This is really invaluable advice. If you’re new-ish to cycling it’s important to blow up a few times during training so you know what it feels like and why it’s so important to pace yourself on race day!

Can you create your own workouts in any of these? I mean, if your training plan or coach gives you a workout, can you add a custom workout for it?

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Janyne

Thanks for all the comments - exactly what I was looking for!

I have the sufferfest app and haven’t really ever done a full workout just because I haven’t been riding that much lately, but I will do the test this week.

I did a 30 minute ride this morning on Zwift on one of the free routes, starting in the rain in London and riding in the dark later. I put it in ERG mode and that was a little trippy! At one point I thought there was something wrong with the trainer but then I noticed I was riding over wooden bridge. I will also try out trainer road then maybe just mix-and-match them.

As for being newish to cycling, ha ha, no. Just super tired of being old, fat and out of shape! I finished eight IMs and bike raced so it’s more a function of just getting my butt on the bike. I have pretty much been out of shape since I moved from California to Tennessee. I hate winter and cold weather anyway and this just makes it that much harder. It was 65° yesterday and it’s going to be in the 30s this week. I can’t do anything about old, but I definitely can do something about the fat and out of shape part! Watch out Aqua Bike gals.

Thanks again!

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

TR: yes, it’s quite easy too
Zwift: unsure
Sufferfest: I don’t think so

Oh and +1 for TR for what you're wanting.

I signed up for TR recently and it's the first time I'm going with a structured training plan (never did before due to time and run focus previously). Now that I don't have time to train for Tri's I am focusing more on biking (when I can) and the occasional run (skipping the swimming since I just can't spare the time to hit the pool with my family and work schedule).

The price increase on Zwift turned me off but I also wanted a more performance orientated training plan. That and I didn't want to lug a laptop setup every time for a ride. I wish Zwift would spend that extra subscription fee money for a full android version that is functional like iOS. My personal products are android and while I do have an iphone 6 that is my work cell I'm not going to use that for Zwift.

I currently am using my phone for TR and a tablet for a movie in the background. My goal is to get to 3.0 w/kg ratio this upcoming season with an ultimate goal for 3.5 w/kg (I'd love 4.0 w/kg but I don't think I can stay married if I dedicate that kind of time to riding since the kid is a toddler now). I've hovered around 2.4 or so for the last couple of seasons with non-structured rides (inconsistent in volume throughout the year too).

For me TrainerRoad is perfect for following a structured plan. It's all there and it's easy to follow. I got some good results last season with only 3.5 hours a week (3 rides). I've used some of their plans to plan ahead my next season. Calculating the time back from my A-race this will start end February.

In the mean time, with no real goals in the near future, I've signed up for Zwift. For me this looks more fun to do some indoor riding without focusing on structure. But keep some fitness in the legs before I start preparing seriously again.

You can create your own workouts in TR and Zwift. Both make it pretty easy, although with Zwift, you have to have the PC or Mac version to create workouts. On the PC, the workout has a corresponding .zwo file in the Documents --> Zwift folder. Your coach could actually make them for you, if they have Zwift, too.

You can also find more custom workouts at third-party Zwift fan websites like this one:
https://whatsonzwift.com/workouts/

Just download the .zwo file and put it in your Documents --> Zwift folder and it will be available to ride. It takes a moment for rides to sync up online, so if you're using a PC to create it and then riding with the iPad, it might not show up right away.

Edit to Add: Don't forget PerfPRO Studio as a great option, too. It includes a lot of workouts, and custom workouts are easy to create. It's also a one-time purchase, so no ongoing monthly fees.

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Travis Rassat
Vector Cycle Works
Noblesville, IN
BikeFit Instructor | FMS | F.I.S.T. | IBFI
Toughman Triathlon Series Ambassador

I like trainer road, load the workout, turn on the tv and get sweating. I've tried zwift but i just doesn't appeal to me. I do like Sufferfest especially the tour of Sufferlandria in February.

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With your goals, Sufferfest or Zwift.

If you just want to mess around, Zwift if your thing.

If you want to get into good shape and do something "dedicated towards you" then SF is for you. Keep in mind that the format of SF is very slick and its created by one of the best endurance coaches out there.

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Inside The Big Ring: Podcast & Coaching

I'm not really adding anything new, just my opinion:

I prefer TR for the high quality, structured sessions. I keep the HUD in "horizontal" mode (creates a toolbar-like display across the bottom of the screen) and usually stream something mindless (usually Twitch, I'm a gaming nerd) and play Pandora over all of it. I find that, for Olympic-distance training plans (medium and high volume), I can't really follow storylines in shows through the barrage of intervals and heavy efforts. So, music and Twitch provide enough distraction to keep things tolerable for the 60-90 minute workouts.

However, nothing beats Zwift for race simulation. It's surprising how motivating little digital avatars can be when you ride with a stronger group and feel yourself starting to fade. MUST. NOT. GET. DROPPED! Zwift has also helped me overcome some "pacing laziness" that I think I developed using a smart trainer (ie erg vs slope mode).

I bought a few Sufferfest videos back in the day (prior to acquiring a smart trainer), but they never really clicked. More recently, SF seems to have added some additional resources to their membership (yoga/mind/body stuff), if you're in to that.

All of that said, if I had to choose only one (which I don't, and you don't either!), I'd stay with TR.

The hardware requirements for all three can be quite similar, and all three have free trial periods. Check them all out. As many have noted, the objectives of each are somewhat different, so your experience with each will be different. For me, I'm a Sufferfest guy - I appreciate the 'storyline' and the music - well, I wouldn't listen to it outside of training, but I've grown to like it during tough workouts. Next would be Trainerroad, although my subscription has lapsed. But TR has an awesome podcast, seem to be a homegrown small business and I like to support that type of organization. Zwift is totally awesome (for me), but just ride around for base miles or recovery. I just have not matched well with the racing or social components, which are a big (and unique) feature. So, I'm off Zwift, too, although I may get back on as winter gets into full swing.

I haven't tried Sufferfest but do have a decent amount of experience with both TR and Zwift. I prefer TR overall because I like the structure and the workout plans, though do find it fun to mix things up in the offseason and spend a few months riding on Zwift at the end of each race season when my training is unstructured for a brief while. When it's time for structure, though, I turn to TR.

I use Zwift. While it may not have as extensive a library of workouts as TR, it gives you something to look at and something other than numbers to chase. You can add whatever workouts you want yourself or skip pre-programmed stuff and do races/group-rides, try for PBs on sections of the routes or just make it up as you go. It makes indoor training somewhat enjoyable and satisfying in my opinion, and that's what I need indoors. I don't really like ERG mode, I don't see the big benefit. It forces you to hold a given power but surely it's better to include the mental aspect of controlling and maintaining your power. So long as you do the work I suppose it's just a matter of personal preference.
I don't use TR or Sufferfest. However I've seen others in the past recommend using both Zwift and TR simultaneously. I think this would be primarily if using ERG mode, with TR controlling the trainer and Zwift giving you something to look at. I assume the idea is to use TR workouts and Zwift's "world". For me, the workouts are less important. There are many ways to achieve very similar results. I aim to hit a certain TSS for certain sessions and to do so by spending blocks of time near threshold, or with VO2max intervals, or sprints or whatever. I have an outline plan but I don't always pre-programme it. I'll often do a specific 2x20 threshold session or 5x5min VO2max session, but other days I'll accumulate just as much training stress in appropriate zones for appropriate times without worrying so much about exact figures. For example. I often just get on Zwift and ride around for a little while to warm up, then when I'm ready for some intensity I'll head for, say, the epic climb. I'll climb that either as a threshold effort or maybe going for a new PB on the climb. I find using virtual distance rather than just an interval time as a target can be more motivating sometimes. Not having a programmed workout does not mean I take it easy. Some of my unstructured rides have been the one's where I worked hardest. And your power profile for a ride doesn't have to look regular and precise in order to produce the training benefits. Variety is essential for me. Zwift makes that feasible.