You just need a speed sensor. Zwift will provide a reasonable power estimate based on the speed and type of fluid trainer. HR & Cadence are optional but not necessary.

neither tr nor zwift incorporates the power vs speed equation for the tempo fluid trainer. you need a "real" pm, I'm afraid

The quote above seems correct in that the Tempo Fluid is NOT supported on TrainerRoad, however I do not believe you NEED a real PM to use trainerroad (I am less familiar with zwift). Check out this article:

https://support.trainerroad.com/...ner-isn-t-supported-

If I were in your shoes, I would use TR and select the Jet Fluid Pro trainer and call it a day. To do this, you will need a speed sensor that gathers speed from your back wheel AND can connect to whatever device you intend to use trainerroad on. That probably means you need a bluetooth speed sensor.

WRT Cadence and HR, you do not need them to use virtual power on TR. That said, I think you will find them to both be of value. TR has a lot of cadence queues in the workouts so having cadence will improve the experience, and in my opinion your riding. HR is a different beast all together, but if you learn to use heart rate data it is useful. Just like the speed sensor, if you want to view cadence and HR in trainerroad, you will need those sensors to support bluetooth, or I at least recommend going with Bluetooth over some sort of ant+ dongle/converter.

I have never ridden using virtual power. That said, I bought a power meter and signed up for trainerroad. Having done so, I regret NOT using virtual power in my training before getting a PM. My recommendation is to do it.

I also have a dumb trainer and no power meter. I currently use zwift but want to try a few of the others to see what I like best as I think I need some more workouts and don't care too much about the game part. I do have a HR monitor (garmin 935), and garmin speed and cadence sensors. Here is what I have found...

Zwift will calculate virtual power for me. It seems to work well and when I go up/down a hill I just need to change my gears to coincide. From what I have read, both trainer road and sufferfest will do this as well. However...

There are a few issues. 1) you cant use that power when biking outside which really sucks and kinda defeats the purpose and 2) the zwift workouts don't count on my watch towards my garmin training status (even though I do use TP and Strava). It was really annoying. So here is what I now do...

On the garmin iq store, there is an app called vPower. Its a virtual power reading based on the same thing Zwift/TR use (my speed, cadence, and HR, etc). This is a data field on my watch that I can see just like my HR, Cadence, etc and its all recorded in garmin connect just like a real power meter. It has solved pretty much all of my problems and I don't really see a need for me to get a power meter because this does it. First, I can record the workout on my watch and its like I had my own power meter. I have compared my power graphs from the vPower app to Zwift and they are nearly 100% identical over multiple workouts so I think they use nearly the same algorithm. Plus the vPower app works outside, so my numbers can translate to indoor/outdoor working out. Assuming virtual power is good enough, I think this app would probably be good for most people instead of buying a power meter. If zwift, TR, sufferfest, this vpower app can do it, I dont see why virtual power isn't just standard on garmin. Maybe its not as precise as a power meter but it seems to translate to my effort and is perfect for someone just trying to use power.

That's amazing. Thanks. I'm getting everything (HR, speed, cadence) Wahoo brand from a recommendation. I'm assuming there wouldn't be a difference with Zwift...

Getting a trip watch is next year's project.

Surferdude, could I do the same without one of either cadence or stored monitors?

Thanks for posting that info on the power with Garmin. I'm gonna look into that option. I was beginning to think I was in the super-minority without a power set up or a smart trainer. Not I'm against those options, just hadn't gotten around to it ....