No you do not need an ant+ dongle because the wahoo speed/cadence sensor can communicate Bluetooth to the iPad. You would need an ant+ dongle if your computer didn’t have Bluetooth smart on it.

That said, if you want a hr monitor to show up in zwift, you will need a Bluetooth capable hr monitor.

The speed and cadence sensor is all you need to get you started. Have fun!

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If you use a dumb trainer with a speed sensor, it needs to be on the list for the data to be “legitimate.” Zwift will still work, but it has no way to estimate your power accurately if it doesn’t know the resistance curve of your trainer.

Thanks for the responses. My current trainer I didn’t find on the Zwift list. So that would take away a bit of the legitimacy. I’m just trying to see if I want to go with buying a basic smart trainer or stick with the Wahoo speed candence bundle.

If you did want to get pretty legitimate data, you could consider looking for a good quality second hand dumb trainer. I use Zwift with a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine and if you set it up consistently (same tyre, pressure, and clamp compression) it produces extremely repeatable results and I don't think you're losing out much to a smart trainer. I'm not bothered about ERG mode so slope simulation is the main difference remaining and you don't even use that in workout mode. I also think the feel of a good fluid trainer is probably as good or better than most smart trainers. My KK RM is certainly a lot better than the Elite Rampa I've tried in that respect. So, if you can get a good second hand fluid trainer that's compatible with zPower (KK Road Machine is the best option IMO) then that's a great budget option.

I'd buy a 2nd hand powertap wheel, rather than another trainer. Zwift will read actual power and go with that

Fair point. Depending on your preferences, and how you find your existing trainer, a second hand power meter might be a better way to go. I find a good fluid trainer much nicer to ride than a magnetic one, but if that's not an issue then the power meter should give more accurate power data and you can have it outdoors too. On the down side, can you get a good second hand power meter as cheaply as a second hand fluid trainer? Can you be sure it's in good condition? Something like the KK Road Machine is a pretty solid bit of equipment. There's not much could be wrong with it, without being obvious.

Two videos I've done on this... from zero setup to Zwift. (They're a good few months old now... still relevant).

Zwift on a Budget: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg0IDDmSStw

Zwift IOS on a Budget: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHVnxxWJA9s

The IOS one will be more relevant if you're looking at using an iPad.

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Shane Miller - GPLama
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