cowboy7 wrote:
What is the experience like on Zwift for those on dumb trainers ? I've tried Zwift on a Wahoo but I have Tacx Blue Motion trainer?
others can correct me if i'm wrong. obviously the experience gets better as the tech gets better. the absolute best experience i've had so far on zwift is on the Wahoo Kickr Bike. but that's top of the heap. i'm going to spend some time on both the Saris platform, and on the Tacx NEO Bike, which i just built up yesterday. and then i'll be prepared for some model-by-model shootouts.
below that - and by far the bulk of my experience - is just the typical smart trainer. you should be able to get those in the $700 to $800, and i believe, unless they're sold out, wahoo has a kickr refurb deal on right now in that price range. saris and wahoo, and elite, should all have deals of some sort in that price range if you nose around and are even a little patient.
dumb trainers, fine, assuming you don't max out the watts of the trainer. what you cannot do on that is to have zwift control the difficulty. you have to do that yourself, through gearing. in other words, you can't be riding along and all of a sudden it gets easier - without you changing gears - because the "road" on which you're riding begins to descend. what does happen, tho, is zwift senses the power you're producing, and if you make no change in your power then you'll speed up as the road pitches down.
what you'll need, tho, is a way to transmit your power to zwift. best way is via a power meter. but if you don't have a power meter on your bike, then there's the speed & cadence sensor. that's maybe $60, all in? that device makes a pretty good guess at your power, and that's what tells zwift what you're doing, which is translated to your avatar on zwift.
i have zero experience riding zwift on a dumb trainer. i suspect it's fine. much, much better than riding in front of reruns of the honeymooners.
Dan Empfield
aka Slowman