Here is my 46" Panasonic in the bike room, and it sits on a cheap IKEA shelf that stores lots of bike gear and the computer that drives Zwift

Hey Lightheir, I think I recognize your username from the runner's world sub 3:20 and beyond thread.

Anyway, I use a cheap ($80) amazon projector for my zwift setup with a gaming desktop computer I built for $100. The projector is the second screen above the regular 25" lcd monitor. I use bluetooth headphones for sound. I also have a 27" TV mounted on the wall next to the computer monitor, which I use with youtube TV.

Because a giant fan(s) is necessary for zwifing I think sound is overrated. I never have the zwift sound on.

My setup is immersive and pretty awesome with a 6 foot screen ( I purposely built it for zwift and this is my second house doing this, so I think I have it figured out) but it's in the basement, and it's pretty dark. That's crucial for using the projector. I'd have easier fan setup options with a TV. I had to mount the projector on the ceiling above me to avoid blocking the screen. If I had a more expensive projector I could have more light in the room, and mount the projector off to the side, but logistically the setup would definitely be easier with a TV. I think the projector is worth it long term, if you're going to spend a lot of time in your zwift cave. I do; I do all my interval workouts inside.

@Herbert - Great setup, thanks for the pic. I am actually going to copy your setup, looks like it would work really well for my space, which looks nearly identical to yours. I still might go with a 50" TV as it looks like I could still see the power in the upper left no problem, but I'm on the fence on that as I could also just move the bike closer to the TV.

@stevendex - Yes, that was me on RT marathon forums! I seem to be bad at marathons - I think I've only had 2 good ones out of 7 - I'm pretty sure I overtrain for them, and I def overtrained for that last one (70mpw running) and ended up getting sick wayyyy too much and being really fatigued. I think I'm not factoring in the reality of aging (and I'm not even old, 44) when comparing training to my early 30s. I also doubt I'll be able to run another marathon - after that marathon I discovered I've had longstanding significant ankle arthritis from numerous prior soccer/bball sprains which limits how far I can run now without pain/soreness. Luckily, I can still put up 20mpw running with no problems, so perfect for triathlon.

That projector setup sounds good - I'll admit that I'm not ready to put in that kind of work to setup an overhead projector, plus I like a bright room, so I think I'll pass on the projector for now. (Maybe later I'll consider again.) Thx for the input.

Seems like TV is the consensus. That's what we have been moving to on campus for conference rooms too.

I may have missed it above, but what's your audio plan?

I don't think I'll need a great audio setup, as Zwift doesn't require more than minimal sound, but for right now I've been enjoying BT wireless earbuds via BT transmitter thru either my 32" TV or macbook pro. For movies I love the BT earbuds, but for Zwift, it's def optional as the sound doesn't make a huge difference - although yes, every bit helps add to the immersion. (Nice waterfall and lava sounds, I might add!)

I turn the Zwift sounds off and play Spotify loud over the Harmon Kardon Soundsticks - likely my oldest piece of electronic equipment

I have a $250, 45" HiSense, 4K TV with a Dell Alien PC setup connected to a CycleOps Hammer. My entire setup was about $1500. I use the computer for a lot of different things, other than just Zwift and my 45" TV is the computer monitor. It can hook up with either Bluetooth or Ant and is hardwired into my broadband so there is no lag whatsoever.

I looked at the projector but you are much more limited to moving your setup around. I can move the TV to pretty much any wall but the projector typically needs to be put in a specific place.

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TEAM HD
Each day is what you make of it so make it the best day possible.

I'm also a BT headphones person too so the rest of the house doesn't have to put up with it. +1 on the BT adapter. If you want to connect directly to your upcoming smart TV to watch Netflix or some sort of streaming service, the native BT seems to suck in a lot of them. The TCL's use an app on your phone that has a lot of lag. An Amazon Fire Stick or actual BT adapter are the only ways I have been able to connect BT headphones without some audio lag. Seems like you're already covered.

The guy I bought my house from had a room setup with a full swing golf simulator. I'm not a golfer, so I threw down a rubber floor and turned the room into a 180" Zwift screen (using the ceiling mounted projector). It is an AWESOME fully immersive experience! I use E-Motion smart rollers. I have computer speakers attached to the desktop that runs Zwift, but I rarely ever turn them on. I usually just use BT headphones hooked to my iPhone on the table next to me and either use Discord to chat with friends and/or music while Zwifting. Really hard to beat "life sized" Zwift...




Pardon my love handles...


And here's my 12 yr old using the extra fork mount attachment on his mountain bike...

Ok, you WIN!

That's a seriously awesome setup. You gotta fill in the details for us.

PC? Mac TV? 4k? 1080p?

What projector are you using and where is it stationed? And how dark do you have to keep it to see well? Does your neck hurt seeing the watts in the upper left?

Also, props on having the Vasa in there. But where is your treadmill??!?

And yeah, rubber flooring is good stuff - yours looks great too.

I'm using a cheap desktop PC that I bought (refurbished) on Amazon for ~$150 just to run Zwift. I have a USB extension cable with an ANT+ stick that sits on the floor right next to the middle of my rollers. The computer connects to the projector with a simple old VGA cable (I'm sure a new projector would use an HDMI cable instead).

My projector was likely state of the art when it was installed (circa 2009) well before 4k or 1080P, but I moved into the house in Jan of 2015. It's a Panasonic F300 XGA. Can likely get similar (or better) specs in 2019 for less than $400... Definitely never thought I needed higher resolution, after all, Zwift is kind of video game anyways... It looks great and feels like virtual reality without a headset.




It's mounted high on the ceiling, well behind where my bike is, but doesn't create a shadow on the screen... Can't figure out how to rotate the stupid picture... Sorry.



Because the room was originally a "golf room", they did the entire room in a Scottish Pub theme. The original owners would probably be sick to their stomachs if they knew I put another section of rubber floor down and use their former masterpiece as my bike maintenance room (and get grease everywhere).




I keep all the lights on while I'm riding, but the room is specifically made for the projector, wo there are no lights immediately near the projector, or right near the screen. Only can lights that shine straight down from the ceiling. I have no problem seeing anything.

I usually ride on my TT bike, so my neck doesn't hurt anymore than riding outside in the aero position. but in fairness, I also use my Garmin mounted on my aerobars so I can see NP for my interval or for the whole ride (which Zwift doesn't provide anyways).

Treadmill is in my actual gym in my basement (where my wife's bike is also setup)...

Awesome thanks for the details.

On an unrelated note, if you're sick and tired of bike grease, give waxed chains a try. It literally makes bike black grease stains obsolete, you'll never get one again from your drivetrain!

I'm glad that I've found this topic as I finally decided to create a good place for home cycling. I don't know why but I always thought that a projector would be better for this purpose, but now I have doubts. Maybe buying a TV is really better option. Thanks for sharing your experiences, guys.

Between 2019 and 2023 a lot has changed. Projectors are still readily accessible but a 85” TV can be found for $1000 too. I personally have a 65” TV for watching streaming videos and a 24” display for Zwift I look at from time to time. I tried a 32” but it got in my line of sight of my main display. 😀

Or buy multiple TVs for multiple options...

What is that thing? Just four different TVs?
If you want to find a perfect projector, i would highly recommend to read articles on Projectors Land, cause they seem to know everything about them. Amazon has tons of them for very different prices, but it is better to know at least approximately which one you want and read some reviews too.

It’s just 4 separate 50” TVs. So you could have up to 4 separate people doing Zwift. In that pic, my wife is doing Zwift and has Zwift companion mirrored on one screen and a couple races on the left screens running for distraction. BT headphones for music running separately as well, but could connect to any of the feeds. The whole thing works pretty well…

I bought cheap 55" Samsung 4K TV like $400 3 years ago. You also need good PC, anything less than 60 FPS will not look good and smooth. I would say you can buy 700$ PC and run it on 4K ultra settings, should be good enough. I put TV on the floor and lean it to the wall, my neck appreciates it every zwift ride I do. Projector is probably not a good idea.

Zwift's UI interface is poorly placed, especially your power, which is constantly at the top of your screen. It hurts to train for a few hours in the TT position while constantly checking your power number, so my solution is a TV on the floor. You won't need to raise your head to look at your power number because your neck will be relatively straight as a result. As for the road bike, it is okay with the TV on the wall because your position is not overly aggressive as TT.

I get power numbers off an old edge 520. In general I like running Zwift on a PC hooked up to a mid size PC monitor, the actual monitor screen taken up by a YouTube playlist (ie sports, music shows, travel videos, etc), Zwift being visible through a companion app on an old iPad mounted to the side and my phone being used for discord chats if I am in a race/group training sesh.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

As people have mentioned, picture height is huge. My TV is on slides and an articulating arm to be able to use it as a TV for the sectional in the corner so mounting super low wasn’t an option. In the aero position the TV is unusable, but with the Zwift companion i set it on my bike desk so I can monitor the workout. Also, how centered you are and how close has an impact on things as well, looking off to the side slightly and getting used to the bounce in your vision as you run with a screen that close. First world problems.

OOOHH I love mirroring zwift companion. I have to figure that one out myself!!! My arms are getting too short to type on my iphone while riding ;)

I went 55" tv on black friday from Costco for $238.

I put it on one of those corporate board room stands with wheels and a laptop mount on the riser. So I can move it in from of the bike, or in front of the "soccer watching couch".

I see a lot of good stuff in this topic, but man.........there's some seriously weak air flow game going on in a lot of these photos. Spending all this money on these setups and having some POS low cfm fan setup.

Go to Harbor Freight and pick up the big pedestal fan for like $200 or so. Or similar. I have a floor version mounted to the ladder in the shed on the wall on one side, and a big blower on the other.

If you mount them to blow cross body instead of pure front/back, you also sling the sweat to the side. Especially if you blow from drivetrain side to non drivetrain side.

You have to realize when riding outside you have a giant giant giant fan blowing on you at 20+ mph the entire time.

Yes, she definitely likes having that mirrored on that screen. It's running on her phone which is mounted between the aerobars, so it's easy to type/control when needed, and mirrored through an AppleTV.