I haven't actually used it yet, but I am planning on getting started with TrainerRoad this weekend with my KK road machine (non smart) and a wahoo speed sensor. As far as I can tell, TrainerRoad is the most respected for excellent workouts, and zwift is more for group rides and racing (though they did come out with workouts recently).

I’ve been on TR for a bit over a week now, and I have to say they I really like how they’ve done the interface, at least if you use your phone. Haven’t tried the PC app yet, but the intervals are all auditory cues so you can be watching of listening to whatever form of entertainment you want, the app isn’t trying to double as entertainment. Listen for the beeps, see what the next interval is, and then go back to your movie. Simple.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Are you using a smart trainer with "erg mode"? If so, do you feel like it's a must-have in order to get the most out of TR?

Dumb trainer with speed and cadence sensor. I feel like I’m getting plenty out of the workouts without erg mode or a smart trainer. It’s pretty easy to keep track of whether you’re in target, just keep the power in the green.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Workout mode was added late 2015 within Zwift. They've slowly added to the library over the years, and added group workout events a few months back. The recent update last week was for the scheduling/planning of workouts. I'd love to see the Zwift workout editor get a v2.0 overhaul with cloud storage sync and possible third-party sync sources (think coaches publishing their own workout libraries etc) that'd be very handy.

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Shane Miller - GPLama
YouTube | Web | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Strava

I started with Zwift workouts 6 weeks ago and helped a ton. Switched to TrainerRoad two weeks ago and love it! Talk about getting fit for a cycling newbie.

I use a classic trainer, no erg.

Also, I run Zwift at the same time in free ride while doing the TR workouts. I have a PM on Bluetooth for TR and speed cadence on ANT for Zwift.

I'm a huge fan of indoor riding. An annual cost of TR, Zwift, Sufferfest is a lot of fun per buck. Each is a different good reason to head to your pain cave and beast yourself rather than go outside in the winter rain or the crazy drivers.c

I've got friends who i see on Strava posting 25 minute indoor rides saying "urrgh, doing my duty" or something like that. No way, they are so missing out! And they are crap slow because they miss the training benefit of indoor training.

Get all 3, each has one thing it does really well. TR makes you faster with excellent training, Zwift is good fun for races, Sufferfest is great fun for really hard beat the crap out of you sessions.

I've done them all with both a dumb and a smart trainer. If you've got smart then good, otherwise no problems with a dumb trainer- you just need to change gear sometimes..

You don't need a smart trainer but it definitely help with the road feel and entertainment value. Give these apps a try and see which one you like better. Each one come with a different flavor and we will be seeing more apps come into the market this year.

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SmartBikeTrainers.com || YouTube || My Twitter

Hey there STJ. David McQuillen from The Sufferfest here. You've got a lot of amazing options available for your indoor training these days. Nearly everyone has a free trial, so give them all a go and see what works best for you. If you're keen to know how our 4DP workouts are more effective than FTP-based ones, these video reviews (from independent vloggers) might be helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nqSxYDn9FA
and


BTW: We now have over 100 training plans on both TrainingPeaks and FinalSurge. All designed by the same coach who led BMC's Rohan Dennis to a stage win and pink jersey in the Giro d'Italia this year.

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David McQuillen
Founder & CEO of The Sufferfest

Thought you guys might be interested to see what we're going to release in The Sufferfest App in December: NoVid workouts.

We will launch a new section in the app with a large collection of workouts designed by APEX Coaching that do not have an associated video. You just fire up the workout, look at the data, see the graph (which will show you which of the 4DP metrics each interval is based on - and that's pretty special in itself) and do your workout. On desktop, you'll be able to reduce the player to a bar so you can see the data and open another app to watch Netflix or whatever.


Although not available in December, over the following months we'll be adding a workout builder so you or your coach can design your own workouts, share them with others, use them outside on your bike computer and do workouts from other people.

ps. The 'dashboard' will be customisable so you can choose what metrics to see.

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David McQuillen
Founder & CEO of The Sufferfest

I have all 3 and find myself using Sufferfest the most, then Zwift, then TR. Not sure why TR get so much love because I can't watch netflix or whatever and do the work required in the prescribed matter. Will be checking out FulGaz and Rouvy (which i think is pc only or iPad/phone which is too small)
maybe Sufferfest will be on AppleTV as Zwift and FulGaz are now

Dave...this is awesome news.

Love the Sufferfest...100% of my indoor training is done with the Sufferfest. Guided me to my fastest IM bike split last year at IMLou.

Keep churning out the pain!

trainer road is great. they have great support and you can also use their app to build workouts. that's what i did, my coach programmed workouts into my training peaks account and i built them in TR.

the sufferfest is good too. since they went app based you now have the ability to use all their workouts. and they're painful. the videos are entertaining but i prefer to watch netflix on my bike.

Will there be a way to import a workout from a particular format, preferably something that get's exported from Training Peaks (FIT, ZWO, ERG, MRC). Please, please, please

Yep! We won't have that functionality right when we launch NoVid workouts in December. But in the months afterwards we'll launch that - and we'll also have our own workout builder that you can use, too.

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David McQuillen
Founder & CEO of The Sufferfest

Why can't you watch something with TR? I do on the TV all the time.

I do as well. I can't say I end up fulling following the show especially when I am doing really hard intervals but certainly on less strenuous intervals it's a good distraction.

Sufferfest used to be my go to (I am a KoS after all). If only the awfulness of the PC app could get toned down enough to be usable I'd be right back in there. Oh well, there's still my original ~20 Sufferfest video files to fall back on in a fit of nostalgia when the mood strikes.

Then again I still pay monthly for Sufferfest so I guess the jokes on me...

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Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding it hurts.

I've been a big fan of PerfPro Studio for many years. It's great for multi-rider environments or on your own. It's also a one-off purchase so probably the best investment I've made for my indoor training. That and the library of Sufferfest videos I own. I've used it with Sufferfest videos but also great for playing other video, or Netflix while suffering with the crowds. I have Cycleops Fluid 2 which works well enough with PerfPro and my Garmin. It is Windows only but I've been using it on MacBooks through Parallels for a number of years. Recently changed to Virtual Box (it's free) with Windows 10 on a new MacBook Pro and seems to be working better than ever.

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Trust me I’m a doctor!
Well, I have a PhD :-)

What’s the issue with the windows app? I hadn’t used it before and tried it tonight on my MacBook and I was quite impressed.

Im also curious what trouble you are having with the Windows app. I run Sufferfest on a Windows 10 PC, power from Stages thru an ANT+ USB stick, and don't have any issues.

not what i said at all

I've tried all three and it's clear that a coder is part of the management team for Trainerroad. A more polished product and wider range of options for use (I'm primarily an android user). Sufferfest is great too but while I am an android (and only sometimes PC) user will be sticking with Trainerroad. Connecting my power meter or flux to Trainerroad is quick and reliable too.

Awfulness is never good. Let me know what wasn't working for you with the windows app -- we've made quite a few improvements to it lately and if there are still things that are not working for you with it, perhaps we can sort it for you.

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David McQuillen
Founder & CEO of The Sufferfest