macgyver60

My wife an I are looking to buy an indoor exercise bike. Because of back issues we want a recumbent bike. I really want a bike that can use Zwift or Rousy or similar programs. I prefer the idea of just biking on my own without a trainer with video that takes you through scenic areas. I know there are systems that allow you to do this with a road bike connected to a smart stand but it seems like all of the recumbent bike systems like Nordic track for example tie you into using their own expensive subscription service with very limited non-subscription options. I would be happy with a couple dozen scenic rides that I could pay for once and use over and over. I really hate the pick pocket of another subscription service that seems to be the business model of virtually every company these days from socks to steaks. Anyway, if anyone has a suggestion I'm all ears.

unterhausen

Welcome to the forum. I think I would put a regular 'bent on a trainer. Either wheel on or wheel off should work. Most of them will adjust to a smaller rear wheel if needed, or you can put the front wheel on a riser.

Thomas15

I think the reason you are not getting a lot of suggestions on the question of virtual riding platforms is because your wording in the OP is a little bit confusing. You want Zwift or Rouvy which are subscription services but you don't like the idea of a subscription service? You want to bike on your own without using a trainer but just video but I'm not clear on this stipulation? So we are left trying to understand just exactly what you want to accomplish and how.


I think I can speak for many here, the truth is for me at least riding an indoor trainer, spin bike or stationary bike, whatever, in any of it's basic configurations without some kind of distraction, be it music, a movie, a video of the Tour de France or a virtual platform with feedback into a trainer, without any of that, the chore is exceptionally boring. So yes I don't like the idea of having to pay Zwift $16/month but that $16 and my smart trainer combo have me on my trainer for 100-150 miles per week at a time when I wouldn't even consider riding outside (winter).


I went into the winter of 2019-2020 very much a beginner from a fitness perspective, when I started riding outside in the Spring of 2020, I was a much improved rider and able to climb hills I never thought I could climb. I worked at it, true, but I would say to anyone listening that the $16/month I paid Zwift from November to April was a fantastic bargain for me. I can and did all the things you are looking for: solo rides, group rides, races, measured workouts. Pick the terrain, pick the effort level, find bicycle happiness in the virtual world because it's there, it just has a small price tag attached to it.

mr_pedro

The most low tech solution is if you can attach a Bluetooth / Ant+ speed sensor to your indoor bike. This means that Rouvy or Zwift won’t be able to control the resistance, but it will move you along on screen at the pace you are riding on the bike and any trainer will do.

Barry2 

Go look at the FulGaz website. Scenic rides, in 4K video, filmed all over the world.
AND you can sample (in low resolution) their rides before you even signup for the 30day trial account.

Barry

macgyver60

i get your point but maybe I wasn’t clear enough. What I am looking for is options. iFit is very expensive, over $400/yr. I hate that Nordic track and similar companies lock you into their subscription system. Its like buying a TV and being licked into using Netflix with no other options. I may end up using some subscription system but I don’t think I’ll ever be gung ho enough to want to work with a trainer. When I go out on the road to ride or get in my kayak its for an hour or two of light exercise and to enjoy the scenery. It would be great to have a system like I said where I could pay a one time fee for a couple dozen rides that gave feedback to the machine and adjusted the tension to fit the scene but if not then at least let me use my own video or youtube etc.

i think what I am going to have to do is find out if anyone has hacked the tablets on these systems so it can be used as a web browser. I know its been done for Peloton. My other alternative is to buy a bike with just a simple display and then mount a monitor above it so I can use a streaming device to access a wide range of content. It seems like there are no bikes that have that flexibility built in or even a small library of basic no subscription rides. If there is a built in monitor they want their pound of flesh every month.

unterhausen

I knew what you meant about subscriptions. But I still think if you are going to live up to your username, putting a real recumbent on the trainer is the way to go. Although hacking a proprietary trainer would be more hardcore. I think if you are going to try that, getting a used one would be the best place to start.

Barry2 

If you stick to your "no subscription" requirement, there is no device, software or application I know of, that will control the cycling difficulty while displaying a scenic ride.
If such an item does exist, the recumbent requirement may prove to be limiting factor.

It's all about reoccurring income, and the days of old school one-time software purchases are numbered.
Even the services you mention by name as wanting to use, are subscription services.

Barry

HeyItsSara

I don't see how it's going to work. I had a recumbent years ago and no such system but you can't do hills with it like at spin class. I ended up discarding it.

macgyver60

I agree. The recurring revenue model is taking over every business these days. I would be willing to sacrifice the ability of the video to control the bike if it meant not having to pay the subscription fee because I know whatbwill happen. If our usage drops off the subscription will no longer make any sense at all and we will
cancel it. Then the bike becomes a coat rack because no one wants to stare at the wall and bike but who wants to pay $45mth for a bike they use once a week. I happen to be a physician and I see this with most of my patients. Everyone gies through ups and downs with their exercise routines. If the bike has an entertaining option that doesn’t require a subscripts easier to pick up the exercise again after a period when it hasn’t been used as much.

these are all helpful suggestions. At least it shows me that the product I want is not out there and if I have to figure out what features are most important. I think I am going to get a simpler bike and just mount a monitor in front so I can use youtube rides but still have the option to use something like zwift if I want to try a subscription service thay doesn’t cost a fortune

mr_pedro

Looks like people can just attach some recumbents straight on a Wahoo Kickr, no MacGyver skills needed:

Zwift on a VTX - BentRider Online Forums

And if you are looking for a way to make indoor cycling fun and keeping you motivated, I would say that it is not so much the scenery but the social element that you can get from Zwift but also from other similar apps. Joining group rides or just riding around the virtual worlds, trying to keep up with the avatar in front, knowing this is another person on the other side, makes for good addictive fun.

surak

I don't mind a subscription service for training platforms that have online aspects and continually add content. Lock-in is bad, which is why I'd always prefer the more cycling-focused ecosystems that cater to users with all different setups, over the spinning or general fitness offerings that limit your options once buying into their closed system. The more open systems must compete with each other, and that means they're less likely to stagnate or drive up prices to rip their customers off.

unterhausen

Yes, this is what I've been saying. Not sure why the OP is rejecting this option. Maybe the lack of MacGyvering?

mr_pedro

Looks like the hard thing with fixed trainers is finding one that is controllable. Otherwise any recumbent trainer will do if a speedsensor can be attached, or if pedals with power meter can be attached.

macgyver60

I didn’t reject it. I hadn’t commented on it. Ill have to look at what’s involved. My wife will be using this too and we have a limited space for it. I was under the impression this option would take up more room. The stationary bikes are only 58 inches in length. Since we’re on the subject, the flywheel mechanisms on the stationary bike i tried had a very smooth realistic feel to it. How would this kind of set up compare?

unterhausen

The wheel-off trainers have pretty decent feel. I think you should look at the DCrainmaker reviews in your price range.

pinsonp2 

The tablet on the Nordic Track machines can be be easily hacked. There is a You Tube channel that covers alot of that: NT Tips and Tricks

Danhedonia

To be blunt, your largest challenge is that you don't seem aware of what's available; you want something you have imagined, but it's very clear from your posts that you have not done much research.

Do some research. Start with DC Rainmaker's website. Cycling Tips, Bike Radar ... you can find out a lot, and if you want to avoid frustration, you should be spending your time there.

macgyver60

You're correct to a degree but this was actually helpful because the answers here have confirmed what I suspected, that what we want doesn't exist, essentially an all in one device with a large screen that allows us to access any riding app or other content that we choose. No one makes a unit like that. The options that some of the others here have given are possible options so thats been helpful.

Danhedonia

Telling you to start at DC Rainmaker's site is also helpful. The articles are long; you can skim.

unterhausen

Sure, an all-in-one doesn't exist without hacking on your part. It would be a very niche product with no potential profitability. That's why nobody here has been suggesting anything like that.

The tie-in to the subscription offering is what makes these things profitable.

Note the difference in price between something like a kickr bike and a peloton. And the kickr doesn't have a screen built in. Then multiply the difference by a factor of 2 because they would sell 10 units of a 'bent that can run zwift.

Wildwood 

Peloton's potential buyers - given the drop in valuation - are not bicycle companies. But they do want to distribute content and collect 'data'.

Maybe the future Free subscription will take a large amount of your data and deliver Ads you cannot skip thru. On the 'road' you have time for surveys - just imagine the possibilities of Free. But someone will collect data for undetermined future use.

macgyver60

This was an old post but to update I found a solution. I bought a nautilus stationary bike and mounted a 20 inch flat screen to which I connected an apple TV. Now i have multiple options for content, streaming services, YouTube work out videos and scenic videos, and if I want to pay a subscription there are Apple work outs and even Peloton but at a much cheaper rate than what you have to pay for the bike subscription.

For others the Peloton bike is a good option. My wife did not want a spin bike and neither of us wanted to pay an expensive subscription we did not need so we hacked together a system that works for us.

PeteHski

This will kind of do what you are asking for:-

https://www.matrixfitness.com/uk/eng/home/bikes/r30/xir

The console has a few built-in scenic rides (Virtual Active) and there is no subscription. We have a Matrix Elliptical running the same console and software. It's okay, but those few limited videos get very boring after a short while. They are nowhere near as good as Zwift or Rouvy etc.

speedyg0nz

Does your Nautilus bike come with Bluetooth functionality? If it does, there's a good chance that it works with the qdomyos-zwift app. The app essentially acts as an intermediary to broadcast your bike data (e.g. cadence, power) to a plethora of fitness apps (e.g. Zwift, Peloton, Rouvy, Fulgaz, etc), and even control the bike's resistance if compatible. This gives you the flexibility to integrate your bike with different fitness apps too.