atwl77

If I remember correctly, Zwift does not apply resistance from the terrain in the workout modes, only on the normal rides.

TCR Rider

That is also correct. I'm not sure but you may not be able to draft off other riders but I'm not positive. I do know that road feel is turned off as well if you have a trainer that supports that feature (Tacx Neo)

Ald1 

Thanks!

chaadster

To update things, in my earlier comments I criticized Zwift workouts for perhaps not having cadence targets in their workouts. Well, today I did a Group Workout for the first time, and there were, indeed, target cadences to go along with power and time targets.

Given that, and the incredible number of workouts available on Zwift, it’s hard for me to see what real advantages TrainerRoad might offer, at least based on what has been offered in this thread (I’ve not used TR myself).

Da Reef

Another user of Trainer Road for the structured workouts. The TR guys really seem to live for the nerdy training science and I think it shows in the software and podcasts. I also use Zwift but more to change things up.

trainsktg

The difference would be that while there are a huge quantity of workouts in Zwift's library, they have relatively few multi-week or multi-month structured plans. TrainerRoad is nearly all about multi-month structured plans for individuals training with more specific events or goals in mind...criteriums, 40kTT, cyclocross etc.

One could create their own personal library of structured Zwift plans using plans from books like Training...with a Power Meter etc., but after reviewing the effort involved and realizing that my self coaching to date has not yielded the results I wanted, I decided that the extra $100/yr for a TR susbcription was worth it.

Keith

chaadster

Ah, yes, of course. Good point.

rubiksoval

How are these structured? Are they essentially daily (6-7 day plans) where you're on the trainer doing a workout, or do they do say, 3-4 workouts and then another 2-3 days of easy riding? Wondering about the versatility and how easy it would be to jump outside on the weekend or during better weather.

knitguy

It's been a few years since I've had a TR subscription but most if not all of the plans have a low, medium, and high volume options that range in the number of workouts you're given per week. I think the low volume plans tend to be three days of structured workouts. You can see the number of hours per week for each plan here.

Right now I'm weighing my options between TR and Zwift because, for medical reasons, I'm not allowed to ride outside until at least March (I had a major knee surgery six weeks ago and any fall would mean a broken tibia). Zwift keeps my attention but I really appreciate the structured nature of TR.

jsk

They follow a traditional periodized plan with base, build, and specialty/peak phases. There are multiple options for each phase: Base has traditional (volume/z2 approach) and sweetspot options. Build phase has general, short- and sustained-power options. Specialty phase has everything from crits, RR, cyclocross, TT, etc.

The plans each have 3 volume options. For instance Mid-volume is 5 days/week for 5-8 hrs with Mon & Fri off, Weds easyish, and some type of intervals the rest of the days. High Volume plans will usually be six days/week and slightly longer workouts. The workouts progress pretty logically, for instance if Tuesday is 5 intervals at some duration/intensity the first week, subsequent weeks will change the reps/intensity/duration to make it slightly harder each week.

I find I can mix outdoor rides with the training plans and it still works relatively well. Some of the workouts are best done on the trainer, others I can more easily replicate outside. On the weekends I do longer outdoor rides, but will try to get some of the same intensities during my outdoor ride even if it's not a structured workout. (For instance, during build phase it's usually some VO2 stuff on Saturday and sweetspot on Sunday). You can still track your progress in the plan when riding outside by marking a workout as completed outdoors.

I believe you can do a 30 day free trial which should allow you to check out their plans/workouts and see how you like it.

jpescatore

I'm a touring/road cyclist, not a racer. Last winter I decided to buy a smart trainer (went with Wahoo Kickr SNAP) and did the Zwift/Sufferfest/TrainerRoad compare. Since I'm not a racer, Zwift won hands down. Oddly, actually got into racing on Zwift, enjoy it as part of the workout but still not a racer.

This year, sticking with Zwift again - my March fitness last year was lightyears ahead of previous years and I had fun on Zwift. Now, Zwift has group workouts, customer workouts are easy to build - I'm doing the Time Crunched Cyclist workouts with regular Zwift riding as the "Easy Miles" and group workouts and the occasional race as added sessions.

So, I'm on team Zwift but if all I was interested in was racing, wouldn't be.