sdmc530

I used to do this and use the Kurt Kinetic software but it just got too boring TV isn't an option where I can set up my trainer. Couldn't go more than 30 minutes without just quitting. Then I tried Zwift and its just more engaging and keeps me going. I still won't do over 90 minutes but it helps. Interaction is a fun way to pass the riding time for the 4 months a year when I do use Zwift. For the $60 I pay for my winter riding season I really think its worth it. $60 isn't a huge investment really when I think about what my wife pays for her gym membership is WAY more than that. I hated going to the gym....not a place for me I guess.


I will say though I wanted to get the 100 mile ride jersey on Zwift, took me 7 hours on a blizzard day. Horrible day of riding in my basement. That was a mentally painful day, but I got it done.

bobwysiwyg

Well, I gave Zwift a try and an opportunity to lure me in. Used up my free time yesterday and decided to pay for at least a month. Even the process to do that was at best, tedious.
Fast forward to today, go to log in and tells me my password doesn't match. BS, I use a password manager and it was saved the previous day. I made the change via reset email. Finally get in only to find out there was no record of my enrollment.
Needless to say, I find this application a pain. I'll log in again tomorrow to make sure my credit card info and my 'membership' is not recorded. The semi-realistic background tied to riding variables cool, but not worth all the aggravation.

Cyclist0108

I paid for it, used it twice, and then contracted a nasty cold.

sdmc530

I assume your using a laptop?

I use my ipad and haven't logged in to anything in 2 years. I hope I don't get logged out because I have no idea what my password is anymore.
You got me nervous now.....

bobwysiwyg

Yes, I was using a laptop. Occasionally running an HDMI cable to an older 42" Sony TV about ten feet away. Mostly just used the laptop directly in front of me on a stand.

Cyclist0108

If you know the email address used, you can do a password reset from the website.

bobwysiwyg

Yup.

OBoile

No one needs to pay it, but it does make riding indoors much more enjoyable. I can think of far worse ways to spend one's money.

monstorr

To be fair I would just pay for it in the winter months, November - March that way you can still ride when there is snow outside!

prj71

Fat Bike. Get outdoors...

monstorr

This one sounds interesting too if it comes out this summer. Not sure anyone will want to use it when you could ride outside though =/

Cyclist0108

I wound up paying for 2 months of Zwift, and used it about 5 times. First, because as soon as it got marginally nice, I wanted to ride outside, and the second time I had some nasty respiratory infection that made doing anything on a bike, inside or out, nearly impossible, so I squandered the second month completely.

If I could pay by the mile or days used, that would be ideal.

Cyclist0108

You wouldn't by any chance be my wife's sock-puppet account?

NeanderThaler

As a free alternative to Zwift, you can try VirtualWorldCycle. It is completely free. But it is still in very early development, so a lot of features are missing.
But it works for me. You can control the restistance of your trainer by phone, which is most important for me (and not paying anything )

Machka 

You could do commercial intervals.

RJD253

FulGaz offers a 14 day free trial.

dagray

I did a comparison between BKool and Zwift in the electronics section of this forum.

I love BKool's ability to import ride data directly from Strava (but you have to have premium accounts in both for this to work) so I can race myself and challenge others on local routes. I also love BKools drafting features as if you get behind anyone you can draft them; unlike Zwift where if a group ride goes by you most likely won't get any drafting effect.

However, I enjoy the graphics in Zwift better. BKool has no "Power ups" to help you ride like Zwift does, but like Zwift if you need to you can set a slope reduction percentage so hills aren't as hard (I have not ever used this and some of the hilly routes in BKool are real tough).

BKool allows monthly billing I believe and is less expensive than Zwift.

bnewberry

My wife found this one and we like it better than Zwift. The video game aspect of Zwift isn’t as nice as real-world ride videos that FulGaz has.

Igotdibs

I'm in my 2nd year on Rouvy. Like @BlazingPedals says, the video is actual camera footage, and there are rides from many countries all over the world. I ride on Elite B+ Digital Smart Rollers, and the experience is almost like being there. The video is sync'd with GPS data, so as you ride and watch the scenery on the screen, the roller resistance increases and decreases as you ride up and down hills.

Nothing beats riding outside, but when it's wet and cold I'd rather be inside on my rollers riding to Rouvy.

kcblair

I used Zwift last year for 2 mos. Mostly for the interval workouts, didn't care for the computer gen graphics. So I started to look for something else. I came upon Veloreality. Software is free to download, but you must the videos. Pricing starting at $12 and up. Most in 1080HD and they are adding 4K video. Ride from around USA and Europe. So I purchased 2 and was impressed. This Summer, they had a sale and bought 2 more. Rently, I bought Alpe d' huez. The software connects to smart trainers and ant+ devices. You can read the review in dcrainmaker.com.

VR does not contain workouts, but you can create your own, was the only draw back. To solve that issue, an little research turned up Goldencheetah. Free software, to track more metrics, than I understand. But, you can down load 5000+ workouts and import into GC from ERGdb.

So, now I am setup, to free ride and workout indoors this winter, basically free. My rides from VR are imported into GC. and these files can be exported to Strava.

So far , the real world scenery is great (VR) and I'm replacing my 20" monitor with a 40".KB

MoAlpha

We have Rouvy, which has many good features and the video is much more interesting, at least for someone over 40 who didn't grow gaming, than the silly Zwift environments. However, not all the Rouvy videos are high quality and the feed can be balky for anything you can't download, especially at high bike speeds. Also, Zwift provides much better visuals for structured workouts (and their developers can write English). Most importantly, the social/competitive aspect of Zwift makes it easy for me to kill a couple of hours at high effort on the trainer, which nothing else can.

Oh, and this may seem minor, but Zwift allows you to warm up your trainer, stop, do a spin-down, and resume a ride. I really like that.

mstateglfr 

Mississippi State basketball games. You can take all the frustration that builds from watching them and use it to fuel a really strong workout.

Every out of control drive, every forced pass they traffic, and every moving screen provides continued fuel from start to end.