If you want to stay fit and train indoors, there are a wide selection of indoor training apps you can use.
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The most popular are Zwift and Peloton, but they offer users quite different experiences.
Here, we explain what Zwift and Peloton are, what you need to use them, how much they each cost and the types of workouts they offer. This will help you decide which one is suitable for your purpose.
What is Zwift?
Zwift is an indoor cycling app that links to turbo trainers and stationary bikes to provide a simulated riding environment. The virtual world of Zwift is represented by an avatar riding a bicycle.
Choose routes to follow across a variety of simulated worlds, from your own Watopia to the fictional southern islands of Japan, to real-world course simulations such as Paris and London.
While you can use Zwift with a standard turbo trainer and change the resistance levels yourself, you’ll get the best experience from the app if you use a smart trainer or smart indoor bike.
A smart trainer or bike automatically changes the resistance when pedaling depending on the gradient in the app. You can also take a break when the route you are following goes downhill.
A smart trainer measures the power you’re exerting while riding, and Zwift uses that, along with your weight, to determine how fast you’re riding through simulation.
For most routes, you can ride by yourself and follow a pre-planned Zwift workout or training plan. However, Zwift focuses on competition as well as more stable group rides.
There are a variety of indoor Zwift races available, and elite competitors even have the chance to go pro. Some have achieved professional success, such as Australian Jay Vine.
Zwift allows you to earn points called Drops while riding. You can use these points to purchase various equipment for your avatar or unlock other parts of the world. You can also win badges and real-world and virtual prizes.
The Zwift companion app lets you discover and join races and rides, and communicate with other riders via text messages.
In short, Zwift offers a way to train and stay fit through a gamified experience indoors. It also includes key training features such as FTP testing.
What is Peloton?
Peloton offers a variety of exercise classes that you can take at home. These are like gym classes, and Peloton has diversified from the original Peloton Bike stationary stationary bike to offer other workouts like strength training and yoga.
They even have their own treadmills, so you can buy them if you want to take a running class.
Peloton Bike offers a ready-to-ride solution, but you can also sign up for the app and attend classes with your own equipment.
If you choose Peloton Bike or Peloton Bike+, the stationary bike screen displays links to live and on-demand instructor-led workouts and speakers, and a microphone provides interactivity.
On the Peloton Bike, you manually change the resistance when prompted, but on the Peloton Bike+ you have the option to automatically change the resistance as the class progresses.
Peloton recommends 30 minutes of exercise a day, and many of its classes are designed to provide workouts of this length. It is aimed at maintaining and improving fitness rather than being a trained cyclist.
Zwift vs. Peloton Features
Zwift and Peloton have different purposes, mechanics, and user experiences. Here’s a quick explanation of how they differ.
Ecosystem
Zwift runs on a variety of hardware devices, including computers, tablets, smartphones, and smart TVs. You can use a variety of turbo trainers and smart bikes to ride on Zwift, and many offer resistance control from the Zwift app.
If you choose a turbo trainer over a smart bike, you’ll also need a real bike to put it on.
Zwift has its own Zwift Hub direct drive smart trainer, priced at £549/$599 including a year’s Zwift membership. Zwift has introduced new hardware to its ecosystem, including the Zwift Play Controller and the Zwift Cog, which is said to be compatible with a variety of bikes and drivetrains.
The company’s site also sells a variety of Wahoo smart trainers, which also come with a one-year Zwift membership. You will also need to source a bike to attach to the trainer.
If you choose the Peloton app, you can join Peloton classes on the trainer or stationary bike of your choice using the app on your smartphone. When you purchase a Peloton Bike, it comes with an integrated screen for tracking your workouts.
Connectivity and hardware
Zwift and Peloton both require an internet connection.
For Peloton, that’s done via bike. When you purchase a standard His Peloton Bike, Peloton streams your workout to the bike’s screen and manually adjusts the resistance. If you choose Peloton Bike+, you can adjust resistance manually or automatically.
Zwift uses an internet connection to your hardware device to run an app that connects to your smart trainer, usually via Bluetooth, and changes the trainer’s resistance to reflect the in-game terrain and riding intensity. Masu. You can add heart rate monitors, separate power meters, and other devices to measure your training zones.
You can also use Zwift on “dumb” trainers that don’t automatically change resistance. The trainer’s output must be manually adjusted to reflect the in-game terrain, and he needs Zwift’s speed and cadence sensors to estimate power output. These are fairly inexpensive add-ons.
Unlike Zwift, Peloton is not based on power measurements, so even less sophisticated trainers can use the Peloton app.
physical properties
If you buy a Peloton Bike, the brand says it can adjust the bike to fit riders from 150cm to 195cm tall and weighing up to 130kg. Although the bike itself is compact, it weighs over 60kg.
Zwift setup will vary depending on your own hardware selection. Most turbo trainers can accommodate different sized bikes. Separating your bike and trainer makes it easier to store your equipment when not in use. For example, the Zwift Hub smart trainer weighs 15kg. The footprint of the bike and trainer will be similar to that of an exercise bike.
Smart bikes have similar dimensions and adjustability as Peloton bikes. For example, the Wahoo Kickr smart bike can accommodate users with a height of 152 cm to 193 cm and a weight of up to 113 kg. The Kickr smart bike itself weighs 42kg.
Pricing
Peloton’s price includes upfront payment for the bike, shipping, and setup, followed by a monthly subscription to attend classes and access content. There is a 30 day trial period.
Peloton Bikes aren’t cheap (currently £1,345 / $1,445 for the standard Peloton Bike and £1,995 / $2,495 for the Peloton Bike+), but Peloton is offering 0% financing for one year with Klarna . We also have Klarna finance available with interest rates of up to 43 months.
The Peloton Bike integration allows us to charge a hefty monthly subscription fee, currently £39/$44 per month, to attend classes and consume content.
However, the Peloton App lowers this, with the standard Peloton App One app priced at £12.99/$12.99 per month. This limits him to three machine-based workouts per month.
Pay £24/$24 per month for Peloton App+ and get unlimited cycling workouts and other equipment-based workouts, plus exclusive content and the option to link your cadence sensor. Both app versions have a 60-day free trial period.
A monthly Zwift subscription currently costs £12.99 / $14.99 per month. There is a 14-day free trial period.
The initial cost of a Zwift setup should be significantly cheaper than purchasing a Peloton Bike, especially if you already have a suitable bike to attach to your trainer.
The long-term cost of ownership for Zwift is lower than a Peloton Bike, but the price for just using the Peloton app is similar to using Zwift.
If you like the idea of Zwift or Peloton but want to save money, there are free indoor cycling apps, but you’ll need a stationary bike or smart trainer and a bike.
experience
The big difference between Zwift and Peloton is their respective riding experiences.
While Zwift uses a virtual world to mimic outdoor riding and racing, Peloton is an at-home version of a stationary bike class at the gym.
Peloton’s classes are more focused on maintaining fitness and have a wider variety of non-cycling exercises than Zwift, with cycling being the main focus and running being a sideline.
A gym class-like experience means you’ll get prompts and encouragement on Peloton, as well as the possibility of interacting with other class members. Many users find having a real instructor, live or on-demand, more supportive than riding in Zwift’s virtual world.
Although Zwift itself does not support voice communication, you can interact with other users by sending text messages on the companion app. Users can link to another app (Discord is popular) for voice communication with other users during the ride.
So, should you buy Zwift or Peloton?
If you’re looking to get into indoor cycling, the choice between Zwift, Peloton, or another indoor cycling app will largely depend on the experience you’re looking for.
If you want to mimic outdoor riding and explore a virtual world, Zwift is for you. It not only provides an environment for more structured training, but also an opportunity for group rides and competition.
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On the other hand, if you’re looking for a fun gym experience without having to go to the gym, Peloton offers it. Bite-sized workouts can be a more time-efficient way to stay fit than riding Zwift.