The Breakaway

January 19, 2017

Zwift – The Tour De Spare Room

  • Ride the infamous Watopia
  • Bikes & kits can be customised

At this time of year we can often spend as long getting ready for ride and getting undressed after a ride as we do on our bikes. Peeling off more layers than an onion, inside a Russian doll, inside a sock can be more exhausting than riding 80km. The battle for base miles is as much a battle against the elements as it is the road, meaning that a great number of us turn to the ever faithful turbo trainer. Ever faithful, ever tormenting and ever incredibly boring. And then came Zwift…

For the uninitiated, Zwift is a virtual world where you can ride with people all round the globe from the ‘comfort’ of your turbo trainer. Whilst smart trainers, with built in power meters and variable resistance are the ideal partner to Zwift, a much simpler (and cheaper) option can turn your standard source of indoor pain into the cycling equivalent of an arcade game. If you already have speed and cadence sensors a simple ANT+ or bluetooth connection will allow Zwift to estimate power and get your avatar spinning around imaginary islands, London’s Ride Classic or the site of the Richmond World Championships.

The standard Zwift setup

It goes without saying that you’ll need a computer, or iPad, and an internet connection too. Once you’re connected, you’re off. Once in the Zwift world there are lots of options for how to ride; simply just that — riding around the virtual roads, built-in workouts designed to lead you through a training programme, virtual races and groups rides and recently even a chance to join a professional UCI team though competition.

And it’s addictive. Somehow these pixels can persuade you that you’re not sweating in a bedroom on your turbo trainer but racing up a mountain scoring personal bests and beating someone you’ve never met doing the same thing in New Zealand. I’ve never been good at interval training on the turbo, I just don’t have the discipline. Staring at a watch and telling myself to sprint for 60 seconds in regular intervals is just too easy to bail from. On Zwift, despite actually being fairly basic graphically, I seem to believe I am climbing when I’m not that I’m going somewhere when I’m not and most importantly it keeps me on the thing until I’ve completed a worth while session.

"We're not going to pretend that this beats riding outside, but as an alternative Zwift has changed the way I use my turbo trainer."

You can customise the online version of yourself with rewards for repeating usage. Different kits, bikes, wheels are all gifted to you the more you ride. Synced with Strava you can keep a track on your efforts, if that’s your thing, meaning you can create not only a virtual world free of ice and rain but an effective training programme.

We’re not going to pretend that this beats riding outside. Riding the lanes, even with soggy feet and a frozen nose is what cycling is all about, but as an alternative Zwift has changed the way I use my turbo trainer. It means I can snatch an intense 30 minute workout when I wouldn’t have ridden at all, or comfortably spend a couple of hours if I don’t fancy risking the ice. If nothing else it also makes me appreciate the outdoors all the more!

One thing that doesn’t change on the turbo is the need for good bibs and effective chamois cream. Indoor training is a sweaty business, seemingly more so than outside, so you want to be comfortable (when you’re suffering). Check out our guide to bib-shorts and see the range below. Combine with our very own chamois cream to keep you fresh in all the right places.

Pave Bibshorts

PAVE BIBSHORT

£119.99
Your bibs are your second skin providing both support and comfort. The red pad is designed specifically for the racer or more aggressive rider who spends more time on the drops.

SEE ALL BIBS
Chapeau Chamois Cream

CHAMOIS CREAMS

£11.99
Whatever reason you had for throwing a leg over the top tube in the first place, your backside will thank you for using Chapeau Chamois Cream if its planted on the saddle for any length of time!

SEE ALL SKINCARE