I haven't tried it yet, but all of my roadie buddies say it's game changing for indoor training and absolutely love it... (especially with a Kickr or any of the other smart trainers)
I've used it about a dozen times over the past year (including twice this weekend). It does make the indoor trainer sessions much more manageable. The graphics are really pretty amazing. And it's pretty cool to think that my ride yesterday was done with 1000+ other people from around the world.
Right now I'm easing myself back into IM form - trying to find my legs and my watts after a two month no riding stint. Once I dial into my IM plan I'll probably transition back to TrainerRoad where the EN workouts are. Zwift has some pre-programmed workouts - though I've not tried any of them.
@Robin - I double up and use my Garmin Edge as well...that way I get the NP and average power, etc... In fact, I end up looking at the data on my Garmin more than the data displayed on Zwift. And I agree the full iPad setup would be so much easier.
@Tom - it's just different. Your goals for any one particular wko would determine whether one works better than the other. IMO - for the EN rides where we have specific targets / intervals TrainerRoad is more conducive. If you are looking to ride less structured then Zwift is the way to go. But again - it looks like they are in the process of building a library of workouts that you can launch from within the app. When you're using Zwift every now and again you'll see someone "riding" with what looks like a screen in front of their bike. Those are the folks who are doing a programmed Zwift workout. Also, make no mistake about it - you can really suffer on Zwift if you want to....it's not just casual riding.
You know what would be really great - getting the EN wkos programmed into Zwift. That would be the piece de resistance!
I've experimented with both Trainer Road and Zwift. I agree that TR seems more "precise", though perhaps overkill given I'm not shooting for a Kona slot. I admit, some (perhaps all) of the issue may be my inexperience at configuring things, but I had some miserable TR workouts where the difficulty ratcheted up so fast I couldn't pedal, and then getting things reset from there was... frustrating. Zwift + Wahoo Kickr has been more gentle to a newbie - there are no sudden changes and the algorithm picks up if you stop and pauses ERG mode so you can easily re-calibrate mid ride if something is off. I also really enjoy scenery other than a bar graph - the time flies much faster for me on Zwift. (I was really missing that aspect of the CompuTrainer workouts I've done the last couple winters. While you can purchase videos for TR, that was going to be another expense on top of the monthly, whereas with Zwift the scenery is "baked in" -- and you get 2 months free *every year* if you're a Strava premium member!)
RE: Structure, you can structure workouts almost exactly like TR... It has a drag and drop editor where you can drop in a warm up, set the length and wattage, set intervals & cool down the same way, etc. - so you can mirror whatever EN workout has been prescribed if you want to be precise. The downside is that because it's your own custom course, you aren't "hanging out" with other riders. If we had a number of EN riders getting on at the same time, and the custom courses can be shared (if there's interest, I can look into it), then you'd have the best of all worlds, IMHO!
Regardless, I've found riding "regular" Zwift courses with workouts that roughly parallel what EN prescribes get me sweating just as much as the TR workouts did, and I enjoy it more. Since I started triathlon to build a healthy lifestyle, the fun component is kind of a big deal, so that I keep doing it! YMMV.
I don't use either, but there is a similar thread about Zwift on ST and the folks there tend to lean to TR. Really, it just depends on what motivates you and the kind of riding you like to do. I am a huge fan of Spinervals and can select workouts from my library of DVDs that closely approximate EN workout objectives, or I will just put in a movie and do the assigned workout while watching (preferably a high paced action movie to get me through it). Partly this is an admin issue for me. I always have a bike mounted in my pain cave and a TV with built-in DVD player right in front of it. The start up time is virtually nothing...no computer to turn on, etc. My trainer is a Powerbeam Pro so I get all the stats I want from that and can lock in a power setting in ERG mode for longer intervals. Very simple. YMMV.
Comments
have liked it for a few sessions so far. kind of fun.
but NP and average power not displayed. big negative to my mind. i could just run the garmin 500 with my power cranks for those numbers.
and wish they has the pure Ipad app by now. pain setting up regular computer.
and it is not very user friendly. lots of quirks and buttons to learn.
Right now I'm easing myself back into IM form - trying to find my legs and my watts after a two month no riding stint. Once I dial into my IM plan I'll probably transition back to TrainerRoad where the EN workouts are. Zwift has some pre-programmed workouts - though I've not tried any of them.
@Robin - I double up and use my Garmin Edge as well...that way I get the NP and average power, etc... In fact, I end up looking at the data on my Garmin more than the data displayed on Zwift. And I agree the full iPad setup would be so much easier.
You know what would be really great - getting the EN wkos programmed into Zwift. That would be the piece de resistance!
RE: Structure, you can structure workouts almost exactly like TR... It has a drag and drop editor where you can drop in a warm up, set the length and wattage, set intervals & cool down the same way, etc. - so you can mirror whatever EN workout has been prescribed if you want to be precise. The downside is that because it's your own custom course, you aren't "hanging out" with other riders. If we had a number of EN riders getting on at the same time, and the custom courses can be shared (if there's interest, I can look into it), then you'd have the best of all worlds, IMHO!
Regardless, I've found riding "regular" Zwift courses with workouts that roughly parallel what EN prescribes get me sweating just as much as the TR workouts did, and I enjoy it more. Since I started triathlon to build a healthy lifestyle, the fun component is kind of a big deal, so that I keep doing it! YMMV.